Third-wettest June
At 8.88 inches, last month’s official rain total in Philly was near the top.
The 2014-15 fiscal year ended with quite a splash in parts of the region, including at Philadelphia International Airport.
By midnight, a total of 1.5 inches had fallen into the National Weather Service's official rain gauge, boosting the monthly total to 8.88 inches and pushing June into an elite category for wetness.
Only two other years in the period of record, dating to 1872, were rainier: Two years ago, 10.36 inches cascaded in June, and in 1938, 10.06.
As we've observed, despite the downpours, the region has been spared catastrophic river flooding.
For the most part, the rain was spread generously through the month, rather than coming in two or three bursts.
Also, as Tony Gigi, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly has pointed out, the timing has been fortuitous: The lush foliage has an almost insatiable thirst.
Another factor is that rather than being widespread, the coverage of the rains has been almost random at times, targeting concentrated areas.
With the new rains, at halftime the Philadelphia precipitation total stands at 26.05 inches, or about 6 inches, roughly 30 percent, above normal.
More than half the counties in Pennsylvania remain under drought watch; needless to add, they do not include Philadelphia or its immediate neighbors.