Philly breaks record for rainiest summer ever

It's been Philadelphia's rainiest summer ever.

Both June and July saw record rainfalls, and another round of showers on the first day of August pushed Philadelphia past its record for the wettest summer ever.

The National Weather Service says 25.13 inches of rain fell in Philadelphia between June 1 and Thursday (the weather service's meteorological summer runs from June 1 to Aug. 31).

That tops the previous summer rainfall record of 24.58 inches, set in 2011. The rain that summer broke a nearly century-old record, the 22.93 inches that fell in summer 1906. Rounding out the top five rainiest Philly summers are 1911, with 21.39 inches, and 1872, with 21.3 inches.

The weather service said 1.33 inches of rain was recorded Thursday at Philadelphia International Airport. During June and July, a total of 23.8 inches of rain fell.

The heaviest rains around the region Thursday appeared to hit Chester County, where 2.65 inches was record in West Chester, 2.49 inches in Northbrook and 2.29 inches in Malvern. Farther south, in parts of Sussex County in Delaware, more than 4 inches fell.

In July, the 13.24 inches recorded was well above 1994's previous record of 10.42 inches. And in June, the 10.56 inches that fell topped the old record of 10.06 inches, set in 1938.

A number of days in both months also hit daily rainfall records. One of those days was Sunday, when 8.02 inches of rain fell -- the most ever recorded on a single calendar day at the airport.

Daily rain records were also set in June, when golfers and spectators got drenched during the U.S. Open at the Merion Golf Club.

For today, forecasters say to expect sunny skies and a high temperature of 86 degrees. A chance of more showers and thunderstorms returns Saturday, with an expected high of 83 degrees, and there's a smaller chance of showers on Sunday, according to the weather service.