Philly just had its rainiest calendar day since June 5 and broke century-old record
Most of the rain, which set a record for the date, fell in a three-hour period with tropical storm-worthy downpours.
That the region will remain in deep states of drought when the national drought maps are posted Thursday morning is a done deal, but on Wednesday Philly had its rainiest calendar day since June 5, according to the National Weather Service, and broke a 105-year-old record.
As of 7 p.m., 1.54 inches of rain had been measured at Philadelphia International Airport, with most of that coming between 3 and 6 p.m. in tropical storm-worthy downpours. The June 5 total was 1.87 inches.
The rains were set off by a potent front that generated gusts past 50 mph, including a 52-mph gust at PHL. Gusts have been frequent visitors these days.
However, wind damage in the region appeared to be minimal, and Peco reported only about 6,500 power outages.
No significant flooding was reported, with stream levels way down from months of persistent dryness.
In the last 60 days, precipitation throughout the region has been about half of normal.
In its most recent national update, posted last Thursday, the inter-agency U.S. Drought Monitor had the entire region in states of “moderate” to “extreme” drought.
This was the first precipitation of any kind this month in Philly, and given that the drought maps are drawn on Tuesdays, they shouldn’t change significantly for Southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and South Jersey.
Thus, the rains have had a decided positive side, along with flushing out some of the accumulated road salt.
The rain amounts, which eclipsed the 1.40-inch record for the date set in 1920, turned out to be a splash higher than forecast.
Said Amanda Lee, a meteorologist in the Mount Holly office, “We’re not going to be complaining about a bit of extra.”