39.74 inches: D.C. hits average year’s rainfall well before 2018’s end

If you feel like D.C. has gotten more rain than usual this year, congratulations: You’re right.

On Tuesday, with a daily record of 2.46 inches of rain, the District reached what is currently its average yearly rainfall, 39.74 inches, according to the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang. That makes 2018 the District’s sixth-wettest year on record, and residents aren’t even two-thirds of the way through the year yet.

To date, the District has also weathered more than 14 inches above its average rainfall through late August, per the Post. About half of the days since mid-July have been wet.

D.C. proper isn’t alone in the deluge. Baltimore has seen 44.38 inches of rain this year, making 2018 its second-wettest year on record, only behind 1889.

All this water has come with an outsize number of flood warnings for the region since last month. The National Weather Service had put out more than five a day on average as of mid-August, the Baltimore Sun recently reported.

Still, the meteorological gurus at the Capital Weather Gang note that things could dry up:

“Impressive rain totals in mind, it remains a bit early to speculate about achieving historic rainfall totals for the year in Washington. September and October, in particular, can be very wet or quite dry. Given the lack of any significant tropical systems in the Atlantic Ocean, and a continued environment that is more hostile to development than normal, dry may be somewhat favored once we get out of this wet summertime pattern.”

But for some, that possibility is little relief right now. Officials are pushing for more funding to mitigate flooding in Ellicott City, Maryland, which has experienced disastrous flooding in the last two years.

The District has had its fair share of water problems, too. Recent rain has damaged roads in Rock Creek Park, including a popular bike trail, and led to the temporary closure of a public school.

In other words, don’t lose your umbrella.

• Tuesday’s record rainfall catapulted D.C. to its yearly total with four months to go in 2018 [Washington Post]
• Maryland-Virginia-D.C. area has seen more flood warnings over the past month than anywhere else in the country [Baltimore Sun]
• Maryland lawmakers advocate more funding to help flood-proof Ellicott City [Baltimore Sun]
• Flood-battered road in Northwest DC could take longer to reopen [WTOP]
• Flooding damages Rock Creek bike path next to National Zoo [Curbed DC]
• Eliot-Hine Middle School Closed After Flooding [NBC Washington]