Raleigh on pace for second wettest year on record; Seattle remains 20+ inches behind
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- We're living in the second wettest year on record in Raleigh.
Since Dec. 13 of 2017, we've had 57.28" of liquid precipitation.
That includes rain, and all liquid forms of precip (drizzle, fog droplets, etc.) as well as frozen precipitation melted down. It puts our total in second place, only behind the same period from 1995-1996.
The good news is a period of dry weather is moving back into the area for the start of next week.
With so much snow & rain soaking central North Carolina this week, ABC11 Meteorologist Don "Big Weather" Schwenneker said Raleigh will once again finish the year with more rain than Seattle, Washington.
Although Seattle has a reputation for being extremely rainy, Raleigh has seen nearly 22 inches more than Seattle in 2018.
Raleigh normally averages 41.5 inches of liquid precipitation by this time of year, while Seattle sees about 34.3 inches around this time of year.
"Seattle is often thought of as one of the rainiest cities when you ask someone 'Name a place that has a lot of rain," Schwenneker said.
As this latest round of rain/snow hit us, Big Weather says most locations added to their yearly totals. So far, in Raleigh, we have had the second wettest year on record, according to the SERCC.
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Heavy rain could continue to fall over the next couple of days. Parts of our area could pick up an additional 1.5 to 3 inches of rain through Sunday morning.
Schwenneker says the rain will return tomorrow and could be very heavy for your afternoon commute home.
"We will see the heaviest rain toward the coast," according to Big Weather. "There may even be a few rumbles of thunder in the afternoon and there is a threat of Flash Flooding through Saturday."
