Feeling Waterlogged? Recent Period Named Wettest Ever for West Virginia, U.S.

Many in the Mountain State have felt like the rain just won't quit. Indeed, it has been a rainy May for much of the Eastern United States, West Virginia included. However, the National Centers for Environmental Information - the NOAA Affiliate that compiles and retains massive quantities of weather and climate data for future use - has some pretty substantial stats that show just how soaking things have been.

Picture: Floodwaters overtook a roadway after a week of heavy rainfall in May 2018 impacted the Eastern Panhandle Region. – WV Public Broadcasting

While the public debate continues about the exact causes of the lengthy damp period, the fact remains that more precipitation has fallen in the contiguous US, on average, from June 2018 to May 2019 - 37.68 inches - than in any 12-month period on record. Broken down by region, the Eastern and Southern US precipitation totals were far above average, with almost every state setting individual records for the same period. West Virginia was one of those states setting a new year-to-date average precipitation record.

In the shorter term overview, May 2019 was the second-wettest May since daily rainfall records began in 1895, but also the second-wettest one month period overall. So far, June has slowed down on the rainfall locally, but areas to our south and west are still being inundated with storm after storm.

The several bouts of flooding across our state over the past year are only a taste of the horrendous time many places in our Nation's Heartland, where the Mississippi River has been in flood stage for well over 100 consecutive days and dozens of gauges remain in major flood stage. As more rain is expected in the coming weeks, only time will tell when the waters will finally recede.

In the Mountain State, multiple rounds of rain are in the Weekly Outlook for the entire forecasting area in the next couple of weeks. It's important to remember that any thunderstorm has the ability to produce flash flooding - with or without a Severe Thunderstorm Warning - especially with how moist the soil is. At the current levels, an inch of rain per hour (or even less) is enough to cause a flood locally in many places. Stay aware for Flood Watches and Warnings if they are issued for your river or county. Stay tuned to WVWC for the latest forecast and your local NWS Office for alerts!

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Read More:

• Assessing the U.S. Climate in May 2019 - National Centers for Environmental Information