10 months ago
WASHINGTON(WUSA)-- Over this past week we've seen rain and thunderstorms almost every day, leading to flooding and severe weather throughout much of the area. In fact, from Monday to Friday of last week, National Airport received over two and a half inches of rainfall.
On Tuesday, heavy rains caused flash flooding all around the DC Metro area, stranding drivers on between Routes One and 201 in Beltsville, Maryland.
This rain pushed the area into the top ten wettest Mays, with National receiving 8.05" of precipitation so far this month; 1.65" of it falling last Tuesday! This makes it the 6th wettest May on record in D.C. with only 1948's record of 8.87" keeping it out of the top five. The wettest May on record was a tie between 1889 and 1953 with a total of 10.69" of rain. Record keeping began in Washington in 1871.
Dulles faired even better (or worse) with 10.26" of rainfall this past month, making it the May on record, tying it with May 1988. BWI didn't disappoint either, bringing to a total of 8.28" of precipitation so far in May, ranking it 2nd overall behind 1989's 8.71". Dulles' records date back to 1963, while BWI began taking records in 1871.
For a better perspective, National's normal rainfall amount for May is 3.82", making us 4" above normal! The table below shows the top ten wettest Mays on record for National Airport.
DCA Wettest Mays on Record
(Since 1871)
|
Rank |
Year |
Amount |
|
1 & 2 (Tie) |
1889/1953 |
10.69" |
|
3 |
2008 |
10.66" |
|
4 |
1886 |
10.60" |
|
5 |
1948 |
8.87" |
|
6 |
2009 |
8.05" |
|
7 |
1989 |
7.77" |
|
8 |
2003 |
7.06" |
|
9 |
2005 |
7.04" |
|
10 |
1971 |
6.80" |
Written By Jason Fouchard
9 NEWS NOW and wusa9.com
