Alexandria Living Magazine
A man stopped to take a photo of flood waters that came unusually far up lower King Street Tuesday, June 5, 2018.
It's official: This is the wetting year on record in the Washington, DC metro area.
The Capital Weather Gang reported Saturday morning, "The steady rain Friday night into Saturday morning elevated 2018’s total past the previous record of 61.33 inches set in 1889. The National Weather Service announced the record was surpassed at 6:26 a.m. Saturday. An additional inch or so of rain could fall through Sunday, pushing 2018 further ahead of historically wet years of the past. Weather records in Washington date back to 1871."
Alexandria's weather forecast calls for several more days with rain potential between now and Dec. 31. (See the forecast here.)
Rain and wind have affected several Alexandria events throughout the year — the March St. Patrick's Day Parade was postponed due to weather; the October opening of Waterfront Park had to move to adjacent space, the rain delayed construction on Patrick Henry School in Alexandria, and thousands of residents stood under umbrellas for the Scottish Christmas Walk parade in early December.
"In all, Washington has seen 122 days with measurable rain this year, which isn’t out of the ordinary considering the long-term average is 116. But very often when it’s rained, it’s poured. At least an inch of rain has accumulated on a record 22 days," according to the Capital Weather Gang.
Mobile, Alabama is the United States' rainiest city, with an average of 67 inches of rainfall. Seattle averages 37.5 of precipitation every year. Portland averages 36.7 inches of precipitation per year.
