Wunderblogs - 5/30/13, Christopher C. Burt
Exceptionally intense rainfalls have occurred in such diverse locations as Vermont, North Dakota, Iowa, and Texas over the course of the past week or so. Iowa has recorded its wettest spring on record, since 1872. Herein is a brief recap.
Vermont
Although the unseasonable Memorial Day weekend snowfall in Vermont (and New York) stole the headlines recently, the storm also brought excessive record-breaking rainfall and floods to the state. Burlington received 7.47” of precipitation over the course of the week of May 20-26. This ranked as the 2nd wettest week in the city records, surpassed only by a 7.51” weekly total in August 1955, the result of two hurricanes (Connie and Diane) that impacted the region. In fact, for the 5-day period of May 21-25 it was the wettest such period on record (7.01” vs. 6.66” during August 1955). Burlington also experienced 4 consecutive days with 1.00” or more rainfall (5/22: 1.43”, 5/23: 2.26”, 5/24: 1.13”, 5/25: 1.23”), something that has never occurred previously.San Antonio, Texas
The most noteworthy precipitation event of the past week was the downpour that inundated San Antonio, Texas on May 24-25. An amazing 12.17” of rain fell in a 24-hour period between noon May 24 and noon May 25. This was the 2nd greatest 24-hour rainfall on record for the city (the all-time record being 13.35” on October 17-18, 1998). Precipitation records go back to 1871 in San Antonio. The storm has also brought the May monthly precipitation total to 13.19” so far (more rain expected Wednesday), close to the all-time May monthly record of 14.07” in May 1935. Massive flooding engulfed the city resulting in three drowning deaths and hundreds of emergency water rescues, many involving rooftop extractions.
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