COLUMBIA -- At the end of July, Missouri fell a few raindrops shy of having the wettest May to July on record. Before the final tally of the average, the rain totaled 22.41 inches. The wet record was only 0.14 inch more at 22.55 in 1981.
Pat Guinan, University of Missouri Extension climatologist, said the rainfall total can change.
"It could be the wettest on record, as current numbers are preliminary," he said.
It takes a while to receive all rain reports from 200 official reporting stations across the state, said Guinan.
Monthly totals were 7.26 inches in May; 7.31 in June; and 7.84 in July. The July rain ranks fourth-wettest going back 121 years.
"The wet year is an anomaly," Guinan says. "It's not just total rain, but the frequency." In three months, the Kansas City weather station reported 48 days with measurable rain. The normal, based on 30 years of records, is 32 days.
Wet weather hit agriculture hard. Crop farmers faced delayed and prevented plantings. Livestock farmers couldn't bale quality hay for winter feed.
For the complete story, see the Sunday edition of the Standard Democrat.