Just How Much?

On average, our area (meaning the Toledo Express Airport) receives one inch or more of precipitation 13 times within a 24-hour day in any given calendar year. So where do we stack up so far this year? I did some research to find out!

To keep it current, I compiled the data from January 2011- October 2011.

In January, the most precipitable water we received was the first of the month at a value of 0.88'', but in four separate events over the course of the month we saw over an inch of snow. The greatest amount fell on January 11th -- an amount of 4.2''. These don't count, so it brings our tally to 0/13.

In February, 6 snow events brought us over 1'' of snow, but once again we didn't see the equivalent of 1'' or more of precipitation this month, so the tally remains at 0/13.

In March, commonly known as a rainier month, only one day provided the area with more than 1'' of rain. March 5th the Toledo Express Airport recorded 1.15''. Tally: 1/13.

In April, 22 days out of the month saw rain (that's 73.3% of the month!), but none of those showers brought more than 1'' of precipitation. Tally stands at 1/13.

In May, the wet weather finally found its footing and dropped significant precipitation over the region. 23/31 days of the month saw rain showers with two of those events (or in fact, one single event over the course of 48 hours) bringing more than 1'' of rain. Tally: 3/13.

In June, dry weather plagued the area. We only saw .51'' of rain the whole month! Clearly not adding to the tally. 3/13.

In July, one rain event late in the month brought an impressive 1.26'' to the region. Otherwise the month was also pretty dry. Tally: 4/13.

In August, steady showers returned to the region. Once this month we saw over 1'' of rain with another impressive event. 1.86'' of rain fell on August 24th bringing the running tally up to 5/13.

In September, we saw extremely wet weather. 20/30 days of the month recoreded at least some precipitation. 2 days within the month brough over 1'' of rain. The tally jumps to 7/13.

So far this October, we've seen very dry weather. Today's event has already brought us over an inch of rain, but otherwise, the tally stays put...

The final tally so far this year is 8/13 days with an inch or more of precipitation with just November and December remaining. If anything, there is one good lesson to learn from this small group of data. Any event that showers us with more than 1'' of precipitation is the exception to the rule. Stay Dry!