Before getting into some of the interesting rain stats from yesterday, I wanted to let everyone know that I do have some pictures from my recent trip to Arizona and some complimentary thoughts about urban sprawl and alternative energy. I hope too blog about this next week, so stay tuned.

Now, here is the skinny on the rainfall from yesterday:

As expected, we broke the daily rainfall record for October 25th in Wausau. The total on Thursday was 2.34 inches. The old record was 1.30 inches set back in 1899. The last time we had so much rain in one day was August 6th of 2011 when 2.43 inches fell. The total rainfall for the month of October is now 5.49 inches. It is the wettest month this year and it ranks as the 7th wettest October in Wausau’s history.

WI Drought Status Oct 23rd

There were a couple of other record rainfall reports in the area. Wisconsin Rapids only received 0.51 inches but that was enough to beat the old record of 0.50 inches. The record total in Rhinelander was 2.03 inches and in Marshfield it was 2.24 inches. A couple of inches of rain was fairly common in much of the area, which is great because…

We are still in a major drought, according to the latest US Drought Monitor. Most areas of the country saw slight improvement in drought conditions in the past week, including the Midwest region, and including Wisconsin. The rainfall that fell on Thursday is not incorporated into this week’s report. I think we will see a bigger improvement in the drought status next week. It was perfect timing for heavy rain – just before the ground becomes frozen. The water will soak in and stay there until Spring.

Have a pleasant Friday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Drought, Rainfall Reports, Records