2018-08-29

Author: Mary Knapp

We’ve seen some wet weather in recent weeks, but how wet can it get? Although many Kansas locations set annual records in 1993, the wettest year on a statewide basis was 1951, when the state average was 41.50 inches. For a particular observing site, however, Hiawatha holds the state record. They had a torrential 71.99 inches in 1973. For a 24-hour period, Girard in Crawford County takes the Kansas record – with 15.84 inches on September 25, 1993. But for a REALLY wet day, you have to go south to Texas. On July 25, 1979 Alvin Texas on July 25, 1979, received a deluge to the tune of 43 inches. Imagine getting a year’s worth of rain in a single day!

Figure 1. Texas Flooding (NOAA)

Mary Knapp, Weather Data Library
mknapp@ksu.edu