Storms made May one of Western Pennsylvania's wettest ever

This week’s storms made the month one of the Pittsburgh area’s rainiest Mays ever, according to the National Weather Service.

The region got 5.97 inches of rain this month as of Friday morning.

A least a trace of rain was recorded on 23 of the month’s 31 days. The weather service makes official measurements for the region at Pittsburgh International Airport. The NWS recorded measurable rain for the region on 20 of 30 days in April.

It was the ninth-highest May rainfall in Pittsburgh since 1871, the first year for which records are available, and the rainiest May since 2004, when 6.08 inches of rain fell.

Wednesday was the rainiest day of the month, setting a daily record with 1.93 inches — almost a third of the month’s total rainfall.

Tom Green, a NWS meteorologist in Pittsburgh, said winds normally push bad weather systems away after a day or two. Lately, that’s not been happening.

“Over the last week, we’ve had a boundary that’s been set up over the area, and it hasn’t moved,” he said.

The region has been hit with a total of 18.97 inches of precipitation this year, about 4 inches more than normal.

Every month so far, except March, has had more precipitation than average.

Last year set a record for the region’s wettest ever, with a total of 57.83 inches of precipitation.

Western Pennsylvania is not the only place enjoying constant rain.

May 2018 through April 2019 was the wettest 12-month period on record in the continental United States, with an average of 36.20 inches of rain nationwide, according to the NASA Earth Observatory. That’s 6.25 inches more than normal.

Things might finally dry up this summer. The NWS Climate Prediction Center, which makes long-term forecasts, says there’s a 60% chance the next three months will have less rain than normal in the Pittsburgh region, Green said.