The rain from the coastal low that invaded North Carolina on Monday pushed us forward in what's been an active year for weather in our state.
The recent rain makes 2024 the third wettest year to date on record in Raleigh with 42.89 inches observed so far. We only saw more rain in 1996 (44.82 inches) and 1998 (43.75 inches) as of Sept. 16. Data has been tracked and observed since 1949.
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The wettest year on record was 2018, in part thanks to storms like Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael. RDU picked up 60.29 inches of rain that year.
Monday was the 16th day of 2024 in which the Triangle saw at least an inch of rain. That's tied for the second-most on record in a year. Raleigh has recorded a little over two inches of rain since Monday morning.
WRAL meteorologist Chris Michaels said breaking the record from 2018 is possible, but unlikely given the trends we see during the fall.
"In three-and-a-half months, we would need to pick up 17 inches of rain to break the yearly record," Michaels said. "That would mean it would take an average of 4.86 inches of rain per month to tie the record."
"That's certainly possible, but the fall months tend to be our driest. On average, we get 10.08 inches of rain from October through December."
Potential Tropical Cyclone 8 wasn't your average no-name storm. The National Weather Service in Wilmington, at one point Monday, said that a station in Carolina Beach picked up more than 18 inches of rain.
The spike in rainfall comes after a summer that had 75 percent of the state in a moderate or severe drought at one point.
The first day of fall is Sunday, Sept. 22. The forecast is dry for this weekend, which is good news for those of us with outdoor plans.