It's official: This is the wettest year in Green Bay history, even with 3 months to go

Green Bay Press-Gazette

Cars drive in the rain on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019, near Baird Creek Nature and Ski Trail in Green Bay, Wis. Green Bay received 0.55 inch of rain as of 3 p.m. Oct. 1, breaking the record for the most precipitation in a year. That record was set in 2018.

GREEN BAY — The half-inch of rain that fell by mid-day Tuesday pushed Green Bay past its all-time precipitation record for an entire year and put the city within reach of the wettest October debut on record.

That’s right after the city torched the all-time wettest September record. A normal September in Green Bay is good for 3.04 inches, said Rebecca Hykin of the National Weather Service. This September more than tripled that — 9.37 inches fell, making it the wettest September on record. The previous record of 7.8 inches was set in 1965.

Then, on the first day of October, it took Green Bay until mid-afternoon to break the record for the wettest year on record. When the clock struck 3, Green Bay had recorded 39.23 inches of rain and moisture from snow and sleet for the entire year. That’s .02 of an inch more than all of 2018, which was the previous record holder, and we still have three months to go.

And that also means Green Bay was well on its way to having the wettest Oct. 1 on record.

“We had .55 of an inch as of 2:57 this afternoon, and we’re expecting another .5 to 1.5 inches for Green Bay into tomorrow, but we could see half to .75 of an inch today yet,” Hykin said.

The current record was set Oct. 1, 1901, when 1 inch of rain fell in Green Bay.

"After we flirt with that record, we’ll go dry again, but only for a short while," Hykin said. “Chances for showers will kind of dissipate into the afternoon, but we could get some more tomorrow night."

Actual relief from all the rain won’t happen until Thursday afternoon and Friday, when we may actually see some sun, Hykin said.

Saturated soil and high water is making flooding a continued risk, but as of mid-afternoon, the National Weather Service received no reports of localized flooding in the area.

Contact Paul Srubas at (920) 265-3087 or psrubas@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PGpaulsrubas.