Successive days of drizzle, downpours and thunderstorms contributed to Bowling Green’s ninth-wettest June on record.

Bowling Green nearly doubled its average monthly rainfall with 8.26 inches. That’s about as wet as it got in Kentucky last month. Only Bowman Field in Louisville had a higher rainfall total with 8.28 inches, according to C.J. Padgett of the National Weather Service in Louisville.

The city experienced two days of rainfall greater than 1 inch and six days with at least a half-inch. The highest rainfall in a 24-hour period was 1.46 inches June 6.

Two years ago, residents experienced the 10th-wettest June on record. Last year, the city received only 3.33 inches in June – although 2018 overall still saw about 5 inches of rain above normal.

Statewide, above-normal saturated grounds have contributed to a greater risk for flooding during recent heavy rain events, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, though a factor in flooding risk is how heavily and quickly rain falls.

Through June 30, the city has seen 33.15 inches of rainfall this year. The six-month average for the same time frame is 26.13 inches, and the average annual rainfall in Bowling Green is 48 inches.

“We are about seven inches above normal for this time of year,” Padgett said.

Earlier this year, Bowling Green had its second wettest February with 11.14 inches – more than seven inches higher than the average of 3.96 inches. Kentucky Mesonet even recorded 3.01 inches on one day – Feb. 23 – at the Western Kentucky University Farm.

NOAA’s three-month outlook for July, August and September lists an equal chance for above- or below-average temperatures and precipitation in Kentucky.

Through the holiday weekend, the NWS predicts afternoon rain and thunderstorms.