Boston is in line to wrap the third consecutive month with above-average rainfall as wet conditions blanketed the area Friday, according to the National Weather Service’s Boston office.
A wet summer — and the fourth consecutive month of above-normal rainfall for some municipalities in Massachusetts — comes a year after the state experienced a drought that left crops damaged and officials urging residents to conserve water.
National Weather Service observations from Logan International Airport show nearly 3.5 inches of rain for September, about two-tenths an inch above normal. And expected rainfalls on Friday and Saturday will add to that total, said NWS Boston meteorologist Frank Nocera.
“But at least it looks like next week, starting Sunday, we could have a stretch of dry weather. So that’ll be welcomed,” Nocera said. “But the big takeaway is, there was a wet summer. Most places, it’s either the third or the fourth consecutive month of being above normal for rainfall.”
Nocera said Boston saw just over 10 inches of rainfall in July, more than 7 inches over normal, and nearly 6.5 inches in August, which was more than 3 inches above normal.
The first week of October is expected to show near-normal rainfall but there are signs that the second and third weeks of the month “could be trending towards a wet pattern again,” Nocera said.
“Also temperatures above normal too so kind of a warm and wet pattern is what’s in store,” Nocera said.
Major storms this month have left large parts of Massachusetts damaged — from heavy rainfalls in the western part of the state leaving crop fields flooded to flash flooding in Leominster and North Attleboro damaging houses and roads.
Further south, a potent rush-hour rainstorm swamped the New York metropolitan area on Friday, shutting down some subways and commuter railroads, flooding streets and highways, and delaying flights into LaGuardia Airport.
Up to 5 inches of rain fell in some areas overnight, and as much as 7 inches more was expected throughout the day, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday morning.
By midday, although there was a break in the downpour, New York City Mayor Eric Adams urged people to stay put if possible.
“It is not over, and I don’t want those gaps in heavy rain to give the appearance that it is over,” he said at a news briefing. He and Hochul, both Democrats, declared states of emergency.
Materials from the Associated Press were used in this report.
