If it felt to you like the rain never ended this winter, you are correct! According to NOAA, due to “a steady march of snow and rain storms across the country between December 2018 and the end of February 2019 … the contiguous U.S. marked its wettest winter on record.” How wet was it? By the numbers, the total winter precipitation was 9.01 inches (2.22 inches above average) in the U.S., which beat the previous record-holder, the winter of 1997-98, by 0.02 of an inch. This wet weather will help relieve the drought in some parts of the country. By the end of February, the U.S. Drought Monitor had only 11.9 percent in drought conditions, which was down from 16.5 percent in a drought at the end of January. NOAA also reported that the winter temperature average was 33.4 degrees F, which is 1.2 degrees above average, with warmer-than-average temperatures across the Deep South, the Southeast, and parts of New England. I (Monica) have been “measuring” the amount of mud my dogs have brought into the house from my backyard (hundreds of towels washed), and it has indeed been a record wet winter!
