There has been a lot of talk about the amount of rainfall in the United States over the past few months. Here are some of the rainfall averages and totals from several cities:
| Location | May Average (inches) | May Actual (inches) | June Average (inches) | June Actual (inches) | July Average (inches) | July Actual (inches) |
| Bismarck, ND | 2.22 | 2.02 | 2.59 | 7.94 | 2.58 | 3.15 |
| New York City JFK, NY | 4.13 | 4.39 | 3.59 | 7.74 | 3.92 | 3.57 |
| San Francisco, CA | .38 | .36 | .11 | .04 | .03 | Trace (less than .01) |
| Houston, TX | 5.15 | .38 | 5.35 | .27 | 3.18 | 2.84 |
| Albany, NY | 3.67 | 4.08 | 3.74 | 5.02 | 3.50 | 9.91 |
*Data provided by the National Weather Service
The most remarkable variations from the average occurred in Bismarck, New York City, Albany, and Houston all in the month of June with Bismarck and New York City experiencing above average rainfall and Houston experiencing below average rainfall. Albany experienced record rainfall for the month of July.
In New York City there were 23 days in June with recorded rainfall and six of those days had greater than .50 inches of precipitation. In 2008 and 2007 there were fewer than 17 days with measurable rainfall each of those years. Bismarck had 13 days in June with recorded rainfall. Three of those days had greater than 1 inch of rainfall recorded (one event had greater than 3 inches). The previous two years only had one rainfall event in June (each year) producing greater than one inch of precipitation. For Albany the rainfall totals in June were a result of several rain events that produced greater than an quarter of an inch of rain. Twenty one days in July had measurable rainfall, in Albany, with three of those days having greater than one inch of rainfall. This resulted in 9.91 inches of rain for the month, over six inches higher than normal. In Houston there were only three days in June with recorded rainfall. In 2007 and 2008 there were more than 17 days in June with recorded rainfall each of those years.
Some of the rainfall in the Northeast can be attributed to a few different severe weather events impacting the the area. With one of those events bringing hail to the New York City region. Low pressure systems were also a common feature over the northeast U.S. causing there to be a few times when it rained every day for a few days in a row.
Southern Texas experienced above average temperatures for much of June and July helping to accentuate the dry conditions in the region.
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