Oklahoma City has officially logged its wettest April since record-keeping began in 1890, surpassing a rainfall benchmark that had stood for nearly 80 years.
As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, 11.94 inches of rain had fallen this month in the city—topping the previous record of 11.91 inches set in April 1947, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). With additional precipitation expected throughout the day, meteorologists say the final total will climb even higher.
“This is a little more rain for April than we normally see,” Mark Fox, meteorologist-in-charge at the NWS office in Norman, Oklahoma, told Newsweek. “Oklahoma City, by end of the day today, this will be the wettest April we have on record.”
Why It Matters
The record-breaking rainfall marks a dramatic chapter in what has already been a turbulent spring across much of the central United States. Oklahoma City joins a growing list of locations affected by widespread flooding, downed power lines and severe thunderstorms as a result of this week’s massive storm system.
What to Know
Multiple rivers in Oklahoma are already well above flood stage, according to the NWS, with forecasters warning that water levels could remain high for weeks…