Wetness Continues in July: Many climate observers have reported heavy rains again this month, especially in west-central and southeastern Minnesota. Areas in Wabasha and Winona Counties have reported over 6 inches of rain so far this month, and in the west Montevideo and Alexandria have reported over 5.5 inches of rain so far. Within the statewide climate station network there have been at least 28 new daily record rainfalls set so far this month. In this context, I thought it would be good to compare some year-to-date precipitation amounts with our climate history. The wettest year-to-date statewide average precipitation (Jan 1-Jul 23) was in 1993 with a value of 21.20 inches. Here are the top 5 historically: 1993 21.20” 1897 20.61” 1999 20.48” 1953 20.46” 2014 20.31” The value for the statewide average precipitation in 2024 so far is a new record 21.22 inches . This is a remarkable high number considering that we started the year with January and February delivering below norma...