To say it was a wet summer in mid-Kansas was, for the most part, an understatement.
Parts of McPherson, Marion and Rice counties saw rainfall for June through August, considered meteorological summer, in excess of 20 inches, with the largest amount in the area recorded by a CoCoRAHS station on the northwest edge of McPherson a staggering 26.64 inches, which is not too far off what the area typically sees for rain in an entire year.
20-inch totals were common from eastern Rice County across the middle part of McPherson County into the Hillsboro area. 15-20 inch rain amounts were common over the rest of McPherson County into Harvey, Reno, and other parts of Marion and Rice Counties.
Rain amounts further north were much less. The Salina Airport, one of the primary climate stations of record for the National Weather Service, reported just under 8 ½ inches for the summer, just under three inches less than their historical average.
One CoCoRAHS gauge in far south Salina received just 7.72 inches over three months. One of the heavy rain events in McPherson in June produced more than that in a matter of hours.Â
Temperature wise, it was an average summer, with Salina right at its June-August average of 78.6 degrees, and Wichita at 78.2 only 1.2 degrees off average. Salina climate records go to 1900 and Wichita’s from 1888. Salina had just six 100-degree days for the summer, and Wichita just one, which for them ties for the second least days of triple digit temperatures in a summer on record.Â
