So far in 2007 we have seen many storms that have brought torrential downpours and have resulted in flooding across Kansas. Some people have been wondering just how much rain has fallen and why we have seen so much rain this year. The reason we have seen so much rain is nothing special. The systems (especially recently) have simply been slow moving and that has caused storms to develop and move over the same areas (an action that meteorologists refer to as 'training"). With the "training" storms, some places have seen rainfall well above average totals while others have seen rainfall totals very close to the 30 year average.
Here is the rainfall data for Topeka, Concordia, Wichita, and Kansas City. These are the only locations in our area in which this information is readily available.
City-----------Rainfall------departure from average
Topeka-------19.05"-------------plus 6.87"
Concordia----11.83"------------plus 1.86"
Wichita--------13.84"------------plus 2.99"
Kansas City---13.74------------plus 0.58"
While the yearly data is not available for Manhattan, they have seen 10.56" alone in May. I also do not have the data available for Salina but I would bet that they have seen close to 25 inches this year.
This week we have another storm system moving our way. This one will also be slow moving. There is lots of moisture in place and heavy rainfall is again a possibility. We will monitor this storm closely and watch any flooding potential. At this point it is too tough to know exactly what will happen but it is sure worth watching. Keep checking back in this week.
