(WKBN) – Saturday finally brought some much-needed rain to the Valley. After a dry summer and a dry start to fall, rain totals Saturday finally neared an inch.
How much rainfall did the Valley experience Saturday?
The National Weather Service reported 0.95 inches of rain Saturday at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. That is the most rain the Valley has seen this month.
It is also the most rain reported in the Valley since meteorological fall began on September 1.
Overall, 2023 has been a drier year with less precipitation. That is in part due to the El Niño oscillation in the Pacific bringing drier weather to the Valley so far this year.
Saturday’s rain comparisons
If Saturday’s rain seemed like a lot in a long time, it was for 2023. The 0.95 inches reported by the National Weather Service is the most rain the Valley has seen since August. The National Weather Service reported 0.89 inches of rainfall at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport on August 12.
When was the last time the Valley saw over an inch of rain? That would be July 20, when the National Weather Service reported 1.68 inches of rainfall.
On average, October is the fifth driest month of the year. According to the National Weather Service, Youngstown’s normal total precipitation for October is 3.34 inches.
So far for this October, the National Weather Service reports Youngstown has received 1.95 inches of rain. The other inch of rainfall came from October 5-8.
Below is a comparison between this October’s observed rainfall so far, the normal October rainfall, and October rainfall daily records.
Obviously, 0.95 inches of rain isn’t too major. It’s helping the Valley near its normal total precipitation, but what was the rainiest October on record?
According to the National Weather Service, October of 1954 saw the most rain in Youngstown. It totaled 8.54 inches of rainfall for the month.
The most rain in October of 1954 came on the 15th with 4.31 inches. That’s the highest daily precipitation record for October.
The line graph below shows how the rainfall accumulated in October 1954.
Future October 2023 rain
Some more rain chances are in the forecast for the rest of October. The current seven-day forecast has rain chances to start and end the work week.
At the current time, rainfall totals look minimal. Expect around a quarter of an inch of rainfall through Tuesday.
Long-range forecast models predict another two-quarters of an inch of rainfall is possible next weekend. Stay up to date with the Valley’s weather here.
