BUFFALO, N.Y. — From the hottest July on record in 2020, July of 2021 is already headed to the record books as one of the wettest on record.
Because yes, having this much rain fall halfway through July is not normal. That being said, and after the torrential rain all of Western New York picked up Saturday, here's a breakdown of the impressive rainfall stats.
So far, the Buffalo Niagara International Airport has officially received 6.59 inches of rain as of July 17. That already puts July of 2021 as the fifth-wettest on record for the month. And at this rate, that number will likely go up.
This July could ranks as one of the top three on record.
And Saturday's rainfall really put this number over the edge; 2.67 inches of rain fell within 24 hours on July 17 at the Buffalo Airport. Only three-hundredths of an inch more, and it would have tied the daily all time record rainfall for the day set back on July 17, 2021.
And in total, July 17, 2021 was the 23rd-wettest day in Buffalo history since record keeping began over 150 years ago.
But we know even more rain fell across other portions of Western New York on Saturday. Rain totals were the highest across the Niagara Frontier for July 17, within the 2 to 5-inch mark, but many spots across the Southern Tier picked up that much rain Friday as well.
It's no wonder flooding has been such a huge concern recently. Weekly rain totals for Western New York towns will average between 3 to 10 inches from July 12 through 17.
Residual flooding could still be an Sunday evening and Monday as all of this rainwater drains through the region's river and creek system. It will take a while for all this water to drain, for lawns to go back to normal, and for water levels to settle down.
In the meantime, Storm Team 2 will be keeping any eye on any rain chance throughout the rest of the month as future flood threats could continue with a waterlogged Western New York.
Note that the city of Buffalo's weather records are kept and measured at the National Weather Service Office in Buffalo at the Buffalo Airport.
