Has 2011 felt particularly rainy?
National Weather Service records prove this year was one of the wettest. The year's rainfall ranked third highest in Chicago history with 49.20 inches so far thanks to Thursday's record precipitation. It falls behind 49.35 inches in 1983 and a whopping 50.86 inches in 2008.
With two weeks to go before the end of the year and current trends pointing to more rain, 2011 even has a good shot at beating the record.
Residents whose power went out multiple times over the summer can attest to a stormy year. Thunderstorms in July alone left 868,000 ComEd customers without power.
ComEd officials said this summer's 1.6 million outages were the most they've ever had, and July's outages marked the largest power drop in about 15 years.
For now, early morning showers have moved on, and drier, colder air takes their place. Highs of mid- to low 50s drop through the 40s and into the 30s by Thursday evening. Brisk winds gust as high as 50 mph.
The sun returns Friday with more seasonable December temps in the mid-30s.
