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June's a Major Washout

July 01, 2009 - PORTLAND -- It isn't your imagination: June really has been wetter and colder than usual this year.

In fact, it's the fifth-rainiest June on record. By Monday morning, 8.36 inches had fallen on Portland, all of it in the past three weeks, according to the National Weather Service in Gray. The total is shy of the 10.86 inches that made 1917 the rainiest June on record, but nearly three times the average rainfall, which is 3.28 inches.

With more rain likely today, 2009 might still climb in the rankings.

"We may move into fourth place or third place," said Tom Hawley, a weather service meteorologist. "I don't think we will move to second place. We'd need more than 2 inches of rain for that."

Flood warnings were in effect Monday for small rivers and streams in Oxford County and the Kennebec River around Skowhegan.

Meanwhile, the normal high temperature in Portland is 76 degrees at this time of year, but on Monday afternoon it was only 58, just a couple of degrees off the normal low of 56.

A trough of low pressure over the East Coast is to blame for the cool, wet weather that has hurt crops, closed clam flats and put a damper on tourism. The trough has meant more clouds, less sunshine and a wind that comes off the water, Hawley said.

The area has been stuck in the trough for the last half of June. The end might be in sight, although an umbrella might still come in handy on the July 4th weekend.

"The pattern may break in the middle of next week," Hawley said.

By ANN S. KIM, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, June 30, 2009


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