Wichita sets rain record as flood threat continues, weather service says

Monday’s rainfall in Kansas set records in Wichita and Salina, but Tuesday’s rainfall is unlikely to break any records.

The 3.09 inches of rain that fell at Wichita’s Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport broke the National Weather Service record for daily maximum precipitation for that date. The previous record for Oct. 8 was 2.78 inches set in 2003.

“Any time you set a daily record like that, it’s an anomaly,” said Andy Kleinsasser, a meteorologist with the Wichita branch of the weather service. “It’s definitely well above normal. But it wasn’t the highest daily rainfall in October.”

That record goes to Halloween 1998, when 5.79 inches of rain fell in Wichita. But this new record is the fourth-highest daily record for October since record keeping began in 1888.

Tuesday’s rainfall — originally estimated to be between 1 to 3 more inches of rain in the Wichita area — could have threatened for another record. The Oct. 9 precipitation record is 3.09 inches, set in 1985.

But as of Tuesday afternoon, about 0.61 inches of rain had fallen at Wichita’s airport, Kleinsasser said. There could be some more sprinkles in the Wichita area, but the threat for heavy rain is over.

The threat for river flooding will remain high over the next several days, according to the National Weather Service forecast. There is also a chance for some light showers on Thursday night and Friday, with a chance for heavier rain Saturday night into Sunday, Kleinsasser said.

Monday’s rain also set a record of 1.72 inches in Salina, breaking the previous record of 1.5 inches set in 1970.

This story was originally published October 9, 2018 at 4:24 PM.