Ketchikan got 6.69 inches of rain on Oct. 17, which broke the record for most rain that day.
Grant Smith is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau. He says it was a rainy day but not that rainy compared to other records.
“[According to] Ketchikan airport’s overall record, that’s the 14th wettest day,” Smith said. “So, this wasn’t even a top 10 event for Ketchikan. That just kind of shines some light on just how wet the Ketchikan area can get in those extreme rain events.”
Remnants of Typhoon Bolaven brought the rain from the Pacific. The typhoon has been bringing rain to the Southeast region for days.
“A lot of moisture was just wrapped up in it,” said Smith. “And as that moisture hit the Panhandle, it started dropping a lot of rain. And when you have this topography like we have with all these mountain ranges and things, that can really just enhance rainfall in a lot of areas. And everything lined up [Tuesday] to just get Ketchikan almost seven inches of rain in one day.”
Seven inches of rain might sound like a lot but Ketchikan is one of the rainiest communities in the state. The record for one day is 8.71 inches of rain, set on Oct. 11, 1977.
On average, Ketchikan gets nearly 150 inches of precipitation a year.
