Wichita sees record rainfall with more on the way. Is it enough to break the drought?

The record-setting rain on July 5 along with possible rain this week and weekend could bring the Wichita area, which is in an exceptional drought, back into more normal rainfall for this time of year.

The 136-year-old record for July 5 precipitation is now 2 inches, surpassing the July 5, 1967, record of 1.76 inches, according to the National Weather Service. The new record is based on measurements taken at the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport.

Wednesday’s rain started before 2 a.m. and ended by early afternoon.

It brought the total rainfall for the year up to 13.18 inches; the rolling 30-year average is 18.24 inches. The airport recorded another 0.60 inches of rain Thursday.

NWS Wichita Meteorologist Bryan Baerg said the area could see another 1 to 3 inches of rain through Sunday morning.

Some of the heavier rains are expected to happen overnight and early into the morning through Sunday. The main areas of Kansas that will see the showers are southwest and south-central Kansas, Baerg said.

“It looks like a slightly drier pattern into next week,” he said.

The rainfall is welcome news for farmers, and others, in an area stricken by drought. Currently, the U.S. Drought Monitor has a huge chunk of Kansas, including the Wichita area, in an exceptional drought — the worst possible designation. All of Kansas is in some level of drought.

The most severe area around Wichita is part of one of the largest and most severe drought areas in the country.

The rainfall is not going to break the drought, Baerg said, and it’s not expected to even get the area back to normal rain by this time of year. But, it all helps.