According to the National Weather Service (NWS) climate data for the Birmingham Airport, there has been 6.24 inches of rain recorded through the 15th of the month. That total puts October, 2009, as the 10th wettest month in Birmingham history.
Here is a table of the top 10 wettest Octobers since 1900. Four of these were the result of tropical systems.
| Year | Rain | Tropical |
| 1995 | 11.90″ | Opal |
| 1934 | 10.95″ | TD #9 |
| 1918 | 10.84″ | None |
| 1977 | 7.52″ | None |
| 1932 | 7.27″ | TD #8 |
| 1970 | 7.04″ | None |
| 1900 | 7.00″ | None |
| 1937 | 6.60″ | TD #9 |
| 1945 | 6.38″ | None |
| 2009 | 6.24″ | None |
It’s interesting to note the gap between 3rd place and 4th place which is over 3 inches.
Since we have about a week of dry weather – and cooler, too – ahead of us, nothing will be changing. However, it’s unlikely that we’ll get all the way to the end of the month without some additional rain, so this October will be moving up in the record books. I think it will probably reach the 5th spot, but that is just idle speculation based on no science whatsoever!
-Brian-
