CELINA-Despite a prolonged period of drought for several weeks, precipitation totals here are running slightly above normal for 2024, according to a local Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network observer.

Rainfall totals through Monday, October 14 for the Celina reporting station were just below 46 inches, with the norm being just fractionally above 44 inches.

45.81 inches of rain and snow have been measured at the station near Donaldson Park, while the 30-year average as compiled by the National Weather Service would be just under two inches less than that.

The overage for the entire year can be attributed to an unusually wet month of May, where rainfall totals were more than double the 30-year average. 11.87 inches of rain fell in May at the Celina station, with the average being 5.10 inches. With normal May totals, rainfall would be below normal for the calendar year.

Remnants of Hurricane Helene drastically changed rainfall totals and changed the drought monitor in many locations for Middle Tennessee, with less significant totals at the station here than some surrounding areas.

While parts of Middle Tennessee received several inches of rain from September 27-30, the station here received 3.60 inches. “The rain came very slowly and it really helped replenish the ground,” said the local CoCoRaHS observer. “We had basically no runoff from that rain, which is ideal.”

No 30-year averages are available for anywhere in Clay County except Celina, but there are multiple stations that report daily rainfall. A CoCoRaHS station in the Hermitage Springs area has recorded over 51 inches of rain for the year, about 5.5 inches more than the Celina station.