President Trump may have promised to “drain the swamp” in the nation’s capital, but this year it has officially been declared the dampest ever.
2018 became the wettest year ever in Washington, D.C., – which according to a now-disputed urban legend was built on a swamp – on Saturday with 61.54 inches of rainfall as of 6:26 a.m. Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
That beat the previous record set in 1889. That year, Grover Cleveland was succeeded as president by Benjamin Harrison, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington state became part of the union, the Moulin Rouge cabaret was founded in Paris, and the first jukebox was installed in San Francisco.
Record wettest calendar year on record set in Washington @Reagan_Airport pic.twitter.com/S9e4vyeJ24
— NWS DC/Baltimore (@NWS_BaltWash) December 15, 2018
In the days following, the gap between the previous record widened when another inch of rain fell Saturday and several more Sunday. Some areas of the city received up to 4.5 inches of rain over the weekend.
The National Weather Service also issued a Coastal Flood Warning in the metro area that will remain in effect until Tuesday afternoon. The primary areas the warning applies to are the Southwest Waterfront and Georgetown area.
Washington has seen 122 measurable rain days in 2018.
In 1889, when one big storm caused the streets to flood. Pennsylvania Avenue was under water for a stretch of eight blocks. The same serious rainfall affected Johnstown, Pa., where a dam failure caused the death of more than 2,000 people in the area.
