Natalia Welzenbach-Marcu | December 19th, 2018

Heavier rains dominated the warmer weather season this year, especially for East Coast dwellers. Increased rainfall was discussed at length in the National Climate Assessment, and its effects on our water supply are sobering. Despite the warnings, it’s still hard to believe that 2018 was as wet and rainy as it was.

78 cities in the United States are set to have had their rainiest calendar year on record, with some places already breaking their previous high records. Places like Washington D.C. and Wilmington, North Carolina saw more rain than ever before, with Wilmington reaching a staggering 100 inches of rainfall this year–almost 20 inches more than its previous high record. The bulk of its rainfall happened during Hurricane Florence.

Record-setting rain isn’t likely to slow down anytime soon. Looking forward to 2019, global meteorologists see a strong chance of an El Nino forming in the first few months of the new year. This naturally-occurring weather event, where the surface of the ocean warms considerably, is predicted to contribute to heavy rainfall in the United States and could actually reduce rainfall in Colombia and other Central and South American countries–creating, ultimately, further problems for everyone involved.