Irene Sets Rainfall Records in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, NJ, NY, CT, MA, NH, VT; All-Time N Y City Record

Images (click to enlarge): Hurricane Irene radar image at 5:05 pm, August 27, from Intellicast; 24-hour precipitation ending 8 am, August 28, for New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and Richmond regions, from National Weather Service. [Update: Added 24-hour precipitation ending August 29 for Portland ME, Burlington VT, Albany NY, and Boston regions]

August 29, 3 PM Update: Updated daily rainfall records for August 28 (Sunday):

Caribou ME         1.52"  (0.98", 1967) 

Bangor ME          1.97"  (1.71", 1973)

Concord NH         2.66"  (1.99", 1911)

Burlington VT      3.38"  (2.38", 1971)  

St. Johnsbury VT   4.83"  (1.97", 1971)

Massena NY         1.02"  (0.80", 1971)

Albany NY          4.69"  (3.50", 1971) 

Heavy rain extended northward into Canada, where Sherbrooke, Quebec reported 107 mm, and Doaktown, New Brunswick had 89 mm. Montreal measured 56.4 mm, bringing the monthly total to 223.0 mm; normal for August is 92.7 mm.

August 28, 9 PM Update: Today's 3.99" of rain at Central Park, New York breaks the old record for the date of 1.80" set in 1971 and raises the new all-time monthly record to 18.95". That is 464% of the normal August amount to date. The Irene storm total is 6.71".

More new daily rainfall records from today (old record and year in parentheses):

Bangor ME          1.85"  (1.71", 1973)

Concord NH         2.54"  (1.99", 1911)

Burlington VT      2.70"  (2.38", 1971)  

Worcester MA       3.80"  (0.99", 1971) 

Hartford CT        3.84"  (1.35", 1971)

Albany NY          4.56"  (3.50", 1971)

Binghamton NY      2.69"  (1.66", 1990)  

Islip NY           1.80"  (0.72", 2006) 

Newark NJ          5.22"  (2.04", 1971) 

August 28, 1:30 PM Update: The National Weather Service reports a near-record water level at the Battery in New York:

  AT 8:42 AM EDT THIS MORNING THE TIDE LEVEL AT THE BATTERY REACHED 

  9.5 FEET MLLW. THIS IS THE SIXTH HIGHEST LEVEL EVER RECORDED AT THE 

  BATTERY. AT 9:06 AM A MAXIMUM SURGE OF 4.5 FEET OCCURRED WITH THIS 

  HIGH TIDE IN COMBINATION WITH THE ASTRONOMICAL TIDE.

  

  OTHER NOTABLE LEVELS REACHED INCLUDE THE TOP TWO OF 11.2 FEET MLLW 

  AND 10.9 FEET MLLW WHICH OCCURRED DURING THE HURRICANE OF SEPTEMBER 

  1821 AND HURRICANE DONNA IN 1960 RESPECTIVELY...AND 9.6 FEET MLLW

  DURING THE NOREASTER OF DECEMBER 1992.  

August 28, 1 PM Update: Updated storm total rainfalls for Hurricane Irene, from National Weather Service:

Danbury CT         6.34"

Bridgeport CT      3.25"

Central Park NY    6.71"

White Plains NY    5.97"

Newark NJ          8.73"

Atlantic City NJ   4.56"

Philadelphia PA    4.84"

Dover DE           7.52"

Wilmington DE      5.77"

Georgetown DE      5.69" 

Rehoboth Beach DE  4.88" 

Salisbury MD       7.75"

Ocean City MD     12.09"

Baltimore MD       3.83"  

Easton MD         11.34"

Washington DC      3.36"

Richmond VA        4.73"

Suffolk Airpt VA  11.04"

Elizabeth City NC  7.50"  

August 28, Noon Update: The storm total rainfall of 6.71" at Central Park brings the monthly total to an unofficial 18.79", which is an all-time monthly record for New York City. The previous record was 16.85" in September, 1882.

Midnight Update: Philadelphia had 1.70" of rain in the 6 hours ending 8 pm and an additional 2.14" in the following 3 hours.

9 PM Update: Suffolk Airport in Virginia is reporting a storm total rainfall so far of 11.04". The Norfolk official total is incomplete, apparently because of a sensor failure of the automated station, but a co-operative observer reports 7.73".

7 PM Update: The National Hurricane Center reports:

RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 10 TO 14 INCHES HAVE ALREADY OCCURRED OVER A

LARGE PORTION OF EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA...WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNT

OF 14.00 INCHES REPORTED AT BUNYAN NORTH CAROLINA THUS FAR. 

Original post:
Heavy rain is still falling from Hurricane Irene in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, but daily rainfall records have already been set as of 5 pm (old record in parentheses):

Richmond VA        3.42" (2.04", 1899)

Norfolk VA         4.47" (3.77", 1998)

Salisbury MD       3.05" (tie,   1922)

Georgetown DE      2.87" (1.14", 1964)

Elizabeth City NC  4.50" (4.33", 1971)

August 26:

New Bern NC        3.30" (2.45", 1999) 

Cape Hatteras NC   3.67" (2.27", 1962)  

Philadelphia has also added to its all-time record monthly rainfall with a total so far of 14.38". With 0.39" so far today, Central Park, New York has reached 12.47" for the month, which sets a new record for highest August rainfall.