SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE - If it felt like you missed too many beach days and baseball games last month because of rain, you aren’t wrong — it was the sixth-wettest July on record in more than a century, according to the National Weather Service.
A total of 7.68 inches of rain fell in Chicago during the month of July, which is nearly four inches above normal, according to the weather service.
Several weather events contributed to the large amount of rainfall. On July 12, heavy rain and flash flooding occurred in far northwest Illinois, in Des Plaines and on the Fox River. Between July 19 and 23, there were multiple rounds of heavy rain and storms bringing flooding and wind damage.
The record amount of rainfall in July in Chicago was set in 2011, when 11.15 inches of rain deluged the area, according to the weather service. The second-wettest July on record was in 1889, when 9.56 inches of rain fell in Chicago.
Outside Chicago, the most rain last month fell in Cary in McHenry County, with a total of 13.34 inches. Gurnee in Lake County was a close second with 13.21 inches of rainfall, and Elgin in Kane County saw 13.08 inches of rain.
Though July was rainy, it was still hot. The average temperature for the month was 74.6 degrees, which is 0.6 degrees above normal, according to the weather service. The highest temperature recorded last month in Chicago was 93 degrees, and the lowest was 56 degrees.