Despite what has seemed like a rainy last few weeks, the Hillsboro area had received a below average 19.78 inches of precipitation for the year through Wednesday, according to Julie Reed, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Wilmington.

The average amount of yearly rainfall in the area through June 16 is 22.43 inches, according to Reed.

However, Reed said, southern parts of Highland County are about two inches above the normal accumulation average. Reed also said that the precipitation calculated considers all precipitation, including snowfall.

“The thing is, with especially what we’ve been having recently, it’s a lot of kind of spotty storms and everything, where this particular observation station is, that’s where they stand,” Reed said. “But you go 10 miles down the road and it could be above normal, just because, especially over the last week, it’s like there’s been locations that might pick up an inch and another location just a few miles away might only get a quarter inch. It’s specific to that location.”

She said the area being about 2 inches below normal is not a “particularly significant” amount.

Reed said that when looking at other periods of the year until now, the area is above normal. She said that if the statistics start on May 1 and go to June 10, the area is above normal, with the average accumulation at about 6.68 inches and this year’s accumulation at 6.98 inches.

She also said the accumulation numbers since June 1 are above normal, adding that the average accumulation for that period is 1.62 inches while the Hillsboro station this year has received 3.06 inches.

“There’s been a lot of rain recently so that means soils are really saturated and we’re in a pattern today and it starts to change tomorrow,” Reed said. “We’re still in this pattern tomorrow where the rain that does happen, it’s really efficient rain, meaning you could get a deluge. You get a really pretty heavy downpour. The thing you see is these storms aren’t lasting very long. Just because, in the environment we’re in, the potential is it’ll dump a lot of rain in a short period of time but for the most part they’re not staying long-lived. There is a bit of a flood risk, but I wouldn’t say it’s super high. It’s there, but it’s not super high for any one point.”

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.