Record-Setting 12-Month Precipitation Totals in the Midwest in 2019

Precipitation was well above normal in the 9-state Midwest region in 2018 and well into 2019. Records for 12-month totals for the region were set in at least nine straight months, starting in December of 2018 and continuing through the summer of 2019. Summer of 2019 saw record all-time 12-month precipitation totals for any time of year. The above-normal and record precipitation was not limited to the Midwest, but extended to the surrounding areas, including much of the US east of the Rocky Mountains. Major flooding associated with the elevated precipitation totals affected the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio river systems. Drought was absent from the entirety of the region for an unprecedented seven months. Wet soils in the spring and early summer of 2019 delayed or prevented planting across the corn and soybean belts in the Midwest.