2009 rainfall on the high side

By Chris Rosa

Vermilion Parish is on the verge of having the most rain in a year since 2002.

With still two weeks remaining in 2009, an average of 60-plus inches of rain has fallen in the Parish and that amount can rise to 70 inches or more if water continues to fall from the sky, according to the Vermilion Parish Public Works Department.

For the last 29 years, the average rain the Parish receives from January to December is 60 inches. Heading into December, a total of 59.55 of inches of the wet stuff has fallen. Some parts of the Parish have already received at least 60 inches of rain or more, while others have received a lot less.

The wettest part of the Parish in the 2009 is the east. The towns of Erath, Henry and Delcambre have received each 69 inches of rain heading into the month of December.

The Town of Erath received 8.5 inches over the last two weeks and 75 total inches for the year.

The west end of the Parish received the least amount of rain in 2009. On the west-side of Gueydan, near Lake Arthur, only 40 inches of rain have fallen. That is a difference of 29 inches of rain from one end of the Parish to another.

With a month to go, Abbeville and Kaplan have received each 63 inches.

If no more rain falls on the Parish for the next two weeks, 2009 will still be the wettest year since 2002 when 73 inches fell. Much of that rain came from Tropical Storm Lilli.

Since 2002, the Parish has only had 61 inches of rain once (2004). Last year the Parish got 20 inches, compared to 56 the year before.

Over the last five years, Vermilion Parish has had less rain than in years past and only averaged 43 inches of rain.

Since 1996, the most rain Vermilion Parish has received in a year is 73 inches (2002), 70.45 inches (2001), 70 inches (1998) and 65 inches (1997). Look for 2009 rain totals to rank in the top four by the end of December.