NEW ORLEANS — As a low-pressure system brews into what could be the first named storm of the 2021 Hurricane Season, New Orleans residents and visitors have been dealing with what will be the wettest spring on record for the city.
The wettest spring on record, until the next time it rains in New Orleans, was that of 1980, with 35.85 inches of rain recorded at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport between March 1 and May 31.
That record is followed closely by the spring of 1991 with 35.84 inches.
The 2021 spring season is the third wettest as of Thursday morning, and that leaves about 12 days for it to overrun 1991 and 1980 — by a lot.
Your Local Weather Expert Payton Malone said New Orleanians are just one shower away from breaking those records.
"We're only 0.03 inches of rain away from breaking the previous record," Malone said. "That'll happen sometime today."
The New Orleans airport's record of rain only goes back to 1947, but the rainiest spring in 74 years is still a big deal.
As of Thursday morning, 2021's spring has had 35.35 inches of rain.
People in New Orleans can expect little rain Thursday evening but with almost two weeks left in the season, Payton said he can practically guarantee it.
Not strangers to water, New Orleanians handling the wettest spring ever on record have may have more bad weather coming their way.
"We could have our first named storm by Friday or Saturday," Payton said. "The first storm name on the list is Ana."
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said 2021's Hurricane Season will be an active one, but what may be the first named storm of the season has been forming near Bermuda.
That's far enough away for it not to be a threat to the New Orleans area.
Regardless of if Invest 90-L develops into Ana or not, Malone said it'll be a short-lived system.
"Ana is a reminder of hurricane season: It's a-coming whether we want it to or not," Malone said.
