1996 Rainy Year For Northeast

There was no truly drenching hurricane across the Northeast this year, and no El Nino effect. It just rained on and off and on again through spring, summer and fall.

And yet, with a few weeks to go, 1996 is lining up as the wettest year in the 12-state region since record-keeping started in 1894.

Although snow fell often last winter, the only really big blip on the weather chart was the second week of January, when the Blizzard of ‘96 dropped 1-1/2 feet to 3 feet of snow. It was blamed for more than 100 deaths.

The El Nino phenomenon, a warming trend in the water of the tropical Pacific that can sharply alter weather patterns around the world, was not active, he said.