Philly has had more rain in the last two weeks than it did the entire fall

After a gloomy, chilly interval in which a certain torpor and desire for injudicious eating would have been understandable, it appears that conditions in the atmosphere are about to brighten up considerably.

First, while drought advisories continue, the region has made significant progress in dampening the precipitation deficit. In the 13-day period that ended Saturday, 4.07 inches of rain was measured officially at Philadelphia International Airport.

That’s more than the combined rain totals of September, October, and November — the entire, three-month meteorological fall — and comes at a critical time for the emerging plant life.

“We’ve kind of seen a flip in the pattern,” said Ryan Adamson, meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.

And while the foliage feasts, in a month in which eight of the first 12 days have been cloudy, sun is due to make a strong comeback by day’s end Sunday and is forecast to rule through much of the workweek.

With the widespread rains, generated by something that went missing during a snow-starved winter — a coastal storm — precipitation throughout the region in Philadelphia is now well above normal for the last two months.

However, recall that October was the first rainless month in Philly in over 150 years of recordkeeping, and only 0.77 was measured in September.

Through Friday, rainfall for the last 12 months was just 67% of normal in Philadelphia, or about 15 inches short, according to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, which uses a sampling of stations in the city.

On the latest interagency U.S. Drought Monitor map, posted Thursday, the entire region was in “abnormally dry” to “severe drought” zones.

Meteorologists say that above-average winds and a harvest of gusts this year have helped to dry out the soils.

While winds would be a player by enhancing evaporation on the ground and foliage, they are just a piece of the matrix driving drought conditions, said drought monitor author David Simeral, scientist with the Desert Research Institute.

Although the ground may feel soggy these days, “There’s some dryness deeper in the soil column,” he said. A very warm March likely contributed to the thirst of the vegetation.

The overall dryness, he added, is evident in the stream-flow levels, “which are very low,” in the 10th percentile or lower compared with where they should be this time of year.

In short, expect the drought advisories to remain in place and it’s likely that New Jersey and Pennsylvania officials will ask residents of both states to continue conserving water voluntarily.

No more widespread, significant rain is expected for the next several days, although showers are possible Monday night, said Adamson.

Temperatures are expected to yo-yo a bit, with highs Sunday and Monday well into the 50s, in the 60s Monday and Tuesday, and back to the 50s Thursday.

Officially at PHL, readings didn’t get past 44 on Saturday, about 20 degrees below normal.

Regarding those afternoons in the 40s, said Adamson, “Hopefully, this is the last day of that until November.”