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AMHERST (WBZ-AM) -- With autumn wrapping up--meteorological winter began Dec. 1--UMass Amherst scientists poured over data from this past autumn, finding it to be one of the wettest on record in New England.
According to the National Weather Service, the climate scientists point out, the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton saw the highest amount of autumn rainfall ever recorded. Worcester and Providence, Rhode Island saw their second-wettest autumns, and Boston saw its fourth-wettest.
"It does vary a little bit, but there are some stations that recorded the highest rainfall amounts that we've seen in about a 180-year record, with some areas receiving almost up to and greater than 60 inches per year, which is about almost 18-20 inches above what is considered sort of normal conditions," hydrogeology researcher David Boutt told WBZ NewsRadio's Ben Parker.
Boutt said all that extra rainfall has added to the water table, which could mean an increase in flooding next spring.
"Typically in the fall, we're at our sort of lowest water table of the year," he said. "This year, quite opposite of that. Actually if you look at a lot of the groundwater monitoring locations around the region, they're showing water levels that are higher than we see in a typical spring ... most likely it's going to lead to small stream, localized flooding sort of being persistent for the next 4-5 months."
Hear the full interview below.
WBZ NewsRadio's Ben Parker (@radiobenparker) reports