Charleston can expect more rain

The sidewalks were damp Saturday evening in downtown Charleston, but the skies were blue and the streets teeming with people enjoying a break from a long rainy spell that's expected to continue through this week.

Ray and Beth Ann Barrineau of Murrells Inlet were pushing a baby stroller along Church Street near the Market. They said they checked the weather report before they hit the road.

The fickle weather can be blamed on Tropical Storm Fay, of course, which spent three days dumping 30 inches of rain around Florida before lumbering off toward Alabama and Mississippi. The storm was downgraded to a tropical depression Saturday night.

Because of Fay, rainfall is well above normal in downtown Charleston this month, meteorologist Douglas Berry with the National Weather Service's Charleston office said Saturday.

Since the first of the month, 9.13 inches of rain had fallen in downtown Charleston through Friday. That compares with an average of 6.54 inches for that time period, more than 2.5 inches above normal.

North Charleston has not gotten as much rain as downtown Charleston. But North Charleston residents have had to put up with more rainy days. Berry said.

For the same time period this month, 4.72 inches of rain fell at the Charleston International Airport in North Charleston, only slightly below the average of 4.84 inches. But it has rained every day in North Charleston since Aug. 12, except for a break Aug. 19.

It's typical for a tropical storm to bring more rain near the beaches than inland, Berry said. While Fay has meant more rain than normal in Charleston, it hasn't helped farmers in the northern part of the state who have been coping with drought conditions, Berry said.

The Weather Service is predicting a 40 percent of chance of rain in Charleston every day through Wednesday, dropping to 30 percent Thursday. That includes the possibility of some heavy thunderstorms, Berry said.

Reach Dave Munday at 745-5862 or dmunday@postandcourier.com.