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Every summer Grant Rybak, a senior physics major, plays ultimate frisbee outside with his friends, but this year has been a different story.
Rybak said the games are few and far between because of the wet weather.
"This summer has been a real bummer for us," Rybak said. "Summertime is usually spent outside in the sun, but we haven't been able to do that a lot this year."
According to the National Weather Service, the yearly average of rain for this area is 39.08 inches, and Easterwood Airport has already received 36.79 inches since Jan. 1, 2004.
Travis Herzog, meteorologist for KBTX-3 and 2004 Texas A&M graduate, said this is the third wettest June ever with a recorded 11.50 inches of rain thus far.
There have been 19 days in June with at least a trace of rain recorded at Easterwood, and the average number of days is six, he said.
"In 1968 we had the wettest year ever with over 61 inches of rain," Herzog said. "We're well on pace to get over 70 inches of rain this year."
Herzog said the rain typically slows down in the months of July and August, but that there has been a strong increase in gulf moisture this year coming from the south and southeast.
"The jet stream has also been further south than normal," Herzog said.
"It has been bringing more storms to the entire state."
Summer fun is not the only thing affected by the weather. Eric Zimmerman, county extension agent for Agricultural and Natural Resources, said the wet conditions have hindered farmers' ability to get out into their fields.
"We've seen some crop loss due to standing water," Zimmerman said. "Cotton has been the main crop that has been affected by the flooding."
There have also been problems with getting hay to livestock. The hay has to be dry before it is baled and that has been hard to accomplish, Zimmerman said.
The rain also brought an increase in weeds, Zimmerman said. It has been hard to remove the weeds due to standing water in the fields, he said. Zimmerman also said excessive rain creates the potential for bug problems in the future.
"It is important for agricultural producers to monitor their crops so that they can tackle any problems as they arise," Zimmerman said. John Nielson-Gammon, Texas State climatologist and Texas A&M meteorology professor, said the rain has been fairly well-distributed throughout the region.
"The flooding in Hearne was particularly bad, but there has not been a certain area dumped on day after day," Neilson-Gammon said.
The rain has mostly hit the eastern half of the state and areas of West Texas are actually below normal rain amounts, he said.
One good outcome from the rain is cooler temperatures, Nielson-Gammon said. He predicts that there will be a less-than-normal number of more than 100-degrees days for the rest of the summer.
"If you have a wet month, the following months are usually cooler," Nielson-Gammon said. "Not too many people complain about cooler summer days.
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