By David Wilkins - Daily World Writer- January 2, 2001, The Aberdeen Daily World
Aberdeen's rainfall total for 2000 was just 62.50 inches, the sixth - driest since 1891 when records were first kept.
Aberdeen's average annual rainfall since 1891 has been about 82.94 inches. The all - time high was set in 1933 with 113.49 inches.
The all - time record for dryness was set in 1929, 50.95 inches. The most recent dry year was 1985, the second all - time driest at 58.02 inches. Third all - time was 1952, with 58.88 inches, fourth was 1978 at 59.44, and fifth was 1923 at 61.41.
The driest five - year period in recorded history at Aberdeen was 1985 - 89, when 352.75 inches of rain fell for an average of 70.55 inches per year. By contrast, 2000's low total breaks a streak: 1995 - 1999, with 508.96 inches, was the wettest five - year period in Aberdeen since records were first kept in 1891.
At perpetually waterlogged Quinault, the U.S. Forest Service recorded 101.54 inches of rain in 2000 - as compared to the record 182.48 inches in 1999.
"We average around 140 inches up here, so that (2000 total) is still quite low," information officer Nancy Petrick said this morning.
Hoquiam's annual Rain Derby ended Sunday with an official Lions Club mark of 55.71 inches, the lowest since 1985's minuscule 40.38 inches. The derby winner was Earl Bear of Copalis Beach, who will be awarded the $1,000 first prize on Jan. 9. Bear's guess of 55.65 inches barely beat out runnersup Sharon Reason, Bill McElliott and O.B. Perrine, who each guessed 55.77 inches, and Brett Pelan, whose entry was 55.62 inches. The runners - up each receive $200.
"We list the guesses from the lowest on the front page of our 'Rain Drizzle' newsletter to the highest on the back. This is the first time in my memory that we've ever paid the winner off the front page," says Fred Kogin of the Hoquiam Lions, one of the officials for this year's derby. "The lowest guess this year was 6.05 inches, the highest was 654.32 inches. Of course, I think that high one was just a joke."
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