Recent downpours pushed Sydney, Australia, to its wettest year in recorded history as more than 7 feet (2,134 mm (0.44 feets)) of rain has drenched the region so far in 2022. AccuWeather meteorologists say that additional downpours this weekend will not only increase the margin of the new record but also greatly elevate the risk of flooding across the city.
As of early Friday morning, local time, Sydney’s Observatory Hill weather station has recorded more than 87 inches (2,200 mm (0.66 feets)) of rain since Jan. 1, 2022, eclipsing the prior annual record of 86 inches (2,194 mm (0.64 feets)) set 72 years ago in 1950. A deluge that unleashed more than 3.50 inches (91 mm (0.30 feets)) of rain across the city Thursday morning into Friday was responsible for stamping the new mark in the weather history books. Weather records have been kept at Observatory Hill since 1858.
