Standing water along Foster Avenue near River Park on May 1, 2019 was caused by catch basins that filled with debris and drained slowly, according to a spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Transportation.

CHICAGO (AP) — The wettest May on record in Chicago was the May that just ended.

The National Weather Service says the 8.25 inches of rain that fell in May was the highest total for the month since records started being kept in 1871. That amount of rain eclipsed — barely — the record of 8.21 inches set last year.

For a better idea of just how wet it was, consider that the National Weather Service says the average total for May in Chicago is 3.68 inches.

And it wasn’t just a couple big storms that did it. The weather service says at least .01 inches fell 21 days in May. That total tied the record set in November 1985 for most days in which a measurable amount of rain fell in Chicago.

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