2008 one of the wettest years ever

CHICAGO (AP) - After the skies dumped rain for days on end and so much snow that communities up and down the state had to scramble for more road salt, it likely won't come as a shock that 2008 was one of the wettest years ever in Illinois. In fact, the 50.86 inches of precipitation that fell in Chicago was more than in any year since records started being kept in 1871 and more than an inch more than the previous record set in 1983, National Weather Service meteorologist Amy Seeley said Thursday. Seeley said the total includes rain and the liquid equivalent of snow And in central Illinois, 2008 was the wettest year on record in six communities and the second wettest in four more, according to the weather service. While it varies from communi