Albany records wettest April since 2016

By David H. Waller

Albany recorded 6.26 inches of rainfall in April, making it the wettest April in nearly a decade and more than doubling the town’s historical average of 2.81 inches for the month. This year’s total is the highest April rainfall since 2016, when 6.81 inches were recorded, and ranks as the second-wettest April since 2002, when 6.43 inches fell. The 2025 total marks a rare high in recent decades, standing out from many drier years.

The wet conditions broke a trend of generally below-average Aprils in recent memory. Over the past ten years, Albany has seen wide fluctuations in April rainfall, from as little as 0.28 inches in 2018 to the high of 6.81 inches in 2016. Last year brought 3.75 inches, while just two years ago, in 2023, the town recorded only 0.49 inches for the month. The 2025 rainfall represents one of the few times in the past two decades that April totals surpassed six inches, offering much-needed relief to dry pastures and filling local stock tanks after earlier dry spells.

A breakdown of the past ten years shows the variation in April rainfall:

2025 – 6.26 inches

2024 – 3.75 inches

2023 – 0.49 inches

2022 – 1.51 inches

2021 – 4.19 inches

2020 – 0.77 inches

2019 – 4.72 inches

2018 – 0.28 inches

2017 – 0.93 inches

2016 – 6.81 inches

Even with the higher rainfall, Hubbard Creek Reservoir  remains at about 50 percent capacity, showing only slight improvement from previous levels.