June has started out very wet, with 2.16 inches of rain in just the first three days.

Lightning storms played havok with local phones and computers Wednesday afternoon, knocking out power.

But as wet as it has seemed, the local area has still registered only slightly above the average precipitation so far in 2010, according to weather observations gathered in Tryon.

Actually, only last January, which saw 14.87 inches of precipitation, including 7 inches of snow, has seen above average precipitation, capping a run of six months of above average precipitation.

The past four months, February through May, saw a total of 15.76 inches, about 6.7 inches less than average.

Polk County experienced three years of drought, from 2006 to 2008, years in which the total rainfall was a combined 48 inches behind normal averages. However, precipitation in 2009 was above average eight of the 12 months, and the year ended with a surplus of 11.3 inches.