Here we go again. Streak of rainy weekends extends through Father’s Day.

Scattered storms will persist through Friday afternoon and evening into Saturday and Sunday, and will continue through the majority of next week, dropping up to 2 inches of rain.

Metro Atlanta has already seen 2¼ inches of rain this month. On average, June sees a total of 4½ inches.

There could be some sunlight at the end of the rain tunnel, though. Although it’s still too early to say with certainty, drier air might filter in next weekend, NWS meteorologist Sid King said.

May was especially wet. Just over 7 inches fell, nearly double the normal 3½ inches. In fact, the last time May’s total rainfall exceeded 7 inches was in 2003, when nearly 10 inches fell.

All that rain last month was also a considerable departure from the dry pattern we’ve had in recent years. Since 2022, May saw below-average precipitation. It was considerably dry in 2023, for example, when only 1½ inches fell.

The string of recent wet weekends hasn’t stopped everyone from getting out and enjoying the outdoors.

The Atlanta Botanical Gardens saw only a slight drop in visitors this May compared to last, and hasn’t had to close or cancel any events because of weather, spokesperson Danny Flanders said. Some people even “enjoy visiting when it’s raining and less crowded,” he added.

Zoo Atlanta also hasn’t noticed a large impact on attendance, a spokesperson said. The zoo has several indoor and covered areas for visitors to take shelter during brief showers.

Why so wet?

Low pressure over Mississippi is driving this week’s wet pattern. That causes counterclockwise wind rotation, while high pressure to the east creates clockwise winds, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Ashley Kramlich said. Those systems then act like clock gears, pulling up tropical moisture from the Gulf Coast.

With our atmosphere already dense with humidity, it doesn’t take much for precipitation to come down, King explained.

“Especially when we have temperatures getting up into the upper 80s,” he said, the heat combines with the high moisture to create “a lot of instability in the atmosphere, and there’s a lot of potential energy for those storms to develop.”

For the next several days, rain is most likely to arrive in the mid- to late afternoon.

Some storms could turn strong to severe, especially on Saturday, when frequent lightning and wind gusts up to 50 mph will be a concern. Flooding and flash floods are also possible over the coming days.

“Be prepared to take shelter and move indoors,” he said. “As we say, when thunder roars, go indoors ... (and) if there’s any flooding on the roadways, turn around. Don’t drown.”

» For a detailed forecast, visit www.ajc.com/weather.