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WICHITA, Kansas<\/strong> \u2013 After an intense round of heavy rainfall on Tuesday<\/strong>, Cheney Lake<\/strong> is rising rapidly<\/strong>, bringing a wave of cautious optimism to south-central Kansas<\/strong> as summer begins.<\/p>\n By 7 p.m. Wednesday<\/strong>, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers<\/strong> reported the lake level at 1,420.4 feet<\/strong>, which is just 1.2 feet below the normal elevation<\/strong> of 1,421.6 feet<\/strong>. As of 9 p.m. Wednesday<\/strong>, the conservation pool was at 92.7% capacity<\/strong>, a dramatic change from earlier this spring. At the start of May<\/strong>, the lake stood at 1,413.7 feet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to the National Weather Service in Wichita<\/strong>, the city received 4.19 inches (106.4 mm) of rain on Tuesday<\/strong>, marking the 4th highest single-day rainfall total in June<\/strong> since records began in 1889<\/strong>, and the highest for June since 1965<\/strong>. Since June 1<\/strong>, Wichita has now accumulated 9.94 inches (252.4 mm)<\/strong>, making this the 6th wettest June on record<\/strong>, and the wettest since June 2014<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Moreover, since May 1<\/strong>, 17.59 inches (446.8 mm)<\/strong> of precipitation have fallen\u2014ranking as the 7th highest combined May-June total<\/strong>, and the most significant since 2019<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Despite the surge in lake levels, the City of Wichita remains in Stage 2 of its drought plan<\/strong>. Officials emphasize that drought status is determined using Cheney Lake\u2019s 12-month rolling average<\/strong>, which was last updated on June 2<\/strong>, and won’t be revised until early July<\/strong>. For now, that means drought restrictions will stay in place<\/strong>, regardless of the recent wet spell.<\/p>\n Still, local residents are embracing the sudden change. Josh Nelson<\/strong>, a lifelong local, described the scene as “pretty awesome.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great for the start of the summer because it means you can finally get your family out here,\u201d<\/strong> he said. \u201cWe can do things that we wanted to do that we couldn\u2019t do the last couple of years.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Nelson also noted the intensity of the recent storms, calling them some of the heaviest he\u2019s ever experienced<\/strong>, and expressed gratitude that much of that rainfall ended up replenishing Cheney Lake<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wichita<\/strong>, long known as the Air Capital<\/strong>, is now navigating an unusual start to summer\u2014wet, warm, and more hopeful than recent drought-stricken seasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WICHITA, Kansas \u2013 After an intense round of heavy rainfall on Tuesday, Cheney Lake is rising rapidly, bringing a wave of cautious optimism to south-central Kansas as summer begins. By 7 p.m. Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported the lake level at 1,420.4 feet, which is just 1.2 feet below the normal elevation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":4518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n