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This year will go down in the history books as a rainy one, likely the fifth-wettest on record since 1990 .

But for most of the year, that wasn’t the case.

In mid-September, no more than a trace of rain had fallen in weeks. Only two months of the year had seen normal levels of rainfall. The total for the year at that time was more than 6 inches below normal.

Then came El Niño.

“All of a sudden, things started to change,” said Darin Figurskey , a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

El Niño’s warmer-than-normal temperatures in the waters of the tropical Pacific began a chain reaction of sorts that ended in a drenching for North Carolina over the following months.

With storm systems suddenly tracking over the state, November saw a whopping 8 inches of rain.

“It completely erased the deficit,” Figurskey said.

The deluge had broad implications. Only in two previous years this decade — 2003 and 2006 — had yearly totals exceeded the norm of 43 inches .

With 46 inches and counting, this year has already beaten that mark, with a chance of more rain coming in these last couple of days of the year.

The downpours have completely wiped out the drought conditions that have plagued North Carolina and much of the South in recent years.

Earlier this month, the state hit a milestone of sorts. For the first time in nearly three years, none of North Carolina’s 100 counties was experiencing drought or abnormally dry conditions, according to the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources .

The last time that had been the case was Jan. 30, 2007 , according to DENR.

The rains also helped replenish everything from streams to underground aquifers, putting the state in a much better position for the demands of the coming summer.

For companies involved in water infiltration issues, the year’s weather, at least at times, meant business.

Lee King, the president of AfterDisaster in Greensboro, said November brought plenty of calls.

“We saw a lot of basement flooding,” King said.

That had less to do with the yearly totals and more to do with a few days that saw extremely heavy rains, such as a span of two days in November that saw more than 4 inches fall .

“It’s the quick bursts, the microbursts,” King said.

For a region that has dealt with drought in recent years, 2009 was a refreshing change.

But the experience of this year, Figurskey said, doesn’t mean next year necessarily will be a repeat.

“The prior year isn’t a trend for how the next year is going to be,” Figurskey said. “It does not mean next year’s going to be drier or wetter.”

Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or at jason.hardin@news-record.com