The semester has gotten off to a soggy start in State College, Pennsylvania.

Penn State students woke up Thursday morning to heavy downpours, adding another obstacle to the walk to early-morning classes as State College continues its record-setting stretch of wet weather.

State College recorded approximately 18.5 inches of precipitation between June 21 (the summer solstice) and September 3, 2026, the wettest such stretch in State College’s long-term climate record. The total surpassed the previous record of 18.25 inches set during the same period in 2018.

The State College climate station has records dating back to the 1880s, making the 2026 total the highest recorded over the roughly 2.5-month period in more than a century of observations.

Much of the rainfall came this past Thursday, September 3, when State College recorded 2.68 inches of precipitation. According to the Penn State Campus Weather Service, Thursday was the sixth-wettest September day on record in State College.

The downpour brought flooding and hazardous road conditions across the region, with heavy rain continuing overnight into Thursday morning. Those conditions carried over into the school day. State College Area and Bald Eagle Area school districts operated on two-hour delays Thursday, while Bellefonte Area School District closed.

Penn State students already faced similar conditions just two weeks earlier. Students who moved into their dorms and apartments on Thursday, August 20, also faced heavy rain, complicating the already chaotic move-in process.

For now, Penn Staters might want to keep their rain jackets and umbrellas within reach.