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Some areas of the South saw three times normal rainfall, and in New Orleans, daily downpours have so saturated the ground that mushrooms are growing in street medians and a flock of water birds has taken up residence on the pond that used to be a lawn in City Park. The city had 14 inches of rain in June.
"It's muggy and you can't breathe," said Angela Trepagnier, a New Orleans resident, adding that even the cockroaches have come in to get out of the rain.
Elsewhere, Houston got 18 inches of rain, Jacksonville, Fla., 17, and Mobile, Ala., 16. Atlanta had a mere 6 inches, but it has rained every day for the last two weeks.
"We haven't been able to go out of the house," said Stephanie Langmaid, who finally gave up Friday and took her two young daughters out to splash in the puddles in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park.
As recently as May, hydrologists were listing much of the region as "abnormally dry" - the first of five drought alert levels issued by the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Most of Georgia and northern Florida were even listed as drought areas, while many cities from Charleston, S.C., to New Orleans set record or near-record lows for rainfall in March, typically the wettest month for many areas in the South.
Then came the rains. Mississippi recorded its wettest June ever with 9.8 inches. It was the third-wettest June on record in both Louisiana and Texas, which has been dealing with scattered flooding for weeks.
The only abnormally dry areas left in the South are some parts of northeast Georgia and South Carolina's upstate region.
"June was wonderful as far as what we needed to stop us from going into a major drought this summer," said David Stooksbury, Georgia's state climatologist.
All the rain has been a boon for pastures and garden stores.
"It started raining, and it hasn't quit," said Suzie Hearn, a manager at the Wren's Nest nursery in Valle Crucis, N.C. "That's why everything is lush and green."
But for some farmers, too much rain for too many days is threatening the survival of corn, cotton, soybean and other crops.
Agriculture officials declared parts of Louisiana a state of emergency this week, allowing farmers to seek low-interest loans to help cover extra rain-related expenses.
"Everybody is a little bit apprehensive because we've never seen this," said Stephen Logan, adding that he was only able to get his tractor in his sodden cotton fields near Shreveport three days last month. "It's going to be a challenge."