After weeks of parched conditions, Ottawans finally had to haul out their rain gear and their umbrellas this week.

The city got hit with 34.6 millimetres of rain Thursday, making it the wettest day of the year, according to Environment Canada data recorded at the airport.

In one day, Ottawa got nearly three times as much rain as had fallen in all of August up to that point. 

What’s more, Thursday’s rainfall now counts for roughly a quarter of all the rain that’s come down in the nation’s capital this summer.

That makes it the eighth driest summer since Environment Canada began keeping records at the airport in 1939, said meteorologist Steven Flisfeder.

“You might get a bit more [rain] before the month is out,” Flisfeder said Friday. “But that will be a drop in the bucket.”

A river with low water levels. The South Nation River in eastern Ontario is nearly running dry following a hot, dry summer. (Emmanuelle Poisson/Radio-Canada)Some fire bans lifted — but not all

Several communities also lifted their fire bans after Thursday’s rainfall, including Pembroke and Petawawa.

Other communities such as Kingston say there still hasn’t been enough rain to merit that decision.

The South Nation Conservation Authority had declared a Level 3 low water advisory — the most serious advisory it issues — for its jurisdiction in eastern Ontario, which includes parts of Ottawa.

That remains in effect, with the authority saying Thursday’s precipitation would not have been enough to replenish the water supply.

For the vast majority of farmers’ crops, the recent blast of rain won’t be enough for them to fully recover, said Trevor Hadwen, an agro-climate specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

The impacts of drought vary based on the type of crop, Hadwen said, with fruits the most susceptible and cereal grains and grasses more hardy.

“It takes a lot of time for plants to gain their moisture back,” Hadwen told CBC Radio’s All In A Day on Friday.

“Even with the rainfall … that water hasn’t really gotten down into those deep soil moisture profiles, and certainly not into the groundwater.”

Prolonged showers best

In fact, instead of a “big explosive rainfall event,” what’s really needed after a long dry period is a prolonged bout of steady showers, Hadwen said.

Still, this week’s rain did make a “huge difference,” said Bob Hobson, who grows several varieties of apples at Mountain Orchards near Kemptville, Ont.

While the orchard’s extensive irrigation network had already helped create conditions for one of their best apple seasons ever, Hobson told All In A Day that there’s still concern about the increasingly unpredictable climate.

“When trees go under stress, there’s always a price to pay,” he said. “You have to have a good attitude if you want to be a farmer.”