PORTLAND – The rain was relentless but October will go down in the record books as the second-wettest October and third-wettest month ever in Maine’s largest city, the National Weather Service said Monday.

The state narrowly missed a storm over the weekend that could have put the rainfall totals over the top, said meteorologist John Cannon. Instead, Mainers had to settle for a sunny and relatively warm autumn afternoon on Sunday.

For the record, Portland had 14.37 inches of rain in October, Cannon said.

The all-time rainiest month was October 1996, when Portland recorded 16.86 inches. That was the month of Maine’s all-time biggest rainstorm, a three-day monster along the coast that dumped 19.2 inches on Saco, Cannon said.

Portland’s second-rainiest month was August 1991, when Hurricane Bob drenched New England. Portland had 15.22 inches of rain that month, he said.