This month is shaping up to be one of the driest Junes on record, thanks to some misplaced weather systems that are sending precipitation just about anywhere but here.

According to data from the National Weather Service, the Tri-State area has gotten .71inches of rain through Monday morning. That figure is more than 2 inches below what the area receives this time of year, making June 2007 the second driest on record. The driest June recorded was in 1966, when rainfall amounted to .41 inches.

And May wasn’t much better. Last month’s rainfall total was 1.24 inches, more than three inches below normal. So what’s the problem?

“There has been a persistent high pressure in the east and a persistent trough in the west, so the precipitation is going to the north of us,” meteorologist Fred McMullen explained. “So New England is getting rain, we’re not.”

June’s temperatures are slightly higher than average, too. On the average, June temps were more than two degrees above normal for what the area experiences this time of year.

There is a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms through Thursday evening.

The extended outlook calls for normal precipitation and temperatures in the forecast for the next 6-10 days. The long-range outlook, he said, calls for cooler, drier weather for mid-summer.

The weather forecast for Wednesday for partly cloudy skies, with a high temperature near 93 degrees

There is a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8 a.m. Thursday with a high near 87 degrees. The chance of precipitation is 40 percent. On Friday, the chance of showers and thunderstorms increases to 50 percent.