While yesterday's relentless rainstorm evoked exasperation and annoyance among many a drenched Harvard student, for first-year Giselle A. Corsa '98 the downpour was strangely comforting.

"I'm from Oregon so I love the rain," Corsa said. "I grew up with it. It reminds me of home."

Students caught without rainy-day defense gear, however, did not share Corsa's sentiments.

"New England has the worst weather," said Clete P. Johnson '96. "I'm from Georgia. I heard it's raining there, but not this miserable cold rain. I got soaked."

Johnson said he did not have an umbrella because he "forgot it in the packing rush."

Bob Lautzenheiser, spokesperson for the New England Climactic Service, said a coastal storm was responsible for the prolonged shower, which began at about 10 p.m. on Thursday night.

"I was talking to [the meteorologists at] the airport; it was up to 2.66 inches of rain at 5 p.m.," Lautzenheiser said. "It's a large amount for a 24-hour period. It may be a record for this particular date. I think we had 2.12 inches of rain on this date in 1882; this may be the most we've had."

"This is very unusual," said National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Bruno. "It's a very cold, very wet September" in contrast to the very hot and humid summer, Bruno said.

As the torrential rain showed no signs of abating through the day, large barrels were placed at leaky positions in the Science Center. Inside the Coop, an unusually large crowd of students was seen huddled around the umbrella rack. At Kirkland House, administrators kept a separate box for waterlogged study cards.

The heavy rain inconvenienced first-year Lev. Gerlovin '98, who was forced to change his footwear three times in the day.

"First I had a pair of hiking boots, but they weren't waterproof and I stepped in a puddle," Gerlovin said. "Then I wore sneakers, but they had holes. Now I've got these boots on. It's still wet, but I don't care."

Gerlovin's troubles were further exacerbated when his umbrella broke, he said. "The things that hold it up snapped," Gerlovin said. "It was the wind."

Several first-years unfamiliar with Harvard buildings said the rain made finding classes harder.

"It made a kind of difficult day a lot more difficult," said Tom E. Gunderson '98. "I had to find a new building, Pierce Hall, because my math class switched buildings today. It was just a little bit annoying. I'm also recovering from a cold."

At press time, the forecast for today indicated that the rain would abate, though fog and cloudiness would continue.