Are Buckets of Rain Better Than None?

)The rain has been erratic this year.  Mostly it has felt like a drought, but the data says that cumulatively, we've had as much precipitation this year as last.  But its come down in monsoons, tropical storm aftermaths, not the steady accumulation that lets it soak in.  The lastest data:

We missed the critical big rains in May and June, caught up with a deluge in August, then had essentially no rain for five weeks again until Nicole came through in September (incidentally ending up in my basement).

I assume some rain, and cumulative totals adding up, is better than no rain at all. I hope upcountry, rain from deluges is being trapped in forests and ponds and not all rolling down into the rivers at once. Around here, the trend is to rain gardens, and try to retard the rush of water rather than speed it on its way. I've certainly done my part in my yard (not counting the basement, which mostly ends up back into the drains) though there is more to be done.

I can imagine a line from a depression-era agriculture-based novel, "The rains came late this year, and came in devastating downpours when they came." I am told upstate Maryland has declared an agricultural disaster area and is providing assistance to the farmers. Is this a sign of the increasing volatility in weather we can expect from here on out as the climate continues to change?