Slightly
warmer-than-average May puts year to date at 2nd warmest
NOAA
EDITOR’S NOTE: Here is yet
another example of the types of science targeted for extinction by Donald Trump’s
budget cuts and anti-science initiatives. What I found especially interesting
in this article from NOAA is the absence of any reference whatsoever to climate
change and the way it causes more extremes in the weather. So our
record-breaking rains in Charlestown just happen, without any possible link to
climate change. – Will Collette
The
month of May typically signals both an ending and a beginning: The waning days
of spring and then the time-honored leap into summer vacation season.
Before
we throw on our bathing suits and flip flops, let’s first take a look back
at how last month, spring and the year to date fared in terms of the climate
record:
May
Last
month, the average contiguous U.S. temperature was 60.6 degrees F — 0.4 degrees
above the 20th-century average — ranking near the middle of the 123-year period
of record.
Parts of the West and Southeast were warmer than average with near-
to below-average temperatures in parts of the Central and Eastern U.S., according
to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.
The
average precipitation total for May was 3.31 inches, 0.40 inch above the
20th-century average and tying with 2009 as the 25th wettest on record.
Above-average precipitation fell across most of the East and parts of the
Rockies and Great Plains.
Spring
The
average spring (March-May 2017) temperature across the contiguous U.S. was 53.5
degrees F, 2.6 degrees above average, making it the 8th warmest
spring on record. From the Rockies to East Coast, most of the seasonal warmth
occurred during the early and middle parts of spring.
The
average spring precipitation total was 9.39 inches, 1.45 inches above average,
making this spring the 11th wettest on record.
Year
to date
The
year to date (January through May 2017) average temperature for the contiguous
U.S. was 47.0 degrees F, 3.7 degrees above the 20th-century average. This YTD
period was the second-warmest on record for this period.
The
YTD precipitation total was 14.85 inches, 2.46 inches above average, making it
the third-wettest January-May on record.
Other
notable climate events and facts included:
Record
rains in the U.S. East, South: Record and near-record May precipitation
fell in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Mississippi Valley and central to southern
Appalachians. Record flooding was observed in the mid-Mississippi Valley.
Florida
remains tinder dry:
Continued dryness in Florida caused drought to expand and intensify, prompting
large wildfires across central and northern areas of the Sunshine State.
A
record-breaking Wisconsin tornado: An EF-3 tornado tracked 83 miles across
northern Wisconsin on May 16 resulting in one fatality and 25 injuries. This
was one of the longest-track tornadoes in the state’s history.
Continued
drought relief: On
May 30, 5.3 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought, up slightly from
early May. Drought improved in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
Drought worsened in the Northern and Southern Plains and in Florida.
Washington
State had a cool start to year: Washington was the only state cooler than
average for January to May.
Coastal
flooding events rose markedly last year: An update to NOAA's annual report of high-tide
flooding (sometimes referred to as nuisance flooding) found that among most of
the cities studied, flooding increased in 2016 by 130 percent on average since
the mid-1990s and continues to accelerate.
Find NOAA’s
report and download images by
visiting the NCEI website.