Wettest month ever, federal climate trackers say
Wetter-than-average conditions prevailed across a huge swath of the central U.S. during May, leading to a record-wet month for the U.S.
Staff Report
FRISCO — May 2015 was wet, not just in Colorado, but across the country, with average precipitation smashing the all-time record for the month — and for any month — during the 121-year span that records have been kept.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Climatic Data Center, the May precipitation total for the contiguous U.S. was 4.36 inches, 1.45 inches above average. For the spring season (March-May), the precipitation total for the lower 48 states was 9.33 inches, 1.39 inches above average, and the 11th wettest on record.
The May record was set in large part due to the record-breaking rains from Texas and across parts of the Southern Plains, the Southwest and extending north into the Rockies and the Northern Plains.
Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas were each record wet for the month. In fact, Oklahoma and Texas each had their wettest month of any month on record with precipitation totals more than twice the long-term average. The flooding rains and severe weather across the central U.S. (including 400 tornado reports) resulted in dozens of fatalities and widespread property damage.
The rain also caused the drought footprint across the U.S. to shrink from 37.4 percent to 24.6 percent —the smallest since February 2011, according to the June 2 U.S. Drought Monitor report. Drought conditions developed and worsened across parts of the Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, and Puerto Rico. Drought conditions remained entrenched in the West.
Temperature-wise, May was close to the median across the U.S., with the average temperature at 0.6 degrees above the 20th century average. There was a pocket of record warmth in the Northeast, where Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island were each record-warm.
The exception was Alaska, where the statewide average temperature for May was the warmest on record in 91 years of record keeping, at 7.1 degrees above average. The warmth in Alaska was widespread with several cities were record warm, including Barrow and Juneau.
The year-to-date U.S. average temperature was 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average, making it the 17th warmest such period on record. Read the full report here.
