May 2026 Observations and Discussion

Niko · May 2

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac MI
127 PM EDT Sat May 2 2026

MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-030130-
/O.NEW.KDTX.FR.Y.0003.260503T0400Z-260503T1200Z/
Midland-Bay-Huron-Saginaw-Tuscola-Sanilac-Shiawassee-Genesee-
Lapeer-St. Clair-Livingston-Oakland-Macomb-Washtenaw-Wayne-
Lenawee-Monroe-
Including the cities of Caro, Warren, Detroit, Lapeer, Bad Axe,
Bay City, Pontiac, Adrian, Owosso, Flint, Howell, Midland,
Sandusky, Port Huron, Ann Arbor, Monroe, and Saginaw
127 PM EDT Sat May 2 2026

...FROST ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 8 AM EDT
SUNDAY...

* WHAT...Temperatures as low as 32 will result in frost formation.

* WHERE...A portion of southeast Michigan.

* WHEN...From midnight tonight to 8 AM EDT Sunday.

* IMPACTS...Frost could harm sensitive outdoor vegetation. Sensitive
  outdoor plants may be killed if left uncovered.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.

Hoosier · May 2

The 27 at Rockford this morning was a record low.

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
435 PM CDT SAT MAY 02 2026

...RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE SET AT ROCKFORD IL...

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 27 DEGREES WAS SET AT ROCKFORD IL TODAY.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 28 DEGREES SET IN 1966.

Black Hole · May 3

The Feb-Apr period was the warmest on record for Tulsa by a margin of 1.8F, simply unprecedented. Overall it was very nice weather so no complains, that is the best time of year to do that if you ask me. Now hopefully summer can be cooler and wetter than normal. There actually is pretty good support for that, though there are ways to screw it up too.

Black Hole · May 3

Most guidance is northeast with the storms Monday night, but a few are close. This looks like elevated hailers would be the main threat if it did develop.

westMJim · May 3

Yesterday was a cold day for May even with a good amount of sunshine. The high only reached 51, the official low was 33 but it was 28 here in my yard. Today will be a little warmer but it will be windy so it will not feel warmer, there is slight chance of showers today. Monday will be by far the warmest day of the next week with highs in the low 70’s There is a chance of showers on Monday night. The rest of the week will be rather cold with highs only in the 50’s and lows in 30’s there are also some chances for more frost next week. Keep your jacket handy.

The official H/L yesterday was 51/33 there was no rainfall the highest wind speed was 25MPH out of the W. For today the average H/L is 65/44 the record high of 87 was in 1938 and 1955 the coldest high of 39 was in 1926, the record low of 26 was in 1971, the warmest low of 66 was in 1938. The most rain fall of 2.03” was in 1916 the most snowfall on 1.3” was in 1954.

Some weather history for May 3^rd. 1978 Persistent thunderstorms caused widespread flooding in southeastern Louisiana and extreme southeastern Mississippi. Rainfall totals of ten to thirteen and a half inches were reported around New Orleans causing the worst flooding in thirty years. The water depth reached three to four feet in several hundred homes, and total property damage was estimated at one hundred million dollars. (David Ludlum)

On May 3, 1999, an unusual confluence of atmospheric conditions in Oklahoma spawned dozens of tornadoes that swept across the state in an hours-long parade of destruction. Thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed, and 19 counties became disaster areas. The worst toll was in human lives: 44 dead, including three children. Hundreds more were injured.

Minny_Weather · May 3

Eastern trough for dayz.

chescowxman · May 3

Another below normal temperature day on tap today before we see a brief warm up with some valley locations touching 80 degrees by Tuesday before we turn much chillier again by the end of the week. Highs by Thursday through Saturday may struggle to escape the upper 50's. Rain chances increase with a cold front by Tuesday night.

image.png.5a9638f88ffd11e59ede44911177f49a.png

Hoosier · May 3

4 hours ago, westMJim said:

Yesterday was a cold day for May even with a good amount of sunshine. The high only reached 51, the official low was 33 but it was 28 here in my yard. Today will be a little warmer but it will be windy so it will not feel warmer, there is slight chance of showers today. Monday will be by far the warmest day of the next week with highs in the low 70’s There is a chance of showers on Monday night. The rest of the week will be rather cold with highs only in the 50’s and lows in 30’s there are also some chances for more frost next week. Keep your jacket handy.

The official H/L yesterday was 51/33 there was no rainfall the highest wind speed was 25MPH out of the W. For today the average H/L is 65/44 the record high of 87 was in 1938 and 1955 the coldest high of 39 was in 1926, the record low of 26 was in 1971, the warmest low of 66 was in 1938. The most rain fall of 2.03” was in 1916 the most snowfall on 1.3” was in 1954.

Some weather history for May 3^rd. 1978 Persistent thunderstorms caused widespread flooding in southeastern Louisiana and extreme southeastern Mississippi. Rainfall totals of ten to thirteen and a half inches were reported around New Orleans causing the worst flooding in thirty years. The water depth reached three to four feet in several hundred homes, and total property damage was estimated at one hundred million dollars. (David Ludlum)

On May 3, 1999, an unusual confluence of atmospheric conditions in Oklahoma spawned dozens of tornadoes that swept across the state in an hours-long parade of destruction. Thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed, and 19 counties became disaster areas. The worst toll was in human lives: 44 dead, including three children. Hundreds more were injured.

Maybe one of our Plains posters can confirm this but going into May 3, 1999, I don't think the expectation was for such a big tornado outbreak. The magnitude of it kind of came by surprise.

chescowxman · May 3

westMJim · May 3

The start of May continues to look to be on the cold side. Here is the discussion

From Grand Rapids.

COOL WITH FROST/FREEZE POTENTIAL THIS WEEK

THE FRONT STALLS ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY WITH A SURFACE LOW
TRACKING NORTHEAST ALONG THE FRONT. AT THIS POINT IT LOOKS LIKE
THE PRECIP SHIELD STAYS EAST OF LOWER MICHIGAN. FROST/FREEZE
CONDITIONS WILL RETURN FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHTS

SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS A
SHORTWAVE TROUGH AND VORTICITY MAXIMUM MOVES THOUGH AND MODEL
SOUNDINGS SHOW WET-BULB ZERO HEIGHTS NOT FAR OFF THE SURFACE
ACROSS THE NORTHERN ZONES, SO GRAUPEL OR WET SNOW IS POSSIBLE
THERE. FROST/FREEZE POTENTIAL LINGERS INTO NEXT WEEKEND AND BEYOND
AS A COLD NORTHWEST FLOW REGIME CONTINUES.

From Gaylord.

MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES MOVE IN BEHIND THE FRONT TUESDAY THROUGH
THE REST OF THE WEEK. HIGHS RANGING FROM THE UPPER 40S TO MID 50S
ARE ANTICIPATED MOST DAYS HEADING INTO NEXT WEEKEND WITH
FROST/FREEZE POTENTIAL EACH NIGHT. DEPENDING ON WINDS AND CLOUD
COVER, LOWS COULD DIP WELL INTO THE 20S AGAIN SOME NIGHTS NEXT WEEK.

We will have to keep our coats handy.

james1976 · May 3

Looking like a frost/freeze possible mid week. Just cant shake the cold weather. Been very up n down this spring. This weekend has been great though for getting yardwork done.

hawkstwelve · May 4

Some more pics of our recent city visits including Amalfi Coast (Positano and Capri) and Trapani, Sicily. All so beautiful! Today we are in Tunis, Tunisia which is my first time being in Africa. Tomorrow we head to Catania and Taormina, Sicily and then we head towards Greece.

westMJim · May 4

With the wind yesterday, the highest wind gust was 50 MPH. The high of 61 did not feel like it. The overnight low here in my yard was 41 and with clear skies it at 7AM it is 42. Today will be by far the warmest day for the foreseeable future. Highs look to reach the mid 70’s there is a 60% chance of showers tonight with a possible thunderstorm. The rest of the week looks below average with highs only in the 50’s and lows in the 30’s before a possible slight warm-up over the weekend.

The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 61/38 there was a trace of rainfall, the highest wind gust was 50MPH out of the W. light rain was the only major weather event. For today the average H/L is 66/44 the record high of 88 was in 1949, the coldest high of 43 was in 1907 the record low of 26 in 1971 the warmest low of 68 was in 1949. The most rainfall of 1.06” was in 1902 the most snowfall of 0.04” was in 1954. Last year the H/L was 62/40 and there was 0.64” of rainfall.

Some weather history for May 4^th 1977 A tornado 500 yards in width struck Pleasant Hill, MO, severely damaging the high school and grade school. Only minor injuries were reported among the more than 1000 teaches and students due to excellent warnings and prior tornado drills. (The Weather Channel)here in Michigan 1928: A tornado destroyed several cottages along Bostwick Lake, about ten miles northeast of Grand Rapids.

Tom · May 4

After the morning clouds and showers yesterday, the sun came out and some rather gusty winds blew out of the NW which felt kinda nice to be honest. I had a great time with the family celebrating my nephews 1st Communion and playing catch football out in the backyard. It was a picture perfect afternoon and the warmest day of my trip thus far visiting Chicagoland.

I'm excited to feel the upper 70's today and plan on taking a short road trip up to Lake Geneva to see what has changed over the years since I have been there. Gosh, I think it's been well over 10 years or so since I've come up there. Should feel like summer with a good SW flow wind all day today. Have a wonderful day!

Iceresistance · May 4

This May is already very weird

Clinton · May 4

I got a slight risk for severe weather today with hail being the biggest threat. I was able to finish getting my garden in yesterday so a little rain would be nice.

chescowxman · May 4

Many lower spots reached the 30's this morning with the Warwick DEOS the chilliest at 30.9 degrees. We warm up nicely today to near normal highs around 70 today. We warm to close to 80 degrees tomorrow before we start another cooling trend. Shower chances also look to increase Wednesday into Thursday before we clear up on Friday. Below normal temperatures look likely from Thursday through the weekend.

image.png.ef3e5097bd748a2b8b69818751d6950e.png

summerrules · May 4

Think I can handle a few cool days in the 50s this week before the next inevitable torch says hi.

summerrules · May 4

7 hours ago, Iceresistance said:

This May is already very weird

Last May was actually much weirder. The pattern was so blocky that the Dakotas and Minnesota ended up warmer in the first half of the month than the Tennessee Valley.

Last May finished -2.6° here, doubt it will be that cool this year.

Niko · May 4

Finally hit near 80F w a blend of sunshine and clouds. Very breezy as well. Wind gusts at time is near 3omph.

Niko · May 4

14 hours ago, hawkstwelve said:

Some more pics of our recent city visits including Amalfi Coast (Positano and Capri) and Trapani, Sicily. All so beautiful! Today we are in Tunis, Tunisia which is my first time being in Africa. Tomorrow we head to Catania and Taormina, Sicily and then we head towards Greece.

Nice! Enjoy and have fun.

Niko · May 4

Fun Fact: Last time it snowed in May here in the Detroit area was back in 2016, 2020, 2021 & 2023. This year it snowed on May 1st and the 2nd w both days reporting a trace of snowfall.

Clinton · May 5

2 hours ago, Niko said:

Finally hit near 80F w a blend of sunshine and clouds. Very breezy as well. Wind gusts at time is near 3omph.

You've earned that 80 degree day after all the crumy cold weather you've had this spring. I hope you were able to get out an enjoy it!

Iceresistance · May 5

I forgot, what's the rule here again? I remember something about possible forecast used for USA overlay in a couple of weeks, but I'm not 100% sure

PhiEaglesfan712 · May 5

Tom · May 5

8 hours ago, Iceresistance said:

I forgot, what's the rule here again? I remember something about possible forecast used for USA overlay in a couple of weeks, but I'm not 100% sure

East Asian Rule...6-10 Day correlation period for the aforementioned weather pattern to repeat over the U.S,

westMJim · May 5

It looks like May will be a below average month this year. But how will the upcoming summer end up? As you know it is no way anyone can predict how this summer season will play out but in looking at a couple of past summers heading into a strong or very strong El Nino it very well could be a cooler than average summer and of course there is a good chance that next winter could be mild and less snowfall. In looking at two past summers that were heading into a El Nino winter 2015/16 that summer had all 3 summer months below average here at Grand Rapids with June’s mean of 66.7 July’s mean of 70.8 and August’s mean of 39.6 that summer had a mean of 69.0 or -1.9. That year the fall and winter were both warmer than average and GR only had 61.1” of snowfall. The next summer I am looking at is the summer of 1972 as that summer was coming off a weak La Nina heading into a strong El Nino. That year June had a mean of just 63.5 that is -5.4 below average, July came in at 70.3 (-2.5) and August was 66.7 (-2.4) the summer mean of 67.8 the summer mean at Grand Rapids is 70.9. That fall season was colder than average at GR before warming up in January there was 65.5” of snowfall. So my guess is that this summer has a good chance of being cooler than average and could be frost even in June this year?

After a windy but warm day yesterday the overnight low here in my yard was 49. I did not receive much rainfall overnight as only 0.02” fell is a brief shower. Today will be the start of a rather cool period for early May with highs only in the 50’s and lows in the 30’s there will be a chance of frost on Wednesday night. There will become a little warmer over the weekend with highs in the 60’s and lows in the lower 40’s there will also be a slight chance of showers.

The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 76/42 there was 0.03” of rainfall the highest wind gust was 43 MPH out of the SW. Weather conditions were thunder and light rain. For today the average H/L is 66/45 the record high of 89 was in 1959 the coldest high of 44 was in 1954 the record low of 28 was in 1983 the warmest low of 66 was in 1949. The most rainfall of 1.73” was in 1976 the most snowfall of 0.3” was in 1954. Last year the H/L was 70/48 and there was 0.05” of rain.

Some May 5^th weather history. 1917 The same storm which a day earlier produced eight inches of snow in the Texas panhandle, produced a foot of snow at Denver CO, their heaviest snow of record for the month of May. (David Ludlum) in Michigan 2003 F1 tornado hit outside of Leonard in Oakland County. There were also many reports of hail ranging from 0.75 inch to 0.88 inch throughout the cities of Linden, Flint, Fenton, Grand Blanc, Thetford Center, Burton and Davison. Some of these places also reported wind from 70 to 75 mph.

Tom · May 5

This should be a welcomed "stat padding" snowstorm for the Foothills and parts of the Denver metro. I wonder if Gary Lezak will be storm tracking???

Tom · May 5

Spent the day up at Lake Geneva with my dad yesterday and enjoy the summer like feel in the air. It was a very breezy day and the lake had white caps. The wind was cutting down the length of the lake and you actually felt the lake cooling which I found to be a surprise. It was literally 5 degrees or more cooler downwind of the lake. The water temp is near 59F. I dipped my feet in it and it certainly was a wee bit chilly!

Hoosier · May 5

2 hours ago, Tom said:

Spent the day up at Lake Geneva with my dad yesterday and enjoy the summer like feel in the air. It was a very breezy day and the lake had white caps. The wind was cutting down the length of the lake and you actually felt the lake cooling which I found to be a surprise. It was literally 5 degrees or more cooler downwind of the lake. The water temp is near 59F. I dipped my feet in it and it certainly was a wee bit chilly!

IMG_8389.mov 34.94 MB · 0 downloads

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I've actually felt that kind of thing when standing downwind of a large pond. Very interesting.

Clinton · May 5

4 hours ago, Tom said:

This should be a welcomed "stat padding" snowstorm for the Foothills and parts of the Denver metro. I wonder if Gary Lezak will be storm tracking???

I think he's expecting up to a foot. Man I would love to be in Estes Park for this one!

SE Nebraska wx · May 5

Still bone dry here with no chance of a pattern change.

Iceresistance · May 5

7 hours ago, Tom said:

East Asian Rule...6-10 Day correlation period for the aforementioned weather pattern to repeat over the U.S,

Can I see the outline so I know how the rule works?

Clinton · May 5

Wow it's chilly! 44 with light rain falling, I've received .72 inches with the rains overnight and today.

Tom · May 5

38 minutes ago, Iceresistance said:

Can I see the outline so I know how the rule works?

https://weather.missouri.edu/gcc/1765428.pdf

westMJim · May 6

Yesterday’s high of 60 was just after midnight the rest of the day temperatures were in the 50’s. The overnight low here in my yard was 36 I did not see any frost this AM. At 7:30 it is clear and 39. It will stay very cool today and tomorrow before warming up a little over the weekend. There is a slight chance of showers on Friday. There are some hints that it may warm up later in the month, we shall see.

The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 60/45 there was a trace of rainfall the highest wind gust was 27 MPH out of the W. For today the average H/L is 66/45 the record high of 90 was in 1959 the coldest high of 42 was in 1976 the record low of 25 was in 1968 the warmest low of 64 was in 2000. The most rainfall of 1.22” was in 1941. Last year the H/L was 63/52 and there was 0.18” of rainfall.

Some weather history for May 6^th 1975 A massive tornado hit Omaha, NE, killing three persons, injuring 133 others, and causing 150 million dollars damage. The tornado struck during the late afternoon moving northeastward through the industrial and residential areas of west central Omaha, and lifting over the northern section of the city. The twister, which cut a swath ten miles long and as much as a quarter of a mile wide, was the mostly costly in U.S. history up til that time. (David Ludlum) here in Michigan 1947, in Detroit, the Rouge River crested to a height of 23 feet (with flood stage being 15 feet).

chescowxman · May 6

Cooler today with showers we could see up to 0.25" of needed rain. We are at 73% of normal rainfall for the year to date. We remain cooler than normal through Saturday with a brief warmup on Sunday to above normal before temperatures again fall below normal. Overall, the next couple weeks look to average below normal. Our next shower chances will be Saturday.

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tStacsh · May 6

Loving these cool nice sunny days. Getting a lot of work done outside without the heat. Beautiful sunny start to the day, High 59 today.

Madtown · May 6

36 and snow showers at 12:25 on this lovely May 6th

westMJim · May 6

4 hours ago, tStacsh said:

Loving these cool nice sunny days. Getting a lot of work done outside without the heat. Beautiful sunny start to the day, High 59 today.

At the Whitecaps game last nigh the biggest complaint was how cold it was. The wind was indeed cold.

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