May 2026 Observations and Discussion

[westMJim]

At 2 PM it is partly cloudy with a temperature of 52 the DP is 23 and the wind chill is 48. At Gaylord it is 43 with a DP of 21 and wind chill of 37, At the Soo it is  40 with a DP of 24 and a wind chill of 34 and at Marquette it is 39 with a DP of 19 and a wind chill of 33. Not a very warm day here in Michigan!

[Hoosier]

Looks quite cool around here tonight.  Good shot at mid 30s but can't rule out low 30s if the expected incoming cloud cover stays a bit farther south.  

[Clinton]

I had beautiful weather today with sun and high of 58.  Here are some snow totals from the Colorado Rockies,  they absolutely needed this moisture. 

[westMJim]

The sky cleared out overnight and the low here in my yard was a very cool 36° I do not see any frost. The week ahead continues to show cold temperatures for May with highs in the 50’s to low 60’s with only Saturday have temperatures near average lows will be in the 30’s most nights with a couple of 40’s tossed in. There are also a couple of chances for showers but for the most part it looks dry.

The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 55/38 there was no rainfall the highest wind was 26 MPH out of the W. There were no significant weather events. For today the average H/L is 67/45, the record high of 89 was in 1965 the coldest high of 42 was in 1947 the record low of 25 was in 1974 the warmest low of 67 was in 2000. Ther most rainfall of 1.70” was in 1932. Last year the H/L was 78/45.

Some weather history for May 7^th 1989 Thirty-two cities in the central and eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date, and 24 hour snowfall totals of 7.2 inches at Buffalo NY and 10.7 inches at Rochester NY were records for the month of May. While northerly winds ushered unseasonably cold air into the eastern U.S., temperatures warmed rapidly in the Great Plains Region, reaching the 90s in Kansas. The temperature at Manhattan KS soared from a low of 30 degrees to a high of 88 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) Here in Michigan 1947: Cold and snow prevail across Lower Michigan with lows in the upper 20s and highs only in the upper 30s to lower 40s. 1974: Temperatures tumble as cold high pressure builds into Lower Michigan. Record lows on this date include 22 degrees at Lansing, 25 at Grand Rapids and 27 at Muskegon.

 

[Tom]

Back in the Valley of the Sun!!!   My trip to Chicago was shortened as I decided to come back and not have to deal with the chilly weather so much.  Not gonna sugar coat it but I am certainly acclimated to warmer weather and temps in the 30's/40's in the mornings were a bit noticeable.  If the sun is out, I'm all for it, but the cloudy and showery weather is what I do not miss.  

Having said that, I'm grateful for any kind of weather that nature brings.  Living in a place where there is sunshine 300+ days out of the year absolutely has a + effect on my psyche.   Make it a Terrific Thursday!

 

[tStacsh]

Looking more and more likely it will be a tale of 2 Mays.   Let's see if the signs of a major flip to early summer hold in the long range.  

[Clinton]

29 minutes ago, tStacsh said:

Looking more and more likely it will be a tale of 2 Mays.   Let's see if the signs of a major flip to early summer hold in the long range.  

It looks warm and wet for many especially for Texas.  @Andie

[Bryan1117]

30 minutes ago, Clinton said:

It looks warm and wet for many especially for Texas.  @Andie

We really need the week 3-4 precipitation outlook to be true… after some decent moisture a few weeks ago we are back to dry weather at a time when we should be getting rain every other day.

[Hoosier]

Had a low of 34 this morning.

[Hoosier]

1 hour ago, tStacsh said:

Looking more and more likely it will be a tale of 2 Mays.   Let's see if the signs of a major flip to early summer hold in the long range.  

Indeed there is light at the end of the tunnel.  

[chescowxman]

Ten of our last fifteen days have featured below normal temperatures. It looks like much of the next 15 days will also average out with cooler than normal temperatures. After some much needed rain last night we have a great day underway today. Below normal temperatures will continue through Saturday. Rain chances increase again toward Saturday morning before we briefly warm to above normal on Sunday for Mom’s day with highs in the middle 70’s. We turn sharply cooler again to start the new work week.

[Andie]

1 hour ago, Bryan1117 said:

We really need the week 3-4 precipitation outlook to be true… after some decent moisture a few weeks ago we are back to dry weather at a time when we should be getting rain every other day.

The rain is in a good position for the area of Tx/Ok to get the rain the need so much.  
I’ll take that forecast Clinton, Bryan !!

[Black Hole]

Looks like a few storms (maybe severe) in my area tomorrow evening. Today is another nice day but we are back in the 80s tomorrow. A few more storm chances scattered throughout the next week should at least result in enough rain to water the plants. 

[SE Nebraska wx]

Still dry and boring 

 

Will it ever rain in Nebraska ever again?

[SE Nebraska wx]

7 hours ago, Bryan1117 said:

We really need the week 3-4 precipitation outlook to be true… after some decent moisture a few weeks ago we are back to dry weather at a time when we should be getting rain every other day.

I just dont see it. This dry spell hasn't broken since 2021. God just seems to hate Nebraska. 

[Hoosier]

Record low at Rockford again... second one there in the past several days.  Of course it pretty much takes an act of God to get a record low at ORD nowadays.

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
457 PM CDT THU MAY 07 2026

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

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 27 DEGREES WAS SET AT ROCKFORD IL THIS MORNING.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD FOR THIS DATE OF 28 DEGREES SET IN 1976.

[Hoosier]

1 minute ago, SE Nebraska wx said:

I just dont see it. This dry spell hasn't broken since 2021. God just seems to hate Nebraska. 

Will be interesting to see if the -PDO can finally break this winter.  A super Nino does not guarantee a flip to +PDO by any means.  

[hawkstwelve]

Our latest stops have been Tunis, Catania/Taormina, and then we left Italy and had our first stop in Greece in Katakolo/Olympia.

Taormina, Sicily was a highlight of our trip so far. It was very cute and charming with magnificent views and some of the best pizza we've ever had. Olympia, Greece was also a wonderful time. We are big fans of the Olympics and it was so interesting learning about the first Olympic games held in Greece back in 776 BC. We also stopped at a family-ran Greek winery and had amazing homemade food and delicious wines.

Today we are in Monemvasia, Greece and tomorrow we head to Santorini before wrapping up our trip in Ephesus, Turkey and Athens!

[westMJim]

We now have the first 7 days of May 2026 in the record books and the mean for May so far is a chilly 48.1. That is more like April where the mean over the last 30 years is 47.5. 6 of the 7 days were below average with 3 being more that 10° below average. 5 of the 7 nights have had low in the 30’s The high so far is 76 and the low is 33. It has been one of the coldest starts in the last 25 years.  The overnight low here in my yard is the current temperature of 34 and there is some light frost. The next 7 days look to continue to be very cool for May with several more chances of frost. There could be some showers on Tuesday. It would be best to hold off on any frost sensitive plants until at least late in the month.  

The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 55/37 there was no rainfall the highest wind gust was 37 MPH out of the W. There were no significant weather events. For today the average H/L is 67/46 the record high of 89 was in 1926 the coldest high of 41 was in 1947 the record low of 27 was in 1976 the warmest low of 67 was in 1936. The most rainfall of 1.50” was in 1901.

Some weather history for May 8^th 1981 The Dallas/Fort Worth area experienced its worst hailstorm of record as baseball to grapefruit size hail, accompanied by 100 mph winds, caused nearly 200 million dollars damage. Hail accumulated eight inches deep at Cedar Hill TX. (The Weather Channel)Here in Michigan 1976 A freeze hits Lower Michigan with Grand Rapids and Muskegon setting record lows of 27 degrees.

 

[chescowxman]

Minimum temperatures this morning were 8 to 14 degrees below normal for today’s date. The lowest was our typical cold spot in Warwick Twp with a low of 35.5. With the exception of Sunday, where temperatures will be close to normal with highs in the low 70’s we should see well below normal temperatures continue for at least the next week. Rain chances increase tomorrow morning into the afternoon. We should see a mostly sunny Mom’s Day on Sunday before more rain arrives Sunday night into Monday. Some models are hinting at almost an inch of rain between Saturday and Monday night.

[Tom]

4 hours ago, hawkstwelve said:

Our latest stops have been Tunis, Catania/Taormina, and then we left Italy and had our first stop in Greece in Katakolo/Olympia.

Taormina, Sicily was a highlight of our trip so far. It was very cute and charming with magnificent views and some of the best pizza we've ever had. Olympia, Greece was also a wonderful time. We are big fans of the Olympics and it was so interesting learning about the first Olympic games held in Greece back in 776 BC. We also stopped at a family-ran Greek winery and had amazing homemade food and delicious wines.

Today we are in Monemvasia, Greece and tomorrow we head to Santorini before wrapping up our trip in Ephesus, Turkey and Athens!

Thanks for sharing!  I'm thrilled that your enjoying your trip and the views I'm sure are just as beautiful in person.  I hear that when ppl come from the US and have never ate pasta or bread in Italy/Greece or most of Europe for that matter, it is a totally different taste and experience, especially if you have issues digesting carbs.  The non GMO grains are a big deal out there in Europe.  Enjoy the rest of your European trip! 

[tStacsh]

Beautiful day coming up.  Mid 60's and lots of sun.  Perfect day.   Going to leave work early and do more yard work.   Doubling the size of our garden.  

[Niko]

On 5/4/2026 at 8:50 PM, Clinton said:

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!

It has been a very chilly May...w snowshowers starting off the month. My area still has bare trees. Looks like October. Good news is that by months end, a major flip happens and some real warmth arrives. 

[Hoosier]

We flip

[SE Nebraska wx]

8 hours ago, Hoosier said:

We flip

Still no rain to be seen

[PhiEaglesfan712]

[Niko]

Today's weather here in S MI was absolutely beautiful w plentiful sunshine, but still a little BN as temps hovered in the low 60s, but at least we were not stuck in the 40s and 50s for highs. 

[Andie]

What is with this lousy weather?   
Did we offend the rain-gods?

[StormchaserChuck1]

GFS ensembles popping a ridge toward the end of May

[westMJim]

9 hours ago, Niko said:

Today's weather here in S MI was absolutely beautiful w plentiful sunshine, but still a little BN as temps hovered in the low 60s, but at least we were not stuck in the 40s and 50s for highs. 

After the cold we have had those temperatures in the low 60's felt warm.

[westMJim]

It has gone from warm and wet in March and April to cold and dry here in May. March had a mean temperature of 40.0° a departure of +4.3 April had a mean of 51.7 for a departure of +4.1 and so far in May the mean is 48.1 a departure of -7.0. March had 4.73” of precipitation April had 7.85” of precipitation and so far here in May just 0.03”. The overnight low here in my yard was 45 and there was no rainfall. Today looks to be the warmest day until late next week.  Today the highs should be in the mid 60’s with lows tonight falling to around 40. Tomorrow through Wednesday will see highs only in the 50’s to around 60 with lows in the mid 30’s or less with a chance of frost. There is a chance of some showers on Tuesday other wise the week looks dry.

The official H/L at Grand Rapids yesterday was 63/33 there was no rainfall, the highest wind gust was 23 MPH out of the SW there were no significant weather events. For today the average H/L is 67/46 the record high of 88 was in 1896 and 1930 the coldest high of 43 was in 1960 the record low of 23 was in 1947 the warmest low of 68 was in 1979 the wettest was 4.10” in 1956 the most snow fall of 5.5” was in 1923 over in Lansing there was 11.5” of snowfall on May 9^th 1923. Last year the H/L was 68/33.

 

[Clinton]

I got another half inch of rain last night with a quick moving line of storms.  Sunshine with temps in the mid 80s today.

[SE Nebraska wx]

Still waiting for that wet el nino pattern 

[chescowxman]

We have some light rain around this morning here in NW Chester County a cool day is on tap with some showers. Highs will struggle to reach the lower 60's. Nice but brief warm up tomorrow for Mom's Day with highs reaching the mid 70's with sunshine. Much cooler again with below normal temperatures all week. We will have additional rain chances both Sunday night and Monday and again Wednesday through Friday.

[Clinton]

4 hours ago, SE Nebraska wx said:

Still waiting for that wet el nino pattern 

Your probably going to have to wait until fall before you feel any impacts.

[Andie]

Texas is concerned that may be true.  
We can water our yards but farmers for hay, maze, milo - they can’t water. It’s a real problem.  

[westMJim]

With clear skies and a calm wind, it got down to 34 here this morning. I do not see any frost in my yard, but it is still cold out. The next 3 days continue to look very cold for May with highs about 10° below average. There is once again a chance of frost tonight and Monday night with lows in the 30’s. For the next week there is just one good chance for showers and that comes Tuesday night. At this time it looks to warmup by next weekend. But continues to look dry.

The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 66/45 there was a trace of rainfall the highest wind gust was 37 MPH out of the SW light rain was the only weather event for the day. For today the average H/L is 68/47 the record high of 89 was in 1896, the coldest recorded high was 46 in 1907 the record low of 22 was in 1966 the warmest low of 70 was in 1979. The most rainfall of 3.57” was in 1981 the most snowfall of 5.5” was in 1902 (note there high for the day in 1902 is missing) the low for that day was 31.

Some weather history for May 10^th 1990 A spring storm produced heavy snow in Upper Michigan and eastern Wisconsin. Totals ranged up to 12 inches at Marquette MI, with eight inches reported at Muskego WI and Hartford WI. The heavy wet snow, and winds gusting to 35 mph, damaged or destroyed thousands of trees, and downed numerous power lines. Total damage from the storm was more than four million dollars. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary) also in Michigan 1902 A snowstorm drops from 1 to 6 inches of slushy snow across Lower Michigan. The four inches of snow at Muskegon is the latest measurable snow on record there 5.5” of snow fell in Grand Rapids.

 

[chescowxman]

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there! We should see a great weather day for all of you with highs in the mid 70's. There could be some showers developing late in the afternoon and into the evening. Back to cooler than normal temperatures the rest of the upcoming work week before we warm up by next weekend. Our best rain chances after later today will be Wednesday into Thursday.

[jaster220]

Furnace came on this morning when can I end the daily Freeze Warnings?? At least we’ve managed to progress a bit deeper into spring with tulips and  flowering trees in bloom. My buddy at The Straights is nearly snow-free:

 

[Niko]

On 5/9/2026 at 8:04 AM, westMJim said:

After the cold we have had those temperatures in the low 60's felt warm.

It actually felt amazing. I'll take near 60F as well.