May 2026 Observations and Discussion

[mlgamer]

Greetings from tropical Kansas! 

I've picked up 1.95" of rain since late Thursday from on and off, often heavy, rain showers. The sun is poking through the clouds this morning to add to the very humid and tropical-like conditions. Continued rain chances in the forecast so maybe more of the same in the short term. 

[Andie]

6 hours ago, Tom said:

Are you visiting?

Yes. And it’s hard.  Families are challenging.  Wide views.  Some families are in political positions  in Az. 
I want to run.  
 

RUN !!

[james1976]

Haven't been on much lately as the weather has been fairly uneventful around here.

Hope everyone is doing well and ready for summer!

We are basically locked into a ridging pattern for the foreseeable future with only isolated storm chances. Above normal temps. Im good with it as spring had plenty of cold spells.

Time to grill up some steaks!

[Tom]

49 minutes ago, james1976 said:

Haven't been on much lately as the weather has been fairly uneventful around here.

Hope everyone is doing well and ready for summer!

We are basically locked into a ridging pattern for the foreseeable future with only isolated storm chances. Above normal temps. Im good with it as spring had plenty of cold spells.

Time to grill up some steaks!

I just made the juiciest Ribeye!  Enjoy grilling!

 

 

 

[Tom]

The recording station at Tempe, AZ has NEVER hit 86F on May 29th!  It was indeed a very delightful day of weather around the valley yesterday.  I had the windows opened for most of the night and its a very cool and comfy 61F IMBY right now.  The only issue to having the windows open is I hear the Choppers that fly through this part of the valley.  There are always military choppers and others that zip on by.  It must be a common flight path.

Nevertheless, I will have to say, this May has been rather nice...some Heat in the beginning of the month but generally seasonal.

[westMJim]

Today is the last day of May and the end of meteorological spring. May will end up dryer and cooler than average.  Here in my yard, I had a crisp low of 47 with clear skies. The week ahead looks most sunny, dry and warm. Highs should be in the upper 70’s to lower 80’s lows with be in the 50’s then warm up to the low to mid 60’s it will be dry until at least Friday when there is a chance of showers over the weekend.

The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 72/53  there were 2 Heating Degree Days, there was no rainfall the highest wind gust was 29 MPH out of the E. The day had no significant weather events. For today the average H/L is 75/45 the record high of 95 was in 1934 the coldest high of 41 was in 1910 the record low of 36 was in 1966 the warmest low of 73 was in 1937. The wettest was 1.37” in 1909.  Last year the H/L was 63/44.

Some weather history for May 31^st 1889 The Johnstown disaster occurred, the worst flood tragedy in U.S. history. Heavy rains collapsed the South Fork Dam sending a thirty foot wall of water rushing down the already flooded Conemaugh Valley. The wall of water, traveling as fast as twenty-two feet per second, swept away all structures, objects and people. 2100 persons perished in the flood. (David Ludlum) 1985  Severe thuunderstorms spawned forty-one tornadoes across the Lower Great Lakes Region and southeastern Ontario which killed 74 persons. (Storm Data) Here in Michigan there was also a tornado outbreak in 1943:  tornado outbreak hit southern Lower Michigan. Ten people were injured as homes were swept away by a powerful tornado that moved southeast of Morrice in Shiawassee County. A tornado killed livestock and destroyed a barn near Morley in Mecosta County. A home near Coopersville in Ottawa County was unroofed by a tornado and three people were injured. Another tornado struck near Bath in Clinton County destroying one barn

 

[Clinton]

May is closing out stormy.  Thunderstorms overnight dropped .90 inches of rain.  More storms forecasted for this evening. 

[chescowxman]

Lows this morning were not too far from record cold levels for the final day of May. The lowest was the 38-degree reading at Warwick Township. During our last 37 days we have seen 26 of those days with below normal temperatures here in East Nantmeal. This pattern looks to it will continue through mid-week before we finally see temperatures warming to above normal by the end of the work week. Unfortunately there is no rain in site.

[Clinton]

The KC area has been bumped up to a slight risk this evening with hail being the primary threat. 

[westMJim]

3 hours ago, Clinton said:

May is closing out stormy.  Thunderstorms overnight dropped .90 inches of rain.  More storms forecasted for this evening. 

While here in the great lakes it has been very dry

[Hoosier]

Almost going to wipe out the substantial negative temp anomaly that had built up earlier in the month at ORD, but not quite.  Sitting at -0.5 through May 30.

[Hoosier]

4 hours ago, westMJim said:

Today is the last day of May and the end of meteorological spring. May will end up dryer and cooler than average.  Here in my yard, I had a crisp low of 47 with clear skies. The week ahead looks most sunny, dry and warm. Highs should be in the upper 70’s to lower 80’s lows with be in the 50’s then warm up to the low to mid 60’s it will be dry until at least Friday when there is a chance of showers over the weekend.

The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 72/53  there were 2 Heating Degree Days, there was no rainfall the highest wind gust was 29 MPH out of the E. The day had no significant weather events. For today the average H/L is 75/45 the record high of 95 was in 1934 the coldest high of 41 was in 1910 the record low of 36 was in 1966 the warmest low of 73 was in 1937. The wettest was 1.37” in 1909.  Last year the H/L was 63/44.

Some weather history for May 31^st 1889 The Johnstown disaster occurred, the worst flood tragedy in U.S. history. Heavy rains collapsed the South Fork Dam sending a thirty foot wall of water rushing down the already flooded Conemaugh Valley. The wall of water, traveling as fast as twenty-two feet per second, swept away all structures, objects and people. 2100 persons perished in the flood. (David Ludlum) 1985  Severe thuunderstorms spawned forty-one tornadoes across the Lower Great Lakes Region and southeastern Ontario which killed 74 persons. (Storm Data) Here in Michigan there was also a tornado outbreak in 1943:  tornado outbreak hit southern Lower Michigan. Ten people were injured as homes were swept away by a powerful tornado that moved southeast of Morrice in Shiawassee County. A tornado killed livestock and destroyed a barn near Morley in Mecosta County. A home near Coopersville in Ottawa County was unroofed by a tornado and three people were injured. Another tornado struck near Bath in Clinton County destroying one barn

 

imo, the 1985 outbreak is arguably the most anomalous tornado outbreak on record, relative to region.  It would have been impressive anywhere, but it was extraordinary for where it occurred -- focused on the eastern Lakes.  

[mlgamer]

The wet weather continues here...I've picked up a total of 4.6" of rain since late Thursday into this morning. Pretty soggy out there this morning. More scattered rain chances in the days ahead as we roll into June.

[Clinton]

4 hours ago, mlgamer said:

The wet weather continues here...I've picked up a total of 4.6" of rain since late Thursday into this morning. Pretty soggy out there this morning. More scattered rain chances in the days ahead as we roll into June.

I never thought this pattern would get so wet.  Very remencent of 1996 for west central Missouri and the Ozarks. 

[Clinton]

4 hours ago, westMJim said:

While here in the great lakes it has been very dry

It may stay dry for another week or 2 but I believe it will turn around for you the 2nd half of June.  I hope it doesn't get to dry before then.

[hawkstwelve]

Tornado sirens just went off again. Looks like we are on the extreme southern side of the warning. Didn't think we'd get much tornado action tonight given weak shear but looks like a slight possibility. 

[OttumwaSnomow]

8 hours ago, Clinton said:

I never thought this pattern would get so wet.  Very remencent of 1996 for west central Missouri and the Ozarks. 

I just closed out May with 12 straight dry days!  A few 100ths on sprinkles. The very end of April and first half of May were bone dry 17 days! Just nuts how we get dry dry dry periods during wettest time of year so often now! 

I did get 3.3" in 4 day mid may. Which is below normal. But these weeks of dry are just so frustrating.

Spread 350 lbs of fertilizer  on sweet corn  etc sat pm since we had 70% chance of rain.  That layed a egg as usual! 250$ and 3 hrs work wasted.

[Hawkeye]

7 hours ago, OttumwaSnomow said:

 

Spread 350 lbs of fertilizer  on sweet corn  etc sat pm since we had 70% chance of rain.  That layed a egg as usual! 250$ and 3 hrs work wasted.

Will the fertilizer not still be there when the rain returns at the end of this week?

[OttumwaSnomow]

1 hour ago, Hawkeye said:

Will the fertilizer not still be there when the rain returns at the end of this week?

Some fertilizer  is treated to last longer. This one isnt. After 4 to 6 days it  begins to volatize and lose its value.

[Hoosier]

May finished -0.5 at ORD.  It was the 10th driest May on record with only 1.17"

[jaster220]

Started MET summer with temps in the 30's this morning. "Jacket wx" for the Northland. Has been extremely pleasant away from the lakeshore lately. There was "chill" in the air downtown Traverse yesterday evening with winds coming off the bay. 

[summerrules]

On 5/4/2026 at 4:31 PM, summerrules said:

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.

Yup, nowhere near as cool as last year here, though it was similarly dry (just a tad drier.) -0.5° departure, yet the average daily high was right at normal (and even a couple degrees above normal at RFD). Early in the month, we had some unusually cold nights due to ideal radiational cooling conditions, which pulled the average down. Overall, very average month from a temp standpoint, albeit very dry.

Not sure why the graphic lists it as the 9th warmest spring on record for Chicago, it was actually 8th warmest. If you only look at daily highs, which I tend to weigh more heavily than lows, it ranks as the 4th warmest on record. Regardless, spring was great this year, one of the best tbh.

[james1976]

Local met showed tonight there's a chance at extreme heat in the June 9-15 time frame. Something to keep an eye on.

[chescowxman]

Below is the May 2026 Chester County Climate Summary. We finished May with an average temperature of 60.8 degrees across all stations. This was 0.7 degrees below the 1991-2020 average May temperature of 61.5 degrees. This was the 56th coldest May in 134 years of records back to 1893.