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May Observations and Discussion


Tom

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1.11" is my rain total.  I'm satisfied with that.

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season snowfall: 34.8"

'22-23: 30.2"      '21-22: 27.1"      '20-21: 52.5"      '19-20: 36.2"      '18-19: 50.2"      '17-18: 39.5"

Average snowfall: ~30"

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The month of May is now below average at most locations. And in the last 27 days there have been 22 days below average and only 5 day above average. The over night low here was 37 and at this time with cloudy skies it is 41. It has not only been cool it also has been some what dry. Officially at GRR they have reported 1.04" of rain in the last 27 days while here at my house I have only recorded 0.78" of rain fall.

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Man, if this was a winter storm, I'd be going nuts missing this system just to my south by only a few miles!  Congrats to all of those who have scored some much needed precip.  @Clinton @KCSmokey @MIKEKC and KC folks, that was quite the powerful squall line that ripped through last night.  I read the warning and it said winds up to 70mph and nickel sized hail.  Was is it a good storm??

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14 minutes ago, Tom said:

Man, if this was a winter storm, I'd be going nuts missing this system just to my south by only a few miles!  Congrats to all of those who have scored some much needed precip.  @Clinton @KCSmokey @MIKEKC and KC folks, that was quite the powerful squall line that ripped through last night.  I read the warning and it said winds up to 70mph and nickel sized hail.  Was is it a good storm??

Yes it was and by far the strongest line so far this year. Lots of limbs down in the area.

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While the 00z EPS has delayed the warm up next weekend by a day or so if you live closer to the GL's region, it appears likely that an extended warm spell is certainly on the horizon for the following week.

1371810871_14-kmEPSGlobalUnitedStates2-mTemperatureAnom(2).gif

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Picked up 3.3" of rain at my house the last couple of days in strong storms with some small hail, but nothing particularly severe.

We did score a tornado watch here for the first time since 2019 (I assume - none in 2020), but the conditions were pretty marginal I thought. Kind of like the MLB player that breaks his 0 for 20 hitless streak by hitting a soft popup that nobody gets to. Still, better than a tornado grand slam for sure...lol

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23-24 seasonal snow total: 17.8" (as of 3/9/24)

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Very nice 1.6" rain here in the Ottumwa  Iowa area. Widespread  1 to 2 inches across the entire area.  Models were exceptional. Started late but was quite the event with brutal east wind. Many have roof leaks owing to the wind. We have 5 gauges on 2 properties. Each was different with the wind I suspect 

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Earliest tropical system ever recorded just off the Mexican coast! And this follows a record setting tropical season of 2020.

Beautiful day here. Mowed the lawn and did some other yard work. Time to put some chicken drumsticks and veggies on the Weber. And have a cold one.

Happy Mother's Day!

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4 hours ago, james1976 said:

Earliest tropical system ever recorded just off the Mexican coast! And this follows a record setting tropical season of 2020.

Beautiful day here. Mowed the lawn and did some other yard work. Time to put some chicken drumsticks and veggies on the Weber. And have a cold one.

Happy Mother's Day!

It's time for the Pacific to roar in 2021. Should make for interesting weather on our side of the globe later on.

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GFS continues to have a  very cool end to the week--- 4pm Friday the 14th- very close to rec min/maxs over IA.

sfct.us_mw.png

 

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The two loudest sounds known to man: a gun that goes bang when it is supposed to go click and a gun that goes click when it is supposed to go bang.

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Models keep trending cooler for the weekend in and around the MW/GL's region.  It now is looking like there could be a rain event on Saturday sweeping across the corn belt regions of the MW.  

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The quiet wx pattern this week will help dry out out those who got soaked from the weekend storm.  Next week things get warm and active across the corn belt.  A summer like pattern is in store my friends!  It may be time to bring out the boats and fishing gear.

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The overnight low here was 37 so no frost last night. At Grand Rapids May now has a mean of 52.3 and that is a departure of -3.0. At Muskegon the mean is 50.2 and that is a departure of -3.9. At Holland the mean is 50.7 that is a departure of -3.7. And to the east at Lansing their mean so far this month is 51.7 good for a departure of -2.9. The current temperature here at my house is 42 with mostly cloudy skies.

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I have no idea what "normal" is like- but Tornado Alley has to be WAY behind in Tor watches this year-https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/2021_torww_to_date.pngand Iowa with 95% of state not seeing a simple Severe TS Watch-- must be close to a record. https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/2021_svrww_to_date.png

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The two loudest sounds known to man: a gun that goes bang when it is supposed to go click and a gun that goes click when it is supposed to go bang.

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Been rather wet down S. --

Since March 01, 2021, ( 71 Days), New Orleans International Airport has received 30.37 inches of rainfall. Normal value is 11.36" in that time frame.

That's absurd.

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The two loudest sounds known to man: a gun that goes bang when it is supposed to go click and a gun that goes click when it is supposed to go bang.

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11 hours ago, Grizzcoat said:

I have no idea what "normal" is like- but Tornado Alley has to be WAY behind in Tor watches this year-https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/2021_torww_to_date.pngand Iowa with 95% of state not seeing a simple Severe TS Watch-- must be close to a record. https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/2021_svrww_to_date.png

Maybe a record slow start for Iowa as well! 
This was as of the last day of April already for the DMX CWA.

For Iowa as a whole.

 

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Well, its been cold in KC for better then a month now. Sure, we have had some warm days in there, but, overall, very cool weather pattern since the middle of April. Hasn't been overly wet, big rains when they have occurred. Scored 1.67 inches of rain Saturday night this past weekend.(we actually needed it, with all the dry NW winds and low humidity, soils were sucked dry) No severe weather in KC, just some good ole thunderstorms. We have not had anything severe really for two years. The last two years have been too cool for severe weather in April and May.

 

 

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8 minutes ago, Clinton said:

Pattern looks to remain active, cool, and wet for the I 70 corridor. Hopefully some beneficial rains for others who have missed out over the next 10 days.

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It's like mother nature wants to put up a road block from I-80 on north...last week the models showed a decent chance for our northern members to score some precip but that has all since trended south due to all the blocking.  Sign of the times.

 

00z Euro...wider view...

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Meanwhile, out here in the Valley of the Sun, the forecast calls for 2 consecutive days of 100+ Heat later in the week...Fire Season has come out of the gates fast.  In fact, there was a small brush fire in Fountain Hills last week that was put out rather quickly.  Not so much up in the mountains, however, as there are a couple big fires ongoing.  People are praying that we have bonafide Monsoon this season.  My gut tells me that this year's Monsoon will be beneficial.

 

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2 hours ago, westMJim said:

It continues to be dry here in west Michigan this is from the NWS


 

"It continues to be cool and dry. The low here at my house was 33 and it looks like the official low at GRR will be 34. At this time it is clear and 39 here.

It looks like I did not put the discussion in

FOR STARTERS, AS OF THE 10TH OF MAY, AT GRAND RAPIDS, THIS IS THE  
DRIEST YEAR TO DATE (10TH OF MAY) SINCE 2001! GRAND RAPIDS WAS  
5.19 INCHES BELOW NORMAL FOR TOTAL YEARLY PRECIPITATION, WHICH IS  
A LITTLE BELOW ONLY 1/2 OF NORMAL. AT MUSKEGON IT IS THE DRIEST   
YEAR TO DATE, SINCE 1989! MUSKEGON IS 5.78 INCHES BELOW NORMAL FOR  
THE YEAR. GOING TO THE MIDWEST CLIMATE CENTER, CLIMATE GROUP 8  
(GRAND RAIDS, HOLLAND, SOUTH HAVE, AND KALAMAZOO) IS, FOR JANUARY  
THROUGH APRIL, IS THE DRIEST SINCE 1958! THE 5.84 INCH MEAN   
PRECIPITATION FOR THIS GROUP WAS ONLY A 1/2 INCH WETTER THAN THE   
DRIEST YEAR, 1934 (5.31"). THIS IS THE 4TH DRIEST ON RECORD (1895   
TO 2021). BY THE WAY,

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Was put in a Frost Advisory last night, but that looks like a mistake.  Has only gotten down to 41 here.  Lots of moisture chances in the next week, and the very warm weekend forecast has been cooled by multiple storm chances.  Our Seniors are done today and this weekend is graduation receptions and the ceremony on Sunday.  Outdoor parties could be affected.  The rest of the school district is done next Wednesday at 11:30 AM.  No hot weather through then, which I won't complain about.

PS - got down to 34 degrees officially yesterday morning, May 11th.  Light frost on my son's car parked outside, and fairly heavy frost on rooftops.

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B3927D4D-E2E4-4975-A8CC-47164D044E3F.jpeg

 

 

 

Hello from Chicago!  I flew back home in the early morning yesterday (7:00am takeoff) and couldn't have asked for a better weather pattern for our flight.  Interestingly, we took a southerly route through NM/OK/KS/MO and then our final descent began as we flew over Burlington, IA and crossed over the Mississippi into IL.  High Pressure dominated the entire trip as we had clear skies and literally zero turbulence.  It was probably the least "bumpy" flight I've taken in recent memory.  I loved looking out the window and seeing all the farmland below and tiny looking semi trucks on the highway. 

I had a 3D visual map playing live and noticed some cities pop up that some of you live in.  The ones that come to mind were Ottumwa, Topeka and Kansas City.  I paid attention to the maps towards the later part of the trip bc I was so tired for the first half of the flight.  I tried taking a nap but the dang kids sitting right behind me (which you will hear in the videos) did not allow me to get a restful nap.  Anyhow, once we got into IL and began lowering in elevation, we entered the cloud level and that is when the plane began to bounce around quite a bit.  They were the "puffy" fair weather cumulus cloud types.  The guy sitting next to me grabbed the seat in front of him and I could tell he got a bit nervous.  I enjoyed it!

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I'll be honest, this cool wx is soo refreshing and enjoyed the day yesterday.  It was a chilly 57F inside the house when I arrived and had to flip on the furnace.  Had it running just a bit ago.  I think the Chicago area has been under a Frost Advisory for 3 or 4 days in a row?  Woah!  Ya, I think it's time for Spring, or rather, Summer to arrive.  All signs are pointing towards exactly that next week!

Geeze, mother nature just doesn't want to play ball for those from I-80 on north...

 

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Boy, by the middle of next week, the majority of the nation will be under a classic Summer pattern with a dominant southerly flow coming straight out of the Gulf of Mexico.  A more noticeably humid and warm air mass will be in place.  It's gonna feel like summer!

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Once again there is a good amount of frost here in my area. I had a overnight low of 31 and so far it looks like the official low at Grand Rapids will be 33. And that would become the 7th coldest low for any May 13th of record at GR.  I also hope that this is the last frost of this spring/summer season. Last year the last frost was on May 13th and last fall the 1st frost was on September 19th.   West Michigan looks to remain on the dry side for a while and if that is the case there would tend to be bigger swings in the daily temperatures with warmer highs and cooler lows. At the current time it is clear and 34 here with frost still in the area.

 

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