(Area) May temperatures were near normal for the state while precipitation totals lagged behind.
State Climatologist Justin Glisan reports this past month was similar to April in the sense that the weather pattern was fairly typical for the time of year, especially for temperatures. “Temperatures for the month of may were near the climalogical normal for most of the state. They were below average across portions of eastern Iowa where cloud cover and rain were present. The preliminary statewide average temperatures was around 59 degrees. On the precipitation side dry conditions persisted across much of Iowa with only extreme southeastern Iowa reporting above normal rainfall.”
The preliminary statewide average was around four inches, only two-tenths of an inch below normal. Southwest Iowa averaged 60 degrees or one degree below normal.
Despite having rain fall on several dates, the total amount of rain in Atlantic was well shy of the usual 5.4″ for the month. “The highest 24 hour rainfall was between 7:00 a.m. on the 26th to 7:00 a.m. on the 27th at .94.” Measurable precipitation fell on 18 days of the month and that’s interesting given the deficit, but a lot of those totals were a few tenths to a few one-hundredths of an inch.”
Atlantic received 2.8″ of rainfall or about 2.6″ below the 30-year average. Some areas of the state, namely northwest Iowa, received freezing temperatures late in the month. Glisan says there was some crop damage, but no record low temperatures were set.
