Annandale - Lowell reports:
"May was average in temperature but a very dry month. The total precipitation
for May was 2.31" that was -2.0" below the average. But parts of western
Fairfax County had flooding and on the 26th and 27th we only had a few drops
here. The 19th through the 23rd was a record cool period. That set five
new record low minimum temperatures for the date. This was however offset
by the heat near the end of the month. We had seven days of less than or
equal to 45°F. the most since 1997. The 44 miles per hour wind recorded
on the 14th was only 1 mile per hour from the record high wind gust ever
recorded in May. The record is 45 miles per hour set in May of 1993.
The 1.0" of rain that fell on May 2nd was a 22 year record maximum amount
for the date and represented 43% of the rain total for the month of May.
May skies were a little clearer than average and the average daily
temperature range for the month was the highest since 1999. The 29.44"
barometer reading of May 13th was the lowest in May since 1997. By the way,
we are 6.77" below average this year and at the end of 2001 we were 7.84" below
average for a total deficit of 14.61 inches."
[ +/- - ]
Arlington - NWS WBC reports: ...Records...
On the 20th...42° set the record low for the day. The previous
record was 43° from 1915...Summary...
After an exceedingly warm April...May featured a week long cold snap
that brought the monthly average down just slightly cooler than normal.
As for rainfall... after a good month in April it was back to being
drier than normal. However, since most of the rain was in the form of
scattered thunderstorms, rainfall did vary widely across the metro
area. Dulles Airport to the west had nearly 5 inches on the month,
while Washington National Airport had just over 2 inches.
The significant weather feature of the month was a much cooler than
normal airmass that slid out of Canada. For the period from the 18th to
the 23rd, high temperatures were mainly in the lower 60s with lows
mainly in the lower 40s. For that six day stretch, temperatures
averaged 12° below normal. Although May occasionally has
temperatures that low, they are typically associated with cloudy and
rainy periods with low pressure off the coast pulling in cool oceanic
air. To have those readings with mainly sunny and dry weather is much
more uncommon." The average windspeed was 9.4 mph.
[ - - ]
Ashburn - Gary reports:
"Almost a [ - + ] month! Temperature only 0.5° above normal, and rainfall
was .45" above normal, capped by .02" of rain only minutes before the end of
the month. Temperature spread was 57.4° F. The rainfall was fairly nicely
spaced out through the month, and generally fell at rates beneficial to
vegetation and crops. A fair amount of lightning and thunder, with several
severe watches and a few warnings, but no thunderstorm reached severe
criteria at the station. Winds were generally light; averaging 1.8 mph, with
northwest being the dominant direction. The high temperature for the month,
90.3° was warm, but fell short of April's 95.1°." [ + + ]
Blacksburg - NWS Blacksburg reports the monthly mean temp
was 0.2° above normal while rainfall was 0.67" below normal. [ + + ]
Bridgewater -
"There were five consecutive mornings in which there was at least some
chance of frost. The 30° on the 22nd did a lot of damage to gardens.
In spite of the cold weather, the average temperature for the month was .9°
above normal.
Although the rainfall was below normal, the rains were beneficial.
They were spread out across the month. The total precipitation for the year
is now 12.85" which is 2" below normal. There have been 13
thunderstorms so far this year, but none severe in the Bridgewater area."
- notes from Clayton [ - - ]
Centreville -
"Dick Fletcher of Channel 10 in Tampa, Fl claims that on average in May,
they should experience nine days with temperatures of 90° or greater.
I'm happy to report that I picked all nine days in a row (and then some)
during my recent visit, eliminating any need for further worry about
falling short. The folks in the Sunshine State were happy to see me go
back to Virginia though because we were delayed slightly in Orlando as a
"cold" front passed over bringing their temperatures down to about normal
for a while. Looking over what had been happening in Centreville for the
past two weeks revealed that May hadn't been setting any temperature
records with an average daily high less than 2° above the 71.8° average
for the period. The lack of rainfall was reason for concern when just
36% of the 2.21" expected at that point in the month had fallen.
The highest high of 91° and the lowest low of 35° kept the mercury
active for the last two weeks of May, but still yielded an average daily
high just 1.6° above the typical 74.3°. Let's hear a big cheer for the
nighttime lows because they were only 3.3° above the 48.1° norm. Not bad
since the average of average lows for the year has been 8.3° greater than
expected. A major rain event of 1.78" on May 26th is noteworthy since
it supplied a little more than half of our 3.40" monthly total in just an
hour and fifteen minutes. Once the tipping bucket came to rest after
doing 2.08" during a 24-hour period, we accumulated 77% of the advertised
4.42" monthly average. Our annual deficit increased by about half an inch
over April to 5.79" and our 2002 shortfall is now two thirds of normal."
- notes from Paul [ + - ]
Charlottesville - The monthly rainfall total was 3.30" below
normal. The average wind speed was 4.9 mph. [ M - ]
Dulles - The mean temp was 0.5° below normal. The monthly
rainfall was 0.53" above normal. Average wind speed = 7.3 mph. - from NWS WBC
[ - + ]
Falls Church - "May 2002 was slightly above average in
temperature and below average in rainfall. There were 7 days with
thunderstorm activity but for the most part produced low rainfall amounts.
There were no days with an inch or greater." - report from Erica
[ + - ]
Harrisonburg - Terry reports:
"Temperatures for May averaged -0.4° below normal. Total
precipitation for the month was 4.35" which was .77" above normal. Yearly
precipitation totals 14.32" which is .41" above normal. For the period
December 1, 2001 through May 31, 2002, normal precipitation would have been
16.35". We have received 16.04" for this six month period, leaving a deficit
of 0.31 inches." [ - + ]
Herndon Bob notes: "
As referenced to Dulles normals--my average max was 2°
below and the average min was 1° above normal.
The precip was 0.91" above. Can't beat May 1988 for sog - I
observed 10.73", a 26-year record for any month.
"
[ - + ]
Herndon -
"A definite change in our previous patterns. The
monthly temperature average was NORMAL and rainfall was
1.48 inches ABOVE average. There was a record low
temperature of 33.4° recorded on the 22nd, beating
the old record of 37° set in 1968. The low
temperatures of the 19th and 20th of 38.7 and 38°
came close to tying the previous records of 38 and 37.
Most of our rainfall came in a deluge on the 26th and
the 27th. The total rainfall for those two days was 3.51 inches."
- notes from Russ [ +/- + ]
Lynchburg - Rainfall for the month was 0.05" above normal while
the mean temp was 0.6° above normal. - from NWS Blacksburg [ + + ]
Newport News - Gary reports: "Much needed rain the first half of the period. 6
record lows for the month with a minimum of 37° on the 22nd. The marks the
latest date - by 14 days - for a reading under 40° !! [ M M ]
Norfolk - NWS AKQ reported the mean temp at ORF was 0.4° above normal.
Rainfall was 0.24" below normal. Rainfall for the year was 2.06" below normal.
The average wind speed was 10.4 mph. [ + - ]
Portsmouth - The average temp for May was slightly below normal
(-0.8°), the first month since October 2001 to have a cooler than normal average
temp! Unlike in April, the temp never reached 90°. Rainfall was 130% of the
normal which helped keep temps down. Rain fell mostly in the 1st half of the month with only a trace of
rain from the 19th through month's end. A steady flow of station records continued
this month: 2nd - Daily precipitation - 1.51" [previously 1.11" 1995];
9th - Daily precipitation - 1.85" [previously 0.54" 1978];
10th - Maximum Minimum Temperature - 68° [previously 63° in 1977];
13th - Maximum Wind Gust - 37 MPH [previously 30 MPH in 1990];
19th - Minimum Temperature - 50° [previously 51° in 1981];
19th - Minimum Maximum Temperature TIED - 60° [previously in 1981];
20th - Minimum Temperature - 46° [previously 50° in 1981];
21st - Minimum Temperature TIED - 46° [previously in 1981];
21st - Minimum Maximum Temperature - 61° [previously 62° in 1994];
23rd - Minimum Temperature - 44° [previously 47° in 1990];
24th - Minimum Temperature TIED - 51° [previously 1990].
We had only 4 thunderstorm days, but a total of 8 individual TS were noted, an
average of 2 per day which is quite high.
The average wind speed was 4.0 mph from a dominant southerly direction.
For the year, mean temps are running about 3° above
normal, down a degree since April, while rainfall was 0.82" above normal (102%).
The long-term deficit is nearly 7.0" (since September 2001). The station is located
in a large gardens area with many surrounding trees and ponds although the sensor
areas are in open circulation. We notice summertime max temps slightly
cooler than nearby, more open areas having with plenty of concrete and less vegetation.
In the winter, our temps are more similar to other area stations.
Quite lucky overall! [ - + ]
Richmond - NWS AKQ reported the mean temp at RIC was normal.
Rainfall was 0.46" below normal. The average wind speed was 8.8 mph. [ +/- - ]
Mechanicsville - Glenn reports: "Strong thunderstorms on the
13th and 18th with strong winds, sharp lightning, and downpours."
Roanoke - Wendell notes: "Temps for May were 0.5° below normal
and rainfall was 0.93" below normal. The first half of May was moist but
the last half was very dry." [ - - ]
Roanoke - NWS Blacksburg reports that the monthly mean temp was
0.2° below normal. Rainfall was 1.57" below normal. [ - - ]
Woodstock -
"Precipitation above average (5th highest of 17 years); cool (7th
coldest of 17). Many very low temps in the valley from the
19th-22nd. Home gardeners who put out their tomatoes too early lost them."
[Editor's note: Not to mention those of us from Richmond to Hampton Roads whose
tomatoes were struck by a mid-spring virus that destroyed plants acquiring it!]
- notes from Lauck [ - + ]
North Carolina:
Asheville - from NWS GSP: The monthly mean temp was 0.2° above
normal and the rainfall was 0.99" below normal. The average wind speed was
6.3 mph. Average sky cover was 40% and the average relative humidity 73%.
[ + - ]
Brevard - Bob notes rainfall was some 3.15" more than the 10-year average of 3.63".
However, the area is still 7.53" short of the average accumulation through
May.
Charlotte - NWS GSP reports the mean temp here was 3.1° below normal
and precip was 0.52" above normal. The average wind speed was 6.3 mph. The
average sky cover was 60% and the average relative humidity was 70%. [ - + ]
Elizabeth City - The Elizabeth City Coast Guard Station [ECG]
reported an average wind speed of 10.5 mph. The mean temp was 1.2° below
normal while rainfall was 2.66" below normal. - from NWS AKQ [ - - ]
Fayetteville - NWS RDU reports sky cover averaged 20%. The average
relative humidity was 66%.
Cape Hatteras - The average temperature in May 2002 was 68.9°.
This was 1.5° warmer than the 1895-2002 average, the 22nd warmest May on
record (1895-2002). 2.58" of precipitation fell in May. This was -1.02"
less than the 1895-2002 average, the 46th driest such month on record
(1895-2002). - from NCDC
Greensboro - NWS RDU notes a mean temp here of 0.3° below normal.
Rainfall was 0.99" below normal. The average wind speed was 8.0 mph.
The average relative humidity was 66%. Sky cover was listed as 60%.
May set record low temperatures on the 20th. 22nd, and 23rd and a tie of the
previous record on the 19th. A record high minimum temp was set on the 2nd
and the 9th. A record low max temp was set on the 21st.
[ - - ]
