The Atlantic Coast Observer Network - Virginia/North Carolina/South Carolina

http://www.genserva.com/acon

SUMMARY OF CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA 



MAY 2012

...ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES...
...NOTABLE VARIATIONS IN RAINFALL TOTALS;
BUT THUNDERSTORMS & REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM BERYL
BRING EXCESSIVE RAINFALL FOR MANY STATIONS...

  • HOW LONG HAVE PEOPLE BEEN TRACKING PRECIPITATION?       In his book Meteorologica, Aristotle (340BC) mentioned topics such as clouds, mist, rain, snow, etc, but not the measurement of precipitation. Measuring rain and keeping records of it was apparently still far off in the future. The earliest quantitative device for measuring rainfall seems to be credited to a king in Korea called King Sejong who lived from 1397 to 1450. One of his goals as king was to make his people literate, so not only did he invent a rain gauge, but more importantly, he invented a phonetic alphabet for the Korean language as distinct from the Chinese characters widely in use in his time and movable type for that alphabet. He decided that instead of digging into the soil to check for moisture, it would be better to have a standardized container about 30cm in depth and 14cm in diameter that stood on a pillar to measure the rainfall. These containers were to help villagers determine their potential harvest and to give King Sejong a better idea of how much the farmers should be taxed! So, these standard containers were distributed to each village. The rain gauge was invented in the fourth month of 1441, according to records. The tipping bucket rain gauge was invented by Christopher Wren in Europe around 1661 and used the standard of weight, or sometimes volume, of the liquid precipitation. This tipping bucket idea is still used in many of the automated electronic gauges today. In 1887, Mr. Cleveland Abbe wrote a manual on Meteorological Apparatus and Methods" for the U.S. Army Signal Corps (agency responsible for U.S. weather observations at the time). In this booklet, Mr. Cleveland described the standards for the weather gauges to be used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. This standard 8 inch diameter gauge is still in use by many National Weather Service offices and cooperative weather observers across the United States and abroad.


  •   PAUL BASSETT'S ON THE MOVE    Centreville, VA (CEN) contributor to ACON VA/NC/SC, Paul Bassett, sent his last data report with April's summary. Paul has been in our group since we started placing the data online in August of 1995. So Paul, thank you for your 17 years of efforts, especially for having been a steadfast contributor, not missing any months, to my knowledge, of well-maintained, accurate data. Good luck as you step away and follow life's pursuits! (Paul will be relocating to the Harrisonburg area and we need a station there Paul!)


  •   NCDC DATA IS NOW FREE    The National Climatic Data Center in Asheville now provides weather data at no cost. The free data can be found at http://www7.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/


  • DROUGHT MONITOR    http://drought.unl.edu/MonitoringTools/USDroughtMonitor.aspx    More information on drought can be found at NOAA's Drought Information Center http://www.drought.noaa.gov/


  • REMINDER   All National Weather Service station data listed herein is preliminary and may be subject to change.  The data has not been certified and cannot be used in legal actions.  Only reports certified by the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC can be used for these purposes.



    • ACON VA/NC/SC Station Extremes - MAY 2012
    State
    Maximum Temperature
    Minimum
    Temperature
    Warmest
    Average
    Temperature
    Coldest
    Average
    Temperature
    Maximum
    Precipitation
    Minimum
    Precipitation
    Virginia
    92°
    Charlottesville
    36°
    Blacksburg
    72.0°
    Charlottesville
    64.4°
    Blacksburg
    9.49"
    Portsmouth
    2.12"
    Danville
    North Carolina
    93°
    New Bern
    42°
    Roxboro
    74.0°
    Beaufort
    67.1°
    Asheville
    8.31"
    Whiteville
    3.52"
    Raleigh (RAL)
    South Carolina
    95°
    Columbia
    49°
    Anderson
    Greenville-Spartanburg
    75.4°
    Columbia
    71.7°
    Greenville-Spartanburg
    7.90"
    Florence
    2.24"
    Anderson


    ( For an explanation of column headers in the following tables,
    please note the column denotations table below. )

    TEMPERATURE / WINDS/ ELEMENTS FOLLOWED BY
    PRECIPITATION / BAROMETRIC PRESSURE

    VIRGINIA | NORTH CAROLINA | SOUTH CAROLINA
    [Reminder: All NWS DATA HEREIN IS NOT OFFICIAL]
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    BCB 75.80 53.10 64.40 5.10 87.00 3 36.00 11 0 0 0 0 79% 31 200 3 3.0 9 0 0 0 2 LWX 2400
    BRI 77.20 58.10 67.70 5.60 91.00 28 40.00 11 0 0 0 0 70%   3 0 0 0 1 LWX 2400
    CHT 78.80 59.50 69.20 6.90 89.50 28 43.20 11 0 0 0 0 76% 15 158 8 0.4 180 6 0 0 0 0 LWX 2400
    CHO 81.90 62.00 72.00 8.80 92.00 28 47.00 12 3 0 0 0 30 330 29 4.0 4 0 0 0 6 LWX 2400
    DAN 81.00 57.70 69.40 3.00 90.00 31 39.00 11 1 0 0 0 73% 30 010,210 1,29 3.8 6 0 0 0 2 RNK 2400
    DCA 80.10 62.70 71.40 5.40 91.00 29 52.00 11,12 2 0 0 0 66% 40 310 9 7.6 5 0 0 0 0 LWX 2400
    IAD 78.80 58.10 68.50 5.30 90.00 28 39.00 11 1 0 0 0 71% 52 350 27 5.9 5 0 0 0 2 LWX 2400
    HAM 77.00 61.00 69.00 3.80 87.00 29 53.00 10,11 0 0 0 0 39 315 4 8.0 090 7 0 0 0 2 AKQ 2400
    GAV 80.45 60.16 70.31 1.60 88.00 2,27,29 44.00 11 0 0 0 0 73% 24 203 8,9 7 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    HDV 78.50 58.50 68.50 4.10 90.00 28 41.00 11 1 0 0 0 74% 16 225 8 090 7 0 0 0 0 LWX 2400
    LYH 78.80 56.90 67.80 4.70 88.00 25 41.00 11 0 0 0 0 73% 31 040 20 4.0   4 0 0 0 5 RNK 2400
    NPN 79.40 60.20 69.10 2.20 90.20 29 49.50 10,11 1 0 0 0 33 293 4 2.2 225 6 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    FHC 78.35 62.65 70.50 3.90 89.70 29 54.70 7 1 0 0 0 74% 26 023 18 1.4 203 6 0 0 0 2 AKQ 2400
    NOR 77.70 60.30 69.00 1.20 88.00 28,29 51.00 7 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    ORF 77.90 62.60 70.20 3.60 89.00 4,29 52.00 12 0 0 0 0 73% 38 130 16 8.3 2 0 0 0 2 AKQ 2400
    POR 80.00 61.30 70.60 2.90 89.40 28 50.90 12 0 0 0 0 79% 34 045 6 3.5 041 6 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    CTR 80.50 58.50 68.80 -3.40 89.00 29 41.90 12 0 0 0 0 80% 13 270,315,070 1,10,18 0.2 112 2 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    MEC 81.12 60.03 70.80 89.00 2,3 45.00 11 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 AKQ 2400
    RIC 80.80 60.10 70.50 4.10 90.00 29 47.00 12 1 0 0 0 73% 33 300 10 6.4 9 0 0 0 5 AKQ 2400
    ROA 79.20 58.70 68.90 4.30 89.00 3,25 42.00 11 0 0 0 0 70% 38 240 3 4.5 7 0 0 0 2 RNK 2400
    WAL 75.80 60.00 67.90 5.20 88.00 29 49.00 11,19 0 0 0 0 38 050 20 9.4 7 0 0 0 4 AKQ 2400
    WOO 74.30 58.70 66.50 4.10 88.00 29 40.00 12 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 3 LWX 0800
    WSH 76.30 57.90 67.10 3.64 89.20 28 44.20 11 0 0 0 0 82% 14 090 10 0.3 248 9 0 0 0 0 LWX 2400
    Averages 78.68 59.51 69.05 3.91 89.22 45.32 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 74% 30.3 4.3 5.7 1.7
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    AVL 77.2 57.0 67.1 4.00 86 25,26 43 11 0 0 0 0 73% 29 270 19 4.1 4 1 0 0 8 GSP 2400
    MRH 80.2 67.7 74.0 5.20 86 31 54 12 0 0 0 0 35 030 6 9.1 2 0 0 0 2 MHX 2400
    CLT 82.2 60.8 71.5 4.10 90 25 48 11 1 0 0 0 69% 32 340 10 5.9 8 0 0 0 1 GSP 2400
    ECG 81.9 64.7 73.3 6.50 91 2 54 12 3 0 0 0 69% 46 240 1 8.3 0 0 0 0 3 AKQ 2400
    FAY 84.3 62.2 73.3 2.70 92 5,31 49 12 7 0 0 0 70% 36 240,230,180 5,14,29 6.5 10 0 0 0 5 RAH 2400
    GSO 80.4 60.8 70.6 3.80 90 31 45 11 1 0 0 0 70% 35 070 14 5.9 8 0 0 0 1 RAH 2400
    HSE 78.7 67.4 73.1 6.00 84 27,31 51 12 0 0 0 0 74% 49 160 30 9.1 0 0 0 0 1 MHX 2400
    HKY 80.5 59.8 70.2 3.90 89 25,26 45 11 0 0 0 0 30 240 22 3.2 7 0 0 0 3 GSP 2400
    LBT 85.0 61.6 73.3 3.50 92 25,31 49 12,20 11 0 0 0 71% 64 330 9 5.4 5 0 0 0 7 ILM 2400
    EWN 82.7 62.8 72.8 3.30 93 3 49 12 5 0 0 0 73% 36 010 30 6.3 7 0 0 0 4 MHX 2400
    RDU 82.4 61.6 72.0 4.00 91 2,3 47 11,12 5 0 0 0 71% 33 300 9 5.3 10 0 0 0 2 RAH 2400
    RAL 82.0 59.7 70.9 3.20 92 3 45 11,12 2 0 0 0 42 9 5 0 0 0 0 RAH 2400
    ROX 80.7 59.1 70.2 4.70 91 3 42 11 1 0 0 0 73% 28 360 9 360 7 0 0 0 2 RAH 2400
    WHI 83.4 62.6 73 3.80 91.7 31 50.6 12 2 0 0 0 75% 36 319 9 2.6 129 7 0 0 0 0 ILM 2400
    ILM 82.2 63.8 73.0 2.60 92 5 51 11 4 0 0 0 73% 45 350 30 7.5 8 0 0 0 2 ILM 2400
    Averages 81.6 62.1 71.9 4.1 90.0 48.2 2.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 72% 38.4 6.1 5.9 2.7
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    AND 82.7 62.0 72.4 3.8 91 25,26 49 10 3 0 0 0 32 200 31 5.0 3 0 0 0 2 GSP 2400
    CAE 85.8 64.9 75.4 3.7 95 5 54 10 10 0 0 0 67% 37 160 28 5.3 8 0 0 0 1 CAE 2400
    CRE 81.1 65.5 73.3 3.6 88 5,11 53 11 0 0 0 0 75% 36 330 30 7.7 4 0 0 0 4 ILM 2400
    CHS 84.6 65.3 75.0 2.5 93 5 58 11,12 5 0 0 0 40 130 29 8.4 7 0 0 0 0 CHS 2400
    FLO 84.8 63.9 74.4 3.3 92 5 52 12 4 0 0 0 68% 35 290 13 6.4 8 0 0 0 4 ILM 2400
    GSP 81.9 61.5 71.7 3.0 90 26,30 49 10 2 0 0 0 68% 35 210 31 5.0 9 0 0 0 1 GSP 2400
    OGB 85.1 64.3 74.7 3.1 94 5 55 11 6 0 0 0 45 010 29 5.3 0 0 0 0 6 CAE 2400
    Averages 83.7 63.9 73.8 3.3 91.9 52.9 4.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 70% 37.1 6.2 5.6 2.6
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN A B C C1 D E F G H I J K K1 L M N N1 N2 O P Q R R1 CWA TIME RECORDED
    TRI 80.9 56.0 68.5 5.0 91 26,27 39 11 3 0 0 0 39 230 22 2.5 4 0 0 0 4 MRX 2400
    DAV 69.5 50.3 59.9 81 29 31 11,12 0 0 0 0 PBX 2400
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    BCB 3.77 -0.56 1.28 14 1.28 14 14 1 18.03         0.0 10.0 RNK 2400
    BRI 4.06 0.14 0.86 14 1.33 14-15 13 0 12.73       0.0 4.8 30.220 12,13 29.780 30 30.060 LWX 2400
    CHT 6.81 2.59 1.91 23 2.00 23-24 15 1 14.66         0.0 2.6 30.304 12 29.611 10 29.987 LWX 2400
    CHO 4.07 0.09 1.02 15 1.40 14-15 16 1 14.08 29.610 10 LWX 2400
    DAN 2.12 -1.76 0.68 14 0.80 13-14 10 0 12.54         0.0 3.0 30.340 12 29.670 9 RNK 2400
    DCA 3.28 -0.71 0.58 9 1.22 15 13 1 10.74         0.0 2.0     29.610 10 LWX 2400
    IAD 5.38 0.83 1.41 23 1.66 22-23 15 1 12.99         0.0 2.8 29.610 10 LWX 2400
    GAV 3.57 1.38 22 1.44 21,22 15 1 14.28         0.0 7.4 30.330 12 29.620 9 30.010 AKQ 2400
    HAM 4.14 0.41 1.33 15 1.56 15-16 11 1 16.85 0.0 30.350 12 29.630 9 30.020 AKQ 2400
    HDV 4.82 -0.07 0.81 23 14 0 12.76         0.0 2.6 30.290 12 29.600 10 AKQ 2400
    LYH 2.36 -1.37 0.83 14 0.85 13-14 12 0 15.41         0.0 8.5 30.350 12 29.680 9 RNK 2400
    NPN 8.85 4.86 5.31 15 5.31 15 11 3 21.49       0.0 0.8 30.330 12 29.610 10 AKQ 2400
    FHC 7.76 4.35 2.10 30 3.07 15-16 13 4 16.78       0.0 0.2 30.348 12 29.632 9 30.021 AKQ 2400
    NOR 8.16 4.10 2.93 22 2.93 22 11 4 19.61         0.0 0.5 AKQ 2400
    ORF 6.43 3.02 2.10 30 2.10 29-30 10 4 16.47         0.0 0.5 30.330 12 29.610 10 AKQ 2400
    POR 9.49 5.26 3.14 15 3.17 15-16 13 4 23.12         0.0 0.5 30.330 12 29.620 9 30.004 AKQ 2400
    CTR 2.52 -1.49 1.25 9 1.27 9-10 16 1 11.57         0.0 6.1 30.300 12 29.620 9 29.970 AKQ 2400
    MEC 6.31 1.62 16 1.92 15-16 11 3 16.77         0.0 7.5 30.060 12 29.500 9 29.780 AKQ 2400
    RIC 2.45 -1.33 0.83 9 0.84 9-10 13 0 12.31         0.0 4.5 30.310 12 29.660 10 AKQ 2400
    ROA 4.03 -0.03 1.35 14 1.41 13-14 11 1 14.49         0.0 6.1 30.360 12 29.720 9 RNK 2400
    WAL 3.69 0.74 2.11 9 2.13 9-10 10 1 16.31         0.0 0.5 30.300 12 29.560 10 AKQ 2400
    WOO 2.27 -1.85 0.80 14-15 16 0 10.67         0.0 5.6 30.330 12 29.780 10 LWX 0800
    WSH 6.01 2.04 2.62 23 2.74 22-23 16 1 13.44         0.0 3.8 30.350 12 29.680 10 LWX 2400
    Averages 4.88 0.92 1.70 1.87 13.0 15.13 0.00 0.0 0.0 3.8 30.307 29.639 29.982
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    AVL 5.82 2.16 0.95 19 1.15 13-14 15 0 13.98         0.0 T 30.340 12 29.740 9 GSP 2400
    MRH 4.70 0.77 1.82 30 1.82 30 11 2 14.57         0.0 T 30.130 27 29.480 30 MHX 2400
    CLT 5.92 2.74 2.41 8 2.71 8-9 8 3 13.39         0.0 T 30.350 12 29.700 9 GSP 2400
    ECG 7.62 6.50 2.42 9 2.42 9 13 3 20.03   30.350 12 29.600 9 AKQ 2400
    FAY 5.25 2.01 1.16 29 2.14 29-30 14 1 15.01     0.0   28.920 31 RAH 2400
    GSO 4.66 1.28 1.38 9 1.72 13-14 10 2 13.48       0.0 T 28.920 31 RAH 2400
    HSE 4.87 1.30 1.60 15 1.60 15 12 2 22.78       0.0 T 30.360 12 29.450 30 MHX 2400
    HKY 7.34 3.66 3.10 14 3.10 14 12 2 14.49         30.310 12 29.690 9 GSP 2400
    LBT 5.58 2.53 1.83 17 1.85 17-18 9 2 14.32         0.0   30.340 12 29.670 30 ILM 2400
    EWN 7.36 3.21 3.88 30 3.88 30 15 2 17.66         0.0 T 30.370 12 29.550 30 MHX 2400
    RDU 3.97 0.70 1.58 5 1.59 5-6 12 1 15.86         0.0 0.9 28.920 31 RAH 2400
    RAL 3.52 0.12 0.76 5-6 12 0 15.49     0.0 0.6 30.130 25 29.640 9 RAH 2400
    ROX 4.53 0.72 1.28 9 1.28 9 11 1 14.04       0.0 3.3 30.420 12,13 29.740 9 30.080 RAH 2400
    WHI 8.31 4.09 3.56 30 3.56 30 11 3 19.84         0.0 3.3 30.354 12 29.622 30 29.992 ILM 2400
    ILM 7.28 2.79 3.69 30 3.69 30 14 1 14.79         0.0 T 30.350 12 29.520 30 ILM 2400
    Averages 5.78 2.31 2.19 2.22 11.9 15.98 0.0 30.317 29.477 30.036
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    AND 2.24 -0.93 0.88 13 1.00 13-14 9 0 10.45       30.320 12 29.690 9 GSP 2400
    CAE 4.71 1.74 0.95 9 1.08 29-30 12 0 11.14     0.0 0.0 30.330 12 29.680 9 CAE 2400
    CRE 3.75 0.34 1.31 30 1.31 30 12 1 10.34 0.0 30.350 12 29.540 30 ILM 2400
    CHS 3.06 0.04 1.12 29 1.30 29-30 11 1 11.48     0.0 0.0 30.330 12 29.550 30 CHS 2400
    FLO 7.90 4.64 2.90 17 2.98 17-18 10 2 16.64 30.340 12 29.660 30 ILM 2400
    GSP 3.44 -0.32 1.33 14 2.00 13-14 6 1 12.05         0.0 T 30.320 12 29.690 9 GSP 2400
    OGB 6.90 3.68 3.28 29 3.28 29 9 3 13.34 30.330 12 29.640 30 CAE 2400
    Averages 4.57 1.31 1.68 1.85 9.9 1.1 12.21 30.331 29.636
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED
    TRI 2.07 -1.73 1.37 14 1.40 1 12 1 16.79         0.0 1.2 30.280 12 29.71 31 MRX 2400
    DAV 5.48 1.85 15 14 2 22.98 7.1 108.2 PBX 2400
    Averages
    STN T T1 U U1 V V1 W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 6A 7 7A 8 CWA TIME RECORDED


    Virginia:

    Arlington - " MAY 2012 WAS THE 4th WARMEST MAY ON RECORD FOR WASHINGTON DC...WITH A MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 71.4F. THE WARMEST MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE ON RECORD FOR MAY IS 73.0F IN 1991. MAY 2012 WAS THE 7TH CONSECUTIVE MONTH IN WASHINGTON WITH A MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE ABOVE THE 1981-2010 30-YEAR MONTHLY NORMAL. THE LOWEST DAILY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE DURING THE ENTIRE MONTH WAS 52F /OBSERVED ON BOTH THE 11TH AND 12TH/. THIS WAS THE FIRST MAY ON RECORD WHERE THE DAILY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE DID NOT DROP BELOW 52F IN MAY. THE LOWEST DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE DURING THE ENTIRE MONTH WAS 70F /ON THE 10TH/. THIS WAS THE FIRST MAY ON RECORD WHERE THE DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE DID NOT DROP BELOW 70F IN MAY. ONE DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORD WAS SET. A MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 71 DEGREES ON THE 25TH BROKE THE OLD HIGH MINIMUM RECORD OF 70 DEGREES SET IN 1991. MAY 2012 WAS THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH OF BELOW-NORMAL RAINFALL. ALMOST HALF OF THE MONTHLY RAINFALL OCCURRED ON THE 14TH-15TH...WHEN A FRONT STALLED OVER THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION. " - [ + - ] - Notes from NWS Sterling, VA

    Bridgewater - Clayton reports: " The average temperature for the month was 5.6° above normal. The precipitation was 0.14 inches above normal. The precipitation for the year is now 2.12 inches below normal. In the first nine days of the month, there were eight days with measurable precipitation. There have been nine thunderstorms this year, but none severe. " - [ + + ]

    Chantilly - Russ reports: " Third warmest May on record at this station. Continuing to note that, while the mean high temperatures are above normal, the above normal monthly mean temperature is primarily due to much higher than normal mean low temperatures. The mean monthly temperature 69.2° (+6.9°). The mean high temperature was 78.8° (+4.2°) and the mean low temperature was 59.5° (+9.6°). We broke or tied multiple records, with a record high minimum temperature on the 4th (62.3°), 5th (61.7° tie), 6th (62.0°), 25th (68.1°), and 29th (69.4°). Precipitation was 2.59" above normal at 6.81", which nearly doubled the annual rainfall total for the year and broke our streak of dry months. Thunderstorms were observed on the 4th, 15th, 21st, 23rd, 27th and 29th. *Please note, anemometer is currently partially obstructed from the North and East " - [ + + ]

    Dulles - from NWS Sterling (KLWX): " MAY 2012 WAS THE 3RD WARMEST MAY ON RECORD FOR DULLES...WITH A MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 68.5F. THE WARMEST MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE ON RECORD FOR MAY IS 69.8F IN 2004. THE MONTHLY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE AVERAGED 58.1F FOR THE MONTH...WHICH WAS THE SECOND WARMEST MONTHLY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR MAY. ONLY MAY 2004 WAS WARMER /59.3F/. ABOVE-NORMAL TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN RECORDED IN TWELVE OF THE PAST FOURTEEN MONTHS AT DULLES. FIVE OF THE PAST SIX MONTHS HAVE FEATURED AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURES GREATER THAN 4.5F ABOVE THE MONTHLY NORMAL. FOUR DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE TIED OR BROKEN THIS MAY. A MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 60F ON THE 4TH BROKE THE OLD HIGH MINIMUM RECORD OF 59 DEGREES SET IN 1993. A MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 61F ON THE 6TH TIED THE OLD RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE SET IN 2010. A MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 90F ON THE 28TH TIED THE OLD RECORD SET IN 1991. A RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 69F ON THE 29TH BROKE THE OLD HIGH MINIMUM RECORD OF 67F SET IN 2011. MAY WAS THE FIRST MONTH IN 2012 WITH PRECIPITATION ABOVE ITS MONTHLY NORMAL. THE DAILY RAINFALL TOTAL OF 1.41 INCH ON THE 23RD WAS THE WETTEST CALENDAR DAY AT DULLES SINCE 10 MARCH 2011...WHEN 1.41 INCH ALSO WAS RECORDED. A 52-MPH WIND GUST WAS RECORDED ON THE EVENING OF THE 27TH AS AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM A NEARBY THUNDERSTORM MOVED THROUGH THE AIRPORT. " - [ + + ]

    Glen Allen - Lowell sends these additional notes: " May was the warmest and second driest on record at Glen Allen as the monthly mean temperature was 70.3°F, a +1.6°F departure. The average maximum, minimum and mean temperatures for May were all record highs. The maximum temperature for May was 88 degrees F on the 2nd, 27th, and 29th. This May had 17 days that the high temperature was greater than 80°F. What made the average temperature for May so high was the lack of cool days. The lowest maximum temperature in May was only 72°F; the average is 64.0°F. The 3.57 inches of precipitation for May was a negative 0.55 inch departure even though a measurable amount of rain fell on 15 days the maximum record number of days for May. This also made May the second cloudiest May with the highest average relative humidity for the month. The maximum rainfall recorded in a day was 1.38 inches on the 22nd.

     

     

    Glen Allen -- Spring

     

     

     

    Ave. 

    2012

    Depart. 

    Precip.

    Total

    Precip.

     

    Temp.

    Temp.

    °F

    Average

    Precip

    Depart.

    Mar.

    48.6

    58.2

    +9.6

    4.75

    2.31

    -2.44

    Apr.

    60.5

    55.7

    -4.8

    2.47

    3.09

    +0.62

    May

    68.7

    70.3

    +1.6

    4.12

    3.57

    -0.55

    SUM

    177.8

    184.2

    +6.4

    11.34

    8.97

    -2.37

    Spring AVE.

    59.3

    61.40

    +2.1

     

     

     
    - [ + - ] "

    Herndon - Randy adds: " May was above normal for temperature and slightly below normal for precipitation. The temperatures ranged between a high of 90 and a low of 41. We averaged 4.1 degrees above normal for the month. On the precipitation side, the month was 0.07" below normal with 4.82" measured. This is the fifth consecutive month of below average precipitation. We had scattered periods of precipitation throughout the month. We have now had 12.76" for the year, which is still about 5.0" below normal for the year. " - [ + - ]

    Richmond - from Member Lowell Koontz in Glen Allen, Virginia: " RICHMOND RECORDS & NOTES FOR MAY 2012: 1. The mean temperature was 70.5°, which was the 8th warmest May. The mean temperature for May was +4.1°F above the 30 year mean temperature of 66.4°F. 2. Only one daily May record was noted - the record low temperature was 70°F, that tied the previous daily record for the 29th set in 1908 and 1959. 3. May, with 2.45 inches of precipitation, was the 27th driest in the past 125 years. 4. The lowest daily temperature range in May was 12°F on May 30th, which tied for 7th place in the past 115 years. The average is 7.7°F and the record is 17°F on May 13, 1937. 5. The average minimum temperature was a mild 60.1°F, that tied for third place. The 30-year average for May is 55°F. 6. The lowest May minimum temperature was a mild 47°F on the 12th. This is very high minimum for May and rated the 5th highest in the past 115 years. The record is 31°F. 7. The lowest May maximum was 72°F on the 10th and 11th. This too was very high for a low maximum for May and rated the 5th highest in the past 115 years. The record is 74°F set in 1991. 8. Richmond had its warmest spring in 2012 with a mean temperature of 62.4°F. The second warmest was 2010 with 61.5°F, 3rd warmest was 1945 with 61.3°F. 9. Richmond's spring precipitation was less than average. (Mar. 2.51, Apr. 2.40, May 2.45 equals 7.36) The season's 30 year average is 11.09. Departure= -3.73 inches. " - [ + - ]

    Portsmouth - " The 9.49" of rain recorded during May 2012 in the West Cradock area of Portsmouth, Virginia, established a NEW STATION MAY MONTHLY RAINFALL RECORD. The Top 5 Wettest Mays include: 1) 9.49" 2012, 2) 8.06" 1986, 3) 7.76" 1978, 4) 7.21" 1979, and 5) 5.77" 2003. May's average temperature (70.6°) was 2.9° ABOVE NORMAL. Precipitation was WELL-ABOVE NORMAL by 5.26" or 224% of normal relative to normal Mays for the period from 1977 to 2011. Frontal passages occurred on the 2nd (backdoor onshore/coastal), 5th; 9th STATION RECORDS: 4th - TEMPERATURE 88° [previous 87° 1996], 15th - RAINFALL 3.14" [previous 0.78" 2005], 18th - WIND GUST 33mph [previous 32mph 1991], and 29th - TEMPERATURE TIED 71° [previous 1991] By the end of the month, the yearly average temperature was 70.6° and that was 2.9° ABOVE normal while rainfall for the year was 23.12" or 4.63" ABOVE normal (125% of normal). " - [ + + ] 

    North Carolina:

    Fayetteville - from NWS Raleigh RAH: " THE LOW TEMPERATURE MAY 1 AT FAYETTEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT WAS 66 DEGREES. THIS TIES THE RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 66 DEGREES SET IN 1991. THE LOW TEMPERATURE MAY 5 AT FAYETTEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT WAS 68 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 66 DEGREES SET IN 1990. " - [ + + ]

    Greensboro - from NWS RAH: " THE DAILY RAINFALL MAY 9 AT PIEDMONT TRIAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 1.38 INCHES.THIS BREAKS THE OLD DAILY RAINFALL RECORD OF 1.28 INCHES SET IN 1920. THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE MAY 28 AT PIEDMONT TRIAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 70 DEGREES. THIS TIES THE RECORD HIGH MINIMUM OF 70 DEGREES SET IN 1991. " - [ + + ]

    North Whiteville - Chris sends these notes: " MAY 30 - TROPICAL DEPRESSION "BERYL" - 3.56" rainfall in approximately 7 hours. Considerable flooding of low-lying and poor drainage areas, many ditches overflowed. There were many road closures in west-central Columbus County, and the communities of Chadbourn (approx. 5 miles SSW of my station) and Cerro Gordo (approx. 15 miles SW of my location) were hit especially hard. MAY 9 - Wind gusts during a thunderstorm knocked down a large tree on Bill Hooks Road, approximately 0.5 mile from my location. " - [ + + ]

    Raleigh - Bob adds: " MAY WAS WARMER AND SLIGHTLY WETTER THAN NORMAL. IN ADDITION, SEVERE WEATHER WAS AN ONGOING THREAT FOR THE REGION WITH FOUR SEPARATE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES DURING THE MONTH. A PEAK WIND GUST OF 42 MPH WAS RECORDED ON THE 9TH (HIGHEST GUST FOR 2012). PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR IS 0.12" ABOVE NORMAL, METEOROLOGICAL SPRING (MARCH-MAY) 2012 WAS THE WARMEST SPRING ON RECORD ACCORDING TO NWS RECORDS FOR RALEIGH. " - [ + + ]

    Raleigh - from NWS Raleigh RAH: " THE LOW TEMPERATURE MAY 1 AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 67 DEGREES. THIS TIES THE RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 67 DEGREES SET IN 2009. THE DAILY RAINFALL MAY 5 AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 1.58 INCHES. THIS BREAKS THE OLD DAILY RAINFALL RECORD OF 0.98 INCHES SET IN 2009. THE LOW TEMPERATURE MAY 27 AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 72 DEGREES. THIS TIES THE RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 72 DEGREES SET IN 1991. THE LOW TEMPERATURE MAY 29 AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 72 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 71 DEGREES SET IN 1941. " - [ + + ]

    Nearby Locations:

    Tri-Cities - from NWS MRX, Morristown, TN: " The monthly-averaged temperature at Tri-Cities in May was 68.5 degrees, which was 5.0 degrees above normal. It ranked as the 7th warmest May on record. A record high temperature was broken on the 26th when the temperature peaked at 91 degrees surpassing the previous record of 89 degrees set in 1991. Another new temperature record was set on the next day when the afternoon temperature soared to 91 degrees breaking the previous record 89 degrees set in 1941. The warmest May at Tri-Cities was in 1962 when the average temperature was 71.2 degrees. Tri-Cities received 2.07 inches of rain in May, which was 1.73 inches below normal. It ranked as the 14th driest May on record. Measurable precipitation occurred on 10 days and only 2 of those days had more than one-quarter of an inch of precipitation. The heaviest precipitation fell on the 14th when 1.37 inches of rain was reported, which also broke the daily rainfall record 1.06 inches set in 1950. It also accounted for more than one-half of the precipitation for the entire month. The driest May of the 74 years of observations taken at Tri-Cities was in 2007 when only 0.76 inches of precipitation was recorded. The season-averaged temperature at Tri-Cities in spring was 61.1 degrees which was 6.0 degrees above normal. It ranked as the warmest spring on record. The preceding warmest spring at Tri-Cities was in 1991 when the average temperature was 59.5 degrees. Tri-Cities received a seasonal total of 8.48 inches of rain in spring, which was 2.09 inches below normal. It ranked as the 18th driest spring on record. The driest spring was in 2007 when only 5.67 inches of precipitation was recorded. " - [ + - ]



    COLUMN DENOTATIONS:

    A  maximum mean temperature T total precipitation (inches)
    T1 departure from normal
    B  minimum mean temperature U maximum calendar day precipitation (inches)
    C  monthly mean temperature
    C1 departure from normal    		 U1 date of maximum calendar day precipitation
    D  maximum temperature V date(s) of maximum daily precipitation
    E  date(s) of maximum temperature V1 maximum 24-hour precip. & date(s)
    F  minimum temperature W number of days with precip. >= .01"
    G  date(s) of minimum temperature  X number of days with precip. >= 1.0"
    H  days with maximum temperature >=90 Y year-to-date precipitation (inches)
    I  days with maximum temperature <=32 Z maximum calendar day snowfall (inches)
    J  days with minimum temperature <=32 VRB Variable
    K  days with minimum temperature <= 0 1 date of maximum calendar day snowfall (inches)
    K1 average relative humidity 2 number of days with snowfall
    L  peak wind gust (miles per hour)  3 number of days with snowfall >= 1.0"
    M  direction of peak wind gust 4  total snowfall for month (inches)
    N  date(s) of peak wind gust  5 total snowfall for 2007-2008 season (inches)
    N1   average wind speed (miles per hour) 6 maximum barometric pressure (inches)
    N2 dominant wind direction 6A date of maximum barometric pressure
    O  number of days with thunder  7 minimum barometric pressure (inches)
    P  number of days with hail 7A date of minimum barometric pressure
    Q  number of days with glaze 8   average sea-level pressure
    R  number of days with ice pellets STN  Station
      NR not recorded
    R1 number of days with dense fog [1/4 mile and less visibility] (i) incomplete data
    S  local observation time for temps/precipitation (M) missing, if listed in data table
     ~ "about" E estimated
     +  additional indeterminate number of days CWA - NWS Office County Warning Area



    For Weather Headlines visit the National Weather Service Homepage
    or conduct a Google.com Search
    http://www.weather.gov
     

    National Weather Service Web Sites & Current Email Addresses
    Within or Nearby the ACON VA/NC/SC Area Can Be Found At:

         NWS Washington/Baltimore, VA/MD
         NWS Wakefield, VA
         NWS Blacksburg, VA
         NWS Raleigh, NC
         NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC
         NWS Wilmington, NC
         NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
         NWS Columbia, SC
         NWS Charleston, SC
         NWS Morristown, TN

         National Weather Service Homepages

         National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC

    STATION / LOCATION (MILES & DIRECTION FROM MAIN POST OFFICE)/OBSERVER / YEAR RECORDS BEGAN / EMAIL ADDRESS:

      
    AKQ    Wakefield, VA NWS Wakefield Municipal Airport 36-58-53N 077-00-04W 33M  
    DCA    Arlington, VA Washington, DC, Reagan Washington National Airport 38-50-54N 077-02-03W 18M WSH   Washington, VA  David Yowell runamok@runamok.com
    BCB    Blacksburg, VA NWS Virginia Tech Airport 37-13N 080-25W   
      WOO  Woodstock, VA 5NW Lauck Walton 12/1/85 jwalton@shentel.net
       LDY Ladysmith, VA Danny Jessee 2003 STATION CLOSED 8/31/2010 danny@dannyjessee.com
    BRI     Bridgewater, VA Clayton Towers Ctowers19@aol.com WAL   Wallops Island, VA 37° 56'26" N 75° 27'47" W Wallops Flight Facility Airport
    CEN  Centreville, VA Paul Bassett 1985, 38° 50.9788' N LAT. 77° 25.6374' W LON. | Elevation 324' | m.psb@verizon.net AVL    Asheville, NC  Asheville Regional Airport 35-25-55N 082-32-15W 670M
    CHO   Charlottesville, VA  Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport ASOS  (Rappahannock County) 38-08-18N 078-27-21W 192M MRH    Beaufort, NC  Michael J. Field Airport 34-44-01N 076-39-38W 3M
    DAN  Danville, VA, Danville Regional Airport, 36-34-22N 079-20 10W 175M  CLT    Charlotte, NC NWS Charlotte/Douglas International Airport 35-12-48N 080-56-55W 220M
    IAD   Dulles - Washington-Dulles International Airport  38-56-05N 077-26-51W 93M   
    FCH    Falls Church, VA Erica Page 3/7/94 Windie1970@aol.com HKY  Hickory, NC 
    HAM    Hampton, VA 5NE Dave Kessel 1989 davidkessel@cox.net ECG  Elizabeth City, NC,  Coast Guard Air Station 36-15-47N 076 10-58W 11M
    LYH     Lynchburg, VA NWS Lynchburg Regional Airport 37-19-15N 079-12-24W 295M ILM     Wilmington, NC NWS New Hanover International Airport 34-16-06N 077-54-22W 9M
    CTR  Winterpock in Chesterfield County, VA Albert Arnold 06/03 FAY  Fayetteville, NC Fayetteville Regional Airport, 34-59-22N 078-52-48W 55M
      GSO   Greensboro, NC NWS Piedmont Triad International Airport 36-05-51N 079-56-37W 275M
    CHT   Chantilly, VA Russ Topping -  12/2006  russ.topping@gmail.com - new location December 2006 HSE    Cape Hatteras, NC  Mitchell Field 35-13-56N 075-27-21W 3M
    HDV    Herndon, VA  Randoplh W. Ashby, 3.3 SM South, Lat: 38.922127, Lon: -77.38015, Elev: 390'. Randolph_Ashby@Raytheon.com LBT    Lumberton, NC  Lumberton Municipal Airport 34-36-26N 079-03-36W 37M
    GAV - Glen Allen, Henrico County, VA - Lowell Koontz  8/1/08  wwkoontz@verizon.net EWN    New Bern, NC  Craven County Regional Airport 36-04-03N 077-02-50W 3M
      MON    Moncure, NC  Chatham County - Mac McIlwain mac.mcilwain@embarqmail.com
      RAL    Raleigh, NC 7NNW  Bob Woodson -  6/1/93 kf4mmm@qsl.net
    LKU     Louisa, VA 1N Joseph Bowers 1944 - NWS ID  44-5050-02 STATION CLOSED RDU   Raleigh-Durham, NC Raleigh-Durham International Airport 35-52-14N 078-47-11W 130M
    LOU     Louisa, VA 6S John Bullock (about 1970) STATION CLOSED ROX    Roxboro, NC 2SE Merriell A. Jay 1/93
         WHI   North Whiteville, NC Christopher Crawley 12/10 34.413744N / 078.751908W
    LYH     Lynchburg, VA NWS Lynchburg Regional Airport 37-19-15N 079-12-24W 295M ILM     Wilmington, NC NWS New Hanover International Airport 34-16-06N 077-54-22W 9M
    NEW    Newmarket, VA 2W Joyce Winfree STATION CLOSED 5/31/10 joywood@shentel.net CHS   Charleston, SC NWS Charleston Air Force Base 32-53-56N 080-02-26W 13M
    NPN     Newport News, VA 7N Gary Leonard -  6/91 GaryMLeonard@aol.com CAE    Columbia, SC NWS Columbia Metropolitan Airport 33-56-31N 081-07-05W 73M 
    NOR     Norfolk, VA 3NE Jim Fentress 6/1/77 FLO    Florence, SC Florence Regional Airport 34-11-16N 079-43-51W 44M
    ORF     Norfolk, VA 5NE 36-54-13N 076-11-31W 14M  1871 GSP   Greenville-Spartanburg, SC NWS Greenville-Spartanburg Airport 34-53-02N 082-13-15W 286M 
    POR     Portsmouth, VA 36.81° North 76.33° West 3S Bill Trotter -  7/1/76 wxr@cox.net CRE    North Myrtle Beach, SC Grand Strand Airport 33-48-42N 078-43-26W 10M
    MEC     Mechanicsville, VA Glen Martin 11/19/91 OGB   Orangeburg, SC  Orangeburg Municipal Airport 33-27-50N 080-51-13W 59M
    FHC    Norfolk, VA  Fred Heutte Center 36° 54'N 76° 16'W 01/01/03 fhcgarden@cox.net AND   Anderson, SC 
    RIC     Richmond, VA Richmond International Airport 37-30-40N 077-19-24W 50M TRI     Tri-cities, TN  (Bristol / Johnson / Kingsport), Tri-City Regional Airport 36-28-47N 082-23-56W 474M 
    ROA    Roanoke, VA Roanoke Regional Airport 37-19-01N 079-58-27W 362M DAV  Davis, WV Dave Lesher canaanwx@yahoo.com