TROPICAL STORM BONNIE VISITS THE CAROLINAS LATE MAY 2016   Tropical Storm Bonnie (May 27th through June 4th, 2016) brought 40mph max winds in late month, mostly to the coasts of the Carolinas. An archive of Bonnie and other 2016 Atlantic storms can be found with a click here.

TRACK MAY 2016 NWS STORM REPORTS FOR YOUR STATE   The Storm Prediction Center archives reports of severe weather - tornado, wind, hail - to the National Weather Service. To view these reports, start here with a click to May 1, 2016. While visiting, you will learn how to navigate the daily reports using forward and backward navigation arrows ( < > ) or by replacing the date in your browser's URL line with a date you wish to view. For starters, click here for May 2016 reports: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/160501_rpts.html

NEW NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURGE MAPS A LIFE-SAVING TOOL   New maps from the National Weather Service to warn of storm surges from hurricanes will give local and state emergency management coordinators a new tool to help local communities avoid harm — and may help save lives from the deadliest impact of tropical storms. More details with a click here: http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-nws-sci-hurricanes-forecast-20160401-story.html

THE FOUR-INCH RAIN GAUGE -- HOW IS IT CALIBRATED?   from CoCoRaHS: "An observer from Alabama writes: 'I've always tried to figure out how rain gauges are calibrated and I read somewhere that the principle is how much water falls on one square inch of ground. In that case, a gauge with a one inch square opening would need to be six inches tall to measure six inches of rain. Trying to reconcile this knowledge with my new gauge, I figured that a 4" opening represents 12.56 square inches (A=pi*r*r), and that the tube should be 12.5" tall to measure an inch of water. However, from the bottom of the tube to the inch mark it isn't that tall. Could you help me understand the principle? Great question! Here is our answer: Rainfall is a DEPTH measurement and not a "volume" measurement. In other words, it's not "an inch per square inch" but it's an inch for any area in your immediate vicinity that the rain happens to land on. In the case of your new rain gauge, the "inch" of rain is falling into a cylinder that has an inside diameter of slightly less than 4" is then being funneled into a calibrated cylinder of a much smaller diameter (just greater than 1.2 inside diameter). The area of the opening of the inner cylinder is exactly 1/10th the area of the funnel and outer cylinder. This means, the inner tube will magnify the depth of rain by a factor of exactly 10. What this means is that 1.00" of rain will fill that inner cylinder to a depth of 10.0". It is then scaled accordingly." (Editor's note: By the way, have you joined the CoCoRaHS network? It's a really good way to archive your data, provide useful precip reports to the NWS, as well as to the media, and local authorities!)

SCIENTISTS SCURRY TO SOUTHEAST TO STUDY STORMS, CHASE TORNADOES   Dixie also has a tornado alley! Details in this link to CNN.com: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/30/weather/southeast-tornado-experiment-vortex-se/index.html

CLIMATE EXPERTS FIELD QUESTIONS FROM THE CROWD   from Kevin Shaw, ACON DC/MD/DE: "I watched most of this Severe Storms and Tornado conference. Excellent presentations. All the presentations are broken up on this website - so you can pick and choose which one you would like to see and hear. Dr. Louis Uccellini, NWS Director, made an excellent presentation (And he goes into the big blizzard of Jan 2016 in good detail) that on this website is divided up in 6 parts. I heartily recommend you check some or all of these presentations out. They will remain on WGN's website in the future so no rush to get to them but do try to watch at least a few of them. The entire conference lasted most of the day today." More details with a click here: http://wgntv.com/category/news/fermilab/

NWS AKQ Monthly Rainfall Analysis      From NWS Wakefield compiled from ASOS...COOP...RAWS REPORTS | Monthly Rainfall Analysis - http://www.weather.gov/akq/MONTHLY_RAINFALL_ANALYSIS -

   DROUGHT MONITOR       Information on drought can be found at NOAA's Drought Information Center (http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/)

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 2016

State	Maximum Temperature	Minimum Temperature	Warmest Average Temperature	Coldest Average Temperature	Maximum Precipitation	Minimum Precipitation
Virginia	92° Chantilly Norfolk (FHC) Portsmouth	36° Dulles	67° Norfolk (FHC) Portsmouth Mechanicsville	60.3° Blacksburg	10.45" Chesterfield	4.56" Blacksburg
North Carolina	91° Lumberton Wilmington	40° Raleigh (RAL)	70.6° Lumberton	63.6° Asheville	12.67" Cape Hatteras	1.84" Asheville
South Carolina	93° Columbia	44° Greenville-Spartanburg	73.8° Charleston	68.6° Greenville-Spartanburg	6.66" North Charleston Florence	2.61" Columbia

( 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]

STATION	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	70.8	49.9	60.3	1.0	83	27,28	38	16	0	0	0	0	76%	31	300	2	3.9		4	0	0	0	7	LWX	2400
CHT	71.9	54.6	63.2	0.0	92.4	28	38.4	16	3	0	0	0	79%	13	203,158	1,14	0.2		3	0	0	0	0	LWX	2400
CHO	72.5	54.8	63.6	0.4	88	28	38	16	0	0	0	0		32	340	14	4.1		7	0	0	0	5	LWX	2400
DAN	75.5	54.9	65.2	-1.2	86	26,27	38	16	0	0	0	0	75%	43	310	14	4.9		4	0	0	0	2	RNK	2400
DCA	71.3	56.5	63.9	-2.1	88	26,27	45	16	0	0	0	0	72%	50	340	2	7.4		3	1	0	0	0	LWX	2400
IAD	71.1	52.8	61.9	-1.3	89	27,28	36	16	0	0	0	0	73%	43	320	14	6.3		4	0	0	0	3	LWX	2400
GAV	73.78	55.98	64.88	3.9	90	26	41	16	1	0	0	0	76%	28	180	3			3	0	0	0	0	AKQ	2400
HAM	72.0	58.0	65.0	-2.0	88	26	43	16	0	0	0	0		54	270	2	7.0	270	6	0	0	0	0	AKQ	2400
HDV	70.2	53.4	61.8	-2.6	88	26,27,28	38	16	0	0	0	0	77%	17	225	15		45	2	0	0	0	0	LWX	2400
LYH	72.7	52.7	62.7	-0.4	86	27	37	16	0	0	0	0	74%	32	290	14	4.4		7	0	0	0	2	RNK	2400
NPN	73.5	57.4	64.7	2.4	90.4	28	40.6	16	1	0	0	0		31	248	14	2.5	68	4	0	0	0	0	AKQ	2400
FHC	74.8	58.4	66.6	0.0	92	26	49	16	3	0	0	0	81%	46	180	2	4.3	202	3	0	0	0	3	AKQ	2400
NOR																								AKQ	2400
ORF	73.6	58.4	66.0	-0.6	90	26	45	16	1	0	0	0	73%	59	210	2	7.4		0	0	0	0	3	AKQ	2400
POR	75.7	58.3	67.0	-0.8	92	26	45	16	5	0	0	0	82%	30	315	15	6.0	158	5	0	0	0	1	AKQ	2400
CTR	73.5	54.9	64.2		90.1	26	36.9	16	1	0	0	0	85%	22	293	14	0.0	222	0	0	0	0	0	AKQ	2400
MEC	75.14	58.00	66.57		90	26	39	16	0	0	0	0	66%	14		14	4.8		2	0	0	0	0	AKQ	2400
RIC	72.6	54.9	63.8	-2.6	89	26	39	16	0	0	0	0	77%	51	310	14	6.3		3	0	0	0	8	AKQ	2400
ROA	73.9	54.7	64.3	-0.3	86	25,27	44	16	0	0	0	0	70%	50	20	11	5.9		7	0	0	0	2	RNK	2400
SVC	68.8	54.7	61.8	-3.1	88	27	40	16	0	0	0	0							0	0	0	0	13	LWX	2400
WAL	69.4	55.2	62.3	-0.4	86	25	40	16	0	0	0	0		47	310	14	8.2		3	0	0	0	3	AKQ	2400
WSH	68.5	52.9	60.7	-3.11	87.2	28	38.9	16	0	0	0	0	66%	15	113	15	0.2	180	5	0	0	0	0	LWX	2400
Averages	72.44	55.30	63.83	-0.67	88.5		40.4		0.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	75%	35.4			4.7		3.6	0.5	0.0	0.0	2.5
STATION	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
STATION	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	74.3	53.0	63.6	0.5	85	30	41	15	0	0	0	0	66%	39	330	22	6.5		8	0	0	0	6	GSP	2400
MRH	76.0	62.2	69.1	0.3	83	28,29	49	16	0	0	0	0		38	280	3	8.7		0	0	0	0	1	MHX	2400
CLT	78.2	58.0	68.1	0.7	88	12,31	44	15	0	0	0	0	67%	37	260	2	6.2		7	0	0	0	0	GSP	2400
ECG	75.0	58.2	66.6	-0.2	87	26	46	16	0	0	0	0	78%	33	30	5	8.2		2	0	0	0	4	AKQ	2400
FAY	80.2	60.5	70.4	-0.2	90	8	47	16	1	0	0	0	69%	35	270,320	2,5	7.3		10	0	0	0	2	RAH	2400
GSO	76.4	56.9	66.6	-0.2	86	26,31	43	16	0	0	0	0	69%	41	220	2	6.4		6	0	0	0	2	RAH	2400
HSE	75.1	63.0	69.1	2.0	86	28,29	50	6	0	0	0	0	78%	36	290	3	8.0		0	0	0	0	0	MHX	2400
HKY	76.1	56.3	66.2	-0.1	87	31	44	16	0	0	0	0		31	270	14	4.8		7	0	0	0	1	GSP	2400
LBT	81.1	60.2	70.6	0.8	91	12,31	47	16	6	0	0	0	69%	34	360	12	5.7		10	0	0	0	1	ILM	2400
EWN	78.7	59.6	69.1	-0.4	88	9,25	46	16	0	0	0	0	74%	30	290	3	6.4		7	0	0	0	5	MHX	2400
RDU	77.1	58.0	67.5	-0.5	89	26	42	16	0	0	0	0	73%	35	220	2	4.8		10	1	0	0	3	RAH	2400
RAL	77.0	57.0	67.0	-1.0	89	26	40	16	0	0	0	0		22		14			2	0	0	0	0	RAH	2400
ILM	79.7	60.9	70.3	-0.1	91	9	48	6	1	0	0	0	71%	31	320,120	5,29	9.4		10	0	0	0	2	ILM	2400
Averages	77.30	58.75	68.02	0.12	87.69		45.2		0.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	71%	34.0			6.9		6.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	2.1
STATION	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
STATION	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	80.6	57.7	69.1	0.5	89	12,31	45	7	0	0	0	0		59	280	12	6.1		9	0	0	0	1	GSP	2400
CAE	83.4	61.9	72.7	1.0	93	12	47	7	7	0	0	0	64%	39	290	5	6.6		4	0	0	0	0	CAE	2400
CRE	78.5	62.8	70.7	1.0	89	8	47	6	0	0	0	0	75%	36	220	13	7.5		7	0	0	0	2	ILM	2400
CHS	83.5	64.2	73.8	1.3	92	8	49	6	5	0	0	0		50	250	1	8.2		5	0	0	0	0	CHS	2400
CXM	79.4	67.6	73.5	0.6	89	8	51	6	0	0	0	0		27	10	28	7.0							CHS	2400
FLO	81.1	61.6	71.4	0.3	91	8,9	50	6	3	0	0	0	70%	42	360	22	6.9		7	0	0	0	1	ILM	2400
GSP	79.3	58.0	68.6	-0.1	88	26,30	44	15	0	0	0	0	66%	39	280	12	6.3		6	0	0	0	0	GSP	2400
OGB	82.4	61.4	71.9	0.3	92	12	48	7	4	0	0	0		41	320	31	6.1		9	0	0	0	4	CAE	2400
Averages	81.03	61.90	71.46	0.6	90.4		47.6		2.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	69%	41.6			6.8		6.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.1
STATION	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
STATION	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	75.5	52.6	64.0	0.5	89	31	35	15	0	0	0	0		53	240	12	4.2		6	0	0	0	4	MRX	2400
DAV	61.0	43.8	52.4		79	28	27	15	0	0	3	0												PBX	2400
STATION	T	T1	U	U1	V	V1	W	X	Y	Z	1	2	3	4	5	6	6A	7	7A	8	CWA	TIME RECORDED
BCB	4.56	0.23	1.10	1	1.10	1	21	1	16.02					0.0	25.6						RNK	2400
CHT	5.31	0.76	0.70	6	1.05	2,3	18	0	17.10					0.0	33.7	30.266	20	29.608	4	29.971	LWX	2400
CHO	5.53	1.55	1.25	21	1.25	21	17	1	16.51									29.620	5		LWX	2400
DAN	7.57	3.69	1.34	5,21	1.34	5,21	17	3	19.55					0.0	11.1	30.270	16	29.540	5	29.905	RNK	2400
DCA	5.65	1.66	1.24	2	1.24	7	19	1	15.32	T	2	1	0	T	32.3			29.620	5		LWX	2400
IAD	6.08	1.53	1.39	2	1.48	2-3	18	1	17.86					0.0	34.3			29.620	5		LWX	2400
GAV	8.55		1.47	29	1.48	29-30	17	4	20.48						19.9	30.280	16,20	29.600	4,5	29.940	AKQ	2400
HAM	5.61	1.98	1.12	30	1.24	29-30	16	2	18.57					0.0	4.0	30.290	20	29.570	5	29.990	AKQ	2400
HDV	6.31	1.40	1.08	6			20	1	18.86					0.0	34.2	30.260	20	29.600	4	29.930	AKQ	2400
LYH	6.89	3.16	1.71	1	1.71	1	16	3	19.66					0.0	15.6	30.290	16	29.570	5	29.930	RNK	2400
NPN	7.69	3.52	1.91	30	1.91	30	16	3	25.66					0.0	9.9	30.260	20	29.540	5	29.900	AKQ	2400
FHC	5.00	1.83	1.05	30	1.21	29-30	19	1	21.10					0.0	5.0	30.267	20	29.551	5	29.980	AKQ	2400
NOR															5.0						AKQ	2400
ORF	5.12	1.71	1.22	23	1.33	22-23	17	2	22.23					0.0	5.0	30.270	20	29.540	5	29.905	AKQ	2400
POR	4.85	0.57	0.88	30	0.89	5-6	19	0	22.53					0.0	4.6	30.249	20	29.533	5	29.963	AKQ	2400
CTR	10.45	6.44	1.78	2	2.59	2-3	17	5	23.94					0.0	17.6	30.220	16	29.520	5	29.963	AKQ	2400
MEC	9.55		2.12	6	2.16	6,7	16	4	22.51					0.0	20.1						AKQ	2400
RIC	9.79	6.01	1.62	6	1.62	6	16	4	20.63					0.0	12.0	30.280	20	29.600	5	29.940	AKQ	2400
ROA	6.12	2.06	1.51	11	1.57	10-11	16	2	17.73					0.0	23.0	30.320	16	29.600	5	29.960	RNK	2400
SVC	5.71	1.29	0.88	6	0.88	6	20	0	20.82					0.0	36.3						LWX	2400
WAL	8.11	5.16	1.99	30	1.99	30	17	4	18.84					0.0	12.3	30.270	20	29.550	6	29.910	AKQ	2400
WSH	6.18	2.03	1.07	6	1.07	6	23	1	17.43					0.0	27.7	30.340	20	29.660	4	30.000	LWX	2400
Averages	6.70	2.45	1.35		1.46		17.9	2.0	19.68					0.0	18.5	30.275		29.580		29.946
STATION	T	T1	U	U1	V	V1	W	X	Y	Z	1	2	3	4	5	6	6A	7	7A	8	CWA	TIME RECORDED
STATION	T	T1	U	U1	V	V1	W	X	Y	Z	1	2	3	4	5	6	6A	7	7A	8	CWA	TIME RECORDED
AVL	1.84	-1.82	0.37	20	1.40	30-1	13	0	14.88					0.0	13.9	30.250	25	29.610	5	29.930	GSP	2400
MRH	7.90	3.97	1.51	3	1.58	3-4	14	5	24.23					0.0	T	30.270	16	29.490	5	29.880	MHX	2400
CLT	5.63	2.45	0.84	3	1.26	20-21	13	0	14.44					0.0	3.3	30.270	16	29.560	5	29.915	GSP	2400
ECG	4.36	0.75	0.66	30	1.35	29-30	18	0	18.21					0.0	1.8	30.260	20	29.530	5	29.895	AKQ	2400
FAY	5.19	1.95	0.77	17,29	1.27	2-3	16	0	17.57									29.020	31		RAH	2400
GSO	8.67	5.29	1.47	2	2.74	2-3	13	5	18.97					0.0	4.5			29.020	31		RAH	2400
HSE	12.67	9.10	7.09	30	7.19	29-30	14	12	34.06					0.0	T	30.270	16	29.490	5	29.880	MHX	2400
HKY	5.31	1.63	1.42	2	1.89	2-3	17	1	16.23							30.240	16	29.550	5	29.895	GSP	2400
LBT	6.31	3.26	1.29	3	1.78	2-3	16	2	18.94							30.270	16	29.520	5	29.895	ILM	2400
EWN	6.68	2.53	1.33	31	1.44	30-31	14	2	22.71					0.0	T	30.290	16	29.490	5	29.890	MHX	2400
RDU	6.18	2.91	1.95	29	1.95	29	15	1	19.61	T	3	1	0	T	1.4			29.020	31		RAH	2400
RAL	6.50	3.23			1.50	29-30	16	1	21.99						1.9		25		4		RAH	2400
ILM	5.88	1.39	1.49	3	1.62	3-4	15	1	22.69					0.0	T	30.270	16	29.470	5	29.870	ILM	2400
Averages	6.39	2.82	1.68		2.07		14.9	2.3	20.35					0.0	2.7	30.266		29.398		29.894
STATION	T	T1	U	U1	V	V1	W	X	Y	Z	1	2	3	4	5	6	6A	7	7A	8	CWA	TIME RECORDED
STATION	T	T1	U	U1	V	V1	W	X	Y	Z	1	2	3	4	5	6	6A	7	7A	8	CWA	TIME RECORDED
AND	5.25	2.08	2.47	19	2.47	19	9	2	15.21							30.250	25	29.610	5	29.930	GSP	2400
CAE	2.61	-0.36	0.70	19	0.82	2-3	10	0	13.92					0.0	T	30.230	25	29.570	5	29.900	CAE	2400
CRE	5.21	1.8	1.57	3	1.59	3-4	13	2	15.74							30.260	25	29.510	5	29.885	ILM	2400
CHS	6.66	3.64	2.42	28,29	4.84	28-29	11	2	20.75					0.0	T	30.250	25	29.570	5	29.910	CHS	2400
CXM	4.92	2.76	2.31	28	2.31	28	11	1	17.67									29.570	5		CHS	2400
FLO	6.66	3.40	2.00	17	2.00	17	13	2	21.09							30.260	16	29.530	5	29.895	ILM	2400
GSP	5.28	1.52	1.57	1	1.57	1	12	3	17.55					0.0	2.6	30.240	16	29.580	5	29.910	GSP	2400
OGB	4.06	0.84	1.73	29	2.01	28-29	12	1	12.49							30.240	25	29.580	5	29.910	CAE	2400
Averages	5.08	1.96	1.85		2.20		11.4	1.63	16.80					0.0	0.9	30.247		29.565		29.906
STATION	T	T1	U	U1	V	V1	W	X	Y	Z	1	2	3	4	5	6	6A	7	7A	8	CWA	TIME RECORDED
STATION	T	T1	U	U1	V	V1	W	X	Y	Z	1	2	3	4	5	6	6A	7	7A	8	CWA	TIME RECORDED
TRI	3.98	0.18	1.08	11	1.08	11	10	1	15.91					0.0	18.4	30.260	16	29.620	4	29.940	MRX	2400
DAV	7.75		0.81	21			24	0	24.32	0.7	15	2	0	0.8	124.6						PBX	2400
STATION	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/Washington, D.C. - "WASHINGTON DC...REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT... THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS BELOW NORMAL. MONTHLY PRECIPITATION WAS WELL ABOVE NORMAL...AND RANKED AS THE 19TH HIGHEST ON RECORD. THERE WERE 22 DAYS WHERE RAINFALL WAS OBSERVED...INCLUDING 19 WITH MEASURABLE RAIN AND 11 CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH ANY RAIN TO START THE MONTH. PRELIMINARILY...THIS WOULD TIE FOR 6TH MOST DAYS WITH ANY RAIN AND RANK AS 2ND FOR MOST DAYS WITH MEASURABLE RAIN DURING MAY. A STRETCH OF 15 CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF MEASURABLE RAINFALL BEGAN ON APRIL 27TH AND ENDED ON MAY 11TH. THIS IS THE LONGEST STRETCH ON RECORD...BREAKING THE OLD MARK OF 10 DAYS SET IN 1938 AND 1873. PRECIPITATION RECORDS IN THE WASHINGTON DC AREA DATE BACK TO 1871. A TOTAL OF 10 DAYS LAST MONTH HAD A HIGH TEMPERATURE BELOW 65 DEGREES. THIS TIES FOR THE 7TH MOST ON RECORD. FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2009...THERE WERE NO DAYS REACHING OR EXCEEDING 90 DEGREES AT REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT DURING THE MONTH OF MAY. ALL CLIMATE DATA ARE CONSIDERED PRELIMINARY UNTIL REVIEWED BY THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION. " - [ - + ] - from NWS Sterling, VA

Seven Corners/Fairfax County - from member John Iekel: " MAY 2016 WAS VERY WET, CLOUDY AND DARK. AVERAGE MAXIMUMS WERE ALMOST 10 DEGREES COLDER THAN NORMAL. " - [ - + ]

Dulles - from NWS Sterling (KLWX): "DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT... THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL. MONTHLY PRECIPITATION WAS WELL ABOVE NORMAL...AND RANKED AS THE 9TH HIGHEST ON RECORD. THERE WERE 22 DAYS WHERE RAINFALL WAS OBSERVED...INCLUDING 18 WITH MEASURABLE RAIN AND 14 CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH ANY RAIN TO START THE MONTH. PRELIMINARILY...THIS WOULD TIE FOR 3RD MOST DAYS WITH ANY RAIN AS WELL AS 3RD MOST DAYS WITH MEASURABLE RAIN DURING MAY. A STRETCH OF 19 CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH ANY RAIN INCLUDING TRACE AMOUNTS WAS OBSERVED FROM APRIL 26TH THROUGH MAY 14TH. THIS IS THE LONGEST SUCH STRETCH ON RECORD...BREAKING THE OLD MARK OF 13 DAYS SET IN 1989 AND 1972. PRECIPITATION RECORDS AT DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT DATE BACK INTO THE EARLY 1960S. A TOTAL OF 11 DAYS LAST MONTH HAD A HIGH TEMPERATURE BELOW 65 DEGREES. THIS TIES FOR THE 3RD MOST ON RECORD. ALL CLIMATE DATA ARE CONSIDERED PRELIMINARY UNTIL REVIEWED BY THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION. " - [ - + ]

Chantilly - from member Russ Topping: " May mean monthly temperature was normal and precipitation was above average. The mean monthly temperature was 63.2° (+0.0°). The mean high temperature was 71.9° (-3.2°) and the mean low temperature was 54.6° (+3.4°). A record high temperature was set on the 28th (92°). A record low maximum temperature was set on the 6th (54°), 15th (57°), and 22nd (56°). May precipitation of 5.31” was above average (+0.76”). Maximum daily precipitation of 0.70” fell on the 6th and 24 hour maximum precipitation of 1.05” fell on the 2nd and 3rd. Thunderstorms were noted on the 1st, 2nd, and 23rd. *Please note, anemometer is currently partially obstructed from the North and East " - [ +/-0 + ]

Herndon - from member Randy Ashby: " May was below normal for temperature and above for precipitation. The temperatures ranged between a high of 88 and a low of 38 and the average temperature was 2.6 degrees below normal. On the precipitation side, the month was 1.40” above normal, with 6.31” measured. May was a very wet month with 23 days with some rain falling including a stretch of 19 straight days from 26 Apr through 14 May. We are now about ¾” above normal for precipitation for the year. " - [ - + ]

Norfolk - from NWS Wakefield (AKQ): " View the NWS AKQ Wakefield May 2016 Climate Summary with a click here " - [ - - ]

Portsmouth - from Bill Trotter: " The month's average temperature of 67.0° was 0.8° BELOW NORMAL. Precipitation (4.85") was ABOVE NORMAL by 0.57" or 113% of the May average rainfall during the period from 1977 to 2015. At month's end, rainfall for the year totaled 22.53" (+3.77" or 120% of normal). Frontal passages: 1st (warmfropa), 8th, 13th, 14th, 17th, and 29th (warmfropa). No frost was recorded this month. . STATION RECORDS: 30th - MAXIMUM LOW TEMP TIED 70° [previously 1987]. To view the station monthly and year-to-date climatological summary (LCD) for this Portsmouth station, please click here. " - [ - + ]

Glen Allen - from Lowell Koontz: " May’s mean temperature was 64.9°F a -3.9°F departure and the coolest on record for Glen Allen. The maximum temperature for May was 90°F on the 26th and the minimum was 40.6°F on the 16th.The average maximum was 73.8°F a higher departure of -5.5°F and a new record low average maximum for Glen Allen because of cloudiness. The minimum average had only a -2.3°F departure. May was not only the cloudiest May on record but also the cloudiest month ever recorded at this station. May had a record of 17 days with measurable rainfall; the previous record was 16 days. May’s precipitation was 8.55 inches a departure of +4.57 inches and the wettest May on record. The cloudy rainy days gave the lowest average temperature range of 17.7°F on record. The average relative humidity was 75.9 percent and new record high for May. The average ground temperature was only 0.1°F from the lowest on record for May and with the cloudiness and cool days gave gardeners problems with early planting. This year is the latest I can remember setting out tomato plants because of the wet ground." - [ - + ]

Richmond - from contributor Lowell Koontz (GAV): " The airport’s mean temperature of 63.8°F, was a -2.6 departure, and the 18th coolest May since 1897. It is interesting that the average maximum was 72.6°F a -5.3°F departure because of all the cloudy days. The average minimum temperature was 54.9°F a departure of only -0.1°F because of the warmer cloudy nights. The average temperature range for May was only 17.7°F the second lowest in 119 years; only 2003 was lower. The airport’s precipitation for May was 9.79 inches, the wettest in 144 years with a +6.01 inch departure. The previous May record was 9.13 inches in 1889. It was the wettest month since tropical storm Gaston in 2004 when the rain total for August was 16.30 inches. The Airport had 16 days with measurable precipitation in May the most since 2003. The May record is 23 days and there has been only 6 Mays with more than 16 days. The Airport had four days with = 1 inch of rain - the record is five set in 1972. The Richmond International Airport had 3 new daily records that either tied or were broken: Maximum Precipitation - May 2nd 1.31 inches; the previous record was 1.12 inches in 1995, Low Minimum Temperatures - May 16th 39°F tied the previous record set in 1984, 1920 (May’s monthly lowest is 31°F on May 9, 1956, and Low temperature Range - May 21st 6°F set a new record - the previous record was 7°F in 2015 and 1909. This was a very strange spring with extremes. March was the tenth warmest since 1897 arousing spring plants. Then on April 6th and 10th the plants were given a hard freeze. The airport had 27°F both nights and only 11 Aprils have had a lower temperature. Plants and even bushes were hurt like nandina, hydrangeas, lilacs, and viburnum blooms. March was the third driest March since 1887 and May was the wettest since 1871. The very warm March was also the third driest since 1887 and was followed by the 31st driest and 49th coolest April in 119 years. Then May with its record rainfall and prolific cloudiness and cool temperatures through the first 22 days of May inhibited the growth of warm season vegetables, not a good season for gardeners. " - [ - - ]

Richmond - from NWS Wakefield (AKQ): " View the NWS AKQ Wakefield May 2016 Climate Summary for Richmond with a click here " - [ - - ]

Centreville - from member Albert Arnold: " Most rainfall for the Month of May since I have been collecting data at this location. " - [ - + ]

North Carolina:

Greensboro - from NWS Raleigh RAH: " A RECORD DAILY RAINFALL TOTAL OF 1.47 INCHES WAS SET AT THE PIEDMONT TRIAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MAY 2. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 1.27 SET IN 1939. THE MONTHLY PRECIPITATION DURING MAY 2016 AT THE PIEDMONT TRIAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 8.67. THIS IS THE SECOND WETTEST MAY ON RECORD. " - [ - + ]

Raleigh - from member Bob Woodson (RAL): " THE AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURE FOR MAY WAS 1.0 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. PRECIPITATION WAS ABOVE NORMAL (+3.23”) AND FOR THE YEAR, 4.93” ABOVE NORMAL. PRECIPITATION OCCURRED ON AT LEAST 16 DAYS. THE GOOD NEWS WITH FREQUENT CLOUDY CONDITIONS ... THERE WAS LITTLE SEVERE WEATHER. " - [ - + ]

South Carolina:

Charleston (North) - from NWS Charleston CHS: " RECORDS ESTABLISHED DURING THE MONTH: *MAY 1 - RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 73 DEGREES, *MAY 28 - RECORD PRECIPITATION OF 2.42 INCHES, *MAY 29 - RECORD PRECIPITATION OF 2.42 INCHES. " - [ + + ]

Charleston (Downtown) - from NWS Charleston CHS: " RECORDS ESTABLISHED DURING THE MONTH: *MAY 1 - RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 73 DEGREES, *MAY 2 - RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 73 DEGREES, *MAY 6 - RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 51 DEGREES, *MAY 28 - RECORD PRECIPITATION OF 2.31 INCHES. " - [ + + ]

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 2015-2016 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:
[ includes current stations, inactive stations, and closed stations since database inception ]

    

AKQ    Wakefield, VA NWS Wakefield Municipal Airport 36-58-53N 077-00-04W 33M	SVC    Seven Corner, Fairfax County, VA John Iekel Latitude 38.857404 Longitude -77.151696
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 STATION CLOSED 08/2014
	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' | STATION CLOSED	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 kesseld1@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	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'. 1993 randy_ashby@msn.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 ending 12/13
	WHI   North Whiteville, NC Christopher Crawley 12/10 34.413744N / 078.751908W ccawley.kk4csr@gmail.com
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	CHS   Charleston, SC NWS Charleston Air Force Base 32-53-56N 080-02-26W 13M
	CXM    Downtown Charleston, SC NWS 32.77° N 79.93 W
NPN     Newport News, VA 7N Gary Leonard -  6/91 mikey0781@cox.net	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