What started out as a concerningly dry weather pattern changed course during the month and gave us significantly above average rainfall for May. One thing that didn’t change however was above average temperatures. For the 12th consecutive month, the Junction City area had monthly average temperatures that were above the recent 30-year average.
While there were daily records set and some quite warm temperatures, the average daily high of 75.4 was only 0.2 of a degree above average. However, the average overnight low of 58.5 was 4.4 degrees above normal leaving us with a monthly mean temperature of 67.0, 2.3 degrees above average.
While it was warmer than average it fortunately was not record setting. The warmest May on record was in 1962 with a monthly mean temperature of 74.3. More recently, May of 2018 was a warm one as well with a monthly mean temperature of 73.4. The coldest May on record was in 1995 when we shivered through a monthly average temperature of only 57.8 degrees. There were several temperature records set during May. The high of 94 on the 10th broke the old record for that date of 92, set in 1963. The overnight lows of 74, 75, and 73 on the 9th, 10th, and 11th respectively all set new record high low temperatures. The old records for those respective dates were 73 set in 2011, 72 set in 1956, and 69 set in 2018. The overnight low of 73 on the 29th tied the record high low for that date first set in 1956 and reached again in 1989.
Rain at the end of April and first week of May raised our hopes for normal May rainfall, but two weeks of heat and not much rain started to dash those hopes. But a series of storms that rolled through the area in the final week of the month brought several rounds of significant rain. May is our wettest month of the year with 5.14 inches being the long-term average. Milford Lake received 8.13 inches and Junction City 8.22 inches. These rains were more than enough to offset the lagging year to date precipitation totals.
Average precipitation for January through May is 12.12 inches. Milford Lake has now had 12.76 inches year to date and Junction City 12.80 inches. While we were at 150%+ we were a long way from setting any records for May rainfall. That dubious honor is held by 1995 when 17.23 inches of rain fell during the month, the wettest one-month period all time for the region. The driest May on record was in 2009 when a mere 0.86 inches of rain fell.
June brings the official start of astronomical summer and with it we can often expect some summer like heatwaves. Average high temperatures start the month around 81 and by the end of the month are nudging 90. Overnight lows rise from 60 on June 1st to 68 by the 30th of June. June is our second wettest month of the year average rainfall of 4.84 inches.