June 8, 2018
Mean temperature percentiles for May 2018, compared to previous years dating back to 1895
{ INSIDERS ONLY: One thing for sure it seemed like the hottest May temps ever experienced to those of us under 80 in Lawrence County, Ky last month. Right in the middle of it many, many AC units went out including ours at the Lazer office and my home. We bought fans and fans but nothing eased the heat. I had to go to the TRMC ER for fluids and other treatment on one day when it was 92 degrees with 77% humidity.
I thought I was in Texas where many of my favorite cousins live.
Turns out we were living through the hottest weather since the early 1930’s and I thought you may be interested in the numbers and story below. }
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Almost every place in the 48 contiguous states was warmer than normal last month, breaking a record that dates to 1934. And most of a wide swath of the nation, from the Texas Panhandle to Chesapeake Bay, had the warmest May ever. The average temperature in May, 65.4 degrees, was more than 5 degrees above normal, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s latest climate assessment.
The May average “swept by the previous high mark of 64.7 degrees,” set during the Dust Bowl era, Jason Samenow writes for The Washington Post. “One of the main reasons May 1934 was so hot was because it was so dry, posting the least precipitation for the month on record. When the land surface is dry, it heats up faster. . . . In May 2018, temperatures soared to record levels even without as much help from dry soils. Precipitation was a hair above normal averaged over the nation. Maryland, hit by major floods in Frederick and Ellicott City, had its wettest May on record. So did Florida. Asheville, N.C., posted 14.68 inches of rain, its wettest month in history.”
Samenow adds, “The toasty pattern presented a massive contrast from April, which ranked the 13th-coldest on record, more than 2 degrees below average. Eight states had their warmest May on record: Virginia, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and Oklahoma.”
Written by Al Cross Posted at 6/08/2018
Lazer publisher Mark Grayson contributed to this post
