MONTHLY WEATHER DATA AND OBS - LAVALE MD MAY 2012 OBSERVER SCOTT LOHR DATA COMPILED AND PUBLISHED BY NATE MULLINS Special Observations: F=fog, T=thunder, H=hail, S=sleet, G=glaze, DW=damaging winds Observation time for this station is midnight. Temperature, °F Precipitation, In. Liquid Solid 7am DAY 24-hour Rain Snow/ Snow Special WEATHER Date Max Min Equiv Ice Depth Obs. SUMMARY 1 78 56 .18 Overnight showers, late PM showers, partly cloudy 2 83 61 .03 Brief AM rain showers, partly cloudy 3 88 62 T Mostly cloudy, very warm, AM sprinkles 4 84 61 .02 Partly to mostly cloudy, brief shower 5 76 58 .04 Partly to mostly cloudy, brief shower 6 74 62 Mostly cloudy 7 71 63 .02 Mostly cloudy, brief PM showers 8 68 59 .37 Mostly cloudy with on and off showers 9 66 57 .07 Mostly cloudy, brief PM shower 10 64 46 Partly sunny, cool, breezy N winds 11 69 42 Partly cloudy, cool 12 76 44 Partly cloudy, warmer PM 13 73 51 .11 Mostly cloudy, light PM rain 14 59 55 1.16 Steady rain all day 15 72 59 Mostly cloudy 16 82 54 F AM fog, partly cloudy 17 72 52 Partly cloudy, pleasant 18 72 44 Partly cloudy, pleasant 19 81 46 Partly cloudy, pleasant 20 80 54 T Increasing clouds, sprinkles 21 70 63 .09 Mostly cloudy, few showers 22 80 65 Mostly cloudy 23 78 61 Partly to mostly cloudy 24 78 67 .18 Mostly cloudy, PM shower 25 89 65 F AM fog, then partly cloudy, hot, humid 26 91 67 .27 F,T Partly cloudy, hot, PM thunderstorms 27 87 67 1.65 F,T Partly cloudy, intense evening t-storms 28 90 62 F Partly cloudy, hot 29 90 67 F AM fog, then partly to mostly cloudy 30 82 58 .45 F Overnight rain, fog, then partly cloudy 31 80 56 Partly cloudy AVG/SUM 77.5 57.6 4.64 0.0 - EXT 91 42 1.65 - - Date 26 11 27 - - *=Also occurred on earlier dates Miscellaneous Stats Mean Monthly Temperature: 67.5°F (+6.7°F) Year precipitation to date: 14.30" (-3.05") May precipitation departure: +0.45" (normal 4.19") Season snowfall to date: 16.5" (-24.0") Number of days with: Fog 7 Thunder 2 NOTES/SIGNIFICANT EVENTS 1-4: Very warm, scattered showers 8-9: Cool, showery 13-14: Cool with steady rain 1.27" storm total. 22-28: Very hot week. 5 record high mins broken or tied + 2 tied record highs = 7 record highs. 24: Record high min 67 (old record 64 in 2004). 25: AM fog, hot & humid. Record high 89 tied with 1981. Also a record high min 65 (64 in 1991). 26: Strong to severe storms west of station. Storms moved very little and weakened as they inched south & east from Allegheny Mtn. Frostburg Co-op observer Greg Latta reported pea-sized hail. 27: Again hot & humid with a line of intense thunderstorms prompting severe warnings around 7pm. Storms were not severe here, but we got heavy rain, frequent lightning & gusty winds with some scattered minor tree damage. Another heavy thunderstorm moved through late around 10-11pm with wicked almost continuous lightning & more heavy downpours. 1.65" of rain fell, breaking last year's (2011) May 27 record of 1.54". 28-29: Hot & humid with AM fog. Record high 90 on the 28th tied with 2006. 30: Overnight rain 0.45" with fog. Additional notes/records 1: Min of 56 is 1 degree shy of record (57 in 1962) 3: High 88 just misses record 89 in 1965. Low 62 - record 64 (2010) 7: Min 63 just misses record high 64 in 2000. 8: Min 59 just misses record high 60 in 2008. 22: Record high min 65 tied with 1959. 24: Record high min 67, old record 64 (2004). 25: RECORD HIGH 89 F ties with 1981. Also a record high min 65, old record 64 (1991). 26: Record high min 67, old record 65 (1991). High 91 is 2 degrees shy of record (93 in 1991). 27: Record high min 67 tied with 1991. High 87 is 2 degrees shy of record (89 in 1991). Also, 1.65" of rain breaks the record of 1.54" set just last year in 2011. 28: RECORD HIGH 90 tied with 2006. *May's mean minimum temperature of 57.6 F sets a new record high. Previous record 56.5 in 1991. *This was the 2nd warmest May on record, 67.5 F, just 0.3 degrees shy of 1991's record 67.8 F. *2012 had the WARMEST SPRING ON RECORD, with a mean temperature of 57.4, shattering the record of 55.4 set in 1991 and 2010. MONTHLY SUMMARY May was exceptionally warm, with record warm minimum temperatures and near-record warm maximum temperatures. Overall, it was the 2nd warmest May on record, with a mean temperature of 67.5°F, which is 0.3°F shy of the record 67.8°F in May 1991. 7 daily record highs were set or tied in as many days during the 4th week. 5 of these were lows and 2 were record highs. The streak of above normal temperatures extended to 7 consecutive months and 15 of the past 16 months. Above average temperatures have seemingly become the norm the past 3 years. The mean temperature of 57.4 F makes the spring of 2012 the WARMEST spring on record, breaking the record of 55.4 (set in 1991 and 2010) by a full 2 degrees. Precipitation was above normal for the 5th consecutive May and past 10 of 12 Mays. This is another impressive streak, especially given that May is statistically the wettest month of the year, with a mean precipitation value of 4.19". During the past 12 years, May's average precip is 5.10", and if the extremely dry May of 2007 (0.87") is excluded, this average is 5.49". The majority of the 4.64" monthly total came from hit-or-miss thunderstorms, a very summer-like pattern. The only really widespread, steady rain event came on the 13th-14th, when 1.27" fell. Thunderstorms were virtually non-existent until Memorial Day weekend, when strong to severe storms rumbled through the area on the 26th-27th. On the 26th, Greg Latta of Frostburg reported "a powerful thunderstorm with pea-sized hail." This storm mostly remained west of this station, where locally 1-2" of rain fell. Then on the evening of the 27th, two rounds of intense storms moved southeastward through the area, bringing heavy downpours, high winds, scattered hail and an unbelievable display of lightning that resembled a 4th of July fireworks grand finale. The storms dropped 1.65" of rain, setting a daily record for May 27 for the 2nd consecutive year. By coincidence, severe storms and heavy rain also hammered the area last May 26 & 27, 2011. Despite slightly above normal precipitation in May, this was the driest spring since 2006 with 8.31" of total rain, 3.46" below normal, owing to a dry March and a very dry April. This is a far cry from last spring 2011, when a record 20.06" rain fell.