May 1998 LaVale MD Weather Summary
Observer Nate Mullins

Special Observations:
F=fog
T=thunder
H=hail
DW=damaging wind
S=sleet
G=glaze

	Temperature, F	Precip
Date	Max	Min	Liquid	Solid	Special Obs

1	70	46	 .12		F
2	64	51	 .37
3	72	48	 .11
4	74	51	 .47	T(hail)	T,H
5	71	47	2.73	T(hail)	F,T,H
6	70	49	 .01		F
7	77	50	 .18		F
8	65	54	 .40		F
9	70	54	 .03
10	69	52	   T
11	58	53	 .43		F
12	56	52	 .28		F
13	71	50
14	78	48
15	85	48
16	88	54	 .18		T
17	81	61
18	85	48
19	88	56
20	87	63
21	78	66
22	72	45
23	70	53
24	67	47	 .03		T
25	84	54	 .02
26	78	55
27	78	55
28	83	53			F
29	88	54	 .06
30	88	60
31	91	62	 .62		T

Tot	76.0	52.9	6.04	T(hail)
Ext	91	45	2.73	T(hail)
Date	31	22	5	5+

Mean Monthly Temp 64.4F

Significant Events

1: Some light afternoon rain .12" fell
2: Brief heavy downpour overnight .37" fell
4: Thunderstorms 3:45-6pm brushed by mainly to the east only .07" fell.  Severe storms lined up just west
   of this station 8-10pm with a terrific display of lightning and thunder.  One of the storms brushed
   through 10-10:30pm with a brief heavy downpour and pea-sized hail.  Total .47" rain fell.  Areas to the
   W and SW were hammered with flooding and wind damage.

CLOUDBURST!!!
5: Dense AM fog.  Lifted by late morning and became a partly cloudy & pleasant day.  A freak thunderstorm
   exploded directly overhead at 6pm and immediately began dumping dime-sized hail and extremely heavy
   rain.  Also frequent and wicked lightning with crashing thunder almost at the same time as the strikes.  
   1.0" rain fell in only 15 minutes, 1.6" fell in 30 minutes and 2.4" fell in an hour flooding our entire
   basement and was the worst it's ever flooded since we moved in 1987.  Many other basements flooded in
   the area.  Also the hail fell for nearly 15 minutes minutes covering the ground and turning everything
   white.  Rain and thunder continued all evening long--total 2.73" fell by midnight.
7: Afternoon shower followed by light rain and fog .18" rain fell.
8: Fog and rain overnight mostly light.  Few showers today total .40" rain.
11: Drizzle and low clouds throughout the day.  Steady rain 5:30pm-midnight .43" fell.
12: Persistant low clouds, fog, light rain and drizzle another .28" fell.
13: Finally a sunny and pleasant day without rain
16: Hot high 88F.  Thunderstorms this evening mainly to the S&W of this station .18" fell.

STRONG STORMS / NEARBY DEADLY F3 TORNADO
31: Hot and humid with increasing clouds.  Severe storm passed just to the north 8-9pm.  Brief storm 10pm
    .18" rain fell.  Windy with constant lightning & thunder in every direction.  Strong storm just before
    midnight with torrential rain & frequent lightning already .62" rain fell by then.  Deadly F3 tornado
    in nearby Salisbury PA and wind damage reported to the east in Flintstone.

Summary:

Temperatures and precipitation were both well above normal in May.  The mean temperature was more than 10
degrees warmer than last May.  A trace or more of rain was recorded all of the first 12 days, but
afterwards the sun came out and the heat was on.  There were some spectacular thunderstorms, especially
the ones on the 4th-5th that caused flooding in the area and the storms late on May 31st (and June 1st)
that produced a deadly tornado in Salisbury PA and straight-line wind damage in this area.

Additional notes/records

5th: Smashing daily precipitation record 2.73" fell from an evening thunderstorm.  This is the 2nd heaviest
daily rainfall ever recorded in May.  Also hail accumulated nearly an inch - a very unusual event.  2.37"
of rain fell in one hour (6-7pm) also setting an hourly precipitation record (hourly records began in 1992)

20th: Daily high min temperature of 63 F
31st: Record high 91 F.

Monthly mean minimum temperature of 52.9 F is the 2nd warmest on record.  Low only reached 45 F - the
warmest ever monthly extreme min temperature for any Spring month on record.

The Spring of 1998 is the 2nd wettest Spring on record with 17.29" of precipitation.