May 2015 Climate Summary

It was a cool and wet month for the High Plains region. You can read part of what conditions were like below, or you can read the complete version here. 

Overview - Active Weather Pattern Brings Heavy Precipitation

Sometimes when it rains it pours, and that is exactly what happened across portions of the central and western U.S. this May. Widespread heavy rainfall in excess of 200 percent of normal not only led to the reduction or removal of drought conditions, but in many cases, extensive flooding. Southern Oklahoma was hit particularly hard with widespread monthly totals that were well over 12.00 inches (305 mm) above normal. Here in the High Plains region, the highest precipitation amounts occurred in Kansas where 12.00-15.00 inches (305-381 mm) of precipitation fell over the course of the month, which led to surpluses in excess of 6.00 inches (152 mm). Heavy rainfall was not the only story, however. The Mother’s Day Snowstorm brought heavy snows to parts of eastern Wyoming, western Nebraska, and the Black Hills of South Dakota causing some locations to rank in the top 10 snowiest Mays on record.

This month was quite a contrast to the past few months with the pattern switching from very dry to very wet. South Dakota was a dramatic example as it went from having its driest start to any year (January through April) to having its 7th wettest May on record (please note that statewide precipitation data are preliminary and subject to change). Another dramatic example comes from western Kansas, which had been experiencing drought for years, but is now almost completely drought free. It is worth noting that in some areas of drought recovery, some lingering drought impacts remain.

While precipitation was the big story this month, there were some notable impacts due to temperatures. Overall, temperatures were below normal this month and the mercury dipped below freezing on a few untimely occasions. In Kansas, a freeze event at the beginning of the month hit while wheat was in its flowering stage, making it more vulnerable to freeze damage. The crop is still being assessed for damage at this time. In the middle of the month, a freeze event in South Dakota caused minimal damage to wheat, while a late-month freeze event in North Dakota damaged some canola fields there. A better assessment of the damage to these crops will be available in June.

Much more information is available in the PDF version of the summary including temperature and precipitation highlights, snowpack and drought updates, and a look at the upcoming season. Click here to read more!