After a lack of moisture in April, some were left wishing for May showers. Drought conditions intensified or spread into more of Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma as May progressed.
Some late month rain should help alleviate drought for some of those areas. Drought improvement is also expected in southern Texas and parts of Oklahoma.
It was also a cool start to May for some with temperatures averaging out below seasonal norms for roughly the first two weeks of the month from Oklahoma to the northern Plains. Temperatures dipping into the 20s and 30s in portions of the central Plains left some concerns for emerged corn and the current growth stage of winter wheat.
The opposite was the case farther south. To begin the month, Midland, Texas, had four days in a row with record-setting heat. Also in the Lone Star State, Abilene, San Angelo and Del Rio set new record numbers in the beginning of the month. Lawton, Oklahoma, also experienced warmer than normal temperatures with a new record high on May 4. Toward the middle of the month, Victoria, Texas, and Brownsville, Texas, continued to feel the heat with new record highs set.
Not much has changed in the worldwide scheme with ENSO-Neutral (neither El Niño nor La Niña) conditions ongoing. That’s expected to stay true through the fall.
In the shorter term, above average temperatures are forecast for the month of June for Texas and southern Oklahoma. While eastern Texas to Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska should see precipitation above normal numbers for June. That trend should remain for those areas the next several months. For temperatures the next three months, Texas and Oklahoma along with the western halves of Kansas and Nebraska are expected to see above average summer temperatures.
I’m always keeping an eye to the sky (and the weather patterns), so watch for July’s update.
Editor’s note: Regina Bird grew up on a farm near Belleville, Kansas. The views from the farm helped spur her interest in weather. Following high school, she went on to get a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from the University of Kansas. She currently works as a meteorologist for NTV and KFXL in central Nebraska. Follow her on Twitter: @ReginaBirdWX.
