tamarack

I'd nominate this lovely pair: 6/1/2015: 47 44 .74" 6/2/2015: 45 41 .59" I think BOS had twin 49s those days. The chill was especially nasty as I'd had 3 days in the 80s the previous week.

Couple of those BOS multi came 2 years ago. ORH had two 1F misses. I had highs of 47,45 on June 1-2 that year, immediately after a week of humid 85-90 in SNJ.

For next year - Tambora erupted in 1815.

Skies sort of brightened an hour ago, back to gray now. This brings to 18 the number of cloudy days this month, tying May 2011, June 2009, and 2 Decembers for the most in any month during my 19+ years here. (June 2009 gets the title - did it with one fewer day.) Hope mentioning 2009 doesn't bring a repeat of that Ketchikan summer.

Haven't seen any such insanity on this thread. However, most of us like having experienced unusual wx events, even when we don't particularly enjoy the sensible wx. I'd planned a day on North Pond today, looking for pike, but 50F and steady east winds would mean 2 things - I'd be miserable, and the fish almost certainly would not be interested. At least the woodstove keeps us from having to run the furnace for heat. The 3 very AN days mid month had a cumulative departure of +40, and bumped up the month by 1.3F. We'll finish May slightly BN, by 0.7 to 1.0F.

Amazing indeed. I've gathered statewide extremes for hottest and coldest days, wettest and driest years, thus 200 records overall with some dating back 150+ years. The decade of the 1930s holds 52 of those extremes; 1950s rank #2 with exactly half and no other decade exceeds 20. The '30s own 23 heat records, 14 just in 1936 - more than 1/4 of the states in just a single year. That decade also has 10 cold records, 17 dry-year records, and ironically, 2 wettest years, in WA and ID. Five sixths of the New England exclusion comes from two events - Hot Saturday 1975 (MA/RI) and July 1911 (the 3 NNE states.) CT's record was set in 1995. However, the region does protrude geographically from the rest of the country, so its being different should be no surprise. It's like 1965 as the driest year for 6 SNE and MA states - NY misses out due to the west portion's drier climate, though for NYC that year had over 6" less precip than any other in 140+ years.

The bolded is true, perhaps even understated, but the "disrespect" for heat may be inevitable given human nature. For a given site, a tornado lasts for seconds, maybe a minute or two. Hurricanes usually pass thru in a few hours, blizzards in 1-2 days, even most floods are only a few days in duration. The deleterious effects of heat on people generally take many days to weeks to become apparent, and the damage is often occurring indoors, thus out of sight. Chicago 1995 is a good example; the city recorded heat-related deaths that probably exceed those from any other natural disaster except Katrina, until one looks back to the FL 'canes of the 1920s. People react to drama, and a homeless person freezing to death in the street during January will usually get more headlines than 20 elderly folks perishing in their apartments during July heat.

Downsloping W/NW breeze FTW as CAR tied for its hottest on record. (I was insulating the attic of my very small 2-story that morning - probably 140+ up there as I finished about 11 AM.) The heat wave ended with a ripping TS late morning of the 25th. Nickel-size hail threatened to break our windows and obliterated my very young garden; plants were not merely crushed, there was no evidence they'd ever been there. Of course, I missed all the fun, except the garden re-plant, as I was working about 10 miles west of Allagash. There we saw only a gust front that toppled some snags and a spritz of rain as the action was getting under way just to our east. The "era of the 1970s" caught my interest, because the previous decade was relatively cold as well, yet included NYC's hottest (until 2010 eclipsed it) and driest met summer on record, 1966. Four days topped 100, and the 3-day July 4th weekend highs were 100, 103 (107 @ LGA) and 98. Not hoping for a hot Saturday repeat. We went blueberry picking in Gouldsboro that morning, and by the time we quit there were jokes about sprinkling sugar on the bushes to make jam right in the field. Then we drove to Mt. Desert, where BHB hit 101 with toes in Frenchman's Bay. The relatively shallow water just south of Otter Cliffs was actually almost warm, not the usual 55°.

Need to go up north for that. May 22-24, 1977 at CAR had 96/95/94. They just missed 370 days later with 92/89/89. I don't have my Ft. Kent records handy, but recall having the 3-day runs each year, 93/93/92 in 1977 and 95/90/92 (IIRC) in 1978. (We lived on the flats away from water then, and thus got hotter than the FK co-op spitting distance from the Fish River, which was still running high with water temps in the 40s.) That map only shows the days departure, not the months. The past couple of days only moved my average temp from coldest May average to 6th coldest May since 1985. The past two days, plus today thanks to a cheap obs-time high of 77 last evening, will total 40-42° of AN departure, pulling my 3° BN for May 1-16 down to about -0.5. I'm guessing the month ends within 1° of my average for May.

Kind of a semi-maritime climate, with the cool GOM nearly lapping at their obs site. Looking at their hottest days on record shows a distinct late-summer slant. They've had 5 triple-digit days and 5 at 99. Those ten included 3 in July and 7 in August. More than half of their 28 days at 97+ were in August, and July doesn't take the lead until one drops to 95+. Until yesterday, they had recorded just one day (94 on 5/21/21) prior to the 30th that topped 92.

Their 95 is 3F above the previous hottest in May.

We were visiting family in NJ that Eastertime, and almost dying in the heat - so was our 1971 Beetle. It felt so good to return to Ft. Kent and find temps around 60 with still the odd pile of snow to be found.

They have touched 99 in May, 1996 and 2010. Not as crazy as the 96 on 4/19/76, IMO. (Or CAR's 96 on 5/22/77)

Had the year's warmest in May in 2004, 2010 (tied) and 2015. Also in April 2009. In 6 other years the May max was 1-3F below the year's tops. I see 2017 being the 7th (or perhaps the 4th "winner")

Frost on the vehicles this morning, probably 50-50 chance it's the last of the season, though some near 0C 850s next week. (And Memorial Day weekend looks messy but lots of time for changes.) Blackflies out checking the menu; this week's warmth will spur their appetites. Picked up a dog tick from roadside grass while walking the dog this morning.

This morning, GYX discussed possible low 90s reaching the SW edge of their CWA on Thursday (followed by back to seasonable and dry for the weekend. Those sunny 60s would be just fine.)

No flakes that day in NNJ though it could've been close - low-mid 40s with tree-breaking winds (just picking out the winter-weakened ones that couldn't support full sails.) NYC high on that day was 46, about 30F BN, which would be impressive in midwinter but almost impossible during late spring. Man, what a heater middle and end of next week. If not installed folks going to go thru 2-3 rolls per sitting I'll enjoy my 70s, maybe even reach 80, with dews all the way to 55. Should suit the blackflies just fine.

2005 is 5.6° below my 19-year avg, but only about 4° below Farmington's for a longer period, back thru about 1960. The temp record clearly shows that the obs location was in a warmer location (downtown rather than 1.5 miles north?) in the 1930s-50s, an assumption supported by the lack of such warmth at other locations, so I don't usually include that period for comparisons. May 1997 (which dumped about 97" on MWN, so lots of cool shots) in Farmington was 0.5° cooler than 2005, though both were well above 1967, the co-op's coolest May.

That was indeed the worst, but for the month I had measurable rain on 23 days, including 15 of the final 17 (and a trace on the other 2) and 8.20" total. The 10th/11th reached low 70s but 65 was tops otherwise, and you might not have played in shorts up here on 15-16. Rain on both days with highs 50 and 51. (And 2005 wasn't done messing with us. June 15-18 had highs of 52,53,55,56 [avg high 71-72] with near constant -RA, and my re-planted corn once again rotted in the ground.) We've had a couple more crap days/events this month than down there...4 days with highs in the 40s already here for May. 2005 definitely got off to a better start than we have this month, but the more data I looked at it was obvious that SNE, and especially the coast, had it worse than we did in 05. It's not like I'm claiming it was nice, but the core of the schit was definitely down there. I would disagree, given the evidence above. 2005 is my coldest May of 19 here, more than 3F below #2. I've had only two sub-50 highs this month, though only reached 51 on 3 other days. Max to date is 63. Of course, I had 4 days in the 70s last month, topped by 75 on the 29th.

So far it's been very similar to 2005 - not as cold but that's because 2005 had 4 mornings in the mid 20s; highs and precip were very close to 5/1-9 this year. It was later that 2005 became a hissing-and-byword for May. The last 17 days that month featured 5 days with highs in the 40s, 7 more in the 50s, 65 as top temp, avg high 10.6F BN, and over 7.5" rain.

Higher ground near FVE got up to a foot on Mother's Day 1996 - accumulating snow right thru the daylight hours. Was on the 12th, however.

16-day GFS, and yes, somewhat of a non sequitor response to your shorter-outlook post. Unfortunately, that model has only gotten worse, offering no better than mid 60s here thru 5/25. Hope they're way wrong.

Those nice 70s-80s for 5/20 and beyond now are barely topping 70 here, and not until the 22rd. Hope this isn't going to be like the endlessly retreating day 10 snowstorms during a bad winter.

True for this next week, but I sure hope it's not true for later in the month. May 22-26, 2005 at my place had highs of 48,48,47,47,49 with 5.14" RA. It's hard to imagine a worse 4th week of May - maybe 1967 (especially NYC environs) would challenge it for unseasonally cold yuck. However, June 25, 2005 is my most recent day with 90+. That month also featured the one and only severe TS to hit my current domicile, on the 12th.

More than just that weekend. I recorded 25 days with rain that month, 23 with measurable, and 9 days which failed to get above 50, all with rain. The 8.20" precip was just over twice my May avg. The 18z GFS keeps the ULL around through day 10, ending up in the Gulf of Maine as yet another closed 500mb low enters the TN Valley. The current system almost moves into a 50/50 position, reinforcing the block. Meanwhile another major rain maker cuts across the Deep South with aim on the East coast around mid-month, trying to cut off again. It's almost a nightmare scenario verbatim for warm weather enthusiasts in the Northeast. Floods on the Ramapo, and Pompton/Passaic?