May 2026

[NEG NAO]

[FPizz]

2 hours ago, Voyager said:

I dealt with that living in AZ for a time, and it really isn't a big deal. Big positive. Not having to go around the house changing clocks.

That takes up about 3 minutes of your life total, unless you own a clock/watch store, then you have a little work to do for a day between customers every few hours.

[FPizz]

15 minutes ago, the_other_guy said:

I find that hard to believe. Outside our 4-5 days of heat in March April and May, this hasnt been a particularly warm or pleasant spring. Cool, cloudy, misty, windy are adjectives I would use

March and April were solidly above normal.  

[SACRUS]

72 / 66 clouds rain / showers just to the south.  Cluds look to perist all day and pushing temps below forecast likely.   Dry and cool and its still a matter of escaping clouds/ unsettled -ness from the strong cut off / ULL into the northeast first Saturday and then next Tuesday.  Untill then cooler than normal and models would have you believe dry, but id be weary of at least Sat and next Tue for rain.  Beyond then much warmer as ridge finally pushes east and a more sw flow, next shot at heat in the 6/4 - beyond period.

 

[SACRUS]

Records:

Highs:

EWR: 97 (1965)
NYC: 96 (1880) record early season heatwave continued on 
LGA: 92 (1965)
JFK: 86 (1985)


Lows:

EWR: 43 (1967)
NYC: 41 (1961)
LGA: 41 (1961)
JFK: 42 (1961)

Historical:

 

1771: In Virginia, a wall of water came roaring down the James River Valley following ten to twelve days of intense rain. As water swept through Richmond, buildings, boats, animals, and vegetation were lost. About one hundred fifty people were killed as the River reached a flood stage of forty-five feet above normal. A monument to the flood was inscribed by Ryland Randolph, of Curles, in 1771-72: " ... all the great rivers of this country were swept by inundations never before experienced which changed the face of nature and left traces of violence that will remain for ages."

 

1826: A tremendous hail storm struck the eastern shore of Maryland during the evening damaging wheat and vegetable crops from Hillsborough in Caroline County to Easton in Talbot County. One person was killed. Between the Severn and Patapsco Rivers, hail the size of eggs fell. Across the bay in Calvert County, a man was killed by hail.
(Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1896 - A massive tornado struck Saint Louis, MO, killing 306 persons and causing thirteen million dollars damage. The tornado path was short, but cut across a densely populated area. It touched down six miles west of Eads Bridge in Saint Louis and widened to a mile as it crossed into East Saint Louis. The tornado was the most destructive of record in the U.S. up until that time. It pierced a five-eighths inch thick iron sheet with a two by four inch pine plank. A brilliant display of lightning accompanied the storm. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

1909: Bakersfield, CA reached 104°; their hottest temperature for May which featured 12 days with triple digit temperatures, the most ever for that location. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1914: Boston, MA recorded its warmest ever low temperature of 74 °F for May. (Ref. NOAA Boston Weather Events)
 

1973: A large F4 tornado cut a 135-mile path across central Alabama. Hardest hit was the town of Brent where five people perished and 90% of the town was demolished. Seven people died along the path of the twister. Cancelled checks from Greensboro, AL were found at Gadsden, AL, over 100 miles away. Another killer tornado struck Centerpoint on the northeast side of Birmingham, killing one person. One person was killed and 35 people were injured when an F3 tornado stormed across Jones County, Mississippi. Another 3 people were injured when an F2 tornado swept across Clarke County. A second F2 tornado also moved across Scott County that evening.
(Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

 

1987 - Severe thunderstorms in West Texas produced baseball size hail at Crane, hail up to three and a half inches in diameter at Post, and grapefruit size hail south of Midland. Five days of flooding commenced in Oklahoma. Thunderstorms produced 7 to 9 inches of rain in central Oklahoma. Oklahoma City reported 4.33 inches of rain in six hours. Up to six inches of rain caused flooding in north central Texas. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1988 - Sunny and warm weather prevailed across much of the nation to kick off the Memorial Day weekend. Afternoon thunderstorms in southern Florida caused the mercury at Miami to dip to a record low reading of 69 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1989 - Unseasonably hot weather prevailed in the southeastern U.S. Ten cities reported record high temperatures for the date as readings soared into the 90s. Lakeland, FL, reported a record high of 99 degrees, and Biloxi, MS, reported a temperature of 90 degrees along with a relative humidity of 75 percent. (The National Weather Summary)

1990 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather from north central Texas to the Central Gulf Coast Region. Severe thunderstorms spawned four tornadoes, and there were eighty-one reports of large hail or damaging winds. Late afternoon thunderstorms over southeast Louisiana produced high winds which injured twenty-seven persons at an outdoor music concert in Baton Rouge, and high winds which gusted to 78 mph at the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)

1991: From this date through the 28th, severe thunderstorms produced wind gusts of over 80 mph with numerous reports of over 60 mph. However, the real threat with these storms was the hail. Over 1,000 nesting birds were killed by falling hail at La Creek Refuge in Bennett County. Softball size hail was reported just north of Artesian in Sanborn County, and near Arlington in Kingsbury County. The hail completely destroyed a grain bin near Arlington. Many areas had golf ball size hail or larger. Many homes had windows knocked out and roofs damaged. The storms produced millions of dollars in damage. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1992: Late record snow in CHEYENNE, WY measured 4.3 inches.

1995: A violent tornado moved from near Carroll to near Fonda, Iowa. Carroll County was also clipped by another violent tornado which moved from near Coon Rapids to near Churdan, Iowa. This tornado picked up a car and tossed it more than a quarter-mile into a field. One student's homework papers were found some 55 miles away in the town of Gilmore City. The Iowa State Patrol closed off a four mile section of the interstate to allow the half-mile wide tornado to pass. Greene, Adair, Carroll, Guthrie, Sac and Union counties were declared disaster areas. Some damage estimates included $2 million dollars in Greene County, $1.2 million in Carrol and Union Counties, $828,000 in Adair County and $642,000 in Sac County. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)

1997: An F5 tornado killed 27 people in Jarrell, Texas. Although tornado warnings were issued 30 minutes in advance and local sirens were sounded, there were few places to go for safety. Most homes were on slabs, with no basements. Houses were swept clean off their foundations, with little debris left behind. Total damage was $20 million. The same thunderstorm complex produced a wind gust to 122 mph at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio.

 

2001: This day brought one of the most destructive and widespread windstorms to much of Oklahoma and north Texas in recent memory. These storms left one person dead, 4 injured, 160,000 people without power and over $350 million dollars in damage in Oklahoma alone. Several non-tornadic wind reports in excess of 100 mph were recorded, and it took nearly a week to restore power to all of the affected areas

[bluewave]

58 minutes ago, the_other_guy said:

I find that hard to believe. Outside our 4-5 days of heat in March April and May, this hasnt been a particularly warm or pleasant spring. Cool, cloudy, misty, windy are adjectives I would use

Even the 3rd warmest spring so far for average highs in an area like NW NJ is still only in the low 60s. So a very warm spring still is going to feel on the cooler side outside the warmest days in the 90s.

Plus the big temperature drops after the warm ups felt colder relative to the record warmth especially with the strong winds.

95° was the new May and spring maximum temperature for the Sussex, NJ airport since it was established in 2001.
 

Time Series Summary for SUSSEX AIRPORT, NJ Average High Temperature 
Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending.

1	2012	65.5	0
2	2010	65.1	0
3	2026	63.8	6
4	2025	63.5	0
5	2024	63.4	0
6	2023	63.0	0
7	2016	62.5	0
8	2021	62.4	0
9	2004	61.5	0
10	2022	61.4	4

 

Time Series Summary for SUSSEX AIRPORT, NJ - Mar through May
Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending.

1	2026	95	46
2	2010	93	0
-	2002	93	0
3	2022	92	4
-	2017	92	0

[winterwarlock]

22 hours ago, Brian5671 said:

No one wants an hour less of sunlight in the evenings in the summer with that scenario.  Sunset in NYC would be at 7:30 vs 8:30pm.

Bingo

 

Going to permanent standard time would be terrible causing a massive cultural shift

 

Im fine where it is..solves both issues..its not a big deal to change clocks

[Brian5671]

1 minute ago, winterwarlock said:

Bingo

 

Going to permanent standard time would be terrible causing a massive cultural shift

Part of the reason neither solution works-it's what we are used to for the last 60 years.