NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY
MAY 2020
3-9: Areas of the Midwest, significant precipitation fell in several areas. Weekly rainfall topped 2 inches across parts of the northern Plains and the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. Locally heavy showers also dotted the southeastern Plains and the lower
Mississippi Valley. Later, a mix of rain and snow fell in the Northeast. Early-week precipitation was heaviest across the northern Plains. In South Dakota, daily-record amounts for May 4 reached 2.11 inches in Aberdeen and 1.11 inches in Pierre. Later,
heavy showers developed across parts of the South, where record-setting totals for May 5 included 3.21 inches in Greenville-Spartanburg, SC, and 2.79 inches in London, KY. Late in the week, snow showers developed from the Great Lakes region into the
Northeast. With a 1.5-inch total on the 8th, Elkins, WV, achieved its snowiest May on record (previously, 1.0 inch in 1954; the snow fell on May 10). May 9 featured daily-record snowfall amounts in Maine locations such as Caribou (5.5 inches) and Bangor (
1.0 inch). Elsewhere on the 9th, daily-record amounts included 2.7 inches in Saint Johnsbury, VT; 1.0 inch in Sault Sainte Marie, MI; and 0.4 inch in Concord, NH. For Concord, it was the third latest measurable snowfall on record. A trace of snow on May
9 in Newark, NJ, and New York’s Central Park tied 1977 for the latest-ever observed flurries.
10-16: Stormy weather arrived during the second half of the week across parts of the nation’s mid-section, boosting topsoil and sparking local flooding. Some of the heaviest rain of 2 to 4 inches or more stretched from the western half of the Gulf
Coast region into the central Corn Belt. In fact, widespread rain fell throughout the northern half of the country. Rainfall was generally lighter, however, along and near the Canadian border, especially from North Dakota to upper Michigan. Meanwhile,
little or no rain fell in the Southwest or Southeast, except in southern Florida. The low-pressure system that on May 17 would become Tropical Storm Arthur produced heavy rain and gusty winds in southern Florida while traversing the Florida Straits. By
week’s end, varying degrees of lowland flooding were occurring in the Midwest, primarily from Illinois into Michigan. The region’s first wave of heavy rain occurred on the 14th, when Chicago, IL, experienced its wettest May day on record (3.53 inches;
previously, 3.45 inches on May 29, 1981). During the transition to wetter weather, an unusual, late-season cold wave gradually eased.
Snow showers lingered early in the week from the upper Midwest into the Northeast. Daily-record snowfall amounts for May 10 included 1.8 inches in Houghton Lake, MI, and 0.1 inch in Binghamton, NY. The following day, a trace of snow fell in Fort Wayne,
IN, and Muskegon, MI. On May 12, a trace of snow fell in New York locations such as Albany and Buffalo. Meanwhile, late season precipitation arrived across northern California and the Northwest. Record-setting totals for May 12 reached 0.93 inch in
Redding, CA, and 0.35 inch in Omak, WA. With 0.28 inch, Worland, WY, netted a daily-record amount for May 13. Heavy rain erupted across parts of the Midwest on the 14th, resulting in the wettest day on record during May in Chicago (see above) and Ottumwa,
IA (4.43 inches). Ottumwa’s total tied the record originally set on May 2, 1993. Torrential showers also affected the Gulf Coast region, where New Orleans, LA, netted a daily-record sum (4.76 inches) for May 14. In Michigan, Muskegon received two
daily-record totals in 3 days—1.27 and 3.35 inches, respectively, on May 15 and 17. Meanwhile in southern Florida, May 15-16 rainfall in Fort Lauderdale totaled 4.36 inches. Elsewhere, late week, daily-record amounts included 1.94 inches (on May 16) in
McAllen, TX; 1.89 inches (on May 14) in Moline, IL; 1.86 inches (on May 15) in El Dorado, AR; and 1.05 inches (on May 15) in Sidney, NE. As runoff from Midwestern rainfall reached waterways, a crest record (3.26 feet above flood stage; previously, 2.58
feet on April 19, 2013) was established on May 18 along the Des Plaines River near Lemont, IL. Similarly, the Illinois River at Morris, IL, crested 8.85 feet above flood stage on May 19, less than an inch below the high-water mark (8.91 feet above flood
stage) set on April 19, 2013.
17-23: A pair of slow-moving storms delivered heavy rain across the Northwest and from the Midwest into the Southeast, respectively. Midwestern rainfall was a continuation from the previous week’s downpours, which ultimately led to record flooding in
small areas of Illinois and Michigan. As Midwestern flooding ebbed, the focus for heavy rainfall (locally 4 to 10 inches or more) and flooding shifted to Virginia and the Carolinas. Prior to the arrival of heavy inland rainfall associated with the former
Midwestern storm system, Tropical Storm Arthur grazed North Carolina’s Outer Banks on May 18. Farther west, a separate storm system produced unusually heavy precipitation— including high-elevation snow—in the Northwest, although flooding was
limited by underlying drought.
The week began amid a Midwestern deluge. On May 17, Chicago, IL, reported more than 3 inches of rain for the second time in 4 days. With totals of 3.57 and 3.11 inches, respectively, on May 14 and 17, Chicago achieved its wettest May on record (9.02
inches through the 23rd; previously, 8.25 inches in 2019). Elsewhere in the Midwest, daily-record totals on May 17 topped the 2-inch mark in Muskegon, MI (3.35 inches); Milwaukee, WI (2.99 inches); and Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN (2.47 inches). It was
Muskegon’s wettest day in May since 1904, when 4.10 inches fell on May 22. Heavy rain continued into May 18 across Michigan, where daily-record totals included 3.12 inches in Saginaw; 2.98 inches in Houghton Lake; and 2.57 inches in Flint. Michigan’s
rain contributed to record flooding along the Rifle River near Sterling, where the crest (9.65 feet above flood stage) occurred on May 19. The previous record near Sterling, 7.74 feet above flood stage, had been observed on March 28, 1950. The rain in
Michigan also led to the failure of the Edenville Dam and subsequent overtopping and failure of the Sanford Dam. The dam failures resulted in a record crest (11.05 feet above flood stage on May 20) along the Tittabawassee River at Midland, MI; the
previous record of 9.89 feet above flood stage had been established on September 13, 1986. Meanwhile in Illinois, the Des Plaines River achieved a record crest (3.26 feet above flood stage on May 18) near Lemont, topping the April 2013 high-water mark by
0.68 foot. Elsewhere along the Des Plaines River, the second-highest crest on record occurred on May 18 in Riverside (1.28 feet below the April 2013 level) and Joliet (0.25 foot below the July 1957 peak). High water also affected the Illinois River basin,
where the water level in Morris, IL, surged 8.85 feet above flood stage (0.06 foot below the April 2013 record crest) on May 19. Later, downpours spread into the middle Ohio Valley and parts of the Southeast. Daily-record totals for May 18 exceeded 2
inches in Columbus, OH (2.33 inches), and Augusta, GA (2.29 inches). Columbus and Cincinnati, OH, reported consecutive daily-record amounts on May 18-19, totaling 4.35 and 3.29 inches, respectively. In southwestern Virginia, May 19-21 rainfall reached 8.
32 inches in Roanoke and 5.26 inches in Blacksburg. Roanoke’s wettest May on record occurred in 1940, when 10.14 inches fell; this year’s May 1-23 total reached 9.82 inches. Farther west, heavy showers also affected the Northwest. In Washington, the
20th was the second-wettest day during May in Walla Walla (1.66 inches), the fourth wettest in Pullman (1.25 inches), and the fifth wettest in Spokane (1.40 inches). With 1.11 inches on the 20th, Pendleton, OR, noted its third-wettest May day behind 1.64
inches on May 29, 1906, and 1.27 inches on May 19, 1994. Later, Alta, UT, measured 6.8 inches of snow during a 24-hour period on May 22-23. Finally, locally heavy showers across the nation’s midsection resulted in daily-record totals for May 22 in
locations such as Springfield, MO (4.29 inches), and Grand Island, NE (1.95 inches).
24-30: Heavy rain fell in conjunction with Tropical Storm Bertha, which drenched parts of southern Florida before officially developing and later moving inland across the Carolinas. However, rainfall bypassed a few areas, including the northern Atlantic
Coast. As the week began, heavy showers pelted southern Florida. Record-setting rainfall totals in Florida for May 25 (Memorial Day) included 4.44 inches in West Palm Beach and 4.03 inches in Fort Lauderdale. Miami, FL, collected a record-setting amount
(7.40 inches) for May 26. Miami also completed its wettest May on record, with the 18.89-inch total surpassing the 1925 standard of 18.66 inches. By the morning of May 27, Tropical Storm Bertha quickly formed and moved ashore near Charleston, SC, when a
daily-record rainfall of 2.08 inches was reported. Other daily record amounts for May 27 totaled 2.25 inches in North Myrtle Beach, SC, and 1.75 inches in Charlotte, NC. Farther west, unrelated to Bertha, hail fell on May 27 at the official observation
site in Lake Charles, LA, while a May-record wind gust to 72 mph was clocked in Jackson, MS. On May 28, rainfall associated with a cold front resulted in daily-record totals in Green Bay, WI (2.94 inches), and Charleston, WV (1.77 inches). Charleston’s
rain secured its wettest May on record (8.93 inches), edging the 2001 mark of 8.76 inches. Heavy showers returned to parts of the East Coast States on May 29, when daily-record amounts reached 3.54 inches in Columbia, SC, and 1.93 inches in Fayetteville,
NC. In southern Texas, heavy rain produced a daily-record total of 1.84 inches in Laredo, TX. The week ended with unseasonably heavy rain arriving in the Northwest, where daily-record totals for May 30 included 1.47 inches in Medford, OR; 1.14 inches in
Seattle, WA; and 0.72 inch in Montague, CA.

--
This electronic communication, including any attachments, contains

information from the Kearny Public Schools that may be legally
privileged,
confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable
law. This
communication also may include content that was not originally
generated
by the Kearny Public Schools or which may be copyrighted. If
you are not
the intended recipient, any use or dissemination of this
communication is
strictly prohibited. If you have received this
communication in error,
please notify the sender immediately and delete
it from all computers on
which it may be stored. 

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)