After weeks of what seemed like nothing but cloudy, dreary conditions, we've suddenly broken into summer.
Temperatures are climbing into the middle and upper 80s every afternoon, and more of the same is predicted through Sunday. The chances of rain, at least through Saturday, are nearly zero.
I've actually heard a few people in the last day or two mention the lack of rain. The concern was that we might be getting too dry at the beginning of the summer season.
There's no guarantee that we won't have to endure a dry summer, but the forecast doesn't point toward a drought. And we won't be entering summer with a rainfall deficit.
For the year, precipitation at Charlotte Douglas International Airport is 2.14 inches above average.
For the month of May, we're a bit above average. With no rain expected Thursday or Friday, we'll finish the month with a small (0.18 of an inch) deficit. But that's deceiving. On May 19, only 0.02 of an inch fell at the airport. Elsewhere in the county, totals of 2 to 3 inches were common in Matthews, Mint Hill and some areas near Lake Norman.
So for many people, May has been a wet month.
That comes on the heels of an April that produced about 1.5 inches more than average of rain.
The Climate Prediction Center's forecast for the next two weeks is for a good chance of above-average precipitation in the Charlotte region. For the summer, government meteorologists give our area an even chance of above-average, average, or below-average rainfall.
So we've done well on rainfall so far this year, and forecasts indicate that trend will continue into the first 10 days of June. That's a lot better than some other years.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Suddenly, we're dry ... but don't worry
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4 comments:
Are these the same government meteorologists that said March, April, and May would be above normal here? I personally believe that we will have a wet summer because it will be an active hurricane year. The last major hurricane to hit to US was Wilma in 2005, and every day adds to the record of days between major hurricane strikes. Statistically, the US is years overdue for a hurricane, just like New York City was years overdue for one too. Joe Bastardi compares this pattern to the 1950's when New England had several major hurricane strikes. Between statistics and Joe Bastardi, I believe summer will be wet because we experience many hurricanes.
This has been one of the coldest springs on record.. Is that the result of global warming? If it is then we need to implement a carbon tax asap..
Wow, the airport is low. My location is 11 inches above normal. To show you how crazy averages and numbers are, it could not rain for the next 90 days, and we would not be "below average" rainfall!
Let us wait and see what happens. Forecasting is on par with fortune telling based on the multitude of hyped and busted predictions over just this past winter and spring. Even Steve--the good fellow he truly is--cannot be accurate past two days.
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