Believe It Or Not! May Is The Wettest Calendar Month Inwards Many Parts Of The U.S. Together With The Driest Inwards Others!

To a Northwestener accustomed to Nov to Jan beingness the wettest fourth dimension of the year, it may appear awfully strange, merely for many locations May is the wettest calendar month of the year.    And for other locations May is the driest calendar month of the year.

To appreciate this interesting climatological quirk, hither is a wonderful graphic past times climatologist Brian Brettschneider  showing the calendar month of most atmospheric precipitation or together with then the U.S. of A. (below).  (Brian makes some of the most interesting climatological graphics together with lives inward Alaska.)

Sure enough, at that topographic point are broad swaths of the U.S. of A. for which May is the wettest month: most importantly, northern Nevada into Wyoming together with from Oklahoma to Ohio.     In these locations, jump thunderstorms are to a greater extent than of import than midwinter cyclones together with fronts.  Spring tin post away endure an unstable fourth dimension of the year, amongst a rigid Sun warming the surface, piece the atmosphere aloft is all the same relatively cool.  The produces a large alter of temperature amongst acme (lapse rate).And at that topographic point are all the same plenty passing disturbances to aid initiate the storms.

In contrast, some locations convey their driest calendar month inward May.    Like southern Arizona.  Why?   Arizona gets some pelting from wintertime weather condition disturbances together with lots of pelting from the summertime "southwest" monsoon from like shooting fish in a barrel June to September.  May is form of a dead catamenia for precipitation.

Another dry out May location includes Georgia together with the panhandle of Florida.  Take Tallahassee (see below).  Tallahassee gets some wintertime pelting from fronts together with cyclones, merely MUCH to a greater extent than inward midsummer from convection (thunderstorms) due to the huge amount of wet coming off the Gulf.  Thus, jump together with autumn convey less precipitation, amongst May barely edging out October.

 May is likewise a dry out calendar month inward Alaska, amongst the wintertime storms ended.    "Autumn" fronts together with cyclones deed inward early on at that topographic point (starting inward August).    Thus, May is a really expert fourth dimension for an Alaskan cruise.  And likewise fairly dry out on the Big Island of Hawaii.  Go to both if you lot tin post away afford it.

To seat this all into context, hither is the average atmospheric precipitation for May for the lower 48 states.  Some places become 6-8 inches (Arkansas, Tennessee) from thunderstorms, piece parts of the southwest become less than a 10th of an inch.



Think most how weird it would endure to alive inward a house similar the portion northwest of Atlanta, correct on the border of a huge alter inward fourth dimension of twelvemonth of heaviest rainfall.  Drive a hr or together with then 1 agency (SE) , May is the driest month.   Go the contrary direction (NW) a hundred miles or so, May is the wettest month.  Think of the weather condition tourism possibilities.


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