College Station Monthly Summary: May 2011

College Station picked up some much needed precipitation during May 2011, but the 3.37" of total precipitation did little to improve the exceptional drought that was in place throughout the entire month. A strong storm system brought 1.98" of rain on the 12th, a daily amount accounting for over 25 percent of the current 2011 precipitation total at Easterwood Airport (7.66"), which is less than half the normal year-to-date precipitation. An extremely May strong cold front brought only 0.04" of precipitation on the 2nd, but brought one of the coldest ever May days in College Station as the daily maximum on 63°F was only one degree more than the all-time lowest maximum temperature (62°F in 1979). This is even more remarkable given that this day occurred only one day after a daily maximum temperature record was set (94°F on the 1st) and only 12 days after perhaps the all-time warmest 24-hour April period in College Station (April 20th-21st, 2011). A week later on the 9th, the maximum temperature topped out at 99°F, which was the warmest temperature recorded in College Station during May 2011 and was only a degree shy of tying the all-time May record (100°F, most recently in 1996). So within a single week, College Station had both one of its coldest May days and warmest May days ever. A week after a storm system brought nearly two inches of rain on the 12th, thunderstorms that brought hail and high wind to the Brazos Valley dropped over an inch of rain at Easterwood Airport from the 20th-21st. The last two weeks of the month were warm, with several records and near records accompanying 14 straight days (18th-31st) of above normal temperatures.

*New Records Set

*Near Records Set

June Normals for College Station