Perhaps, fortunately, for us, May did not have the well above average
rainfall that we saw in March and April. In fact it was very close to
being normal!  The average daily high for May was 74.6, one half degree below normal. The average overnight low was 57.1, 4.1 degrees above normal. This gave us a monthly mean temperature of 65.9, 1.9 degrees above normal.  The warmest May on record was in 1962 with a mean temperature of 74.3 degrees. The coldest May was in 1995 with a chilly monthly mean temperature of 57.8.

The May averages continue an ongoing trend where overnight minimum
temperatures are more above average than the daytime average highs. This
is consistent with projections of climatologists that global warming will
result in noticeably warmer overnight temperatures. It is also consistent
with many cloudy days during a month. Clouds keep daytime temperatures
down, but they also trap heat under the cloud cover keeping night time
temperatures warmer. The highest temperature for the month was 89 degrees
on May 15th. This reading tied the record high for that date, originally
set in 2001. This was the only temperature record set or tied during May.
The coldest temperature for May was 45 degrees the morning of May 20th.
With no sub-freezing temperatures during May it is probably safe to say
that our last frost for the spring of 2017 was the 31 degree reading on
April 10th which was 5 days earlier than our long term average.

While May and June are normally our wettest months of the year, May 2017
fell just a little bit short of average which I think was okay with area
farmers and gardeners alike. Normal May rainfall is 4.79 inches. Milford
Lake recorded 4.72 inches of rain and Junction City 3.66 inches. Normal
rainfall through the first five months of the year is 11.85 inches. Year
to date Milford Lake has recorded 17.91 inches and Junction City 14.73
inches. The wettest May on record was in 1995 when 17.23 inches of rain
deluged the area. The driest May was in 2009 when only 0.86 inches of rain
fell.

June brings us the official start of summer (astronomical summer) and the
first real shot of 100 degree temperatures. June is the wettest month of
the year (by one one-hundredth of an inch) at 4.80 inches. Average daily
highs start the month at 80 and by month愀 end are at 90. Overnight low on
June 1st is expected to be 58 degrees and by the 30th it has risen to 67
degrees. July is statistically our hottest month of the year with August
being slightly (a degree and a half) cooler.

Chuck Otte