While May was wetter than normal it was not record wet. Geary County Extension Agent Chuck Otte said the month was also slightly cooler than normal which could be expected given that it rained over half the days of the month.

The average daily high during May was 70.6 degrees, 4.5 degrees below normal. The average overnight low as 54.0 degrees, one degree above average. That provides a monthly mean temperature of 62.3 degrees, 1.7 degrees below normal. That was a big change from May of 2018 when May was more than nine degrees above normal. The highest temperature in May of this year was 89 degrees on the 16th and the low was 41 degrees on the 8th.

There were two temperature records set in May. The high of 53 on the 9th was the lowest high temperature for that date. The old record of 44 was set in 1993. The low of 71 on the 27th broke the record high low temperature for that date. The old record was 70, set in 2018.

Average rainfall for Geary County in May is 4.79 inches. Milford Lake recorded 254% of normal May rainfall or 12.19 inches. Junction City recorded slightly more than that at 12.70 inches. Yeasr to date Milford Lake has received 17.59 inches of precipitation and Junction City 19.07 inches. While 12.19 inches is excessive it ranks 2019 as only the third wettest May on record. The wettest May was in 1995 when 17.23 inches of rain flooded the area.  May of 2019 does land as the number nine wettest month from 1931 to the present.

June brings the start of summer, the longest days of the year and increasing temperatures. It is also, on average, the wettest month of the year. Average daily highs in June range from 81 on June 1st to 90 by the 30th. Overnight lows increase from 58 on the first of the month to 67 at the end of the month. Daytime highs over 100 can occur virtually any day of the month. On average June rainfall totals 4.80 inches.

Chuck Otte

Geary County Extension Agent