May 2014 Summary – Warmer and Cloudier than Average

Blue Hill Observatory
May 2014 Summary:

The month was notable for being generally warmer and cloudier than average and slightly dry.  The 24-hour mean temperature for the month of 57.3F was 2.0 degrees warmer the 120-year average for May, and this was about one degree above the 1981-2010 30-year average.  May was the first month since October 2013 to be warmer than both the 30-year and 120-year averages. The maximum temperature for the month was 85F on the 12th, and the coldest temperature was 39F on the 29th.  May was generally warm until the last few days of the month including the 28th, which was a cold, damp day with a high temperature of only 48F.  The total precipitation for May of 3.22 inches was almost an inch drier than the 120-year average and about one half inch less than the 1981-2010 mean. The greatest in 24 hours was 1.30 inches on the 16th-17th.  There were 15 days with measurable precipitation during the month, which was three more than average for May. The mean wind speed for May was 11.4 mph with a prevailing wind direction of S, which tied for the fifth slowest wind speed on record for May. The peak wind gust was 51 mph from the WNW on the 4th.  Clouds were more frequent than usual, and May bright sunshine was just 47 percent of possible, which was five percent less than the 120-year average for the month.

Spring (March-May) 2014 Summary:

Spring 2014 was close to average for temperature and precipitation.  The 24-hour mean temperature for spring of 44.8F was exactly equal to the 120-year March-May average. This was the coldest spring at the Observatory since a mean of 43.9F was recorded in 2005.  Precipitation totaled 12.25 inches for the three months, and this was a scant 0.12 inches below the 120-year mean for spring.  The total snowfall was a mere 3.8 inches during March-May, which was about 11 inches less than average, and this was the least snowiest spring since 1.1 inches was measured in 2006.  Mean wind speed during Spring 2014 was 12.8 mph, which tied with 2013 for the third slowest spring wind speed on record behind only 12.0 mph in 2012 and 12.6 mph in 1995. Spring 2014 bright sunshine was 48 percent of possible, which was 2 percent less than the long-term average.