Weather Extremes

For the week of May 4-10, there were 58 weather records broken or tied in the United States. Compared to the last two weeks, that number was considerably lower as the late April to early May period averaged over 200 tied or broken weather records for each week.

Most of the 15 high temperature extremes were in the southern states last week. On May 9, San Antonio soared to a record-tying 97 degrees, followed by a 98-degree reading the next day. Alexandria, La., reported a sizzling 95 degrees. Beachgoers soaked up the sun at Daytona Beach, Fla., on the 10th as the mercury hit 94 degrees. The hottest temperature last week was observed at Del Rio, Texas; on May 10, the thermometer registered 107 degrees there.

As the southern states observed record heat, record cold gripped parts of the northwestern and north-central U.S. once again. There were 16 record low temperature readings last week. At Omak, Wash., it was 30 degrees on May 8 and 29 degrees on May 9. Grand Forks, N.D., dipped to 23 degrees on May 4 and 20 degres on May 5. Pocatello, Idaho, fell to a record 23 degrees on the 10th.

A storm system moving through the central U.S. last week brought record rains and some widespread flooding. On May 5, Houston picked up 3.45 inches of rain. On May 7, Vichy-Rolla, Mo., reported 1.77 inches of moisture; at Joplin, Mo., an incredible 5.71 inches of rain fell. That amount smashed the old record of 1.19 inches in 1961. The storm also brought extreme moisture totals to the East Coast. Wilmington, Del., had 1.94 inches, Baltimore had 1.94 inches and Philadelphia recorded 1.57 inches of rain on May 9. Richmond, Va., had 2.46 inches and Washington, D.C., reported 2.22 inches on the same day.

Although it was early-to-mid May, there were three snowfall records. Traces of snow were seen in North Platte, Neb., and Fargo, N.D., on May 10. On that same day, Grand Forks in North Dakota picked up 0.7 inches of new snow.