Weather Extremes

For the week of May 11-17, there were 249 weather records broken or tied. The majority of the extremes were warm records. Most of the record-breaking heat was in the Far West, but on May 11, the mercury soared into the 90s in Florida. It was a record 96 degrees at Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The next day, Fort Lauderdale climbed to 95 degrees with 94 degrees at Miami.

From May 14 through May 17, many stations in the western U.S. smashed all-time record highs for the date. In normally cool Oakland, Calif., it was 86 degrees on the 14th. The next day, Oakland recorded 99 degrees. Thermal, Calif., soared to a record-tying 105 degrees on the 15th. Napa reported a hot 100 degrees. Even San Francisco, where air conditioning is not typically used, the temperature soared to 97 degrees on May 15. At Medford, Ore., the mercury hit 98 degrees the same day; and it was a record 93 degrees at Ashland, Ore.

On May 16, Vancouver, Wash., hit 96 degrees. It was 99 degrees at Salem and 89 degrees at normally mild Eugene, Ore. California’s Central Valley had another day of record heat on May 16 as Modesto reported 105 degrees; it was 100 degrees at Sacramento.

The record heat was also felt in the Northwest. On May 16, Colville was 91 degrees. It was 98 degrees at Yakima on May 17. It was 90 degrees at Seattle and 91 degrees at Olympia on the 17th.

While the West was baking last week, parts of the central U.S. were experiencing the other extreme. It was 30 degrees at McCook, Neb., and 24 degrees at Valentine, Neb., on May 11. It was 37 degrees at Springfield, Mo., on May 12.

A big storm moved across the eastern U.S. on May 11 with 3.73 inches of rain at Washington, D.C.’s Dulles Airport. Shreveport, La., picked up 6.51 inches of rain on May 13 and and 4.06 inches on the 14th.