May Sets Weather Records May 2010 went down in record fashion when it comes to local weather. A quick glance of the record books reveals the following: * The maximum May temperature at the Portland International Airport reached no higher than 76 degrees. This is our coldest maximum May high temperature at that location since 1991 (nearly 20 yrs) and ranks as the 4th coldest May maximum high temperature on record. It tied 1977's 76 degrees, trailed 1991's 75 degrees and 1962's 70 degrees. Only 12 years on record (17% of the 70 yrs worth of records) have failed to reach 80 degrees at least once in the month of May. Period of record for this data is 1941-2010 at the Portland International Airport. * Portland received 4.75" of rainfall for the month of May. This is exactly 200% of normal (average) for the month of May. May's total rainfall is the 3rd highest on record for the month of May, trailing only 1996's 4.88" and 1998's 5.55" of rainfall. This is also the first two back-to-back wetter than normal months at both Portland & Vancouver since fall of 2007 (nearly 3 yrs ago). May also saw 22 days with measurable precipitation of at least 0.01" or more. * May's average temperature at the Portland International Airport was 55.0 degrees. This is a full 2 degrees below normal and thus the coldest May since 1991's 54.7 degree average temperature. May also set records for the coldest individual daytime highs on record on more than one occasion. May 4th saw a high temperature only 50 degrees at the Portland Airport. This was just one degree shy of the all-time coldest May high temperature ever recorded at the Portland Airport (1941-2010). * If Portland can make it to June 10th without a single 80 degree temperature, we will have reached the latest in the year without seeing an 80 degree temperature. June 9th 1991 holds the current record for the latest in the year to finally reach 80 degrees. At the pace we are currently on I think we have a good chance to break that record. Long range data continues to show no 80 degree temperatures in sight. It looks like the infamous "Rose Festival Low" will be with us for a while. The current pattern of cool and wet weather will continue with an unseasonably strong system due in this week that could dump record setting rainfall across the area. Steve Pierce
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