Summer jumped the gun. May in Denton County continued the trend of sharply warmer-than-normal weather, common for the past several months. At least we received some much-needed spring rains.
At this writing (May 25), Denton Enterprise had recorded at least 15 days at or above 90 degrees, with at least three more 90+ days forecast for Memorial Day weekend. Our warmest day during in May was 97, on May 15th. Our coolest morning was May 3rd with a low of 54.
The average high for the month was 88.5, which was 6 degrees warmer than the climatological normal. The average low was 67, which was nearly 4 degrees warmer than normal.
Rainfall was fairly good, although a little short for the month. Early in May, Denton recorded .70” on the 2nd, .61” on the 3rd and another .32” on the 4th and 5th. Then, it was a long dry spell until 1.33” fell on May 24th. Total rainfall for the month was a respectable 3.11”, although still short of normal May precipitation of 3.74 inches. Combined with the 4.45 inches received during April, Denton Enterprise has recorded 11.22” through the first five months of 2022, well below normal year-to-date precipitation of 14.55 inches.
One reason for the lack of rainfall was the lack of severe weather during the normally volatile month of May in North Texas. Although big storms drove through Denton County on the night of May 24th, no major damage was reported.
A roof leak at the American Airlines Center, delayed the Mavericks/Warriors playoff game, embarrassed Mark Cuban and probably assured a new sports venue for the Mavericks in the near future. A few smaller tree limbs and weak fences were blown down but nothing larger than pea-sized hail was reported across Denton County.
The only significant hailstorm was on May 15th when 1” to 1.25” hail was reported near Krum, Lincoln Park, Aubrey and Pilot Point.
The most-complained-about atmospheric condition in the past month was strong south winds. They resulted from an early summer-season high pressure dome, which forced the North American storm tracks well north of Texas, resulting in unusually warm weather. At the same time, the frequency of low-pressure storm systems in the northern states produced a strong southerly wind flow across most of Texas, which pulled dust, pollen and smoke from numerous wildfires in Mexico and Texas across the area. Meanwhile, allergists and ear, nose and throat specialists were able to up their summer vacation plans (cheap shot, I know).
Looking ahead, The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above-normal temperatures, but near-normal rainfall for North Texas during June. The forecast for July and August is pretty much the same. We’ve had worse.
Brad Barton is Chief Meteorologist of WBAP 820 / 570 KLIF.
