A cool wet May helped get farmers ready for spring planting in the Jacksonville area last month.

            May 2021 will be recorded as a cool month. The average temperature was 61 and a half degrees. That’s nearly 2 degrees cooler than normal.  But, it’s much better than the record low reading in May of 57 and a half degrees that occurred in 1981.

            A typical day last month saw a high of 72, and a low of just under 51.

            There were no highs recorded more than 87 last month. That occurred three times..on the 24^th, 25^th, and 27^th. It was the warmest stretch of the month of 80 or better readings on 8 straight days, starting on the 20^th.

            The mercury dipped below 40 three times, bottoming out at 34 on the 12^th.  The thermometer reached below 50 11 times in May.

            Rainfall reached 5 and a half inches, about a half an inch more than normal.  There was at least a trace of precipitation on 20 of the 31 days in May. The most was nearly 2 inches of rain that caused flooding on the 16^th and 17^th.

            Other parts of the state may complain about drought conditions, but not here.

Rainfall of the year is now at 16 and a half inches. That’s over 2 inches more than normal in Jacksonville through the first five months.

            WLDS-WEAI serves an official recording station for the National Weather Service.