NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

MAY 2025

4-10: Heavy rain finally ended across the southern Plains, as downpours shifted eastward into the central Gulf Coast States. Additional precipitation totaled 2 inches or more on the southern High Plains, while weekly rainfall topped 4 inches from southern Louisiana into parts of western Florida. Month-to-date rainfall exceeded 10 inches in scattered Southern locations. Meanwhile, precipitation lingered for a few days in the Rockies and Southwest. In the latter region, the precipitation was highly beneficial but provided only cosmetic relief from long-term drought, which continued to limit water availability.

On May 4, the Red River near Gainesville, TX, crested 13.39 feet above flood stage, the third-highest level on record behind 17.05 feet on June 19, 2015, and 15.08 feet on May 31, 1987. Farther downstream and a week later, on May 11, Lake Texoma near Denison, TX, achieved its sixth-highest level on record, 10.39 feet below the May 2015 high-water mark. Meanwhile, showers shifted eastward, with record-setting rainfall totals for May 4 reaching 1.29 inches in Detroit, MI, and 1.16 inches in Frankfort, KY. Soon, precipitation returned across much of the West. By May 5, daily-record totals included 1.12 inches in Lewiston, MT, and 0.57 inch in Las Vegas, NV. In fact, Las Vegas reported measurable rain each day from May 3-6, totaling 1.44 inches. Previously, the highest May rainfall total in Las Vegas had been 0.96 inch in 1969. Parts of the central and southern Plains experienced a final day of rain on May 6, when daily-record totals reached 3.19 inches in San Angelo, TX, and 1.37 inches in Pueblo, CO. Downpours also swept into the central Gulf Coast States, where McComb, MS, measured 3.07 inches, a record for May 6. A day later, record-setting rainfall amounts for the 7th included 3.02 inches in Gulfport, MS, and 2.60 inches in Lafayette, LA. During the first 9 days of the month, rainfall in Lafayette reached 10.21 inches, aided by totals of an inch or greater on May 2, 6, 7, and 9. Lafayette’s total on May 9 was 4.01 inches, setting another daily record. During the second half of the week, heavy rain arrived in parts of the East. By May 8, Asheville, NC, netted a daily-record sum of 2.78 inches. The next day, record-setting rainfall totals for May 9 reached 2.60 inches in Pensacola, FL; 1.92 inches in Albany, NY; and 1.63 inches in Reading, PA. At week’s end, heavy rain ended in the Northeast but continued in the Southeast. On May 10 in Maine, daily-record amounts included 2.32 inches in Portland and 1.55 inches in Augusta. Farther south, the May 10 sum of 3.70 inches in Tuscaloosa, AL, boosted the month-to-date total to 8.51 inches.

11-17: Separate areas of significant precipitation in the northern and eastern U.S. slowed or halted fieldwork but boosted topsoil moisture in areas still experiencing drought. Some of the heaviest rain (locally 4 inches or more) fell in the middle and southern Atlantic States, as well as the western Dakotas. Precipitation extended into the Northwest, where many high-elevation sites reported late-season snow.

Late in the week—and peaking on May 16—a large outbreak of severe thunderstorms struck the lower Midwest, the mid-South, and the mid-Atlantic. On that date, tornadoes resulted in fatalities in several states, including Indiana, Kentucky, and Missouri. A day earlier, as many as three dozen tornadoes had been reported in the Great Lakes States, helping to boost the nation’s weekly tornado tally nearly to 100.

Heavy showers pelted Florida on May 12, when daily-record amounts included 4.35 inches in Miami and 3.65 inches in Orlando. Elsewhere on the 12th, Roanoke, VA, collected a record-setting sum of 2.22 inches. Mid-Atlantic downpours continued through May 13, when daily-record totals reached 2.48 inches in Martinsburg, WV, and 2.28 inches in Baltimore, MD. Rainfall was slow to depart the Atlantic Coast, with daily-record totals being reported on May 14 in Mt. Pocono, PA (2.07 inches), and Trenton, NJ (1.98 inches). With little separation between storms, rain returned across parts of the East late in the week. On May 15, Lynchburg, VA (2.67 inches) logged a daily-record sum. On May 16 in Kentucky, daily-record rainfall totaled 3.55 inches in Jackson and 1.46 inches in Bowling Green. However, violent weather on the 16th was a bigger story, with devastating tornadoes striking several states. More than a dozen tornado related deaths were reported in Laurel County, KY, with the county seat of London being especially hard hit. Other notable tornadoes on May 16 struck Greene County, IN, where an EF-2 twister led to one fatality; Stoddard County, MO, where an EF-3 storm resulted in two deaths; and St. Louis, MO, into western Illinois, where an EF-3 tornado left five people dead. Meanwhile, precipitation from a new weather system spread eastward across the North. As early as May 13, Northwestern daily-record amounts included 0.75 inch in Billings, MT, and 0.60 inch in Greybull, WY. The following day, record-setting precipitation totals for May 14 included 0.76 inch in Butte, MT, and 0.71 inch in Pocatello, ID. Alta, UT, received 4.0 inches of snow in a 48-hour period ending May 15. Farther east, daily-record totals for May 15 topped the 2-inch mark in locations such as Mobridge, SD (2.65 inches), and Dickinson, ND (2.25 inches). Grand Forks, ND, reported a trace of snow on May 16. As the week ended on May 17, heavy precipitation fell in the Northeast and Northwest; daily-record amounts reached 1.86 inches in Montpelier, VT, and 1.23 inches in Portland, OR.

18-24: A nearly stationary frontal boundary draped across the country helped to define the week’s weather anomalies, ranging from heat across the Deep South to chilly conditions in the North, as well as widespread showers and thunderstorms from Plains into the Northeast. Some of the heaviest rain (locally 4 inches or more) fell on the Ozark Plateau and environs.

Early in the week, downpours dotted the Plains, Midwest, and mid-South. Additionally, well over 100 tornadoes were reported from May 18-20, immediately following the deadly severe weather outbreak of May 16, which had resulted in 27 tornado-related fatalities across Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky. On May 19, daily-record rainfall totals reached 3.84 inches in Des Moines, IA; 2.61 inches in Quincy, IL; 1.87 inches in Grand Island, NE; and 1.61 inches in Bismarck, ND. Similar totals were reported on May 20, when daily records were set in locations such as Moline, IL (3.50 inches); Sisseton, SD (1.73 inches); La Crosse, WI (1.70 inches); and Fargo, ND (1.47 inches). Rhinelander, WI, received a trace of snow on May 20. Heavy rain soon migrated into the East, where daily-record amounts totaled 2.22 inches (on May 21) in Danville, VA, and 2.07 inches (on May 22) in Worcester, MA. Elsewhere in Massachusetts on May 22, Boston received 3.11 inches of rain and clocked a peak northeasterly wind gust to 49 mph. New England’s highest peak, Mount Washington, NH, received 12.2 inches of snow from May 22-24. Late in the week, rain returned across the mid-South, where Memphis, TN, measured a record-setting sum (2.08 inches) for May 24. From May 23-25, rainfall topped the 4-inch mark in locations such as Springfield, MO (4.61 inches), and Tulsa, OK (5.88 inches).

25-31: Late-month storminess gradually shifted southward and eastward, but weekly rainfall still totaled 2 to 4 inches or more in many locations from the central and southern Plains to the Atlantic Coast States.

As the last week of May began, thunderstorms pounded the central and southern Plains and the mid-South. On May 25, daily-record rainfall totals in Oklahoma reached 4.14 inches in Tulsa and 2.15 inches in Oklahoma City. Elsewhere on the 25th, daily-record amounts included 2.06 inches in Jonesboro, AR; 1.93 inches in Springfield, MO; and 1.39 inches in Denver, CO. On May 26, Memorial Day, storms across the South led to daily record totals in Shreveport, LA (3.28 inches), and Tyler, TX (3.02 inches). Meanwhile, lingering precipitation in Laramie, WY, led to a daily-record total of 0.62 inch on May 27. By mid week, showers and thunderstorms spanned the South and East, leading to daily-record totals for May 28 in San Antonio, TX (2.05 inches); Richmond, VA (2.00 inches); and Atlantic City, NJ (1.79 inches). On May 30, another batch of Eastern downpours contributed to daily-record amounts in Morgantown, WV (2.90 inches); Ruskin, FL (2.10 inches); and Harrisburg, PA (1.75 inches). On the last day of the month, record-setting totals for May 31 included 1.19 niches in Houlton, ME, and 1.15 inches in Montpelier, VT. Farther west, a few showers approached southern California and the Southwest. By June 1, uncharacteristically early showers in Arizona resulted in daily record totals in Phoenix (0.24 inch) and Yuma (0.10 inch).

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com