I received quite a bit of grief about forecasting rain for late May. You can find an example in an earlier post.
Here is what happened in the Santa Clara Valley during May.
San Jose received measurable rain during 5 days in May with rain falling on 3 other days. An average May usually experiences only 3 days of measurable rain. Even with the extra days of rain, the total for the month fell short of average, 0.35" vs. 0.44" with 0.16" falling during the last week.
7 miles to the northwest, Moffet Field received measurable rain during 7 Mays days with rain falling on 3 other days. 7 miles may not seem like a great distance but it was enough for rain totals to differentiate. Moffet Field received an above average amount of rain in May, 0.74" (+0.39") with 0.20" inches falling the last week.
One of the most telling statistics about the wetter than average rain year is the cool temperatures it created. During an average May, we experience nearly 2 days with 90° or warmer highs. Our warmest temperature, for the month and year, reached 84° on the 30th. May in San Jose was cooler than average during the day and night. The low temperature averaged 49.5 degrees, normal is 51.8. The high temperature averaged 70 degrees, normal is 75.2. The monthly average high has been below average since December.
The high temperature at Moffet Field averaged an even cooler 68.4° while the low averaged 49.9°.
Other areas were even more impressive. I will post their statistics next.
