May 2008

Below normal rainfall...

        Pensacola received 3.30 inches of rain during May, which was 1.10
inches below the normal value of 4.40 inches.  Five of May’s thirty one
days recorded measurable precipitation with three of those having a half
an inch of precipitation or more.  The driest May on record occurred
over a century ago, in 1898, when a meager 0.04 inches of precipitation
was recorded.  The wettest May occurred 62 years ago, in 1946, when
Pensacola was drenched with 12.56 inches of rainfall.  The yearly
rainfall total now stands at 21.17 inches which is 3.54 inches below the
normal value of 21.17 inches.

         Pensacola experienced an above normal May this year in the temperature
department.  The average monthly temperature was 75.6 degrees, which was
1.0 degrees above the normal monthly average of 74.6 degrees.  The
coolest May was 69.1 degrees set in 1917.  The warmest May on record
occurred 55 years ago, in 1953, when the monthly temperature averaged a
steamy 78.2 degrees.  The highest temperature recorded for the month was
93 degrees on the 11th.  The lowest temperature recorded for the month
was 57 degrees on the 12th.  The average high temperature was 84.0
degrees and the average low temperature was 67.1 degrees.  

Wind information for the month: The average monthly wind speed was 8.9
mph.  The fastest two-minute wind speed was 32 mph from the southwest.
The highest peak wind gust was 44 mph from the southwest during a
thunderstorm.

Note: Spring 2008 was below normal in both temperatures and
precipitation.  The three months of March, April, and May recorded 9.16
inches of rainfall.  This total was 5.53 inches below the normal Spring
rainfall of 14.69 inches.  The average temperature was 67.4 degrees, 0.1 degrees below the normal Spring temperature of 67.5 degrees.