The Northeast didn’t get much rain in May, with the month ending on a very dry note for many there; in addition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is about to break its record for the driest May on record.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, Philadelphia only saw 0.24″ of rain for the entire month. With rain not in the forecast for the hours remaining in the month, the NWS believes Philadelphia will eclipse the record low amount of rain of 0.47″ set in May 1964. Philadelphia weather records go back to 1872.
Philadelphia would normally see about 3.5″ of rain during the month of May, with rain rarely exceeding 5.9″ or 1.6″ for the entire month. The 0.24″ that did fall is literally a drop in the bucket from what should fall.
If the dry conditions spill over into June, it’s possible the next Drought Monitor maps would reflect more abnormally dry areas and perhaps the more signs of a moderate drought. Moderate drought conditions currently exist over far eastern West Virginia and portions of Maryland south and east of Washington, DC.
