For me, it’s a toss-up. October and May are my two favorite months of the year. I think May has a slight edge since we know we are headed into our warmer months, rather than the other way around. The May outlook from the Climate Prediction Center is calling for ABOVE AVERAGE temperatures. However, regarding rainfall, we seem to be right on the cusp of above average to not enough data to make an accurate prediction. It is my humble opinion that we will see above average rainfall. I’ll get to why shortly. In the meantime, let’s take a look at what the numbers are for May.
On May 1, the average high temperature is 77 degrees. By the 15th of the month, our average high is 80 degrees. By the end of the month, average high is 83. Rainfall average for the month of May is 3.6”. May is the second driest month of the year. For comparison, October’s average rainfall is 3.11”.
Beside this article is the current map showing the water temperatures in the Gulf of America. You can see the warm loop current and the colder water near the shoreline. The gulf is expected to get extremely warm this summer, just like last summer. That extremely warm water will bring a ton of warm, tropical air, right over Georgia, wrapping across the western flank of the Bermuda High Pressure off the southeast coast. With that in mind, the 2025 hurricane season is expected to be extremely active, in part, due to this warm water.
The seasonal hurricane forecast team, led by Phil Klotzbach at Colorado State, says the Accumulated Cyclone Energy is predicted to be 125% above the average, similar to last season. The team is forecasting an ACE of 155. The average is 123. The forecast is for 17 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes, as the season unfolds on June 1.
The official list of Atlantic hurricane names for the 2025 season includes Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dexter, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Imelda, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van, and Wendy. The names are part of a rotating system, and this list was finalized in anticipation of the 2025 season.
The pollen is gone, temperatures are warming, and we are now removed from the heart of severe storms season.
Hope you enjoy the month of May.
Image: courtesy of NOAA/NESDIS
