May Brought Storms and Heavy Rain from the South to the Northeast; Spring was the Second Warmest on Record

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By ncei.noaa.gov.

Key Points:

  • Thirteen states experienced one of their five wettest Mays on record, while dry conditions persisted across much of the Northwest.
  • Two significant severe weather outbreaks on May 15–16 and May 18–20 resulted in over 200 tornado reports, very large hail and damaging winds.
  • Alaska had its second-wettest May on record with exceptionally heavy rainfall in the Southeast.
    Several sites across Hawai`i observed their warmest spring on record.
  • Widespread drought improvement occurred along the East Coast and across much of the Plains.

 

Map of the U.S. showing locations of significant climate anomalies and events in May 2025 with text describing each event and title at top stating “U.S. Selected Significant Climate Anomalies and Events: May 2025”.

Other Highlights:

Temperature

 

Map of the U.S. showing temperature departures from average for May 2025 with warmer areas in gradients of red and cooler areas in gradients of blue.
The average temperature for the contiguous U.S. (CONUS) in May 2025 was 61.7°F, 1.5°F above the 20th-century average, ranking in the warmest third of the 131-year period of record. Much of the West, Southwest and Northwest, as well as the northern Rockies and Plains, recorded above-average temperatures. Warmer-than-normal conditions also extended along the southern Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida and up the entire Atlantic seaboard. Florida experienced its second-warmest May on record at 4.0°F above average. In contrast, temperatures across the central U.S. were generally near- to below-average.

During meteorological spring (March–May) 2025, the CONUS average temperature was 54.1°F, 3.2°F above average, making it the second-warmest spring in the 131-year record. North Carolina recorded its second-warmest spring (3.7°F above average), while Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi and Virginia each matched or exceeded their third-warmest spring on record.

Alaska’s average temperature for May was 39.0°F, 1.2°F above the long-term average, ranking in the middle third of the 101-year record. For the spring season (March–May), Alaska’s average temperature was 27.7°F, 3.7°F above average, ranking in the warmest third of the historical record.

Hawai`i was warmer than average in May, with several stations reporting record average temperatures for the month. Spring ranked as the warmest on record at multiple sites, including the Honolulu International and Moloka`i airports.

read more at ncei.noaa.gov.

Image Credits: ncei.noaa.gov.
Image Credits: ncei.noaa.gov.