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May was historically dry for more than just Omaha

May 2023 was driest on record for Omaha

May was historically dry for more than just Omaha

May 2023 was driest on record for Omaha

DEVELOPMENT IN THE GULF COAST FOR US. WE’RE JUST WE’RE JUST LOOKING FOR FOR ANYTHING, ANY TYPE OF MOISTURE. IT’S ONE FOR THE RECORDS. IN MAY. IT’S NOW OFFICIAL. WE DESTROY THE RECORD. THE PREVIOUS RECORD, WE HAD LESS THAN 2/10 OF AN INCH OF TOTAL RAINFALL AT EPPLEY AIRFIELD THROUGH THE ENTIRE MONTH OF MAY. THE NEXT CLOSEST DRY MAY BOTH IN 1989 AND 1925 PICKED UP 0.55IN. SO MEAN YOU COULD TRIPLE OUR MOISTURE AND WE WOULD STILL HAVE BROKEN THE RECORD. BUT SOME GOOD SIGNS ON THE FIRST MORNING OF JUNE LINCOLN ALREADY IN JUST ONE HOUR THIS MORNING, HAS PICKED UP MORE RAIN THAN EVERY SINGLE DAY IN MAY EXCEPT FOR ONE. SO IT’S VERY POSSIBLE BY THE END OF THE MORNING, LINCOLN COULD HAVE MORE RAIN THAN THE ENTIRE MONTH OF MAY. HOW ABOUT THAT? STILL SOME HEAVY RAIN DOWN TOWARDS TECUMSEH. TWO SOME LIGHTNING STRIKES THERE. THIS IS SLOWLY DRIFTING NORTH, SO YOU START TO SEE A FEW SHOWERS INTO THE ASHLAND AREA. SO WE’RE HOPING THIS HOLDS TOGETHER LONG ENOUGH AS IT TRUDGES NORTH TO GET AT LEAST SOME MOISTURE INTO THE METRO HERE ON THE FIRST MORNING OF JUNE. SO YOU CAN SEE A LITTLE CLUSTER THERE SLOWLY DRIFTING NORTH, BUT BETTER CHANCES, ESPECIALLY SOUTH OF I-80 THIS MORNING. SO WE HAVE OUR MORNING RAIN CHANCE POTENTIALLY COULD IMPACT PART OF THE MORNING DRIVE. LOOKING DRY THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. AND THEN THIS AFTERNOON, LIKE WE’VE SEEN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS, WE’LL SEE SOME SHOWERS AND STORMS START TO POP UP. I THINK JUST A SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCE WE COULD GET ONE OF THOSE DOWNPOURS INTO THE METRO HERE THEN PREVIOUS DAYS, BUT STILL GOING TO BE A WARM, MUGGY ONE WITH THOSE HIGHS IN THE MID TO UPPER 80. THAT’S A LOOK OVER THE HENRY DOORLY ZOO ON THIS THURSDAY MORNING. COULD SEE SOME OF THE PRE-DAWN COLORS WITH SOME OF THE BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS OFF TO THE EAST RIGHT NOW, SUNRISE CLOSER TO 550 THIS TIME OF YEAR FEELING PLENTY LIKE SUMMER, 69 DEGREES. LOOK AT THOSE DEW POINTS IN THE MID 60S SO YOU CAN FEEL THE HUMIDITY AS YOU STEP OUTSIDE WITH THAT BREEZE. FAIRLY LIGHT JUST AROUND TEN MILES PER HOUR. SO 60 AND 70 FOR EVERYBODY STARTING THE DAY RIGHT AT THE 70 DEGREE MARK IN LINCOLN AND BEATRICE. SO BY 7:00, THIS MODEL HAS THOSE STORMS MORE OFF TO THESE. BUT THINK THEY’LL HAVE MORE OF A NORTHERLY TRAJECTORY. SO STILL THAT CHANCE HERE AS WE GET AROUND AND JUST AFTER SUNRISE TO SEE SOME OF THOSE SHOWERS INTO THE METRO, I THINK WE’LL DRY OUT FOR THE LUNCHTIME TEMPERATURES, UPPER 70S, LOW 80S. AND THEN AFTER TWO, 3:00, AGAIN, WE’LL START TO SEE SOME OF THESE POP UP SHOWERS AND STORMS. SO COULD GET A DOWNPOUR HERE ANYTIME BEFORE 9:00. AND THEN AFTER THE SUN GOES DOWN, THAT STORM THREAT DIMINISHES SIGNIFICANTLY. STILL FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, NOT A WASHOUT BY ANY MEANS, BUT WE’LL STILL SEE THOSE DAILY CHANCES AFTERNOON, EARLY EVENING TEMPERATURES, UPPER 80S DRYING OUT AS WE HEAD THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEKEND, SUNDAY AND MONDAY. THOSE HIGHS, THOUGH, AROUND 90, THOUGH, AT LEAST IT LOOKS LIKE THE H
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May was historically dry for more than just Omaha

May 2023 was driest on record for Omaha

May has come to a close and it will go down in the record books for Omaha. Eppley Airfield, Omaha's official recording site, saw only 0.17 inches of rainfall for the entire month making May 2023 the driest May in recorded history which goes back more than 150 years.The record was shattered. The previous record was 0.55 inches which happened in both in May 0f 1989 and 1925.See the latest 7-day outlookOverall, Omaha only had three days where measurable rainfall (0.01 inches or greater) was recorded for the calendar month. A month which, on average, is Omaha's wettest of the year and normally sees 4.66 inches of total moisture for the month. With such meager rainfall for an extended period of time, drought has worsened. Areas of "extreme" and "exceptional" drought have increased across eastern Nebraska in recent weeks. The rainfall deficit for Omaha, Lincoln, and Norfolk continued to grow too. As of May 31, Omaha is 3.99 inches below normal for year-to-date moisture. Lincoln is down a whopping 6.43 inches to this point. Norfolk is 4.62 inches below normal and is in the midst of the driest spring on record.The first morning of June did a 180 and brought soaking rain through parts of southeast Nebraska, including Lincoln. May 2023 was the second driest on record for Lincoln, which only saw 0.51 inches of rain for the month. In a four-hour timespan Thursday morning Lincoln picked up 1.29 inches of rain which more than doubled the amount the city saw for the entire month of May.

May has come to a close and it will go down in the record books for Omaha. Eppley Airfield, Omaha's official recording site, saw only 0.17 inches of rainfall for the entire month making May 2023 the driest May in recorded history which goes back more than 150 years.

The record was shattered. The previous record was 0.55 inches which happened in both in May 0f 1989 and 1925.

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See the latest 7-day outlook

Overall, Omaha only had three days where measurable rainfall (0.01 inches or greater) was recorded for the calendar month. A month which, on average, is Omaha's wettest of the year and normally sees 4.66 inches of total moisture for the month.

calendar rain
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With such meager rainfall for an extended period of time, drought has worsened. Areas of "extreme" and "exceptional" drought have increased across eastern Nebraska in recent weeks.

drought
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The rainfall deficit for Omaha, Lincoln, and Norfolk continued to grow too. As of May 31, Omaha is 3.99 inches below normal for year-to-date moisture. Lincoln is down a whopping 6.43 inches to this point. Norfolk is 4.62 inches below normal and is in the midst of the driest spring on record.

The first morning of June did a 180 and brought soaking rain through parts of southeast Nebraska, including Lincoln. May 2023 was the second driest on record for Lincoln, which only saw 0.51 inches of rain for the month. In a four-hour timespan Thursday morning Lincoln picked up 1.29 inches of rain which more than doubled the amount the city saw for the entire month of May.

precip
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