Saturday was a welcome break from the recent rains, with sunshine and afternoon highs pushing 70 degrees, just about a normal May day for a change. There were many records set around the Evergreen state this past week with new minimum high temperatures and daily rainfall amounts. This included in Vancouver.
As of Saturday afternoon we were running one inch above average on the rainfall and about 1.5 degrees above normal on the average mean temperature for the month.
Vancouver’s monthly rainfall total Saturday was 3.13 inches and with more rain on the way today through the end of the month, we are sure to end up with above average rainfall. This is far from what was expected and I will tell you why. Most of our rainfall this month has been with weak weather systems and a tenth of an inch or less with each system.
The one that hit mid-week stalled right over us with bands of moisture rotating around the low, and we got clobbered. These pesky upper-level lows are a classic feature of this time of the year. This low, which has moved on to the east, was a little early for the title of Rose Festival Low, but maybe a precursor?