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2018 officially hottest May on record
In what sounds like one of former Indianapolis TV weatherman Stan Wood’s “Weather Whoppers,” Indiana has gone from one of the coldest Aprils on record to the hottest Hoosier month of May ever.
That’s no Weather Whopper ...
Every day this May has reached 70 degrees or above, making it the first May to do so since 1896, while Thursday’s high marks the 30th day above average (the May norm is 72.8 degrees) for the month. The outlier was May 5 with only a high of 72.
May 2018 becomes the warmest May on record at Indianapolis with the occurrence of 27 days of 80 degrees or above during the month, establishing an all-time record.
The 95⁰degrees recorded in Indianapolis on May 28 -- Greencastle posted a 90 at the Greencastle Middle School weather station that day -- marks the warmest temperature registered in Indiana during May in 107 years (since a 96-degree day⁰on May 28, 1911).
The GMS site recorded one other 90-degree day for Greencastle on May 27 plus 89-degree days on May 14 and 25.
Meanwhile, May rainfall was at the opposite end of the spectrum with only 1.43 inches recorded in Greencastle by official weather observer Diana Foust. And half of that came in the last week.
From May 1 through May 29 Foust’s gauges totaled .71 inches. In the past couple of days she added .02 inches for May 30 and .70 for Thursday May 31.
The rain total for Indianapolis (1.40 inches) was 3.49 inches below normal for the month, which averages 5.05 inches for May.
The record-breaking temperature breakdown for May is:
May 1 -- High 81, low 48.
May 2 -- High 84, low 61.
May 3 -- High 75, low 64.
May 4 -- High 78, low 59.
May 5 -- High 72, low 54.
May 6 -- High 83, low 53.
May 7 -- High 73, low 51.
May 8 -- High 78, low 51.
May 9 -- High 83, low 52.
May 10 -- High 82, low 59.
May 11 -- High 85, low 60.
May 12 -- High 83, low 67.
May 13 -- High 88, low 62.
May 14 -- High 89, low 67.
May 15 -- High 84, low 66.
May 16 -- High 81, low 66.
May 17 -- High 84, low 60.
May 18 -- High 73, low 64.
May 19 -- High 80, low 66.
May 20 -- High 86, low 63.
May 21 -- High 83, low 64.
May 22 -- High 85, low 64.
May 23 -- High 83, low 59.
May 24 -- High 83, low 61.
May 25 -- High 88, low 62.
May 26 -- High 88, low 68.
May 27 -- High 91, low 68.
May 28 -- High 95, low 68.
May 29 -- High 90, low 72.
May 30 -- High 81, low 71.
May 31 -- High 85, low 68.