Weather warmed up in the Almanor Basin in May

By Dale Knutsen

The weather finally warmed up in May in the Lake Almanor basin, breaking the long cold spell that characterized our winter and early spring months.  There were only four mornings with lows at or below 32 degrees and the average May low was 38.7 degrees, a figure that is about 4 degrees warmer than the norm.  Afternoon highs averaged 68.5 degrees, a bit under a degree warmer than usual for the month.

There were traces of snow on several occasions early in the month but nothing measurable.  That leaves our seasonal snowfall at 313 inches, or 245% of average.  We did receive some rainfall, including some brief downpours during afternoon thunderstorms later in the month.  Total rainfall for May at the Prattville monitoring site was 2.73 inches, bringing our July through June season total to 47 inches, or 151% of average.

June generally is warmer and drier than May, signaling the onset of our typical dry summer and early autumn period.