PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
902 PM CDT SUN MAY 31 2009

    ...MAY WAS CONSIDERABLY WARMER AND DRIER THAN NORMAL...

RECORD SETTING HEAVY RAINFALL DURING THE LAST HALF OF APRIL CAME
TO AN ABRUPT END IN MAY. RAINFALL ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS WAS WELL
BELOW NORMAL...AVERAGING 3 TO 4 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. AT HOUSTON
INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT...THE MAY RAINFALL TOTAL WAS ONLY 0.38
INCHES. THIS IS 4.77 INCHES BELOW NORMAL AND THE 7TH DRIEST MAY ON
RECORD. YET IN APRIL...RAINFALL AT INTERCONTINENTAL WAS 10.38
INCHES AND THE THIRD WETTEST APRIL IN RECORDED HISTORY. ALTHOUGH
UNCOMMON...DRAMATIC SHIFTS IN MONTHLY RAINFALL PATTERNS ARE NOT
UNPRECEDENTED. IN OCTOBER 2006...RAINFALL WAS 14.53 INCHES (4TH
WETTEST) AND NOVEMBER RAINFALL WAS ONLY 0.92 INCHES (9TH DRIEST).
OTHER EXAMPLES OF THIS TYPE OF PATTERN SHIFT OCCURRED IN MAY 1936
(11.55 INCHES - 8TH WETTEST) AND JUNE 1936 (0.53 INCHES - 8TH
DRIEST) AND AGAIN IN MAY 1907 (15.87 INCHES - 1ST WETTEST) AND
JUNE 1907 0.94 - 16TH DRIEST). AT HOUSTON HOBBY AIRPORT...THE
WETTEST APRIL (15.61 INCHES) EVER RECORDED TRANSITIONED TO THE 8TH
DRIEST MAY (0.66 INCHES). GALVESTON RECEIVED ONLY 0.19 INCHES OF RAIN
IN MAY AND THIS WAS THE 12TH DRIEST MAY ON RECORD. COLLEGE STATION
ALSO ENDURED ITS 12TH DRIEST MAY ON RECORD WITH 1.41 INCHES OF
RAIN.

ONCE THE RAIN SHUT DOWN...TEMPERATURES BEGAN TO WARM. THE FIRST
HALF OF THE MONTH WAS MUCH WARMER THAN NORMAL. A FEW COLD FRONTS
CROSSED SOUTHEAST TEXAS MID-MONTH AND ALLOWED SOME COOLER
TEMPERATURES BACK INTO THE REGION. OVERALL...MAY 2009 AVERAGED 1.5
TO 2.5 DEGREES WARMER THAN NORMAL. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT
INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT WAS 78.2 DEGREES WHICH IS 2.5 DEGREES
WARMER THAN NORMAL AND THE 14TH WARMEST MAY IN RECORDED HISTORY.
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT HOBBY AIRPORT WAS 78.8 DEGREES WHICH IS
1.9 DEGREES WARMER THAN NORMAL AND THE 5TH WARMEST MAY ON RECORD.

COLLEGE STATION AND GALVESTON ALSO ENDURED VERY WARM TEMPERATURES.
THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE IN GALVESTON WAS 78.7 DEGREES
(+1.9 DEGREES) AND WAS THE SIXTH WARMEST MAY IN RECORDED HISTORY.
THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE IN COLLEGE STATION WAS 77.6
DEGREES (+2.2 DEGREES) AND THIS WAS THE 10TH WARMEST MAY ON RECORD.

BELOW IS THE MONTHLY CLIMATE DATA FOR THE FOUR PRIMARY CLIMATE SITES:

SITE     AVG     AVG     AVG     DEP     RAIN     DEP
         HIGH    LOW     MONTHLY

IAH      87.6    68.7    78.2    +2.5    0.38     -4.77
HOU      86.9    70.6    78.8    +1.9    0.66     -4.45
GLS      84.0    73.3    78.7    +1.9    0.19     -3.51
CLL      87.0    68.1    77.6    +2.2    1.41     -3.64

&&

RECORDS

GALVESTON

RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES

NEW RECORD                PREVIOUS RECORD
85 DEGREES ON MAY 6TH     85 DEGREES IN 2002
87 DEGREES ON MAY 11TH    86 DEGREES IN 2002
87 DEGREES ON MAY 12TH    87 DEGREES IN 2002

RECORD HIGH MINIMUMS
77 DEGREES ON MAY 6TH     77 DEGREES IN 2002
78 DEGREES ON MAY 8TH     78 DEGREES IN 2002
78 DEGREES ON MAY 11TH    78 DEGREES IN 2002
78 DEGREES ON MAY 13TH    78 DEGREES IN 1967
78 DEGREES ON MAY 15TH    77 DEGREES IN 2003

HOUSTON INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT

RECORD HIGH MINIMUMS
76 DEGREES ON MAY 2ND     76 DEGREES IN 2002

COLLEGE STATION

RECORD HIGH MINIMUMS
73 DEGREES ON MAY 1ST     73 DEGREES IN 2002

HOUSTON HOBBY AIRPORT

RECORD HIGH MINIMUMS
74 DEGREES ON MAY 1ST     74 DEGREES IN 2002
76 DEGREES ON MAY 2ND     76 DEGREES IN 2002
76 DEGREES ON MAY 8TH     75 DEGREES IN 2003
76 DEGREES ON MAY 10TH    76 DEGREES IN 1933
77 DEGREES ON MAY 11TH    76 DEGREES IN 1991

$$