May rains provide a sense of hope

May delivered a nice shot of rain for most of the area, brightening hopes that the year will not turn into a complete disaster, with looming drought and the spectre of grasshoppers on the horizon.

Rainfall totals for the month of May were below or near average for much of Powder River County, dropping the total precipitation for the year further behind normal. Still, the majority of the county did receive a sizable amount of moisture as a whole, nicely timed following a heat wave in Mid-May, while a swath of country around Broadus received a very heavy storm on May 28th.

The total precipitation in Broadus during May was 5.11", or 2.36" above the long term average of 2.75". The bulk of that moisture came in two storms, 1.09" on the 20th, and 1.88" on the 28th. The storm on the 28th brought with it plenty of hail; though damage was light, we did hear a number of reports of dented vehicles, trees with lost leaves, and damaged tomato plants. The biggest impact of the storm was due to the high amount of moisture, which ran a significant amount of debris down the streets, covering the bridges along the sidewalks near the school. One video shared online showed streets near the Post Office flooded to the point one could likely kayak through the deluge. All that water had to find somewhere to go, and much of it found its way into basements around town, while several sizable leaks were found in the new high school roof, one of which pooled water on the carpet in front of the main offices.

Though the storms on May 28th were widespread on a north/south line as they moved through the county, the hail and extremely heavy moisture was somewhat confined to two major corridors, one hitting Broadus and another further upriver. The rest of the area received lighter amounts of rain.

The rather spotty moisture patterns were the story for many of the storms in May, with Broadus receiving a number of storms while outlying regions often received less.

The Biddle 8 miles SW station was much drier than Broadus, receiving 1.98" in May, compared to an average of 3.02". So far this year, the station has recorded 4.35" of precipitation, compared to an average of 6.50" through the first five months of the year. The lowest amount through that period was 3.00", in 1979; the highest was 11.42", in 2007. The last recorded freeze in May of this year at the Biddle station was on May 10th, at 31 degrees.

The Moorhead 9 miles NE station received 2.37" of moisture in May, compared to an average of 2.59". The station's 4.48" of moisture from Jan 1 to May 31 compares to an average of 5.41", while the highest accumulation came in 1995, with 7.68", and the least fell in 1960, with 1.80". The final freeze came on May 11th, with a 29 degree low.

The Sonnette 7 miles SW station was surprisingly the driest of the local NOAA weather stations, with 1.90", compared to an average of 2.95". The station average 4.51" of precip from Jan to May, and has received 3.42" this year. The most precip through that period was in 2007, with 9.26", the lowest was in 1998, with 1.15". The last freeze of May was on May 22nd at that station.

The Volborg Station, which only records precip, had 2.53" in May. The station has received 4.35" on the year, with no average for comparison. The highest amount came in 1978 with 10.88", the lowest in 1951 with 1.68".

The Powderville 8 miles NNE station received 2.79 of moisture in May, compared to an average of 2.84". The station has received 4.84" of moisture this year, compared to a normal of 6.16". The highest amount from Jan to May was in 2011, with 15.62", the lowest in 1988 with a paltry 0.90". The final freeze of May at the Powderville station was on May 11th, with a 32 degree low.

Broadus has received 7.66" on the year, putting it ahead of the average of 6.25". It was behind average until the May 28th storm. The highest amount from Jan to May fell in 1978, with 10.88", the lowest in 1988 with 2.75".

Temps in May were very close to average – in fact the average temperature for the month in Broadus was only 0.5 degree above normal. The highest temp was recorded on May 18, 19, 20th, and 21st, where the mercury topped out at 88 each day. The lowest temp of the month was on May 4th, with a reading of 30. The last freezing reading came on May 10th, with a 32 degree low.

The US drought monitor shows that approximately the eastern third of the county is in D1 or "moderate drought", while the central and western portions are abnormally dry. A sliver of the extreme southwestern portion of the county is listed as not in a drought, as are areas to the west from around Ashland to Livingston. Traveling northeast, conditions worsen; from Baker north the conditions are listed as D3 or "extreme drought". Around Gillette, conditions are once again dry, in D2 or "severe drought".

May is normally the month with the highest average precip in Broadus; the 2.75" average is followed closely by June's average of 2.37", so there's still reason to hope.