May 2013, Lincoln, NE, Climate Summary

May 2013 Lincoln, NE, Climate Summary

 May 2013 was the 7th wettest May on record for Lincoln, NE,  with 127 years of data (1887-2013).  Temperatures in May were slightly below normal and there were three record events.

Lincoln Top Ten Wettest Mays
Precipitation in inches 

Wettest      Amount    Rank

1903          10.72      1
2001          10.16      2
1896          10.11      3
1996          10.09      4
1892           9.55      5
1959           8.91      6
2013           8.44      7 
2007           8.13      8
1984           7.97      9

1951           6.71     10

Here are the summary statistics for May 2013 with a graph below the statistics.

May 2013 Temperature Statistics
Average High Temperature 72.7 F (1.5 degrees BELOW Normal)
Average Low Temperature 50.2 F (0.3 degrees BELOW Normal)
Mean Temperature 61.5 F (0.8 degrees BELOW Normal)
Note: Mean temperature = the average of all the highs and lows
Number of days ABOVE Normal = 15
Number of Days BELOW Normal = 14
Number of Days exactly Normal = 2
Highest temperature 100 F on May 14 (new record high for the date)
Lowest temperature 31 F on May 12 (a new record low for the date)

May 2013 Precipitation Statistics
Total all precipitation 8.44 inches (4.15 inches ABOVE Normal)
Note:  All precipitation = rain plus melted snow water equivalent
Total Snowfall 2.7 inches (Normal is zero, i.e. no snow in May)
Heaviest precipitation 3.32 inches on May 27 (a new record for the date)

VERY RARE May 2013 Snowfall
A total  of 2.7 inches of snow was officially recorded in Lincoln, NE on May 1-2, 2013.
This was the first measured snowfall in Lincoln since 1967.
LINK:  >>>MAY 2013 Snowfall Story Report

These are the only May snowfalls of record in Lincoln:

May 3, 1907: 2.2 inches
May 3-4, 1967: 3.0 inches

May 1-2, 2013: 2.7 inches

LINK>>> May 2013 Lincoln Data Page

LINK>>> May 2013 Photo Gallery

The following graph shows the Lincoln, NE, May 2013 daily high and low temperatures compared to normal daily highs and lows.  NOTE:  Two maps are located below the graph.

The RED line is the normal high and the BLUE line is the normal low.
The top of each vertical bar is the high for the day and the bottom of each vertical bar is the low for the day. 

All data in this graph are from the National Weather Service and HPRCC data archives.

The next two maps show the precipitation departure ffrom normal and temperature departure from normal for the month of May 2013 for the High Plains Regions so that the May 2013 climate of Lincoln, NE can be compared to the surrounding region.

A Very Wet Week in Nebraska and the Great Plains

It has been exceptionally wet in Nebraska and in the Great Plains during the past 7 days.

The two maps below show the radar estimated precipitation for the conterminous U.S. as well as for the Nebraska region for the time period May 4 -May 31, 2013.

It is a little difficult to see the Nebraska locations in the second map but look carefully and you will be able to find LNK for Lincoln, LBF for Scottsbluff and VTN for Valentine.

Estimated rainfall totals during this one week time period range from 1-4 inches of rain in Western Nebraska,  4 to 8 inches of rain in Central Nebraska and more than 8 inches of rain in Eastern Nebraska.


Here in Lincoln, NE, we received an official measured total of 5.99 inches during this one-week time period.  The total May 2013 measured precipitation for Lincoln (through May 30) is 8.14 inches which is the 7th greatest monthly total for May with 127 years of data (1887-2013).  Here is a link to the monthly precipitation records for Lincoln, NE, >>>  Top Ten Wettest/Driest Months. 

May 29, 2013: Nebraska's "Tornado Drought" Ends

The following map shows the storm reports submitted to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK.

There were a total of 23 tornadoes reported to the SPC for May 29, 2013.  The term "filtered" means they have attempted to filter out any potential duplicate reports.  Duplicate reports occur when the same tornado is seen by multiple observers.  For example an observer might report seeing a tornado and they are 4 miles west of the tornado and another observer sees the same tornado but they are 5 miles east of the tornado.  The 9 mile distance at first might make it seem like they saw two different tornadoes , yet in fact it was the same tornado.  At the end of the year all of the tornado reports are analyzed to make sure that as best as possible any and all duplicate reports are eliminated.

The total of 16 tornadoes in Nebraska may ultimately be lowered by a few but it still remains as the most active day for tornadoes in Nebraska in over a year.

Here are some photos of the York, Nebraska May 29, 2013 tornado:

Here is a listing of the tornado reports for May 29, 2013:
Note all times are UTC (CDST is UTC - 5 hours) so 1956 UTC = 1456 or 2:56 pm CDST,

Time		Location	County	State	Lat	Lon	Comments
1956		3 N CLAY CENTER	CLAY	NE	4057	9805	MULTIPLE REPORTS OF A TORNADO NORTH OF CLAY CENTER. (GID)
2045		6 N SUTTON	CLAY	NE	4069	9786	(GID)
2120		7 W YORK	YORK	NE	4087	9773	ROPE TORNADO BRIEFLY ON GROUND. HAS LIFTED. (GID)
2121		2 N CLAY CENTER	CLAY	NE	4055	9805	TORNADO ON GROUND AT PRESENT TIME. (GID)
2127		4 N CLAY CENTER	CLAY	NE	4058	9805	RAIN WRAPPED TORNADO STILL ON GROUND NEAR HIGHWAY 6 AND ROAD P. (GID)
2133		6 SW STOCKHAM	CLAY	NE	4066	9802	OUT BUILDING REPORTED DESTROYED ALONG WITH TREE DAMAGE NEAR ROAD P AND 318. TORNADO REPORTED ON GROUND APPROACHING STOCKHAM. (GID)
2136		3 NW YORK	YORK	NE	4090	9764	(GID)
2146		1 W COMSTOCK	CUSTER	NE	4156	9926	TORNADO ON THE GROUND ONE HALF MILE WEST OF COMSTOCK. (LBF)
2151		3 S YORK	YORK	NE	4083	9760	BRIEF TOUCHDOWN AND SINCE LIFTED. (GID)
2157		1 SE YORK	YORK	NE	4086	9758	DAMAGE REPORTED TO A FARMSTEAD LOCATED NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF ROAD 12 AND ROAD N. MINOR DAMAGE TO HOME BUT SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO OUTBUILDINGS. (GID)
2200		2 SSE YORK	YORK	NE	4084	9758	REPORT OF RAIN WRAPPED TORNADO DIFFICULT TO SEE WITH OCASSIONAL DEBRIS PUFFS. (GID)
2200		2 NW BENEDICT	YORK	NE	4103	9763	ONGROUND CONE TORNADO. (GID)
2247		6 SE UTICA	SEWARD	NE	4083	9726	SPOTTER REPORTED TORNADO ON THE GROUND. (OAX)
2300		3 NE RISING CITY	BUTLER	NE	4123	9726	(OAX)
2305		6 NE ASHTON	HOWARD	NE	4131	9871	(GID)
2308		3 SW BARTLETT	WHEELER	NE	4185	9859	(LBF)

Nebraska and EF5 (F5) Tornadoes

The tornado that occurred yesterday, May 21, 2013 in Moore, OK was rated as an EF5 (or F5 on the old Fujita scale).

Has Nebraska ever had a tornado of this magnitude?

The answer is yes, during the evening of May 5, 1964.

An F5 tornado touched down in central Nebraska with a path extending from Adams County to the NW corner of Butler County (near Hastings, NE  to Columbus, NE). 

This tornado occurred at 0030 UTC May 6, 1964.  However, UTC (Universal Time Coordinates) is 5 hours later than CDST, so the actual time in our time zone was 7:30 pm CDST, May 5, 1964.

There were 4 deaths and 50 injuries as a result of this tornado. 
The path length of this tornado was 79.7 miles.

The following map shows the location of the F5 tornado in Nebraska.

We have had three other tornadoes in Nebraska that were just under the magnitude of an F5 tornado, the F4 tornado in Omaha on May 3, 1975; the Locust Street June 3, 1980 tornado in Grand Island and the F4 Hallam tornado on May 22, 2004.  There is also the  March 1913 Omaha tornado which is unrated but has destruction rivaling what we have seen this year in Moore, OK.

Using Radar to Estimate Precipitation

Did you know that we can estimate precipitation totals without a rain gauge?  Meteorologists have the ability to analyze radar data and estimate the accumulated precipitation totals.

The following map shows the radar estimated precipitation for the Nebraska Region.
Time period:  12Z (7am CDST) May 18, 2013 to 12Z (7am CDST) May 19, 2013. 
Nebraska is in the center of the map with portions of the surrounding states. Look carefully to see the state outline and county outlines. Right to left: LNK is Lincoln, BBW Broken Bow,
LBF is North Platte, & CYS is Cheyenne, WY.

The following map shows the radar estimated precipitation for the Conterminous U.S. 
Time period:  12Z (7am CDST) May 18, 2013 to 12Z (7am CDST) May 19, 2013. 

The following map shows the radar estimated precipitation for the Nebraska Region.
Time period:  12Z (7am CDST) May 19, 2013 to 12Z (7am CDST) May 20, 2013.  

  The following map shows the radar estimated precipitation for the Conterminous U.S.
Time period:  12Z (7am CDST) May 19, 2013 to 12Z (7am CDST) May 20, 2013. 

Although the most accurate precipitation measurement procedure is to use rain gauges, this process of estimating the rainfall using radar data is quite useful, especially for areas without a dense observational network of rain gauges.

May14, 2013, Nebraska: Hottest for so early in the Season

May 14, 2013: Record Breaking Heat in Nebraska

Lincoln set a record high today of 100F breaking the old record of 96F set in 1915.  This was the earliest in the season that Lincoln has seen 100F or higher with 127 years of data (1887-2013).  This is in sharp contrast to Lincoln's record low of 31F just two days earlier.  The previous earliest 100F or higher was May 24 (1967).

Omaha set a record high today of 101F breaking the old record of 96F set in 1915.  This was the earliest in the season that Omaha has seen 100F or higher with 143 years of data (1871-2013).  The previous earliest 100F or higher was May 29 (1934).

Grand Island set a record high today of 102F breaking the old record of 99F set in 1941.  This was the earliest in the season that Grand Island has seen 100F or higher with 119 years of data (1895-2013).  The previous earliest 100F or higher was May 20 (1925).


However, these were not the warmest locations in the state.  The highest temperature observed today was the 108F in Tekahma, Nebraska.  Wahoo, NE,  hit 104F, Wayne, NE and York, NE hit 103F; Grand Island, NE and Columbus, NE hit 102 F.

Was the 108F in Tekamah a state record for the warmest ever observed temperature for the month of May? No, the warmest ever Nebraska May temperature was 110F in Broken Bow in 1895.

There is a listing of high temperatures for today below the three maps.

Map of NWS Observed High Temperatures for May 14, 2013. 
Note Lincoln, NE is not plotted on this map

Observed High Temperatures (in deg. F) in Nebraska on May 14, 2013:

BVN  :  ALBION AIRPORT    :  100

AUH  :  AURORA AIRPORT    :  102

BIE  :  BEATRICE AIRPORT  :   96

BTA  :  BLAIR AIRPORT     :  102

BBW  :  BROKEN BOW AIRPORT:   97

OLU  :  COLUMBUS AIRPORT  :  102

FET  :  FREMONT AIRPORT   :  101

GRI  :  GRAND ISLAND ARPT :  102

HSI  :  HASTINGS AIRPORT  :   96

HJH  :  HEBRON AIRPORT    :   98

HDE  :  HOLDREGE AIRPORT  :   99

IML  :  IMPERIAL AIRPORT  :   98

EAR  :  KEARNEY AIRPORT   :   99

LXN  :  LEXINGTON AIRPORT :   99

LNK  :  LINCOLN AIRPORT   :  100

MCK  :  MCCOOK AIRPORT    :  100

OFK  :  NORFOLK AIRPORT   :  103

LBF  :  NORTH PLATTE ARPT :   97

OFF  :  OFFUTT AFB        :   99

OGA  :  OGALLALA AIRPORT  :   96

OMA  :  OMAHA/EPPLEY      :  101

MLE  :  OMAHA/MILLARD     :  100

ONL  :  O`NEILL AIRPORT   :   94

ODX  :  ORD AIRPORT       :  100

PMV  :  PLATTSMOUTH ARPT  :  100

TQE  :  TEKAMAH AIRPORT   :  108

OAX  :  VALLEY NWS OFFICE :  100

AHQ  :  WAHOO AIRPORT     :  104

LCG  :  WAYNE AIRPORT     :  103

JYR  :  YORK AIRPORT      :  102

Lincoln, NE, Latest Spring Freezes 1887-2013

Headline:  "May 12, 2013 saw a Record Low of 31 F in Lincoln, Nebraska" 

This breaks the old breaking the record of 32 F set in 1946.
There are 127 years of data (1887-2013).

This is the 6th latest freeze in Spring for Lincoln, NE.

This record low raises the question of "What are the latest days in Spring  with
freezing temperatures in Lincoln, NE"?

Here is a listing of the days with 32F or colder starting with today, May 12, 2013.

May 12, 2013:  31 F
May 13, 1997:  27 F
May 14, 1907:  32 F
May 15, 1907:  31 F
May 16, 1940:  31 F
May 29, 1947:  32 F


LINK to all the Lincoln, NE, daily records

The following map shows the May 12, 2013 low temperatures for our region.  Lincoln, NE is not plotted on the map but Omaha, NE, is plotted.