Rains are due to back off, but the Memorial Day weekend won’t feel like summer
This is about as chilly as it gets around here in late May, but the showers are dousing the rain deficit.
The rains that have the drought conditions on the run will be backing off, but on the eve of the apocryphal “official start of summer,” the region is getting a reminder that the solstice still is about a month away.
Along with the wetness and dreariness, the last two days have been among the coolest for late May in Philadelphia in records dating to 1874, with temperatures about 20 degrees below normal. Thursday’s temperatures were threatening a daily record.
By the time the showers shut off Friday, Philly’s monthly rainfall total could reach 5 inches, about double the May average. The weather is going to improve “in baby steps,” said Tom Kines, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.
As for the weekend, the Shore towns — which were under a minor coastal flooding advisory Thursday — are likely to swell with people. But the beach might be a good option for those seeking a little privacy and quiet.
The forecast for Memorial Day weekend
It likely will be dry Saturday through Monday, Kines said, with more sunshine each day.
Temperatures at the Shore and on the mainland will struggle to get out of the 60s Saturday and Sunday, and brisk winds may make it feel a little chillier on Saturday. With the winds from the west, rather than off the ocean, Wildwood’s weather should be similar to Philly’s.
Monday is looking like the sunniest and warmest of the three days, with highs in the 70s.
Is the drought in the region over?
Drought advisories remain in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; however, the region’s standing on the interagency U.S. Drought Monitor map has improved measurably.
The majority of the region, including all of Philadelphia and Delaware County, has been removed even from the low-grade “abnormally dry” zones with the Thursday update.
That was largely the result of generous rains from a sequence of disturbances last week.
This week’s iteration is the result of a winter-like nor’easter, the kind that can generate heavy snow when it’s cold enough, or at least heavy panic.
“If this had been February or January, the alarms would be sounding and people would be rushing to the grocery store,” Kines said.
The region has had a slow recovery from the record dryness of the fall, but the year-to-date precipitation as measured at Philadelphia International Airport now is close to normal.
Shower chances return to the forecast Tuesday and Wednesday, and temperatures could remain on the cool side for the rest of May, Kines said.
This has been quite a magnificent contrast to the rest of the month, which has been quite warm with Philly temperatures about four degrees above average, and eight days of 80-plus highs.
Wednesday’s high of 57 degrees was one of the 10 lowest daily maximum temperatures for a May 21 on record in Philly. Thursday’s high, 56 degrees as of 5 p.m., would tie the record for the date.
Kines advised beachgoers to be realistic about what to expect on the holiday weekend.
”For those people who want it 80 degrees and sunny and water temperatures in the 70s," he said, “that’s not happening.”
Better luck July Fourth.