May 22-31, 2024

Temperatures

Average temperatures varied compared to the normal across the Midwest (Figure 1). Much of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Ohio, eastern portions of Indiana and Kentucky, and southern Missouri were over 1°F above normal. Western portions of Kentucky and Indiana, northern Missouri, most of Iowa and Wisconsin, southern Minnesota, and the UP of Michigan averaged close to the normal. Northern Minnesota and the Iowa-Minnesota-Wisconsin border were at least 1°F below normal. Ohio averaged 3.2°F above normal, for the highest departure value by state. Minnesota had the coolest state average at 2.0°F below normal.

Average minimum temperatures varied similarly to average temperatures across the Midwest (Figure 2). Most of Iowa and the northern half of Minnesota came in below normal. Most of Wisconsin and Illinois, southern Minnesota, and western Missouri averaged near normal. Southern and eastern portions of the region, including Michigan, all averaged above normal, as much as 5°F above normal in southeastern Ohio. A station in Toledo, Ohio with 152 years of data recorded a low temperature of 70°F on May 22nd. That broke the record for that day, as it measured over 17°F above normal.

Average maximum temperatures did not deviate much from the normal across the Midwest (Figure 3). The highest deviation was in extreme northwestern Minnesota, where the average was up to 6°F below normal. Central Wisconsin into the UP of Michigan and the Indiana-Kentucky border were slightly below normal, but no more than 2°F below normal. Western Missouri and the areas along Lakes Huron and Erie were 1-3°F above normal. The rest of the region averaged less than 1°F from normal.

Precipitation

Most of the region received at least 50 percent of normal precipitation this week (Figure 4). A swath in western Minnesota, southern Wisconsin into the UP of Michigan, and the bootheel of Missouri into southern Illinois and western and southern Kentucky received over 200 percent of normal precipitation. Northern Missouri into north-central Illinois, west-central Michigan, and southeastern Ohio received 50 percent of normal precipitation. A station at the Cape Girardeau airport in Missouri measured 4.04 inches of rain on May 26th. This measured to 76 percent of that station’s average precipitation for the whole month of May, as well as the second highest rainfall recorded on that calendar day.

Drought conditions continued to improve across the Midwest this week (Figure 5). D1 (moderate drought) was completely removed from Iowa, Missouri, and southern Wisconsin. The only D1 drought that remains is in northern Minnesota and northwestern UP of Michigan near the Wisconsin border. Almost 93% of the land cover of the Midwest region is no longer in any type of drought, a mark that hasn’t been hit since May of 2020.

Severe Weather

There were 1,214 storm reports this week, making this the most active week of the 2024 severe weather season so far (Figure 6). They included 101 tornado reports, 334 hail reports, and over 750 wind reports. A large majority of the storm reports came early in the week.

On May 23rd, Humeston, Iowa reported baseball sized hail. Dixon, Missouri reported tennis ball sized hail on May 24th. Independence, Missouri had an 80 mph wind gust on May 25th.

Most of the damage, however, occurred on May 26th. May 26th had an EF-3 tornado near Mountain View, Missouri, another near Sikeston, Missouri, and another near Goreville, Illinois. Eddyville, Kentucky also had EF-3 tornado damage that day, and that tornado was on the ground for over 35 miles. NWS Springfield, Missouri captured a photo of some of the damage from the Mountain View tornado.