Midwest Weekly Highlights - May 11-17, 2014

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Cool Temperatures

Much of the Midwest was cooler than normal in the second week of May (Figure 1). Temperatures were as much as 10°F below normal in the western parts of Iowa and Minnesota. Milder conditions were more prevalent to the east with above normal temperatures in eastern Kentucky and Ohio, up to 5°F above normal. Cold weather late in the week led to freeze warnings and some sub-freezing temperatures in the northwest half of the region (Figure 2). The influx of cold weather limited convection in the second half of the week with the last three days of the period free of severe weather in the Midwest.
 

Wet Weather

Many areas in the region received more than twice their normal precipitation totals for the week (Figure 3). Although it was generally wet, western Missouri was below normal, in some places more than 0.50" below (Figure 4). Totals were two to three times normal in parts of all nine Midwest states. The rains continued to slowly eat away at the moderate drought in the western half of the region. As of the May 13 US Drought Monitor (Figure 5), just 6.5% of the Midwest was experiencing drought, down 1.5% from the previous week. The rains were beneficial to the crops that had been planted but delayed planting of soybeans in many areas. With the warming weather of spring, the winter's snow pack had completely melted away (Figure 6) but snow fell in northern Michigan and in some areas of northern Illinois late in the week (Figure 7). Measurable snow so late in the spring is uncommon in northern Illinois.
 

Severe Weather

Severe weather reports came in on the 11th through the 14th in the Midwest (Figure 8). Only Minnesota was spared severe weather during the week. Tornadoes were reported on the 11th in Iowa and Indiana, on the 12th in Michigan and Ohio, and on the 14th in Ohio and Kentucky. The strongest tornadoes rated as EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale with a twister in (Greene County), Ohio on the 14th causing two injuries. Very large hail, 1.75" or greater, was reported in five states from Iowa to Ohio. As cooler weather moved across the Midwest, severe weather moved off to the east and south.
 

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