Cranberry Weather Summaries Archive

Format: 2024

2017

May

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Peter Jeranyama

May weather was slightly below average in temperature and with less sunshine than is normal.  Rainfall was above the 30-year average and was evenly distributed across the month.  The temperatures for May averaged 55.2 degrees, 0.6 degrees below the 30-year average.  The maximum temperature was 78.8 degrees on the 16th and a minimum temperature of 36.5 degrees was recorded on the 9th.  Daytime high temperatures averaged 62.5 degrees, 2.1 degrees below the norm.  Evening temperatures averaged 48.6 degrees, 1.5 degrees above the norm.

Based on data from the Blue Hills Observatory, sunshine averaged 36% of the possible sunshine hours, 16 percentage points below the norm.  There were only 3 days with 90% or better sunshine but 8 days with no sunshine at all (similar to 2016).  There were 18 days that were cloudy and overcast in East Wareham. 

Precipitation totaled 5.22 inch, 1.51 inches above the average rainfall for May in East Wareham.  This is the wettest May in the last four years.  There were 10 days with measurable precipitation, 8 with more than 0.1 inch. The two largest 24-hour rainfall events were 1.2 inches on the 14th and 1.13 inches on the 26th, accounting for 45% of the monthly total.  Our total year-to-date rainfall is 27.06 inches, 5.68 inches above the average in East Wareham. 

Official Spring Season

The official spring (March-May) had about normal average temperatures of 46 degrees, just slightly below the long-term average.  Snowfall for the period totaled 4 inches (all in March), 2.2 inches below average.  Precipitation was 3 inches above normal at 16.71 inches and this is 3.77 inches more rainfall than the same period last year (2016).  Sunshine for the spring was 560 hours, 7.4% less than the normal average number of sunshine hours for the three-month period.  Sunshine hours during March and April were above average, but May had well below average sunshine.

April

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Peter Jeranyama

April 2017 was very wet, warmer than usual and an overcast month with 8 days with virtually no sunshine. The month had measurable precipitation on 13 days and 3.3 inches wetter than normal.

Overall, the temperature averaged 48.71 degrees, 2.66 degrees higher than the 30-year average.  The maximum temperature was 77 degrees on the 17th and 29th (this is 5 degrees warmer than the 30-year maximum temperature) and a minimum temperature of 28.4 degrees was recorded on the 3rd.  Daytime high temperatures averaged 58.0 degrees, 3.5 degrees above the norm.  Evening low temperatures averaged 41.8 degrees, 4.3 degrees warmer than the norm. 

Sunshine, recorded at the Blue Hills Observatory, averaged 49% of the possible sunshine hours.  There were 6 days with 90% or better sunshine and 8 days with virtually no sunshine. 

Precipitation totaled 7.9 inches, which is 3.3 inches above normal.  We had measurable precipitation on 13 days; 10 of those had 0.10 inches or greater rainfall.  The largest 24-hour rainfall was 2.98 inches on the 1st.  Year-to-date rainfall for 2017 stands at 21.84 inches; this is 5.65 inches above last year’s total at this time and 4.17 inches above the normal average for this time of year.

We had did not have any snowfall in April. The total snowfall for 2016-2017 season is 40.1inches which is 1.8 inches above the 2015-2016 season.

March

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Peter Jeranyama

March was colder than the 30-year average, with below-average rainfall, 4 inches of snowfall and slightly above average sunshine.  The temperatures averaged 33.9 degrees, 3.1 degrees per day below the 30-year average. Maximum temperature for the month was 57.2 degrees on the 8th and 9th  and a minimum temperature of 9.5 degrees was recorded on the 5th.  Daytime high temperatures averaged 42.2 degrees, 3.1 degrees below the norm.  Evening temperatures averaged 25.9 degrees, 3.0 degrees below the norm.

Sunshine totaled 53% of possible sunshine hours, 5 points above average.  Sunshine data are from the Blue Hill Observatory where 198 sunshine hours were recorded for the month.  Year-to-date sunshine for 2017 is a little above normal. 

Precipitation totaled 3.59 inches. This is 1.8 inches below normal.  We had measurable precipitation of 0.10 inches or greater on 7 days.  The largest 24-hour rainfall was 1.75 inches from the 15th. We have received a total of 13.94 inches of precipitation year-to-date, 0.87 inches above the average for East Wareham.  We had 4 inches of snowfall on the 15th.

February

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Peter Jeranyama

February continued the warm trend for this winter, with above normal precipitation.  The temperatures averaged 35.8 degrees, 4.8 degrees above normal.  The maximum temperature was 68 degrees on the 25th and a minimum temperature of 10 degrees was recorded on the 10th.  Daytime high temperatures averaged 44.9 degrees, 5.6 degrees above the norm. Evening temperatures averaged 26.8 degrees, 3.8 degrees above the norm.  All but 6 nights had low temperatures of below 32 degrees; they were no nights with single digits or below zero.  While this month was not near record warm, it was well above average and 1.6 degrees warmer than February 2016. 

Sunshine averaged 54% of the possible sunshine hours.  8 days had 90% or better sunshine (2 with 100%) while 5 days had no sunshine.  The sunshine hours are recorded at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA.  Precipitation totaled 2.76 inches, 0.85 inches below the norm.  We had measurable precipitation on 8 days, but 2 of those days had less than 0.10 inches.  The largest 24-hour rainfall was 0.75 inches on the 10th and also on the 13th.  There were 2 days with measurable snowfall totaling 13.0 inches, 3.5 inches above normal for the month.  The greatest snowfall for one storm came on the 10th with 10 inches.  Year-to-date snowfall recorded in East Wareham is now 32.1 inches, 1.9 inches more than this time in 2016; the 2016-2017 season to date is 36.1 inches, 8.7 inches above the seasonal average.  Snowfall records go back to 1952 in East Wareham. 

Official Winter Season

The official winter in East Wareham (Dec. 2016 - Feb. 2017) was warmer than normal, wet, and had above average in snowfall.   Sunshine (at Blue Hills) for the winter was 48% of possible, the same as the norm.  The season's temperatures averaged 35.3 degrees, 3.8 degrees above normal and 2 degrees colder than 2015-2016.  The low mark was 2.3 degrees on Jan. 9th and the maximum was 68 degrees on Feb. 25th.   January had well below average sunshine; December and February sunshine hours were well above the average. Precipitation totaled 13.95 inches, 1.74 inches above average.  Snowfall totaled 36.1 inches, 8.74 inches above normal.  February was the warmest of the three winter months and January had the highest rainfall and snowfall and with very low sunshine for the winter season.

January

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Peter Jeranyama

January was slightly colder than December (less than 1 degree), but was another above average temperature month. Temperatures in the teens were recorded on January 9th and 10th followed by unseasonably warm temperatures (more than 50 degrees) on 12th of January. The average temperature was 34.9 degrees, 5.8 degrees above normal. The maximum temperature was 53.6 degrees on January 11th. A minimum temperature of 2.3 degrees was recorded on the 9th. Daytime high temperatures averaged 40.5 degrees, 3.2 degrees above the norm. Evening temperatures averaged 27.5 degrees, 6.6 degrees above the norm. Daytime high temperatures were 50 degrees or greater on 3 days. Evening temperatures were 32 degrees or below for all 18 nights. There were 2 nights with temperatures in the single digits.

Precipitation totaled 7.59 inches. This is 3.52 inches above normal. We had measurable precipitation on 5 days; 3 of those days had less than 0.10 inches. The largest 24-hour rainfall was 1.76 inches from the 24th. We had measurable snowfall of 0.1 inches or greater on 2 days, totaling 19.1 inches for the month, 8.3 inches above average. The largest snowfall came on the 8th of January, with 14.5 inches of snow.

Sunshine averaged 39% of the possible sunshine hours, 7 points below normal. There were 7 days with no sunshine and 4 days with 90% or better sunshine. Total sunshine hours for January 2017 were 40 less than recorded in January 2016. We had above-average temperatures and below average sunshine hours with above average rainfall and above average snowfall.

2016

December

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Carolyn DeMoranville

Unlike last year, December 2016 was just a bit above to average in temperature and dry.  The temperature averaged 35.2 degrees, 0.8 degrees per day above the 30-year average (compared to almost 14 degrees above average in 2015).  Maximum temperature was 59.0 degrees on the 1st; a minimum temperature of 6.8 degrees was recorded on the 16th.  Daytime high temperatures averaged 43.5 degrees, 0.8 degrees above the norm.  Evening temperatures averaged 26.8 degrees, 0.6 degrees above the norm.

Precipitation totaled 3.60 inches, 0.93 inches below normal.  We recorded 7 days with more than 0.1 inches of rain. The largest rainfall was 1.08 inches from the 17th to the 18th.  Total rainfall for 2016 was 41.24 inches, 8.8 inches below average for East Wareham and 2.5 inches less than the total rainfall for 2015, another dry year.  There was one day with measurable snow this month - about 4 inches fell on the 17th but washed away by afternoon as the precipitation turned to rain.  Average snowfall for the month of December in East Wareham is 6.98 inches.

Sunshine for the month (recorded at the Blue Hills Observatory) was above average, totaling 52% of possible, 4 points above the norm.  There were six days with 90% or greater sunshine hours and 5 days with no sunshine at all. 

Year End Summary 2016

The year 2016 had well-below average rainfall, was even drier than 2015 and the driest year since 2004.  In 2015, the extreme winter snowfall helped to mitigate drought conditions, but in 2016 there was only about half the amount of snowfall (7.5 inches above average vs. 50.8 inches above average in 2015).  As a result, drought conditions became apparent by June 2016 as rainfall began to fall below average once again.  For the year, rainfall in East Wareham was 8.8 inches below average and the two year period of 2015-2016 saw a total deficit of 15.1 inches.  The last time we saw large rainfall deficits in consecutive years was the major drought of 1965-1966; 1965 was 19.4 inches below the norm and 1966 was 10.3 inches below, for a two year deficit of 29.7 inches.

This was another very warm year with 11 of the 12 months having average daily temperature above the norm.  Only April was below normal in temperature.  The average temperature for the year was 52.08 degrees, 2 degrees above the 30-year average, making this the 3rd warmest year in East Wareham since records began in 1926.  We had our 7th above average July in a row and August set a new average daily temperature record for East Wareham at 74.5 degrees, surpassing the previous record of 73.7 held in 1937 and 2015. 

Annual sunshine was 57% of possible at the Blue Hills Observatory, 2% above the norm.

Winter was warm and wet, spring was warm and about average in precipitation, summer and fall were warm, sunny, and very dry, and we ended the year with dry conditions in December. Temperatures for the year averaged 52.08 degrees, 2 degrees above the 30-year average in East Wareham.  The average monthly temperature was above normal 11 out of 12 months.  The maximum temperature for the year of 95 degrees was recorded on July 23rd.  The minimum temperature of -8.5 degrees was recorded on February 14th.  We had much less snow than in 2015; the total snowfall for 2016 was 42 inches, 7.5 inches above the yearly average.

The official winter in East Wareham (Dec. 2015 - Feb. 2016) was very warm and wet with snowfall and sunshine both a bit above average. Temperature for the 3 months averaged 37.3 degrees, 8.1 degrees above normal and 8.6 degrees warmer than the previous winter.  Snowfall for the winter of 2015- 2016 in East Wareham was 30.6 inches, mostly in January and February, 3.5 inches above normal.  The official spring (March-May) had above average temperatures - 47.4 degrees, 2.0 degrees above average.  Snowfall for the period totaled 7.8 inches (all in April), 1.6 inches above average.  Precipitation was 0.77 inches above normal at 12.94 inches. The official summer (June, July and August) saw the true drought begin with very warm, dry, and sunny conditions.  The average temperature was 71.7 degrees, 2.5 degrees above the 30-year average for the 3-month period. All three months were above average in temperature, with August surpassing the 1937/2015 record.  Total rainfall for the summer was 4.54 inches, 6.42 inches below the norm.  The official fall season (Sept. – Nov.) was warm, dry, and well above average for sunshine.

By the year’s end, precipitation totaled 41.24 inches, 8.8 inches below normal, with October being the wettest month with 6.03 inches of rainfall.  The driest month was June with only 1.03 inches of rain.  February gave us the greatest snowfall in 2016 with 16.0 inches, with a total of 42 for the year.  The highest temperature for the year was recorded in July. 

Sunshine hours for the year of 2016 totaled 57% of the possible.  There were nine months with high sunshine hours and two months with low sunshine hours; March was right on the norm.  Possible sunshine for the year was just 2 points above normal.

Overall, we started 2016 in a rainfall deficit from 2015 but with average conditions until June when drought conditions returned. The year as a whole was warm (11 of 12 months above average and the third warmest annual average temperature in East Wareham records), with summer quite hot and a new record average temperature for August.  The year ended with continued dry conditions but more seasonal temperatures.

November

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Carolyn DeMoranville

November was just above average in temperature, very dry, and very sunny.  The temperature averaged 44.9 degrees, 0.7 degrees above normal.  Maximum temperature was 66.2 degrees on the 2nd; a minimum temperature of 26.6 degrees was recorded on the 28th and the 29th.  Daytime high temperatures averaged 53.9 degrees, 1.5 degrees above the norm.  Nighttime temperatures averaged 35.9 degrees, 0.6 degrees above the norm.  November 2016 average temperature was much cooler than that in November 2015 but still above the 30-year average for the month.  So far 2106 has had 10 of 11 months with above average temperature.

Precipitation totaled 2.26 inches, 2.42 inches below normal.  Measurable precipitation of 0.10 inches or more was recorded on 4 days.  More than half of the total for the month (1.21 inches) came on the 29th.  Year-to-date rainfall for 2016 is 37.64 inches, 7.87 inches below the year-to-date average for East Wareham at this time of year.  This deficit is slightly less than at this time in 2015.  Since June, we are at only 68% of normal precipitation.  There was no snowfall recorded for the month of November in East Wareham.  The average snowfall for November in East Wareham is 1.0 inch.

Sunshine, recorded at the Blue Hills Observatory, totaled 53% of the possible, 6 point above average.  There were 10 days with 90% or more sunshine, and 8 days with near zero. 

Official Fall Season

The official fall season, Sept. – Nov. 2016, was warm, dry, and above average for sunshine.  Temperatures averaged 55.4 degrees, 2.1 degrees above normal but not as warm as fall 2015.  A maximum temperature of 90.5 degrees was recorded on the 9th of September and a minimum temperature of 26.6 degrees was recorded on the 28th and 29th of November.  Rainfall totaled 11.84 inches, 1.35 inches below normal.  Average snowfall for the fall season for East Wareham is 1.0 inch; we received no snow this season.  Sunshine was 54% of the possible, 2 points above the norm for the fall season.

October

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Carolyn DeMoranville

October was warm and a bit sunnier than average.  Rainfall was above average for the first month since May, very welcome indeed if not yet enough to entirely break the drought.  The temperature averaged 54.8 degrees, 2.1 degrees per day above average, warmer than 2015.  Maximum temperature of 77.0 degrees was recorded on the 19th; a minimum temperature of 32.0 degrees was recorded on the 27th, the first freeze of the season.  Daytime high temperatures averaged 63.7 degrees, 1.9 degrees above the norm.  Evening low temperatures averaged 46.1 degrees, 2.4 degrees above the norm. This is the 7th year in a row of warmer than average daytime highs in October, 6 of the 7 years also had a nighttime low above the 30-year average.  So far in 2016, all months, with the exception of April, have had above average temperatures.

Sunshine totaled 58% of the possible sunshine hours, 3 points above the norm and similar to 2015.  The Blue Hills observatory had 12 days that were mostly clear (90% of possible) and 6 days with no sunshine.  There were 9 days with fog in East Wareham this month.  Year-to-date sunshine is running well above the norm (more than 200 hours above). 

Precipitation totaled 6.03 inches, 1.89 inches above the 30-year average.  The largest rainfall came on the 8-9th, 2.18 inches.  Measurable rain was recorded on 8 days, 7 days of which had rainfall of 0.10 inches or greater.  This was only the 3rd month with above average rainfall this year.  Year-to-date rainfall for 2016 is 35.38 inches; 5.45 inches below average for East Wareham.  Notably, our rainfall deficit for the year is less than it was this time last year.  The big difference is that we started 2015 with high water tables after the 2014-2015 snows but started 2016 already in a deficit since 2015 came in at more than 6 inches below the norm.

 

September

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Carolyn DeMoranville

NOTE: Beginning in 2016, the temperature and rainfall data are compared to the 30 year average for the period 1981 to 2010.

September was warm with below average sunshine and continued dry conditions for most of the month.  The temperature averaged 66.5°, 3.4 degrees per day above normal. Maximum temperature was 90.5° on the 9th; a minimum temperature of 41.0° was recorded on the 26th.  Daytime high temperatures averaged 74.8°, which is 2.8 degrees above the norm.  Evening temperatures averaged 58.9°, 4.3 degrees above the norm.  There were 8 days with a maximum temperature above 80°.  So far in 2016, all months, with the exception of April, have had above average temperatures.

Sunshine totaled 51% of the possible sunshine hours, 8 points below the norm.  We recorded 13 sunny days in East Wareham and 4 days with morning fog.  The Blue Hills Observatory (official site for sunshine hour data), recorded 12 sunny days and 10 days with fog. 

Precipitation totaled 3.55 inches, 0.79 inches below normal, making this the fourth consecutive month of below average rain.  We had measurable rain of 0.10 inches or greater on 7 days, and 3 days with spotty showers and drizzle with less than 0.10 inches recorded.  The largest 24-hour rainfall was 1.58 inches on the 19th (recorded on the 20th), accounting for 45% of the month's total.  

Year-to-date rainfall for 2016 is 29.35 inches, 7.34 inches below average for East Wareham but not as far below normal as 2015 at this time.  However, we came into 2015 with high water tables after the snowy 2014-2015 winter.  This year, after a low snowfall winter and four months of below average precipitation, the area remains in serious drought condition.

August

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Carolyn DeMoranville

NOTE: Beginning in July 2016, the temperature and rainfall data will be compared to the 30 year average for the period 1981 to 2010.  The reports for January to June 2016 have been modified to reflect this new convention for the entire year, since often we refer to 'year to date' information.  The data that have been corrected in those reports is highlighted in bold.  It is worthy of note that compared to the 30 year averages from 1961 to 1990 (previous comparator), the average daily temperature was warmer in every month in the 1981-2010 data set compared to that in the older one.

August was a record warm, very dry and very sunny month.  The temperature averaged 74.5 degrees, 4.0 degrees above normal, beating the old record of 73.7° from 2015 and 1937. There were 4 days of 90 or above temperature with another 11 days of 85-89°.  The maximum temperature of 92.3 was recorded on the 14th.  The minimum temperature of 55.4 degrees was recorded on the 23rd.  Daytime high temperatures averaged 84.7 degrees, 5.9 degrees above the norm.  Evening temperatures averaged 65.2 degrees, 3.5 degrees above the norm.  There were 7 nights with temperatures of 70 or above and and only 6 nights with temperatures below 60.

Sunshine totaled 71% of the possible sunshine hours, which is 13 points above the norm.  There were 14 days with 90% or greater of possible sunshine, and only one day with no sunshine.

Precipitation totaled 1.59 inches, 2.28 inches below normal.  We had measurable precipitation on 6 days, with 5 of those have more than 0.1 inch. More than a third of the rain (0.61") was recorded on the 1st. Year-to-date, 2016 has received 32.35 inches of rain, 6.55 inches below the yearly average for East Wareham.   Most of that deficit has occurred in the last 3 months.

Official Summer Season 

The official summer (June, July and August) was very warm, dry, and sunny.  The average temperature was 71.7 degrees, 2.5 degrees above the 30-year average for the 3-month period. All three months were above average in temperature, August setting a new record.  Total rainfall for the season was 4.54 inches, 6.42 inches below the normal precipitation for this time of year; with all three months seeing below normal rainfall.   Sunshine hours totaled 923 hours; this is 180 hours above the average for the three months, all of which were above normal.  We had a maximum temperature of 95 degrees recorded on July 23rd and a minimum temperature of 51.8 degrees recorded on June 9th.  There were 8 days of 90° or more, the last occurring on August 29th.  We had no official heat wave this season. 

Crop Forecast 

New England Agricultural Statistics Service released the United States forecast for the 2016 Cranberry crop.  Overall production is predicted to be 8.59 million barrels, up slightly from 2015.  With the exception of Wisconsin, all of the major growing regions anticipate lower crops than in 2015.  The forecast for Massachusetts is for 2.07 million barrels.

July

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Carolyn DeMoranville

NOTE: Beginning this month, the temperature and rainfall data will be compared to the 30 year average for the period 1981 to 2010.  The reports for January to June 2016 have been modified to reflect this new convention for the entire year, since often we refer to 'year to date' information.  The data that have been corrected in those reports is highlighted in bold.  It is worthy of note that compared to the 30 year averages from 1961 to 1990 (previous comparator), the average daily temperature was warmer in every month in the 1981-2010 data set compared to that in the older one.

July 2016 was warm, dry, and sunny.  With 4 days of 90+ temperature, July’s temperature was 2.4 degrees above average and 1.1 degrees warmer than July 2015.  The 90+ days were not consecutive, so there was no heat wave.  An additional 11 days had maximum temperatures from 85 to 89°.  As was reported for Boston, this is the 7th July in a row with above average temperature.  Maximum temperature was 95 degrees, recorded on the 23rd, and a minimum temperature of 55.4 degrees was recorded on the 20th.  Daytime high temperatures averaged 83.2 degrees, 3.2 degrees above the norm.  Evening temperatures averaged 65.4 degrees, 2.5 degrees above the norm.  For 2016, 6 of the 7 months have seen above average temperature.

Sunshine at the Blue Hills Observatory totaled 66% of the possible sunshine hours, 9 points above average, making this the sunniest July since 1993. We had 12 days with 90% or greater of possible sunshine, while on 4 days was there less than 10% sunshine.  We had fog in East Wareham on 4 days.

We recorded 1.92 inches of rainfall, which is 1.4 inches below the average for July.  A total of 1.32 inches of the rain came over the July 4th weekend, while the second half of the month saw only about a third of an inch.  Rainfall was recorded on 5 days, with only 2 having over 0.10 inch.   Year-to-date rainfall for 2016 is 28.48 inches, 4.27 inches below the average for East Wareham.  While this deficit is less than that at this time in 2015, the period of June and July this year has seen only 42% of the normal rainfall.  There was 1 thunderstorm recorded this month.

June

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Carolyn DeMoranville

NOTE: Beginning in July of this year, we began to use the 30 year average for the period 1981 to 2010 as the comparator for the temperature and rainfall data.  The reports for January to June 2016 have been modified to reflect this new convention for the entire year, since often we refer to 'year to date' information.  The data that have been corrected are in bold.

June was an extremely sunny month with above average temperature and well below average rainfall.  The month was also characterized by noticeably low dew points.  The mean temperature for the month was 66.7 degrees, 1.1 degrees above average.  Maximum temperature was 85.1 degrees on the 30th; a minimum temperature of 51.8 degrees was recorded on the 9th.  Daytime high temperatures averaged 76.8 degrees, 2.8 degrees above the norm.  Evening temperatures averaged 57.7 degrees, 1 degree above the norm.  

Sunshine was well above average with 69% of the possible sunshine recorded.  This is 14 percentage points above the average for June sunshine, the 7th sunniest June on record at the Blue Hills Observatory.  Ten days were rated as sunny (90% or greater of possible) with only 6 being cloudy.  

Precipitation totaled 1.03 inches, which is 2.74 inches below the 30-year average.  We had measurable precipitation on only 5 days, with 2 of those days having measurable precipitation of 0.10 inches or greater.  The largest 24-hour rainfall was 0.46 inches on the 21st.  Year-to-date rainfall for 2016 now stands at 22.29 inches, 2.87 inches below average. The high sunshine along with above average temperature, low dew points, and lack of rain led to very dry conditions - browning of plants was common.

The first half of 2016 has been warm and dry.  Temperatures have averaged 1.78 degrees above normal for the first half of the year; all months but April were above average (April was right on the norm).  Rainfall was 2.7 inches below normal for this 6-month period.  This is the third year in a row with below normal rainfall for the first 6 months.  Sunshine has been above average for the period with only May below average.  

 

May

Weather as Recorded at the UMass Cranberry Station

East Wareham

Prepared by Carolyn DeMoranville

NOTE: Beginning in July of this year, we began to use the 30 year average for the period 1981 to 2010 as the comparator for the temperature and rainfall data.  The reports for January to June 2016 have been modified to reflect this new convention for the entire year, since often we refer to 'year to date' information.  The data that have been corrected are in bold.

May weather was about average in temperature but with less sunshine than is normal.  Rainfall was above the 30-year average but mainly due to a single event at the end of the month.  The temperatures for May averaged 56.2 degrees, 0.4 degrees above the 30-year average.  The maximum temperature was 85.1 degrees on the 26th and a minimum temperature of 34.7 degrees was recorded on the 10th.  Daytime high temperatures averaged 65.5 degrees, 0.6 degrees above the norm.  Evening temperatures averaged 47.9 degrees, 0.9 degrees above the norm.

Based on data from the Blue Hills Observatory, sunshine totaled 47% of the possible sunshine hours, 5 percentage points below the norm.  There were 6 days with 90% or better sunshine (similar to the last 2 years) but 9 days with no sunshine at all (there was only 1 last year but 12 in 2014).  There were 5 days with fog in East Wareham. 

Precipitation totaled 5.07 inch, 1.36 inches above the average rainfall for May in East Wareham.  This is the first wet May in the last three years but the large total for 2016 is skewed by a large event on the 30th.  There were 10 days with measurable precipitation, 8 with more than 0.1 inch. The largest 24-hour rainfall, accounting for almost 40% of the monthly total, was 1.94 inches on the 30th.  Our total year-to-date rainfall is 21.26 inches, only 0.13 inches below the average in East Wareham.

Official Spring Season

The official spring (March-May) had above average temperatures - 47.4 degrees, 1.1 degrees above average - primarily due to a warm March.  Snowfall for the period totaled 7.8 inches (all in April), 1.6 inches above average.  Precipitation was 0.77 inches below normal at 12.94 inches.  Sunshine for the spring was 634 hours, 51% of possible hours for the three month period and 2% above the norm.  Sunshine during March was right on average, April was above the norm, and May was well below average.

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