Drenched: Steady rainfall sets records in Western Pa.

May showers bring May flowers? Yes they do.

The steady rains the area has received in the early part of this month are setting records. The seven straight days of precipitation that fell in the Pittsburgh-area from May 3 through May 9 brought an unprecedented total of 2.32 inches of rain.

On Mother’s Day alone, a total of 1.17 inches of rain fell, breaking the single-day record for that date of 1.02 inches set in 1966.

The previous rainfall records actually began toppling in late April. On April 29, the Pittsburgh area received 1.27 inches of rain, breaking the previous record for that date of 1.24 inches in 1964.

While some might find all of the recent rain to be dampening their early enthusiasm for spring, the drenching the area has absorbed has been beneficial to thirsty plant life.

“We were actually pretty dry there for quite a while. We only had a grand total of 2.67 inches of precipitation for all of the month of April. That’s slightly less than a half inch below normal,” said Lee Hendricks, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Moon. “So, when all of the plants are coming out of their dormancy, having the long stretches where you had no rain really starts slowing things down.

“But everybody’s yards look great with all the rain we’ve had. The downside is we need to cut it more.”

The rain has coincided with temperatures that are well below normal. The usual high temperature for this time of year is 69 degrees with a low of 48. But on Monday morning the low was 39 degrees and the high temperature was not expected to go above the mid-50s.

“Right now we’re in a pattern that has a continuous series of systems coming through the upper Great Lakes and moving out of the central plains eastward, bringing us one weather system after another,” Hendricks said. “As of Monday, we’re averaging 5.6 degrees below normal for the first 10 days of May. All of the systems are originating in Canada and reinforcing the cold air in the region.”

The good news, said Hendricks, is that it’s gradually going to warm up this week.

“We’re actually going to have some dry weather here, at least through Thursday night, and high temperatures Thursday will get into the mid-60s,” said Hendricks. “This weekend we’re looking for upper 60s for Saturday and Sunday. So at least we’ll have a period here where things will dry out so the farmers can do the things that they need to do.”