This Past May Was Wettest Month On Record, Says NOAA

By Eyder Peralta / NPR

Published June 8, 2015 at 7:45 AM PDT

This story was published more than 9 years ago.

Tex Toler watches the Llano River rise Friday in Llano, Texas, after another round of heavy rains that have brought flooding and deaths to the state.

A map showing how rainfall during May 2015 stacks up to the historical average.

A lot of news came out of the torrential rain that fell across the United States in May.

Now, we have hard numbers that put that in perspective: According to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information this past May was wettest month in 121 years of recorded history.

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On average, the contiguous U.S. received 4.36 inches of rain. That's 1.45 inches above average and also the wettest May on record.

"For the spring season, the contiguous U.S. precipitation total was 9.33 inches, 1.39 inches above average, and the 11th wettest on record," the NCEI reports.

Here's a map that shows how much of the United States received above-average rainfall:

The Palm Beach Post has the silver lining:

"Last week, the U.S. Drought Monitor report showed 24.6 percent of the U.S. was in drought, down from 37.4 percent at the end of April. The current drought footprint is the smallest since February 2011."