Finally, Boerne received more than an inch of rain in a month’s time. However, May’s moisture amount remained well below average and put the area even further behind the norm as far as precipitation.
National Weather Service statistics showed Boerne Stage Field, the official recording station for the city, had not received an inch of precipitation or more since last November. Last month, 2.09 inches was recorded, with the bulk of it falling on two days.
May’s typical rainfall averages 5.28 inches, meaning this year’s monthly total amounted to only 40 percent of normal.
For the year, the local airfield has received 4.74 inches of precipitation. The norm is 13.81, meaning Boerne has received just over a third of what usually accumulates during the first five months of the year at 34 percent.
Last month was the driest May locally since 2011 when only 1.62 inches of rain was recorded. It’s also the fifth driest May this century, according to NWS statistics.
Last May, 12.39 inches of rain accumulated in Boerne, the seventh-wettest month on record this century. The total catapulted the city to above-normal totals, which it kept through the remainder of 2021.
This year is a different story, however, as according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, almost all of Kendall County currently is in exceptional drought, which encircles much of the Hill Country, especially north, west and south. Exceptional drought is the worst level recorded by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Only the far southeast portion of the county is in extreme drought, one step above exceptional drought.
Overall, more than a fifth of Texas is in exceptional drought while more than half of the state is in extreme drought.
Of the 2.09 inches of rain in May, 1.6 inches fell on May 5 and 25 combined. On the 5th, 0.83 of an inch was recorded. On the 25th, the total was 0.77. Rain fell on five other days with the 22nd receiving 0.31 of an inch. There were 15 days, from May 6-20, when no precipitation was recorded.
Boerne’s other recording station, a local observer, recorded 2.02 inches of rain last month.
Information from the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District states water table levels continue to drop. In its last update, May 12, the water level is just under a foot lower than it was on April 28 and 17.28 feet below the May average.
In mid-April, the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District moved into Stage 2 drought conditions, which basically means a more limited watering allowance for residents and businesses. The area remains at that stage as June gets underway.
June’s normal precipitation is 3.12 inches.
Temperatures
Not only was May dry, but it also was hot as the average temperature for the month was more than 5 degrees warmer than normal at 78.4 degrees. The average high was 91.4 degrees, or more than 7 degrees warmer than the 84-degree normal.
On three days – May 8, 18 and 19 – the thermometer topped out at 98 degrees. On 18 other days, it reached at least 90 degrees in Boerne. From May 7-22, the daily high temperature was in the 90s.
The record high temperature for Boerne in May is 104 set on May 24, 1925.
A low of 54 degrees was reached twice, on May 26-27. On nine other days, the low temperature for the day remained in the 70s.
Forecast
The NWS predicts temperatures to be above normal from June through August with precipitation expected to be slightly below normal.
The short-term forecast for this week calls for extremely warm temperatures with highs in the upper 90s to 100 degrees or more. Lows will only drop into the 70s. There is no rain in the short-term forecast.
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