It hasn't been horrendous around here yet but there was a 3 week stretch with nothing until a 1/2" came around the other day. Half of it fell in 5 minutes so all runoff when it hits that dryness.

The humidity has been very low to boot. I hadn't seen any dew on the grass for over two weeks...that is just weird for around here during May.

It's horrendous here. No rain in weeks. Sprinkled for over 4 hours yesterday and it did little. Guess it's back to hosing each plant. Man that's a killer doing that in this heat and can only do it occasionally. Already in mid 90's here. At least last year we had rains in May before the actual drought started. I'd say we are all going to lose things this year again. My plans are to concentrate mostly on my new stuff this year and hope I don't lose them.
Cher

sorry to hear about the drought in your area. I know I was super worried all the way up till mid april. we had no snow all winter and no rain in march and most of april. things have turned around some but still could use some more rain. hopefully some clouds will come your way soon.

sorry to hear about the drought in your area. I know I was super worried all the way up till mid april. we had no snow all winter and no rain in march and most of april. things have turned around some but still could use some more rain. hopefully some clouds will come your way soon.

I've had about 3.35" of rain this month, so not bad here. Hopefully the remnants of Beryl brings some moisture up your way this week.

If by "mini convention" you mean your open gardens before the ACS Convention in July, yes, I hope to get to your place on Wednesday afternoon (July 11).

tj

I added mine up and have had 2.6". The problem is that most came fast and furious the first week of May and roughly 10 days out of the month have been 10 degrees above average. Plus add all the sustained 25 MPH wind days with 30% humidity and you have freeze damaged plants struggling.

All my stuff is new so I'm just a complainer right now.

What really urks me is how a forecast can call for 100% chance of ran and then get downgraded to 20% a few hours later. 100% chance means there is absolutely no change it won't rain. Please Mr. forecaster never ever post 100% unless you are willing to give up your career.

Year 3 of drought here. 6" since Jan. 1. Basically nothing from Beryl.

Up here in the Green Bay area, it has actually been quite moist, around 4.5 inches in May so far,` but the temperature has been so elevated, along with the incessant wind. But we've got storms, some big and nasty, coming and going right now.

+oM

Yeah that 100% chance of rain drifted towards GB. Now the chance of rain for the rest of the evening is minimal at best.

Those jerks got my hopes up.

Pretty rough here, too - we haven't had rain in over 2 weeks, now. I planted some rhododendrons this spring, and I've had to water them every 2 days. There's a 50% chance of rain tonight; I doubt we'll get it. If the Farmer's almanac is remotely accurate this year, we should have a cooler summer. Hopefully!

Same BS here. Yesterday went to water early in the morning with my tank pulled by mower and the damn tank shot a leak from a cracked piece and was spraying on my mower's engine. Now I have up to a week worth's of waiting for some superman style caulk to dry. It thucks.

Dax

We had a long stretch here in southwest WI when we went a few weeks this month without rainfall. Living with beach sand for soil, it dries out very quickly. Most of my grass (except in the shade) turned crusty brown and hard. I ended up watering all my trees as often as I could. Thank God we got about 2 inches of rain in the last 4 days...so we have a little wiggle room again until the next time it happens to rain again.

Dax, that blows. I can't imagine watering on your plot. Mother natures needs to cooperate!

We got a fast and furious 1/4" in 5 minutes...maybe 45 MPH wind.

Perhaps the drought is making folks go mental. I can't believe this tool is scaling his roof when its wet...in bare feet...with no harness!

{{gwi:717394}}

{{gwi:717396}}

He picked a fine time to clean his gutters. I too got about .35" in 15 minutes.

tj

1 inch of precip this year at my house - not looking good.

Seriously man, either he's a total free climbing expert or like you say mental! All because of an overflowing gutter?

That boy needs to wise up.

Dax

I guess the 2 on the ground are for calling the ambulance. Thats a real dumb move.

I guess the 2 on the ground are for calling the ambulance. Thats a real dumb move.

We're still reeling from last year's horrible drought and record temperatures. Oklahoma just came off the drought list last month for the first time in over a year.

But as I went through the process of replanting all my lost garden friends I took the time this year to put everything in every bed except flowers on drips.

I've been on a nightly rotation of beds already for the last several weeks and so far all looks fine. But then again we are just coming into the real heat season so we'll see how it goes.

mark

That guy is crazy... I wouldn't climb up on my 2nd story roof if it was dry... the risk isn't worth the reward.

It's been pretty dry here as well. Today wet got a downpoor for about 10 minutes. We live in the Middle/eastern of Ohio... for some reason in the past month we had some real good sized storms that youc an see make there way from Western Ohio and all of a sudden when it almost gets to our county it disappears. The same with the storm today.

ricksample I am SW Ohio and we finally got sprinkles this morning. I refuse to call that rain. All it did was tease me and worse, tease my plants. Watering away a couple days ago.
Cher

I like Cher. I'd have difficulty weeding any garden with perennials as it's just not in my blood, but I love all gardens. My Mom has beautiful perennials that I love to walk about and peruse, and not a weed to be seen. She loves to weed her yard & everybody elses, including restaurants etc-, lol. Me, it's either roundup or it will never get done :-)

Dax

After 40 inches of snow in the winter of 2010 and average rain in the spring of 2011 it has been all down hill in Kansas City. Drought and high humidity summer through fall with little or no rain.

I lost many conifers even though I broke the bank watering all the time.

We received only 3.75 inches of snow last winter. This spring spotty rain fall but nothing appreciable. We did receive 2 inches last Thursday and have been promised rain every day since then but nothing so far. I have been watering for the last month. I have never done that in the month of May. If we are in for a repeat of last summer things could go to hell in a hand basket real quick.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for myself and all of you who are facing the unknown here.

Dave

Thanks Dax. :) I am slowly removing perennials as I get things to fill in. I use to have only perennials. Changed the perimeter to flowering shrubs, figure a few more years they'll top my fence. Have added some conifers. In fact far right can you just see the tip of a blue spruce? LOL It's embedded center of what is my Echinacea and Daisies which aren't blooming yet. This will be the last year for the majority of them. It's a Montgomery in there if it can survive this summer, I'll feel ok about it and remove more than half of the perennials in that bed next year. I will keep my Hosta collection, Heuchera which are evergreen, Daylilies, Iris and just a few other perennials. Just too much work, but have to slowly get some dwarf conifers to fill it so it's an ongoing process. I do have some small conifers that you can't see on the other side of that path. That photo doesn't give the whole area clearly since the other side is down slope.

Dave I'm right with you here, we only got maybe an inch of snow over winter. I am use to May being the flood month here from my neighbor's yard. Not so this year, almost wish it would. I'm afraid I'm going to lose a lot this year.
Cher

Love the garden Cher, what's the pine on a standard? That's a beaut.

Sympathy to everyone who is going to get a repeat of last year's terrible hot season. I remember only too well the threads of frustration and anguish.

Thanks severnside. The standard is a common one, Pinus s. Glauca Nana, but I do like it's looks and know I'll have to keep it pruned. Just thinned out some old needles today. Hope that's all it was but it worried me with the weather again this year that some of these aren't going to take another year of it. Thanks for the concern.
Cher

Whaas, that's your house, isn't it? Is that you or a friend up there?
Mike

Looks great Cher!

Here's the 60 day precipitation map.

Compare the 14 day map.

Real Nice Cher...love the diversity! My sprinkler has been getting a work-out also. Cant remember using one in May before.

Thanks for the maps, Nate. (Notice Minneapolis is at like 600%...it rained for 48 hours straight here last week.) What site did you get those from?

Matt, these are from the NOAA National Weather Service website.

Here is a link that might be useful: precipitation

Here's some other maps (click appropriate box for different locales):

Weekly --
http://www.intellicast.com/National/Precipitation/Weekly.aspx?location=USVA0731

Daily --
http://www.intellicast.com/National/Precipitation/Daily.aspx?region=shd

After a dry March/April, I got 6.91" so far for May. Soil back to near saturation.

PS Lightning took out my DSL modem! Had to get a new one.

March = Hot
April = Freezing
May = Hot

That is a killer right there. KS is getting smoked again, hopefully the summer is more kind.

{{gwi:475439}}

That includes my part of Ohio also. They are saying rain tonight, I can only hope. For some reason where I am located, the big snows and rains usually hit North or South of me.
Cher

Interesting maps.

100% chance of rain today. 1/4-1/2". I'll take what I can get.

Dax

Cher said "--the big snows and rains usually hit North or South of me."

You must be near Dayton as that's been the case here. Here in the Dayton area southern suburb, rain has been non-existent for about a month along with some 90 daytime temps. But a couple days ago I had 3/10 and a drop in temp so things have calmed down a bit. Staying busy keeping the recent plantings hydrated.

Marshall

Hi Marshall. Yes the Northern suburb of Dayton. We're probably half hour from each other. That rain you got the other day that was so pathetic, I called ours a 5 minute sprinkle which was even more pathetic. I just continued gardening in it. LOL I'm beginning to think it has something to do with being a few miles from 2 of the biggest freeways crisscrossing the country. :) Let's hope that rain hits tonight, but they're only quoting that same small amount that Dax quoted for his area, but I'll take it.
Cher

Whaas-

The guy was going to kill himself, but those 2 nice folks were talking him out of doing that? :) No way in #*() am I going on that roof. That one wouldn't end good if you fell. When I was younger I moved the ladder and made my "buddy" jump off the roof we were on. He was a short little dude and I though his legs snapped when he landed. It was a pretty good jump off the first floor of our ghetto pad of a house (this was 1990). I wasn't a very good kid looking back at it.

More rain today and it feels like March again. Drought cancel around here, at least for a few more weeks.