PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
1049 AM MDT MON JUN 1 2009

..A RECAP OF THE REGIONS WEATHER FOR THE MONTH OF MAY...

FOR DAYTIME TEMPERATURES...MAY 2009 WAS WARMER THAN AVERAGE FOR
OUR REGION.  THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURES FOR BILLINGS...MILES
CITY...AND SHERIDAN DURING THE PAST MONTH HAVE RANGED FROM BEING
ONLY SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL TO SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE NORMAL. 

    BILLINGS.....3.2 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL (19TH WARMEST) 
    MILES CITY...0.7 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL (TIED FOR 28TH WARMEST)
    SHERIDAN.....3.1 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL (22ND WARMEST)

HOWEVER...FOR NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURES...MAY 2009 WAS ACTUALLY
BELOW AVERAGE FOR THE REGION. THE AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURES FOR
THE AFOREMENTIONED CITIES AGAIN RANGED FROM SLIGHTLY COOLER TO
SIGNIFICANTLY COOLER THAN NORMAL.

 BILLINGS.....0.1 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL (43RD COOLEST)
 MILES CITY...2.6 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL (TIED FOR 18TH COOLEST)
 SHERIDAN.....1.4 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL (TIED FOR 14TH COOLEST)

OF THOSE THREE CITIES...THE OVERALL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES FOR
BILLINGS AND SHERIDAN WERE SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE FOR MAY 2009.
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR BILLINGS RANKED 19TH WARMEST SINCE 
1934.     

MAY 19TH WAS THE HOTTEST DAY OF THE PAST MONTH...WITH ALL THREE
OF THOSE CITIES REACHING A TEMPERATURE OF OR GREATER THAN 90
DEGREES. THIS WAS ALSO THE ONLY DATE THIS MONTH TO ATTAIN THIS
TEMPERATURE. THE COLDEST DAY OF THE PAST MONTH FOR OUR AREA WAS
MAY 2ND...ON WHICH THE LOWEST TEMPERATURES RECORDED FOR THOSE 
THREE CITIES WERE ALL BELOW 30 DEGREES.

IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION...IT HAS BEEN A DRIER MAY
THAN NORMAL FOR OUR REGION. ALL THREE CITIES REPORTED DEFICITS
GREATER THAN ONE INCH IN THEIR MONTHLY PRECIPITATION TOTALS.
ALL THREE CITIES RECEIVED LESS THAN HALF OF THE NORMAL
AMOUNT OF MAY PRECIPITATION. THE FIGURES BELOW SHOW THE MAY
PRECIPITATION DEFICITS FOR EACH OF THE THREE CITIES.

 BILLINGS....1.84 INCHES BELOW NORMAL
 MILES CITY..1.15 INCHES BELOW NORMAL 
 SHERIDAN....2.19 INCHES BELOW NORMAL

LISTED BELOW ARE THE RECORDED AMOUNTS OF PRECIPITATION FOR EACH OF 
THE THREE CITIES COMPARED TO THE NORMAL AMOUNT OF MAY PRECIPITATION.  

 BILLINGS....0.64 INCHES (26 PERCENT OF NORMAL...4TH DRIEST)
 MILES CITY..1.04 INCHES (47 PERCENT OF NORMAL...TIED FOR 11TH DRIEST)
 SHERIDAN....0.22 INCHES (9 PERCENT OF NORMAL...2ND DRIEST)

OF THE 0.22 INCHES OF MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION THAT WAS RECORDED IN
SHERIDAN...ROUGHLY ONE-THIRD OF IT FELL WITHIN A 24-HOUR PERIOD
STARTING ON MAY 29TH.

MILES CITY RECEIVED JUST OVER ONE INCH OF PRECIPITATION FOR THE
MONTH OF MAY. OVER 60 PERCENT OF IT FELL BETWEEN MAY 3RD AND MAY
5TH.

FOR BILLINGS...PRECIPITATION DID FALL ON THE MAJORITY OF DAYS
ESPECIALLY IN THE FIRST HALF OF MAY. HOWEVER...OF THE 0.64 INCHES OF
RAIN THAT DID FALL IN THE CITY THIS PAST MONTH...JUST UNDER A
QUARTER OF THAT AMOUNT WAS RECORDED BETWEEN MAY 11TH AND MAY 12TH.

Webmaster
US Dept of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service
Billings Weather Forecast Office
2170 Overland Avenue
Billings, Montana 59102-6455

Tel: (406)652-0851