The United States saw its hottest May on record, with every one of the continental 48 states experiencing warmer than normal temperatures, U.S. weather climate experts say.

The average May temperature was 18.9 degrees Celsius, shattering an 84 year-old record.

Thermometers in normally cool Minneapolis hit 37 degrees on May 28. That is 100 degrees Fahrenheit and the earliest date ever for temperatures to reach triple digits in the city.

It was also wet in the continental U.S. in May, with record-setting rainfall in much of the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, while drought continued in the Southwest.

Alaska also experienced higher-than-normal rainfall, while dry conditions covered large parts of Hawaii.

“Nature is dealing cards from a very different deck now compared to the 20th century,” Pennsylvania State University climatologist David Titley said Wednesday.

Experts blame the unusual weather on changes in the jet stream, along with man-made global warming.
…