May’s beautiful weather could spell future drought for parts of region

The holiday weekend, and in fact the whole month of May, hardly could have been nicer in these parts, but the month has also been very dry.

That raises the specter of drought, says of Mitchell Gaines, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New Jersey.

“It’s been well below normal for rainfall across the entire region here over the course of the month and even going back further than that into the late spring,” Gaines said Monday. “With that continued dry weather, we’ve seen rainfall deficits that have reached on average for the month of  May about 2 to 3 inches across most of the region.”

Gaines says the combination of dry weather and a late blooming spring has also contributed to a higher pollen count — tough on those with allergies.

He says the region is likely headed for one of the warmest Mays on record.