A look at Spring 2018

Meteorological Spring (March to May) is now over, so it's time to look back at the spring of 2018.

Overall, this spring was slightly warmer than normal, with a mean temperature of 10.4 degrees versus the 30-year average of 10.0 degrees.  This spring was still cooler than spring 2014, 2015, or 2016.  Spring 2016 was the warmest on record in Victoria, with a mean temperature of 11.9 degrees.

The chart below compares daily maximum and minimum temperatures with the long-term averages for Victoria Gonzales.  Generally, temperatures have been close to average, expect for a spike in late April and again from May 5-15.  March was slightly below average temperatures, April was right on average for the month, and May was above average.

Daily Max & Min Temperatures at Victoria Gonzales, Spring 2018

Spring 2018 precipitation was a bit below average.  Both March and May experienced well below average rainfall, but April was much wetter than average.  The chart below shows daily and cumulative rainfall for March to May 2018 at Victoria Gonzales.  You can clearly see the very wet spell in April, especially from about April 4 to 16.  This less than two week period accounted for nearly two thirds of all the rain during Spring 2018.

Daily and Cumulative Rainfall at Victoria Gonzales, Spring 2018