I recently was shown a humorous post on the origin of the name of the fifth month — May.

It went something like, “I now know why it is called “May.” It may be warm, it may be cold, it may rain or it may snow.”

This is certainly true for Upper Michigan. As far as warmth, May 2018 stands out.

The month ended 4.6 degrees above average. Seven days had highs in the 80s and 10 days had mean temperatures over 10 degrees above average.

The very next year — 2019 –saw a complete reversal.

The mean temperature was 5.7 degrees below average. There were 11 days with mean temperatures over 10 degrees below average.

May 2019 was cold because it was so cloudy and wet.

There was 7.86 inches of rain during the month. The average rainfall is 3.37 inches.

As for snow, the last significant snowfall in May was 5.4 inches on May 1, 2019.

And who can forget the freak storm of May 9-10, 1990?

A total of 22.6 inches fell at the National Weather Service near Negaunee.

There was even 11 inches at Iron Mountain.

However, big snows in May are the exception rather than the rule. Most Mays have little or no snow.

No snow is foreseen over the next week. That’s a certainty.

In fact, it will almost feel like summer early to mid-portions of next week as persistent southerly flow ahead of Plains low-pressure funnels warm air into Upper Michigan.

Highs may soar as warm as the 70s to near 80, especially over interior western sections.