May 2020 Forest Health Insect and Disease Observations report
May 2020 Forest Health Insect and Disease Observations report
This month’s weather started off cold and wet, with snowfall occurring in most parts of the state through mid-May. Compared to last year, this month was warmer and dryer than May of 2019. Statewide temperatures averaged 52.9°F, which was 2 degrees warmer than May of last year. Statewide, precipitation averaged 2.93 inches, which is 2.73 inches less than May of last year. Minimum relative humidity (RH) values for the Northeast Kingdom were below normal. On May 23 and 24, the low RH at the Nulhegan remote automatic weather station was 12%, and the low RH in Montgomery and Walden was 8%. This, combined with no precipitation since May 16, caused extremely dry fuel conditions and resulted in several fires. Soil moisture drought indices are approaching mid-summer values, and large dead fuels are at the seasonal minimum.