--- title: May 2015 was the U.S.'s Wettest on Record description: The contiguous U.S. saw record precipitation totals for the month of May canonical: https://time.com/3914048/us-record-rain-may-rainfall/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-09T13:53:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T08:02:18.568Z article:section: Science og:title: May 2015 was the U.S.'s Wettest on Record og:description: The contiguous U.S. saw record precipitation totals for the month of May og:url: https://time.com/3914048/us-record-rain-may-rainfall/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt211176f4b6ab200f/698853a18e06013b46460de4/flood-texas-us.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Flooding Texas bridgeport og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: May 2015 was the U.S.'s Wettest on Record twitter:description: The contiguous U.S. saw record precipitation totals for the month of May twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt211176f4b6ab200f/698853a18e06013b46460de4/flood-texas-us.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # U.S. Sees Wettest May on Record > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 9, 2015 1:53 PM UTC  Flood waters surround the Bridgeport Building Center in Bridgeport, Texas, June 1, 2015. Flood waters surround the Bridgeport Building Center in Bridgeport, Texas, June 1, 2015. Max Faulkner—Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 9, 2015 1:53 PM UTC This May was the [wettest on record](http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/national/201505) for the contiguous United States, according to federal weather data. The [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration](http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/national/201505) reports 4.36 inches of rain fell on the contiguous U.S. this May, 1.45 inches above average and the most rain the administration has recorded for the month of May in 121 years. The total precipitation that fell in the spring was 9.33 inches, making it the 11th wettest spring on record for the contiguous U.S. Severe weather events and heavy rainfall across the U.S. have contributed to the uptick in precipitation. Fifteen states had totals well above average, including Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado which each suffered severe flooding. However, seven states along the East Coast had lower than average levels of precipitation. About 24.6% of the contiguous U.S. was in drought according to a June Drought Monitor report, an improvement across the board though many states in the West, Northwest, Southeast and Northeast have seen drought conditions worsen. So far, 2015 has brought a number of record-setting months weather-wise. January through March 2015 was the warmest [first three months](http://www.weather.com/news/climate/news/record-warmest-january-march-global-temperatures-2015) of the year on record across the globe. In the contiguous U.S., this January to May has been the 17th warmest in the 121 years that the NOAA has tracked temperatures. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3914048/us-record-rain-may-rainfall/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3914048/us-record-rain-may-rainfall/"},"headline":"U.S. Sees Wettest May on Record","datePublished":"2015-06-09T13:53:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:02:18.568Z","description":"The contiguous U.S. saw record precipitation totals for the month of May","url":"https://time.com/3914048/us-record-rain-may-rainfall/","keywords":["weather","Environment","snow","NOAA","Drought","Science topic","Rain"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt211176f4b6ab200f/698853a18e06013b46460de4/flood-texas-us.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt211176f4b6ab200f/698853a18e06013b46460de4/flood-texas-us.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Flooding Texas bridgeport","caption":"Flooding Texas bridgeport","creditText":"Max Faulkner—Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/weather/","name":"weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3914048/us-record-rain-may-rainfall/","name":"U.S. Sees Wettest May on Record"}}]}] ```