Wet and stormy second half of May brings beneficial moisture
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Recent weeks have brought beneficial rains across the Mid-Missouri River Valley, watering soils and keeping new vegetation lush and green.
May got off to a dry start locally and regionally, with over two weeks of little to no precipitation and above-average temperatures.
From May 1 to May 17, only a trace of rain fell in St. Joseph, allowing moderate drought conditions to expand into much of Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas.
Nearly two weeks later, the May rainfall deficit has almost disappeared completely, thanks to a wet and stormy pattern. As of 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, 2025, a total of 4.31 inches of rain has been recorded at St. Joseph's Rosecrans Memorial Airport, just shy of the monthly average of 4.87 inches.
In a 24-hour period on May 18–19, 2.72 inches of rain fell — more than half of both the current monthly total and the average. Subsequent bouts of slow and steady rain that made for a less than ideal Memorial Day Weekend added just under 2 inches of additional rainfall to the total.
Water levels on the Missouri River and other local waterways have recovered considerably after recent rains, after falling below normal earlier this month. The Missouri River has risen by several feet at the downtown St. Joseph gauge, from its low point of 5.6 feet on May 16, to a high point of 8 feet by May 23rd. As of May 29, levels have settled to around 7.6 feet — a normal figure for this time of year.
Aside from river levels, soil moisture and drought conditions have also improved from recent rains. Halfway through May, almost 7% of Missouri was in Moderate drought, — this included the majority of Northwest Missouri from Interstate 35 westward to the Kansas border. As of May 27, that figure is down to 3% with a small patch of moderate drought still present in Holt, and parts of Nodaway and Atchison counties.
According to the Climate Prediction Center’s extended outlook, the next 6 to 14 days is likely to bring near to just above average precipitation across the Central Plains. A pattern that will likely keep widespread drought development at bay as the first month of meteorological summer begins.
