Cold start to May

Both Sydney and Jyväskylä have experienced one of the coldest starts to May in recent years. Up until today, this is the coldest start to May in at least the last 6 years for Jyväskylä while Sydney is experiencing its second coldest start.

This weekend has seen some slightly warmer temperatures in both cities compared to the previous week, but the first 9 days were unusually low compared to the average. Sydney Airport hit a top of 24.4C yesterday. That was the highest in a week and a half. Jyväskylä also had its warmest temperature since late April with 12.5C yesterday.

The graphs below highlight the cold weather that has been seen recently. The lines show the progressive averages throughout the month of May since 2009. Sydney graphs also show the long term average.

Progressive average minimum for May at Sydney Airport in the period 2009-2014 plus the long term average

The average low for the month dipped to the lowest of the period in the 6 days of May 5 to May 10. However, the 14.4C minimum from today has helped it climb above 2011's value. 2014's figure is also below the long term average.

Progressive average maximum for May at Sydney Airport in the period 2009-2014 plus the long term average

2014's figure for the average maximum at the Airport has remained fairly consistent as the second lowest at this point in the month. It is also well below the long term average.

Progressive average minimum for May at Jyväskylä Airport in the period 2009-2014

In Jyväskylä, temperatures for May have been well below those of the previous 5 years. There have been 4 days with minimums below -5C, something that didn't occur once in all previous 5 editions of May.

Progressive average maximum for May at Jyväskylä Airport in the period 2009-2014

The graph above excludes the maximum for today. The average maximum for the month so far is also the lowest of the past 6 years. 2010, the second lowest line at this date, experienced unusually high temperatures (25C+) in the middle of May helping its average to climb as the month wore on. The current forecast for the coming week doesn't show temperatures anywhere close to that.