May officially the driest month on record as we look ahead to a June that is typically wet

May 2026 has officially gone into the record book as the driest May on record. We did see a few showers Sunday evening into Monday morning but not much accumulated. The 0.36" of rain we picked up in May making it the driest on record comes after an April that was the #1 wettest April on record. 

The dry May was over 3" behind average for the entire month and exactly 4" less than what we had during a very wet May in 2025. 

The last time we had any measurable rainfall was now over a week ago back on May 24th when Milwaukee had 0.21" of rain. Even the few showers we saw Sunday night into Monday morning didn't really accumulate. 

May was also overall cool. The month started chilly with a few late season frosts at the beginning of the month with the coldest temp of 34 degrees happening May 2nd and 8th. The warmest temp happened May 26th when we warmed to 86. Overall the average temperature in May was 55.3 degrees which was almost two degrees below average. 

June is historically a wet month. On average, it is the wettest month of the year in Milwaukee with over 4" of rainfall. We also see a lot of warming with average highs going from the low 70s to the low 80s and average lows going from the low 50s to the low 60s. 

Download the CBS 58 Weather app to track the temps and rain chances for the new month.