A normal amount of rainfall for May is just over four inches, so when the Climate Prediction Center says portions of Illinois could be above that threshold, weather officials say this May will be very wet.

Ed Shimon at the National Weather Service in Lincoln indicates May brings over four inches of rainfall in an average year and as we turn the flip the calendar page, the month will start out cool and remain wet.

So far, April has been cool and wet. Shimon indicates over a week to ten-day stretch, there were areas that received over two inches of rain and that has boosted the rainfall totals for the month.

Severe weather threats were drastically lower for April than normal. He indicates April can be one of the most active months for severe weather.

Shimon indicates while May is projecting to be cooler than normal, we should still see temperatures regularly into the 60s until the middle-to-late part of the month.