Four weeks’ worth of rain falls in three days

May has turned out wetter than usual in parts of the country — which sounds crazy given how dry the month started — but it’s true.

After four to five weeks without a drop of rain in some areas, the dry spell came to a sudden end, right on cue for the late May holiday weekend. And what an end it was.

Some of the heaviest downpours hit western parts of the country, where rain and thundery downpours brought more than four weeks’ worth of rainfall in just a few days.

One of the wettest spots over the weekend was Stewarton in East Ayrshire, where an astonishing 98mm of rain fell — far exceeding the May average of 69mm.

It’s remarkable to think that after no rain for the first 23 days of the month, just three days of wet weather pushed May into wetter-than-average territory.

Further north, Glen Strae near Dalmally in Argyll and Bute recorded an incredible 134mm of rain from Saturday through Tuesday morning — just shy of the area’s typical May total of 149mm.

Bearsden in East Dunbartonshire also exceeded its monthly average of 66mm, clocking in at 73mm over the three-day weekend alone.

Dunbar has been one of the driest spots this spring, with just 15mm of rain recorded from March 1 until this past weekend. But even here, things turned around, with an additional 14mm falling since Saturday morning — meaning nearly as much rain fell in three days as in the previous three months.

While this recent rain will bring some relief, especially for rivers and water supplies strained by long-term dry conditions in the south and east, the broader picture remains one of significant rainfall deficit.

We’ll need continued wet weather in the coming months to make up for the shortfall.