Binghamton, NY – May 2025 will be remembered as a month of unusually cold temperatures and above-average rainfall across much of New York and Pennsylvania. Both Binghamton and Avoca (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area) finished in the top five wettest Mays on record, while Syracuse experienced its coolest May maximum temperature in 17 years.
According to the National Weather Service, Binghamton recorded 6.59 inches of rainfall, marking it the fourth wettest May in the city’s history. The month was also cooler than normal, with the highest temperature only reaching 77°F on May 12 and 16, the first time in nearly two decades that Binghamton failed to hit 80°F during May. In Syracuse, the maximum temperature reached only 83°F on May 16, the coolest maximum in the area since 2008. With 5.29 inches of rain, it ranked as the 11th wettest May on record.
In the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, Avoca saw even more significant rainfall with 7.58 inches, placing it as the third wettest May on record. This coincided with unseasonably cold conditions, as the region also experienced its coolest maximum temperatures since 2003, with 81°F recorded on May 12.
Throughout the month, the region was also plagued by consistent rain, leading to above-normal precipitation levels. According to the National Weather Prediction Service’s water precipitation estimates, much of the Northeast, including New York, Pennsylvania, and New England, experienced higher-than-normal rainfall, as seen in a recent map of the region’s percent-of-normal precipitation.
These weather patterns combined to make May 2025 a notably cool and wet month across the Northeast, leaving many residents wondering if more extreme weather could be on the horizon as the summer season approaches.
