May was cool and rainy in Tri-Cities. How much more can we expect? The latest forecast

More rain is forecast for the Tri-Cities after an abnormally cool and rainy May.

The forecast called for a slight chance of thunderstorms Thursday night, followed by possibly rainy days and nights through Sunday.

Sunday has the highest chance of rain in the Tri-Cities, Wash., at 80%, up from 40% Friday and 30% Saturday, increasing to 50% Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.

The early forecast calls for clearing early in the next work week with a sunny Monday and Tuesday.

The high Thursday was forecast at 83, but then highs are expected to drop into the 70s through at least the next six days. The high both Saturday and Sunday is forecast at 72.

Although May was wet, it did not come close to being a record breaker.

The weather service reported 1.7 inches of rain in Kennewick in May, which was about 0.85 inch above normal.

But record precipitation for the month was 2.86 inches in 1997.

Temperatures averaged 4.1 degrees below normal in Richland and Kennewick in May, according to the weather service. Days were particularly cool compared to normal.

The May precipitation was welcome after much of Benton and Franklin counties were rated as being in severe drought at the start of last month by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

That was an improvement from early in the spring when most of Benton County was in extreme drought.

At the end of May the U.S. Drought Monitor showed no drought the southwest corner of Benton County, much of the southern areas of Benton and Franklin counties as abnormally dry and the mid to northern area of the two counties as being in moderate drought.