The meteorological situation in May 2019 was characterized by high activity of low-pressure systems in most of the EFAS domain, except for northern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula which were influenced by persistent high-pressure systems. Precipitation totals were above the long term means in a large area from the central Mediterranean region to Scandinavia. The monthly mean temperature was above the long-term means in the east and west and below in the middle of the EFAS domain.

At the beginning of May, a large low-pressure system developed over Scandinavia, whereas a secondary depression caused intense rain and snowfall in the Alps and northern Italy. Another low-pressure system developed near Newfoundland and moved over the Atlantic Ocean and Great Britain and Ireland to Scandinavia and replaced the first one, bringing a lot of precipitation to Great Britain, France and northern Spain. A weak upper-level low-pressure system caused intense precipitation events in Romania. As the Azores high extended northward, a high-pressure ridge developed together with a high-pressure system at the ground, forcing the low-pressure system over Scandinavia to move northward and initiate the development of a small low-pressure system over northern Italy, moving in the next days around and causing intense precipitation and floods not only in Italy, but also in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Corsica.

Later, another low-pressure system southeast of Greenland initiated the development of a secondary depression over the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Peninsula, which moved over central Europe causing high precipitation totals in a region between central Germany and the Alps in the west, and western Ukraine in the east. Yet another low-pressure system developed over Scotland and moved via the North Sea to Scandinavia, causing a lot of precipitation over Great Britain, Scandinavia and Western Russia. In the last days of the month, an upper-level low-pressure system moved from the Central Mediterranean region to the Balkans and brought intense precipitation to this region, but also the Alps and Romania.

In May 2019, the highest monthly precipitation totals were observed in Italy, around the Adriatic Sea, Alps and Carpathian Mountains, but also in Scandinavia, northern Pyrenees and eastern Caucasus (Figure 1). Nearly no precipitation fell in some parts of the Iberian Peninsula and the southeastern part of the Mediterranean region. Less than normal precipitation fell in northwest Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, eastern Mediterranean region, Iceland, parts of Great Britain, France, western Alps and northern Germany, but also between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea and parts of Russia and Kazakhstan (Figure 2). More than normal precipitation was observed in the central Mediterranean region, southeast Europe and Scandinavia.

The monthly mean air temperature ranged from -7.7°C to 33.9°C with the highest temperatures in the southern and eastern parts and lowest temperatures in the northern and mountainous parts of the EFAS domain (Figure 3). Temperature anomalies ranged from -8°C to 10 °C, with below normal temperatures in the middle of the EFAS domain and Scandinavia (Figure 4). Extremely high temperatures were observed in the southeast of the EFAS domain, Eastern Europe and the Asian parts of the EFAS domain as well as on the Iberian Peninsula and in northwest Africa.