May scorched the country and brought soaking rains to Manatee. Here are the numbers.

After a particularly chilly and dry April, May swooped in and decided to shake things up a bit.

Not only was it one of the hottest months on record in the United States, it also was one of the wettest.

According to federal weather figures released Wednesday, May warmed to a record average 65.4 degrees in the Lower 48 states, breaking the high of 64.7 set in 1934.

That made May a little more than 5 degrees above the 20th century's average for the month.

Throughout the U.S., weather stations broke or tied almost 8,600 daily heat records in May, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"The warmth was coast-to-coast,”climate scientist Jake Crouch at NOAA’s Centers for Environmental Information told the Associated Press.

For the Sarasota-Bradenton area, the month didn't break any records but it certainly brought the heat.

Eight days of the month saw temperatures reach into the 90s, with nearly every other day hovering in the 80s. The average high for the month came in at 86.2 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

However, the region's average temperature for the month was only 77.4, which ranks it as the 26th warmest all-time dating to 1911, NWS forecaster Tyler Fleming said.

"No one had record-breaking heat in our area," he said. "But it was slightly above normal."

But what may have made the month seem a lot hotter was an unusually cool April, officials said.

The cool to hot switch between the two months went far beyond southwest Florida, too.

For example, in Wisconsin, the state's coldest April was followed by its second-warmest May.

Rain is another story.

The Sarasota-Bradenton region got about 7 inches of rainfall throughout the month — nearly 3 times more than the average of 2.21 inches, the NWS reported. It was the 10th wettest May the area has seen, falling just behind May 2014, which recorded 7.05 inches.

The most rainfall documented in the month for the region came in 1997, when 9.52 inches were recorded.

"Alberto was part of that for sure," Fleming said. "Plus the few days before we had a band of tropical moisture in the air, giving us heavier rain in the area and getting us up above normal in a hurry."

For the state, the Florida Climate Center reported that Florida shattered a century-old (plus) May rainfall record set in 1895 with 9.23 inches of precipitation. The city of Stuart topped the list statewide with a soggy 24.22 inches.

The is the second consecutive year featuring a strong start to the season, and while too much rain can cause big problems in flood-prone areas, it can be good news for a state that has been battling deepening drought conditions and increased wildfires.

The Miami Herald contributed to this report.

This story was originally published June 6, 2018 at 5:25 PM with the headline "May scorched the country and brought soaking rains to Manatee. Here are the numbers.."