Hot, cold, rainy, cloudy, sunny or even snowy — to have all sorts of weather conditions in a small time span is part of the New England experience. But even with that reputation, the weather in Maine this May has been especially abnormal. “This has been a bit of an interesting month in regards to the weather here in Maine,” said Jon Palmer, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Gray, in an interview on Saturday. It started with rainstorms that swept the region throughout the first full week of the month, often alternating between light drizzles and sudden downpours. Storms stalled over much of the eastern U.S. for much of that week thanks to an unusual weather pattern called an “omega block” (named for the shape that it gives the jet stream). The following week, Portland recorded 2.3 inches of rain on May 10 — the area’s highest single-day total in May since 2006. There were several reports of more than 3 inches of rain that day in the Midcoast region, Palmer said. The week after that, things dried out and, in some cases, heated up. On May 16, Augusta saw an 80-degree high, a full 13.6 degrees above average, while high temperatures near 70 in Portland were a few degrees higher than normal. And then, for Memorial Day weekend — the traditional start to summer and Maine’s tourist season — temperatures plummeted back down into the 40s thanks to a rare May nor’easter. Nor’easters are stronger and more common between September and April, often bringing snow in the winter, but they’re not unheard of in May. In Portland, Thursday’s high temperature of just 49 degrees broke the record for the lowest high temperature in the city on May 22. (The previous record of 50 was set back in 2011.) In addition to cool temperatures, the nor’easter also brought rain, high winds and, in some areas, snow. “This weekend, you’ve probably noticed it’s unusually cold,” Palmer said Saturday. “Some of the higher elevations, especially toward Sugarloaf and Saddleback and other elevations above 2,500 feet, are accumulating snowfall.” Snow falling on Maine’s peaks in May isn’t uncommon, Palmer said, but the accumulation and volume were surprising. “We have a webcam at the top of the skyline lift at Sugarloaf here in the office, and it looks like a good 3 to 4 inches falling up at that altitude,” Palmer said Saturday. On Thursday, Sugarloaf Mountain delayed the opening of its golf course from Friday to Sunday, citing “Mother Nature’s mood swings.” In neighboring New Hampshire, Mount Washington has reported nearly 11 inches of snowfall at its peak in the past few days, Palmer said — the most in such a short span in more than 20 years. “It’s definitely surprised me the past few days to see that much snowfall, even at higher elevations,” he said. All the while, whether raining, snowing or neither, cloud cover this month has been higher than normal, too. National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Cornwell told the Press Herald on May 20 that southern Maine had already seen more cloudy days this May than the previous five. At that time, 12 days had been considered “cloudy,” five “partly cloudy,” and just three “clear,” according to weather service archives. WHY DOES IT RAIN EVERY WEEKEND? Palmer said a big question that many New Englanders have been asking this spring is, “Why does it keep raining every weekend?” “I wish I had a better answer other than it’s just a coincidence,” he said. “Whether they’re on the showery side or a washout … it just seems like every single system that moves over our area is really well-timed for the weekend.” Some people say a cold, rainy spring makes for a hot, sunny summer — but that may only be half-true this year. “The Climate Prediction Center’s long-term forecast for this summer is above-average chances of higher temperatures, but a little bit more precipitation than normal,” Palmer said. “We’re looking at a wet and hot summer.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.