http://www.examiner.com/weather-in-wilmington/charlie-wilson
Charlie Wilson Wilmington Weather ExaminerSubscribeSponsor an Examiner A member of the American Meteorological Society, 
Charlie Wilson has combined his knowledge of Meteorology & Weather History with his Education background in Communications.
 (Ref. Charlie Wilson Weather History) 

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May 11th:
1865
A tornado touched down in Philadelphia around 6pm ET, killing one person and injuring 15 others. There was great destruction to property, with 23 houses blown down, damage to the Reading Railroad depot, with the water tank carried 150 yards. Fairmont Park was damaged to the amount of $20,000 dollars.

1882
A severe thunderstorm produced 58 mph wind gusts at the Delaware Breakwater. High tides swept away railroad tracks near Sandy Hook, NJ. Many ships were sent aground in New York Bay.

1934
A tremendous dust storm affected the Plains as the Dust Bowl era was in full swing.

1951
Baltimore, MD recorded their latest snowfall on record with a trace.

1952
A few snow flurries fell at Springfield, IL establishing the date of the city's latest snowfall on record

1953
People in Waco, TX were unconcerned about the tornado alerts issued by the U.S. Weather Bureau, putting their faith in a myth that the hills surrounding the city protected them. Around 4:30 pm CT, a massive F5 tornado developed southwest of the city and cut a path through residential areas toward the heart of downtown. There was no warning. The twister devastated downtown Waco, killing 114 people and injuring 597 more. 30 people were killed in a six-story furniture store, which collapsed. Some downtown streets were buried under five feet of fallen bricks. Total damage was $41 million dollars. An F4 tornado virtually leveled 15 square blocks of San Angelo, TX with 13 people killed and 159 others injured.

1958
Searchlight, NV recorded 1.17 inches of rain, setting a record for the day. This was also the only time daily rainfall over an inch was recorded in May.

1966
An intense are of low pressure moved across southern Illinois during the late night while cold Canadian high pressure settled in further north. The combination produced strong easterly winds and a very cold rain mixing with snow from parts of the northern Plains to the Midwest. The 1.6 inches of snow at Chicago, IL was their latest measurable snow on record. South Bend, IN also reported their latest measurable snowfall of 0.6 inches.

Across north-central and northeast South Dakota and west-central Minnesota, snowfall totals included: Timber Lake, SD: 4 inches, Eureka, SD: 3 inches, Mobridge, SD: 3 inches, Roscoe; SD: 3 inches, Artichoke Lake MN: 2 inches, Pollock, MN: 2 inches and Waubay, MN: 2 inches.

Many cities across the East reported record cold. Philadelphia, PA plunged to a record May low of 28°. Locations that reported daily record lows included: Elkins, WV: 22°, Concord, NH: 23°, Martinsburg, WV: 26°, Burlington, VT: 27°-Tied, Youngstown, OH: 28°, Rochester, NY: 29°, Lynchburg, VA: 31°, Buffalo, NY: 31°-Tied, Richmond, VA: 32°, Harrisburg, PA: 32°, Greensboro, NC: 35°-Tied, Newark, NJ: 36°, Knoxville, TN: 41°-Tied, Wilmington, NC: 43°-Tied, Atlanta, GA: 45° and Charleston, SC: 47°.

1970
A very powerful F5 tornado struck Lubbock, TX killing 26 people and injuring more than 1500 others along its 8.5 mile track. 600 apartment units were destroyed along with 430 houses. 250 businesses were damaged or destroyed. 80% of the windows in the downtown area were broken.  Damaged was conservatively estimated at $250 million dollars. It was the most destructive tornado on record up until that time, and came on the 17th anniversary of the twister which struck Waco, TX killing 114 people. A second tornado killed two people in Lubbock, and both twisters damaged or destroyed nearly a quarter of the city.

1981
Very heavy wet spring snow fell across parts of northern Montana. Billings received a May record of 15 inches; 2.11 inches of liquid equivalent and Red Lodge reported 20 inches.

1982
The second of three severe weather episodes occurred on this date through the 12th across parts of Oklahoma. On this date, severe thunderstorms produced 18 tornadoes across the western part of the state. One tornado touched down southeast of Altus and moved across Altus Air Force Base. In Altus, almost every roof in town was damaged by large hail. At the base, 70 buildings were damaged or destroyed, 30 airplanes were damaged, and 6,000 vehicles suffered hail or tornado damage. Overall, two people were killed, 60 others injured, and the total damage from this particular storm was more than $200 million dollars.

1983
A late spring snowstorm hit the western third of South Dakota on this date through the 12th. Snow amounts ranged from 3 to 10 inches and in some areas the snow was accompanied by thunder, lightning, sleet, and hail making for an interesting mix of weather. The heaviest snow amounts fell in the northern Black Hills although some areas in the plains had strong winds creating drifts high enough to make roads impassable.

1985
Thunderstorms, first exploding in southwest Iowa, developed northward and spread east during the afternoon hours. The first report of severe weather came from Carroll where 70 mph winds were recorded at the airport. Near Tingley, a trailer house was moved 18 inches off its foundation and another house lost siding, shingles, a stair rail and several windows. Strong winds demolished a grain bin and implement building at Percival and winds of 50 to 70 mph tore off tree limbs and knocked down a barn at Hastings. In addition, about a third of the roof on the Junior High Gym was destroyed in Atlantic.

1986
A tornado struck south of Morden, Manitoba Canada, destroying farm buildings and ripping off tree tops. Beams from one shed roof were blown 330 feet and driven 12 inches into the ground.

  1987
Early morning thunderstorms produced up to 4 inches of rain in parts of southern Texas, with flooding reported from Maverick County to Eagle Pass.

Evening thunderstorms in northern Illinois produced golf ball size hail and wind gusts to 70 mph.

1988
Many locations across the West reported record high temperatures for the date including: Walla Walla, WA: 91°, Long Beach, CA: 91°, Reno, NV: 89°, Roseburg, OR: 88°-Tied, Redmond, OR: 88°-Tied, Meacham, OR: 81°, Oakland, CA: 81°-Tied, Santa Barbara, CA: 78°-Tied and Nenana, AK: 70°.

1989
Afternoon and evening thunderstorms produced severe weather across the northern Plains. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 71 mph at Gillette, WY, and baseball size hail was reported at Pecos and Fort Stockton, TX. Fort Stockton, TX was deluged with 7.75 inches of rain in less than two hours.

Wind gusts of 60 mph overturned an airplane taxiing on the runway at the Mojave Airport in California.

Nearly two weeks of consistent rainfall across the western southern part of New York State caused streams and creeks to reach their limits. In Chautauqua County a few low lying roads were barricaded because of high water. In Cattaraugus County at the Onoville Marina on the Allegheny River, ramps to the docks were under two feet of water. Also in Cattaraugus County, a mudslide occurred on one of the ski slopes at the Holiday Valley Resort Area in Ellicottville.

1990
Thunderstorms produced severe weather in Kansas, Oklahoma and the northern half of Texas. Severe storms spawned 4 tornadoes in Texas and produced high winds which overturned four mobile homes northwest of Abilene injuring 10 people.

Unseasonably cold weather followed in the wake of a spring storm from the north central U.S. to the Southeast. Many cities reported record low temperatures for the date including: Sidney, NE: 26-Tied, Madison, WI: 29°, Wausau, WI: 30-Tied, Rockford, IL: 31, LaCrosse, WI: 32, London, KY: 36-Tied, Moline, IL: 37-Tied, Paducah, KY: 38, Nashville, TN: 39-Tied, Evansville, IN: 40-Tied, Anniston, AL: 43-Tied, Huntsville, AL: 44-Tied, Montgomery, AL: 45, Tuscaloosa, AL: 45 and Alma, GA: 45.

1991
Numerous tornadoes touched down across southwest and west central South Dakota causing considerable damage. Strong winds and hail swept through the Custer National Forest damaging up to 2,500 acres of trees. Numerous tornadoes touched down in the Rapid City area. One tornado damaged several homes and destroyed, at least, 9 mobile homes 5 miles north of Rapid City. A larger tornado, reportedly over a quarter of a mile wide, with winds estimated between 150 and 200 mph just 5 to 10 miles north of Rapid City destroyed 9 homes and damaged 150 others. The storm caused many injuries, but no deaths. Also, at least 7 tornadoes were spotted in the Edgemont area although damage was light.

2000
A tornado destroyed the Dunkerton, IA City Hall. The City Hall was housed in a series of doublewide mobile homes after the original building was destroyed in a 1999 flood.

2003
Nashville, TN broke their 24 hour rainfall record for the month of May as 4.63 inches fell.

2004
A tornado derailed a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train near Hartley, TX, sending 15 empty coal cars and two locomotives off the tracks.

2005
Grand Island, NE set new 6, 12, and 24 hour rainfall records with 6.38 inches in 6 hours, 7.16 inches in 12 hours and 7.21 inches in 24 hours.

Very heavy rain also fell in parts of northern Montana. Red Lodge and the surrounding foothills received 4.5 to 7 inches washing out some roads.

2009
Unusually heavy rain fell over the desert at the northern edge of Patagania, Argentina. 1.85 inches fell at Neuquen, where they only see an average of 0.59 inches of rain a year.

A mini-tornado damaged half a dozen homes north of Auckland, New Zealand as it tore through residential neighborhoods. In the Western Bay of Plenty, observers watched five waterspouts offshore from their homes at Town Point.
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May 12th:

1760
Ben Franklin was the first person to identify nor'easters. In a letter on this date, Franklin described an experience that happened to him in November 1743 when storm clouds in Philadelphia blocked his view of an eclipse. Franklin assumed that the storm had blown in from the northeast because the surface winds at his location were from that direction. He was puzzled to find out later that his brother had viewed the eclipse with no problems and that the storm had arrived in Boston four hours later. The information caused Franklin to correctly surmise that the storm had moved from southwest to northeast.

1834
Unusual snows occurred across the Northeast. 6 inches fell at Erie, PA and 12 inches at Rutland, VT from this date through the 15th.

1876
The first American newspaper weather map was published in the New York Herald. Weather maps would first appear on a regular basis beginning on May 9, 1879 in the New York Daily Graphic.

1886
A tornado, which peaked at F4 intensity, touched down in Vermilion County near Armstrong, and passed between Alvin and Rossville before moving into Indiana. At least 5 houses were destroyed, two of which were totally swept away. Three people were killed. Five other strong tornadoes occurred across Illinois that day: two near Mt. Carroll, one near Odell, one near Jacksonville, and one in Iroquois County.

A tornado killed 57 people as it passed through Greene and Huron Counties of Ohio leaving 43 dead in Xenia.

1916
7.80 inches of rain fell in 15 minutes at Plumb Point, Jamaica to set a world rainfall record for that time frame.

1929
Virginia's worst tornado on record occurred on this date. 6 tornadoes touched down, including two west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, killing 22 people and destroying 4 schools. 13 of the victims were killed at Rye Cove in Scott County.

1934
A dust storm darkened the skies from Oklahoma to the Atlantic coast.

1956
A severe weather outbreak produced tornadoes, high winds and large hail across Lower Michigan. A deadly tornado hit near Flint for the second time in three years, killing three people on the southeast side of the city. One person was killed in Gratiot County as a tornado moved between Alma and Ithaca. Muskegon was pelted with baseball-sized hail that caused thousands of dollars in damage to homes and cars.

1971
Dust storms suddenly reduced visibilities to near zero on Interstate Highway 10 near Casa Grande, AZ. Chain reaction accidents involving cars and trucks resulted, killing 7 people.

1972
A cloudburst dumped 16 inches of rain north of New Braunfels, TX sending a 30 foot wall of water down Blueders Creek into the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers washing away people, houses and automobiles. The flood claimed 18 lives and caused more than $20 million dollars damage.

1980
Cheyenne, WYreceived 3.8 inches of snow. It turned out to be the last snow of the 1979-80 season which produced a record 121.5 inches of snowfall. On the same day Scottsbluff, NE received just under an inch of snow (0.8 inches) which brought their snow season to an end with a record 78.5 inches. 

1982
A major storm dumped 1.5 to 3.5 inches of rain across northeast Colorado and dumped incredible amounts of snow in the foothills. Coal Creek Canyon southwest of Boulder was buried under 46 inches with 39 inches at Nederland. The heavy wet snow downed power lines.

Further to the southeast, in Wichita Falls, TX more than 4.5 inches of rain fell, after more than half an inch fell the day before. Some homes reportedly had more than eight feet of water in them when the Holliday and McGrath Creeks rose out of their banks. The heavy rain of this period, combined with the rest of the season, gave Wichita Falls their greatest spring rainfall ever. From April through June of 1982, rainfall totaled slightly more than 24 inches. 12 inches of rain fell in Bonham, TX and Clinton, OK reported 7.32 inches.

1983
Heavy wet snow fell on this date through the 12th across parts of Montana. Snowfall totals included: Pryor: 22 inches, Melstone: 19 inches, Hysham: 18 inches, Broadus: 17 inches, Red Lodge: 16 inches, Plevna: 15 inches, Columbus: 14 inches, Nye: 13 inches, Baker: 13 inches, Billings: 12 inches, Forsyth: 12 inches and Miles City: 12 inches.

1984
Severe weather erupted across northeast South Dakota. A tornado touched down just northeast of Clark and cut a path 25 miles long into Codington County. The tornado moved southeast and, at times, was an amazing three quarters of a mile wide. The storm moved through southwest sections of Henry where it split into two separate tornadoes which moved different directions. One moved northeast and quickly dissipated while the second continued its path of destruction to the southeast. On its southeast trek the tornado destroyed 11 barns, 23 sheds, 6 homes, one mobile home, 7 garages, 8 grain bins, as well as, machinery and hundreds of trees. The storm also wrapped a small plane around a pole. Areas along the storm path reported hail from golf ball to grapefruit size with some areas in Henry having the hail pile up to 15 inches deep.

1985
Widespread severe weather occurred for two days across the state of Oklahoma from this date through the next day. The city of Moore reported baseball size hail and winds of 70 to 80 mph. Even larger hail fell in south Oklahoma City, with some stones as large as grapefruits. Hail larger than baseballs fell as far southwest as Sterling. Two weak tornadoes also occurred, but caused little additional damage.

1987
A heat wave persisted in central California. Afternoon highs of 100°at Fresno, CA and 102° at Sacramento, CA were records for the date.

1988
Unseasonably warm weather prevailed in the western U.S. Several cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Phoenix, AZ with a reading of 106° and Pendleton, ORwith 92°.

1989
Showers and thunderstorms associated with a low pressure system stalled over New York State and drenched Portland ME with 4.50 inches of rain in 24 hours. Rainfall totals of 5 to 7 inches soaked the state of Maine over a four day period causing $1.3 million dollars damage.

1990
Thunderstorms produced severe weather from eastern Texas and the Central Gulf Coast States into Missouri and Illinois. Thunderstorms spawned 6 tornadoes, including one which injured four people at Doloroso, MS. Thunderstorms also produced hail three inches in diameter west of Vicksburg, MS, and wind gusts to 83 mph in southern Illinois, north of Vevay Park and at the Coles County Airport. High winds and heavy rain caused $1.6 million dollars crop damage in Calhoun County, Illinois, and in southeastern Louisiana, Saint Joseph was deluged with 8 inches of rain.

1997
A weak but impressive looking tornado developed over downtown Miami, FL and moved straight across parts of the city. Four people received minor injuries.

1998
The last gasp of El Nino brought rare rain to San Diego, CA and rained out the first Padres game in Mission Valley in over 15 years. Further north, snow fell in the higher elevations. Lodgepole received 17 inches and 13.3 inches fell at Grant Grove.

2000
Slow moving thunderstorms dropped several inches of rain on already saturated ground during the morning hours across western New York State.

Later that day, thunderstorms rolled across the Niagara Peninsula and then along the Lake Ontario shore counties. Only small hail was reported with the storms, however the storms produced hurricane-force winds. A 86 mph wind gusts was recorded at the Niagara Coast Guard Station in Youngstown along with two inches of rain. The high winds buffeted the area taking down trees and power lines. A State-of-Emergency was declared in Youngstown where over 100 trees and many more branches were down in the small community. Various communities reported power outages of 12 hours or more. In Irondequoit, Monroe County, Kings Highway and Bayview Road caved in as a result of erosion.

Severe thunderstorms procued hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter from Eureka to Roanoke, causing $300,000 damage to 100 cars. This was part of a cluster of severe thunderstorms, producing hail in a large area from the Illinois River to the Indiana border. 

2002
Typo by the forecasters at the NWS State College PA in the daily Severe Weather Outlook: THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER OVER CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA LATER TODAY...THE MAIN TREAT WILL BE STRONG WINDS AND DAMAGING HAIL.
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 May 13th:

1866
A tornado destroyed a toll bridge near Barnet, VT.

1908
An F4 tornado ripped through Gilliam, Bolinger, and Belcher, LA.  49 people were killed and 135 were injured.

1922
A mid-afternoon hailstorm dropped hailstones 0.5 inches in diameter at Montpelier, VT. Along the 550 yard wide and 3 to 4 mile long hail swath, ice laid 4 inches deep with local piles up to two feet deep.

1930
A man was killed when caught in an open field during a hailstorm northwest of Lubbock, TX. It was the first, and perhaps the only, authentic death by hail in U.S. weather records.

1943
The latest significant snow, 2 inches or more, for Sioux Falls, SD occurred as 2 inches of snow fell.

1961
A late season storm covered Cheyenne, WY with 10.3 inches of snow.

1975
Severe thunderstorm winds lasting 20-30 minutes damaged over 90 of the 600 planes based at the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. The FAA tower measured winds gusting to 101 mph. Tied down aircraft were ripped from their moorings. The roof of the terminal was slightly damaged, hail was reported and two inches of rain fell in an hour.

Tennis-ball size hail fell at Wernersville, PA. Hail accumulated to a depth of 10 inches.

1980
An F3 tornado ripped directly through the center of Kalamazoo, MI, killing five people, injuring 79, leaving 1,200 homeless and causing $50 million in damage. The tornado passed directly over the American Bank, where a barograph reported a pressure drop of 0.59 inches.

1981
A tornado 450 yards in width destroyed 90% of Emberson, TX. People did not see a tornado, but rather a wall of debris. Homes were leveled, a man in a bathtub was hurled a quarter of a mile, and a 1,500 pound recreational vehicle was hurled 500 yards. Miraculously no deaths occurred.

1982
A thunderstorm dumped 5 inches of rain in less than one hour just south of Platte, SD.  The runoff from the rain was sufficient to move a 54 foot cultivator up against a fence.

15 to 20 inches of snow fell near Ft. Collins, CO.

1985
Widespread severe weather occurred for two days across the state of Oklahoma on the 12th and this date. The city of Moore reported baseball size hail and winds of 70 to 80 mph. Even larger hail fell in south Oklahoma City, with some stones as large as grapefruits. Hail larger than baseballs fell as far southwest as Sterling, in Comanche County. Two weak tornadoes also occurred, but caused little additional damage.

1986
A Kentucky State Trooper’s car was hit by lightning as he was on patrol near Carrolton, TX. The strike burned a hole in the trunk lid and rear tires. The trooper was unhurt.

1987
A cold front brought an end to the early season warm spell in the north central U.S., but not before the temperature at Sioux City, IA soared to a record high of 95°.

Strong southwesterly winds ahead of the cold front gusted to 52 mph at Marais, MI. Evening thunderstorms produced golf ball size hail at Rockford, MN, and wind gusts to 75 mph at Belmond, IA.

1988
Strong winds along a cold front ushering cold air into the northwestern U.S. gusted to 69 mph at Myton, UT. Temperatures warmed into the 80s ahead of the cold front, as far north as Montana.

1989
Thunderstorms developing along a warm front produced severe weather across the southern Plains during the afternoon and night. A thunderstorm at Killeen, TX produced wind gusts to 95 mph damaging 200 helicopters at Fort Hood causing nearly $500 million dollars damage. Another thunderstorm produced softball size hail at Hodges, TX.

A spring storm brought heavy rain and snow to the northern Colorado Foothills.  Denver, CO was soaked with 1 to 2 inches of rain.  In the foothills, Echo Lake received 20 inches of snow.  A 30-ton boulder slid onto a section of I-70 closing the freeway for two hours.

1990
Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front spawned 10 tornadoes from eastern Wyoming to northern Kansas, including seven in western Nebraska.

Thunderstorms forming ahead of a cold front in the eastern U.S. spawned five tornadoes from northeastern North Carolina to southern Pennsylvania.

Thunderstorms over southeast Louisiana deluged the New Orleans area with 4 to 8 inches of rain in five hours during the morning. Over 8 inches of rain poured over Brookhaven and Port Gibson, MS while more than 10 inches of rain were measured at Collins, MS.

1995
  Severe thunderstorms were widespread across the Mississippi Valley from Arkansas northward to Iowa and east to Indiana. 
This outbreak produced tornadoes extending from the Mississippi River near Burlington, IA, to west of Bloomington, IL. Two violent tornadoes, each ranked at F4 intensity, were reported. The first tornado traveled 60 miles from near Fort Madison, IA, to southeast of Galesburg, IL producing over $10 million dollars damage. The second violent tornado traveled 7 miles across Fulton County from Ipava to Lewistown, IL producing $6 million dollars damage. Another strong tornado took a 25 mile path across parts of Fulton, Mason, and Tazewell Counties. The storms also produced softball-size hail south and northwest of Macomb. Five men were injured in Lawrence County, Indiana when lightning struck one of them and traveled to the other four. There were 184 reports of severe weather, including over three dozen tornadoes. A thunderstorm produced a downburst over Grissom AFB in Peru, IN where a wind gust to 136 mph was recorded. Softball sized hail was reported at Terre Haute, IN and at Monte, AR.

1996
Several towns near Tangail in northwest of Dhaka, Bangladesh were leveled by a large tornado that lasted about 20 minutes. The final death toll exceeded 1,000, with 34,000 injuries and 100,000 are left homeless.

1998
A tornado hit Homeland, CA damaging mobile homes. Funnel clouds were observed in Homeland as well and in Moreno Valley. 1.14 inches of rain fell at Santa Ana, the greatest daily total on record for May. 7.9 inches of snow fell at Big Bear Lake, the greatest daily snowfall on record for May.

2001
Two brothers hiking with their family in the Zion National Park in Utah were swept away when flash flooding suddenly struck after a burst of heavy rain. The youngsters were ahead of the rest of their family when they came to a part of the trail that was underwater. They were swept away as they attempted the cross the flooded part of the trail.

2002
Water runoff from storms on the 12th caused a continuation of flooding problems across central and southeast Illinois. Several state highways in southeast Illinois were closed due to flooding. In Jasper County, an elderly woman had to be evacuated from her home due to rising flood waters, and another person had to be rescued after driving into a flooded area. In Effingham County, several motorists drove into flooded roadways and had to be rescued. In Douglas County, several people in Villa Grove had to be evacuated via boat due to rising waters. Near Riverton, a levee breeched on the Sangamon River, flooding nearby farmland. Several water treatment plants around Sangamon County and the power plant in Springfield had to be sandbagged, to prevent flooding of the facilities.

2007
A torrential rainstorm dumped 1.97 inches of rain near the Qumran archaeological site in the Judean desert close to the Dead Sea in Israel. The resulting flash flood drowned four Israeli hikers. The area typically receives about 2 inches of rain each year.
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May 14th:

1686
Gabriel Fahrenheit, inventor of the thermometer was born.

1834
The greatest May snowstorm on record for New England occurred.  The hills around Newbury, VT were covered with up to 24 inches of snow and the higher elevations around Haverhill, NH received up to three feet of snow.

1877
A rare tornado struck Eastport, ME.

1886
43 people were killed as a tornado ripped through Anderson, IN. An F4 twister touched down two miles north of Redkey, IN and lifted five miles north of Celina, OH. Six people were killed, five of them in leveled homes northwest of Celina.

1896
The temperature at Climax, CO fell to -10°.  This is the lowest temperature ever recorded in the United States during the month of May.

1898
A severe hailstorm hit Kansas City, MO. Some hailstones were observed as large as 9.5 inches in circumference. Nearly every home in the eastern and central parts of the city had their south facing windows knocked out. Several injuries resulted from the hail.

1923
An early morning violent F5 tornado cut a 45 mile path of destruction through Howard and Mitchell counties in Texas.  23 people lost their lives and 250 sustained injuries.  The path width of the tornado reached 1.5 miles at one point and entire farms were "wiped off the face of the earth".

1933
The North Atlantic Hurricane Season of 1933 was a busy one. It started on this date as a tropical storm formed. It would not end until after 21 tropical storms and hurricanes had occurred. It was the greatest number of tropical storms and hurricanes in any year up to that time.

1965
High temperature for the day soared to 84° at London, England. It would be the hottest temperature Londoners would see that year, and the earliest date for the annual maximum temperature since at least 1875.

1984
After 55 rainless days at Brownsville, TX, its fourth longest dry stretch ended with .01 inch of rain recorded on this date.

1985
Severe thunderstorms developed in DeWitt County, located between Bloomington and Decatur, and moved northward. The storms produced a wind gust of 73 mph at the Bloomington airport. In the Marshall County town of Wenona, winds up to 100 mph destroyed several barns and farm buildings. LaSalle County had 2 inch diameter hail and 60 mph winds; in Mendota, nearly every building in town sustained some damage.

1986
On this date through the 15th, a spring blizzard whipped Southern Manitoba Canada in knee-deep snow with 50 mph winds. This was considered the worst spring snowstorm in Alberta’s history.

1987
Several cities across the western U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date as unseasonably hot weather made a comeback. The record high of 103°at Sacramento, CA was their ninth in eleven days, and also marked a record seven days of 100 degree heat for the month.

1989
Thunderstorms developing along a stationary front produced severe weather in south central Texas and the Southern High Plains Region during the afternoon and evening hours. Thunderstorms produced softball size hail at Spearman and Hitchcock, TX.

Lightning struck and killed two softball players in Randolph, NY, as they sought shelter from a thunderstorm under a tree. Four other players who had also run under the tree were treated for shock and minor injuries.

1990
Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front produced severe weather from northwest Texas to western Missouri. Severe thunderstorms spawned 17 tornadoes, including 9 in Texas. Four tornadoes in Texas injured a total of 9 people. Thunderstorms in Texas also produced hail 4 inches in diameter at Shamrock, and hail 4.5 inches in diameter near Guthrie. Thunderstorms over northeastern Kansas produced more than 7 inches of rain in Chautauqua County over a three hour period during the late evening hours.

1991
Baseball size hail damaged cars, broke windows and skylights, and did extensive roof damage at Knox City, TX. A tornado was sighted eight miles west of Knox City.

1998
A severe thunderstorm, with some hailstones up to 9.5 inches in circumference, pounded a four mile wide path across Kansas City, MO. South-facing windows were broken in nearly every house in central and eastern parts of the city, and several persons were injured. An even larger hailstone was thought to have been found, but it turned out to be a chunk of ice tossed out the window of a building by a prankster.

2001
A storm stalled south of Nova Scotia drenching Halifax with 3.89 inches, the greatest daily May rainfall since records began in 1871.

2007
Severe thunderstorms producing large hail, very heavy rain and tornadoes impacted the urban corridor and the adjacent Plains.  Heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm caused flooding along a small tributary draining into the South Platte River.  A child drained in the floodwaters. 

2008
Winds gust up to 62 mph wreaked havoc across Quebec, Canada. An 18-wheeler was one of six tractor-trailers pushed over on its side near Beloeil.
 The Montreal transit authority decided against running buses in the reserved lane on the Champlain Bridge. Winds also caused significant property damage in Ste-Julie, uprooting hundreds of trees and leaving a trampoline dangling from power lines. The strong winds cut electricity to 70,000 customers.
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 May 15th:

1834
The Northern Atlantic Coast States were in the midst of their greatest May snowstorm on record. The hills around Newbury, VT were covered with two to three feet of snow.

1896
A tornado with F5 intensity struck Sherman, TX killing 73 people; 60 of them in downtown. Tornado victims were found as far as 400 yards away from their original location. A trunk lid was carried 35 miles by the twister.

1949
A violent F4 tornado moved through Amarillo, TX. The tornado tracked through the Amarillo Airport and damaged or destroyed 45 aircraft. Seven people were killed and 82 were injured. Damage was set at $4.8 million dollars.

1951
On this date through the 24th, Hurricane Able does loop-the-loop north of the Bahamas and reaches Category 3 strength off Cape Hatteras, NC.

1957
An F4 tornado killed 20 people at Silverton, TX. A 5,000 pound gasoline storage tank was reportedly carried 1.5 miles and dropped into a lake. Local residents said the tornado "looked like red sand, boiling and rumbling".

1966
The NIMBUS II satellite was launched on this date. NIMBUS I had malfunctioned and was never operational. The arrival on the scene of the NIMBUS satellites eliminated the threat of tropical cyclones striking without warning ever again. Polar orbiting satellites, the NIMBUS series gave meteorologists worldwide coverage at least once per day.

1968
A tornado outbreak occurred across Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa and Arkansas.  Charles City, IA was devastated by an F5 tornado with 13 people killed, 337 homes destroyed and $30 million dollars damage. The tornado continued to the northeast hitting Elma and it caused another $1.5 million in damages. From there the tornado turned to the north and dissipated south of Chester, 4 miles south of the Minnesota border. Nearly 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Another F5 tornado moved north-northeast from southwest of Oelwein to Maynard and east of Randalia in Fayette County, IA. Homes were leveled and swept away in both Oelwein and Maynard. The warning sirens sounded for only 15 seconds before power failed in Oelwein. Nearly 1,000 homes were damaged or destroyed along the path, and 34 people had to be hospitalized. Almost 1,000 families were affected. Damage was $21 million. In addition to these F5 tornadoes, an F2 tornado touched down 6 miles south of Cresco, IA. Two weak F1 tornadoes touched down in Dodge County, Minnesota and F1 tornadoes occurred in Fillmore and Chickasaw Counties in Minnesota. 

During a 55 minute span, six tornadoes moved through De Witt County, Illinois. The primary damage zone occurred in the northern part of the county from Waynesville to Farmer City, with the most severe damage in Wapella. Four people were killed and 56 injured in the Wapella and Waynesville areas. This outbreak was one of 3 which moved across central Illinois that day. A tornado causing F3 damage was responsible for 4 deaths and 60 injuries in St. Clair County in Illinois. Besides the tornadoes, a large area of 7 to 10 inches of rain fell in parts of DeWitt, Macon, Piatt, and Champaign Counties.  

An F4 tornado tracked through Jackson, Craighead, and Mississippi Counties in Arkansas, killing 35 people and injuring 361. 164 homes in Jonesboro were destroyed. 

A tornado touched down southwest of Anchorage AK. It was the second of just three tornadoes reported in Alaska since 1950.

1972
The worst ice jam flooding on record took place along the Kuskokwim River and Yukon River in Alaska. It was the first time since 1890 the two rivers "flowed as one". The towns of Oscarville and Napaskiak were completely inundated.

1981
Heavy thunderstorms over a week long period triggered severe landslides on the Indonesian island of Java. 500 people were killed and 3,300 were left homeless.

1985
Marion, NC received 6 inches of rain in just one hour.

1987
Unseasonably warm weather returned to the north central U.S. Several cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Jamestown, ND with a reading of 96°.

The monsoon made an early visit to the southwest. Thunderstorms produced 5 inches of rain south of Bicknell, UT and 0.20 inches at Mt. Laguna, CA.

1988
Thunderstorms in Oklahoma produced wind gusts to 80 mph in Oklahoma County, and baseball size hail at Pawnee. Hail piled up to a depth of 18 inches was reported south of Pawnee. Hail damage in Oklahoma was estimated at close to $25 million dollars. Thunderstorms in the Upper Midwest produced golf ball size hail around Cleveland, OH, and wind gusts to 83 mph at Angola, IN.

1989
Thunderstorms developing along and north of a stationary front produced severe weather in the south central U.S. Thunderstorms spawned 11 tornadoes and 145 reports of large hail or damaging winds. Softball size hail caused $2.1 million dollars damage at Sherman, TX.

1990
Thunderstorms produced severe weather from the Central Plains to Indiana and western Kentucky. Thunderstorms spawned 15 tornadoes and 165 reports of large hail or damaging winds. A tornado killed one person, injured a dozen others, and caused $4 million dollars damage at Stillwater, OK. The storm heavily damaged two apartment complexes, and severely damaged or destroyed 83 homes. Another tornado injured 8 people at Foyil, OK. Thunderstorms in Oklahoma also produced wind gusts to 92 mph at Oologah Lake, and softball size hail at Canton and north of Oakwood.

1991
A series of slow moving thunderstorms moved over Bennett County in South Dakota. Not only did 5 to 6 inches of rain fall in the Martin and Tuthill area, but marble to golf ball size hail fell for an extended period of time. So much hail fell that it actually piled into drifts as high as 6 feet. 

A flash flood threatened 16 children and 3 adults on a field trip in Little Grand Canyon, in southern Illinois' Shawnee National Forest. While trying to escape the rising waters, a teacher and three children fell into a creek and were swept downstream about a mile. They were later rescued by helicopter.

There were 16 tornadoes on the ground for short periods of time, all within 10 miles of Garden City, KS.  No damage was reported. In west central Kansas five small tornadoes formed in Wichita and western Scott counties within a few minutes of each other. 

These tornadoes were fairly weak.

At least five tornadoes struck the western and northwestern parts of Texas. The strongest tornado was sighted near Laverne, which was rated as an F3. The tornado was 800 to 900 yards wide, and its path was 11.5 miles long. Three injuries resulted in the Laverne area. This storm also produced hail the size of grapefruits.

Beckley, WV tied their May record high with a reading of 85°.

1995
Strong to severe thunderstorms moved across southwest Kansas during the evening hours. A tornado developed near Charleston with three minor injuries reported when a modular home was destroyed. There was other damage to several barns, sheds,

trees, fences, and five pivot sprinklers. About 5 miles north of Charleston and Ingalls strong thunderstorm winds gusting to over 100 mph snapped off 150 power poles and 40 pivot sprinklers were damaged or destroyed, along with trees and fences.

Lodgepole and Grant Grove, MT received 5 inches of snow.

2003
Thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding in the foothills of central Boulder County in Colorado. Rainfall ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 inches in less than two hours. Water ranging in depth from 6 to 9 inches covered state highway 119 in Boulder Canyon.
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 May 16th:
The highest average annual wind speed at any recording station in the United States is on Mt. Washington, NH where the average wind speed is 35 mph. 
Mt. Washington once averaged winds at 128 mph for an entire day and 70 miles an hour for a month!

1874
The Mill Creek disaster occurred west of Northhampton, MA. Dam slippage resulted in a flash flood which claimed 143 lives, and caused a million dollars property damage.

1876
A lightning bolt exploded at the schoolhouse and knocked down nearly a dozen students playing in the schoolyard killing one boy at Rondeau, Ontario Canada.

1883
A three-day flood was in progress throughout the Black Hills of South Dakota which resulted in damages over one million dollars in the Rapid City area.

1898
At least 20 waterspouts were spawned by a huge cumulonimbus cloud off of Eden, New South Wales Australia. The first was estimated to be 30 times as high as a clipper ship. 

1899
A tornado causing F4 damage moved east northeast from 3 miles northwest of Greeley in Delaware County, Iowa to northwest of Colesburg into Clayton County, Iowa. At least five farms were hit. The tornado narrowed to only 75 yards near Colesburg and swept away all buildings including homes on three of the farms. Two people were killed in one family and four others may have died later. Four men were caught in the one mile from Colesburg and two of them were killed as they looked for shelter. A tombstone of some kind was reportedly carried for two miles. This tornado killed 4 people, all in Clayton County and injured 14 others.

1924
The temperature at Blitzen, OR soared to 108° to set a state record for the month of May. The record was later tied at Pelton Dam on the 5/31/1986.

1943
A late season storm brought 10 inches of snow to Cheyenne, WY.

1946
A severe hailstorm at San Antonio, TX caused $5 million dollars damage and injured 20 people.

1952
High winds struck the Wasatch Canyon of Utah. Ogden and Brigham City had wind gusts to 80 mph while Hill Air Force Base gusted to 92 mph. Damage was estimated at $1 million dollars.

1968
A tornado skipped for 45 miles from south of Wabash to New Haven, IN. A woman was killed when her mobile home was blown across a highway and demolished. New Haven was hardest hit with 15 homes damaged. Planes were damaged at the Wabash Airport.

1983
A very strong spring storm dumped heavy snow across the Front Range in Colorado.  Strong winds of 20 to 40 mph with gusts to 55 mph produced blizzard conditions at times. The Foothills received 1 to 2 feet of snow with 4 to 12 inches along the Foothills.  Blowing snow whipped the snow into drifts several feet deep closing schools and highways. Power outages occurred; with 20 square miles of Denver blacked out.  Hundreds of passengers were stranded as only half of runways were open at Stapleton International Airport. The high temperature at Denver the next day of just 40° set a record low maximum. Much of the snow melted on the 18th as temperatures rebounded into the middle and upper 50s causing widespread street flooding. 

Three people drowned along Florida Panhandle beaches as a cold front with strong winds pushed through the area, bringing rough surf and heavy swells. A tornado struck a warehouse and hanger area at the Tallahassee Municipal Airport, demolishing one hanger. Six people were temporarily trapped inside the hanger when a live fallen power

line blocked their escape. The tornado continued along a west to east path, touching down several more times, damaging some mobile homes, and hurling a bus onto a car. A tornado demolished several farm buildings about 3 miles south of Sanderson. Light metal roofing was blown over 100 yards.

1987
It was a summer-like day as thunderstorms in Texas drenched Guadalupe County with more than 3 inches of rain resulting in flash flooding.

Las Vegas, NV recorded 0.83 inches of rain which was the greatest one day total in May.

1988
Afternoon and evening thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front produced severe weather from Florida to New York State.

Unseasonably warm weather prevailed in the north central U.S. Record highs included: Havre, MT: 95°, Great Falls, MT: 92°, Billings, MT: 91°, Sheridan, WY: 87° and Lander, WY: 86°.

1989
Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front produced severe weather in the south central U.S. Thunderstorms spawned 20 tornadoes, and there were 180 reports of large hail and damaging winds. A tornado at Cleburne, TX, caused $30 million dollars damage. A violent F4 tornado touched down near Brackettville, TX, and a strong F3 tornado killed one person and injured 28 others at Jarrell, TX. Thunderstorms also produced softball size hail at Shamrock, TX.

1990
Thunderstorms produced severe weather from eastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas to the Upper Ohio Valley. Thunderstorms spawned 17 tornadoes, including one which killed one person and injured another north of Corning, AR. There were 128 reports of large hail or damaging winds. Strong thunderstorm winds killed one person and injured six others at Folsomville, IN, and injured another five people in southeastern Hardin County, Kentucky. In Arkansas, baseball size hail was reported near Fouke and near El Dorado.

1991
At least 6 tornadoes struck parts of northeastern Oklahoma. The strongest rated an F2, struck Catoosa, causing an estimated $130,000 dollars in damage, but no injuries. Severe thunderstorms produced hail 5 inches in diameter at Wichita, KS.

1992
This was a wild day across the tri state region of Nebraska, South Dakota, and Iowa, with tornadoes and very strong straight-line winds. A tornado tore up three grain bins and two farm wagons in Cedar County in northeast Nebraska before crossing into Dixon County. As it traveled east, it destroyed two barns and a garage, and was responsible for killing between 5,000 and 10,000 chickens at a chicken farm. In northwest Iowa, Sioux City reported winds of around 60 mph causing some minor damage. Elsewhere, winds gusted as high as 75 mph in Spencer and 74 mph in Le Mars.

Parts of the Tanana valley and Upper Yukon Valley in Alaska continued to experience their most prolonged period of snowy weather since before the pioneers arrived around the turn of the century.  In the previous 24 hours, 4.5 inches of snow fell at Denali National Park and 3 inches fell at Manley Hot Springs.  Already this was by far the snowiest May on record in the central Tanana Valley. Where it was not snowing, record cold prevailed.  Bettles fell to 12° and Northway dipped to 13°.  Both of these readings set new records for the coldest temperatures for so late in the season.

1995
On this date through the 17th, 6.55 inches of rain fell at St. Louis, MO. This is the fifth greatest 24-hour total amount of precipitation for that location. 5.73 inches of rain fell at Columbia, MO making it the sixth greatest 24-hour total amount of precipitation for that location. With such a large amount of rain, flash flooding was common.

Flash flooding was widespread across central Illinois, as strong thunderstorms moved across the area. 3 to 4 inches of rain fell in just a few hours. Flooding in and around Lincoln produced $2 million dollars damage.

1996
The high of 105° established the record high for the month of May at Dodge City, KS.  This also set a record for the warmest temperature recorded for so early in the year.  Other daily record highs included: Amarillo, TX: 103°, Lubbock, TX: 102°, Wichita Falls, TX: 100°, Pueblo, CO: 98°, Scottsbluff, NE: 94°, Goodland, KS: 94°, Denver, CO: 93°, Albuquerque, NM: 93°, North Platte, NE: 93°, Colorado Springs, CO: 90°, Cheyenne, WY: 86° and Alamosa, CO: 83°.

Heavy rain on top of snow caused the Merced River to flood in Yosemite Valley, CA. Over $2 million dollars in flood damages occurred.

1997
Sioux Falls, SD rose from a record daily low of 33° to a record tying high of 91°; only one of a handful of cities ever to have a record high and low in the same calendar day.  Other record highs across the country included Phoenix, AZ: 106°, downtown San Francisco, CA: 94° and Hastings, NE: 91°. Meanwhile, record low temperatures were recorded across the Midwest, Southeast and Plains, including Lexington, KY: 33° and Louisville, KY: 35° and Cincinnati, OH: 32°.

3.2 inches of snow fell at Marquette, MI bringing their seasonal accumulation to 272 inches to establish the all-time record seasonal snow total for Marquette County Airport. The previous record had occurred just the previous winter when 251.4 inches fell. It was also the fifth consecutive day with measurable snow, setting the record for consecutive days with measurable snow during the month of May. While mid-May snow is unusual, it's not the latest in the season it has ever snowed at Marquette. The latest measurable snow there is 0.2 inches on 6/2/1910. The latest date with at least 1-inch of snow is 5/29/1947 with 2.1 inches of snow falling.

1999
As a mother and daughter were driving to a more substantial shelter from their mobile home in Logan, IA when a tornado began to overtake their car. They followed the old advice of seeking shelter in a ditch. As they huddled in the ditch, a large piece of farm equipment and a car fell on them, killing the daughter and injuring the mother. Such incidents have caused Meteorologists and safety experts to question the old standard advice of leaving your car to seek shelter in a ditch when a tornado approaches. The most important advice is not to be caught out during a tornado situation.

Lightning struck a home at Rochester, MN blowing a hole in the wall of the kitchen as well as blasting the bark off a tree in the backyard. In addition, the lightning also set off an explosion in a nearby sewer, which damaged three homes and caused a gasoline leak. Several neighborhoods were evacuated. Damage was estimated at $25,000 dollars.

2002
Most rivers across central and southeast Illinois were flooding, due to runoff from heavier rain several days earlier. The Embarras River at Lawrenceville, IL crested at record levels on this date, while the Sangamon River crested from the 14th through this date at 2nd to 3rd highest levels on record. The Illinois River would crest later in the month around the third highest level on record.
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May 17th:

Research on lightning deaths finds that most fatalities occur at the time that the storm appears to be ending.
 During the height of a thunderstorm most people are inside seeking protection from the rain. 
For about a 10 minute period after the rain ends (sometimes longer) and even when it seems that the sun is coming out...lightning can still be quite a threat.
 People begin to head back outdoors and these late lightning strikes prove very dangerous.

1794
An "uncommon frost" in all of New England destroyed crops. The account was published in the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

1883
A three-day flood in the Black Hills of western South Dakota resulted in a million dollars damage at Rapid City.

1887
An early season tropical storm raked Cuba and the Bahamas.

1896
An F5 tornado tracked 100 miles through northeastern Kansas and extreme southeastern Nebraska. Seneca, Oneida, Sabetha, and Reserve, Kansas sustained severe damage.  While passing through Reserve the tornado was 2 miles wide. 25 people were killed and 200 were injured. Damage was estimated at $400,000 dollars.

1935
Snow fell in the central Netherlands, the latest in the spring that snow has been observed here.

1949
A severe dust storm struck Hanford ahead of an approaching cold front. This front helped to produce showers that resulted in hefty precipitation totals across parts of the Sierra in a short time period. The Wishon Power House recorded 2 inches of rain in just 15 minutes. A small tornado also occurred about 10 miles northwest of Fresno causing unspecified damaged. Las Vegas, NVrecorded 0.01 inches of rain. This was the only time measurable rain has fallen on this day.

1974
SMS-1, the first geosynchronous weather satellite, was launched.

1977
Several homes caught fire during an early morning thunderstorm accompanied by a violent lightning display that moved across Crystal Lake, IL. Lightning struck a home under construction causing extensive fire damage. Fire caused by lightning also brought entire destruction to a garage at the same location. 

1979
Hawaii recorded its coldest temperature ever. Mauna Kea Observatory, at 13,770 feet above sea level dropped to 12°. Hawaii is the only state in the United States that has not recorded below zero temperatures.

1980
Thunderstorms dumped 16 inches of rain in a 24 hour period at Lake Charles, LA.

1983
A golfer playing the Fox Meadows Course in Memphis, TN was struck by a bolt of lightning that went through his neck, down his spine, came out a pocket containing his keys, and went into a nearby tree. Miraculously, he survived.

1987
A summer-like weather pattern continued, with warm temperatures and scattered thunderstorms across much of the nation. A cold front in the north central U.S. produced a sharp contrast in the weather across the state of Minnesota during the afternoon. At the same time, Duluth was 50° with rain and fog, Mankato was 95° with sunny skies.

1988
Thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds over the Carolinas during the afternoon and evening. A "thunderstorm of a lifetime" in northern Spartanburg County, SC produced hail for 45 minutes, leaving some places up to knee-deep.

1989
Thunderstorms ravaged the south central U.S. with severe weather for the third day in a row. Thunderstorms spawned another 19 tornadoes, for a total of 50 tornadoes in three days. A strong F2 tornado injured 14 people and caused $2 million dollars damage at Apple Springs, TX. Baseball size hail was reported at Matador, TX.

1990
Thunderstorms developing along a cold front produced severe weather in New York State during the late morning and afternoon. A tornado injured one person at Warren, and wind gusts to 80 mph were reported at Owego and 61 mph at the airport in Buffalo. Wind damage was reported in Brocton, Buffalo, Brighton, Penfield, Canandaigua, Phelps, Naples, Clyde, West Walworth and Sodus.

Evening thunderstorms over southwest Texas produced wind gusts to 80 mph at Marfa, along with golf ball size hail which accumulated to a depth of 10 inches. Late night thunderstorms over southwest Texas produced up to 7 inches of rain in western Crockett County.

1991
The severe weather that began the previous day persisted into this day producing flash flooding over the western and central parts of Oklahoma. Rainfall accumulations of nearly 9 inches flooded many low lying areas and houses in the Weatherford area. In Kingfisher, flood waters covered 64 square blocks of town, and forced the evacuation of 600 people. The National Guard was called in to help in the evacuation as the flood waters reached 6 to 8 feet deep in a few places. The floods washed out 11 major bridges in Lincoln County.

1996
An F1 tornado touched down 20 miles southeast of Wilmot or 5 miles northwest of Ortonville, MN at Schmidts Landing on Big Stone Lake. The roof was ripped off of a house and a garage wall was blown off its foundation. Three RV's were demolished and a trailer was overturned and destroyed. This tornado moved into Big Stone County and intensified. This tornado became an F3 as it crossed Big Stone Lake from Roberts County, destroying one cabin at the Meadowbrook Resort in the process. It also blew the roof off another cabin, and third cabin was demolished when a tree fell onto it. Several boats on Big Stone Lake were overturned. Approximately 150 buildings sustained damage or were destroyed as the tornado moved northeast across Big Stone County. Southwest of Clinton, a pontoon boat and a camper were destroyed. East of Clinton, a farm lost all buildings with severe damage to their home. Estimated property damage was listed at $1.5 million dollars. A wind gust of 90 mph blew two garage roofs off, destroyed an antenna, blew large trees down, and also a grain dryer was blown down near Dumont, Minnesota. Softball size hail pummeled Charles City, IA. Property damage was estimated at $600,000, with an additional $25,000 in crop damage.

5 to 8 inches of rain fell across northern DeKalb County, Indiana producing widespread flooding. Serious flooding along Fish Creek produced one fatality as someone tried to drive through flood waters and was swept away. Ten inches of rain in six hours gave Antwerp and Bryan, Ohio their worst flooding in 70 years, with $3 million dollars damage.

Outflow winds from collapsing thunderstorms cause gusts to 47 mph at Fresno, CA.

1998
Hail the size of tennis balls pelted Dryden and Fort Francis, Ontario Canada in a 5-minute blitz. Damage to auto glass and house roofs were extensive

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories in Canada made local weather history when the morning temperature dropped to a record low of 15°.

2000
High winds occurred along and east of the Front Range Foothills of Colorado as a deep surface low pressure center formed over the northeast plains of Colorado. Peak winds included: 88 mph at the National Wind Technology Center, 84 mph in Boulder and 80 mph at the National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesa Laboratory. Severe weather was reported over the Plains to the northeast of Denver.

2003
Beginning on this date through the 30th, southern India suffered through a torrid heat wave. The death toll from the two-week heat wave climbed to 637. At least 119 deaths were reported in Nalgonda and 85 in East Godavari where the temperature soared to 117°.

2005
High temperatures soar to 122° in some locations in the Indian state of Orissa.

2009
On this date through the 20th, record rainfall totals occurred across parts of north-central Florida. Bunnell, FL recorded 23.75 inches of rain. Rainfall on the 20th alone totaled 9.27 inches at Jacksonville Naval Air Station and 6.74 inches at Daytona Beach.
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May 18th:

1825
A tornado, said to have crossed the entire state of Ohio smashed into the log cabin settlement of Burlington, northeast of Columbus reportedly destroying the entire town.

1883
The fifth deadliest tornado outbreak on record in Illinois affected the northern and central parts of the state. At least 14 strong to violent tornadoes touched down killing 52 people. The largest death toll from a single tornado was 12, with 50 injuries, from an F4 tornado which moved from near Jacksonville to 5 miles west of Petersburg. This tornado completely destroyed the town of Literberry. Another tornado, which peaked at F4 intensity, killed 11 people and injured 50 along its path from the south edge of Springfield northeast to near Kenney. This particular tornado reportedly drove 10 inch by 12 inch oak timbers 10 feet into the ground. An F4 tornado in far northern Illinois touched down near Capron, and tracked for 17 miles before lifting in far southern Wisconsin. Three people were killed near Alden. Other strong to violent tornadoes affected areas around Grafton, Mt. Olive, Shipman, Mason City, Hillsboro, and Pesotum.

An F4 tornado tracked 20 miles through Kenosha and Racine Counties in Wisconsin.  Eight people were killed and 85 were injured. The tornado made a spectacular exit as a multiple vortex waterspout over Lake Michigan and was described as: "whirling columns of air seemed like great wreaths of smoke, bearing with them spiral columns of water. A half dozen could be seen at a time, then all would disappear and new ones would reform".

1902
An F4 tornado struck the town of Goliad, TX, killing 114 people. No U.S. tornado disaster of similar magnitude has ever occurred further south than this event.

1915
A spring snowstorm began across parts of the east-central Rockies into parts of the west-central Plains. The storm produced 11.8 inches of snow at Scottsbluff, NE by the end of the day with 5 inches of snow recorded at Cheyenne, WY.

1949
Southeast winds up to 40 mph caused blowing sand in the San Joaquin Valley in California that destroyed 2,000 acres of cotton in the Wheeler Ridge area. Near Coalinga, bulldozers had to remove sand that drifted across highways.

1950
100,000 people evacuated as the Red River crested at 30.3 feet above normal at Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada. Flood waters damaged 5,000 homes and buildings.

1951
Developing three days earlier Tropical Storm Able becomes a hurricane north of the Bahamas. Over the next few days “Able” looped around to the north reaching Category 3 intensity on the 21st off Cape Hatteras, NC. “Able” would move eastward becoming extratropical on the 23rd.

1954
The high temperature in Bishop, CA reached 100 degrees. This was the earliest in the year with temperatures reaching 100° or higher.

1960
Salt Lake City, UT received an inch of snow. It marked their latest measurable snowfall on record.

1974
An unusually heavy spring snow fell across the southern Sierra Nevada and the Tehachapis in central California. Some snowfall totals included: Lodgepole: 8 inches, Grant Grove: 4 inches, Tehachapi: 2.3 inches and Glennville: 0.3 inches.

1979
Baseball size hail fell from a severe thunderstorm over Hollis, in Harmon County, Oklahoma. The hail destroyed thousands of windows and damaged most of the roofs in the town. Two people were injured when they were hit by the hail.

1980
Mount St. Helens in Washington erupted, ejecting smoke and ash to a height of 63,000 feet. The smoke plume rose to a height of 80,000 feet. The earth was covered with heavy ash to the immediate northeast and visibility was reduced to under a mile for a downwind distance of 400 miles. The smoke and ash made it to the east coast in three days and around the globe in 19 days. Five deaths resulted and over 2,000 people were evacuated due to mudslides and flooding when the snowpack melted. 

1985
At Newark, NJ, the barometric pressure fell to 29.23 inHg to establish an all-time record low reading for the month of May.

1987
Thunderstorms in Kansas, developing along a cold front, spawned tornadoes at Emporia and Toledo, produced wind gusts to 65 mph at Fort Scott, and produced golf ball size hail in the Kansas City area.

Unseasonably hot weather prevailed ahead of the cold front from the Plains to the East Coast. Locations that reported record highs for the date included: Altus OK: 100°-Tied, Bartlesville, OK: 96°, Tulsa, OK: 94°, Langley AFB, VA: 94°, Pomona, NJ: 93°, Atlantic City, NJ: 93°, Norfolk, VA: 93°, Elizabeth, NC: 93°, Sterling (Dulles Airport), VA: 91°, Oceana, VA: 91°, Waterloo, IA: 90°, Slidell, LA: 90°, Joplin, MO: 90° and Patuxent NAS, MD: 89°-Tied.

1988
Low pressure anchored over eastern Virginia kept showers and thunderstorms over the Middle Atlantic Coast Region. Flash flooding was reported in Pennsylvania. Up to five inches of rain drenched Franklin County, Pennsylvania in 24 hours.

1989
Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front produced severe weather from the Central Gulf Coast States to the Lower Missouri Valley during the day and evening. Thunderstorms spawned 16 tornadoes, and there were 74 reports of large hail and damaging winds.

1990
Thunderstorms produced severe weather in the central U.S. spawning 16 tornadoes, including a dozen in Nebraska. Thunderstorms also produced hail 4 inches in diameter at Perryton TX, wind gusts to 84 mph at Ellis, KS, and high winds which caused nearly $2 million dollars damage at Sutherland, NE. Thunderstorms deluged Sioux City, IA with up to 8 inches of rain, resulting in a record flood crest on Perry Creek and at least $4.5 million dollars damage.

1995
A severe weather outbreak occurred in the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. 86 tornadoes were reported; five F4 intensity. This was one of the largest tornado outbreaks in two decades in Tennessee. 6 people were killed and 65 others injured. Three people were killed at Ethridge TN. A tornado causing F2 damage touched down near Festus, MO causing almost $200,000 dollars in damage.

An F2 tornado touched down on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, one mile south of Cordova in the Kittys Corner area, destroying two homes. The tornado proceeded
through an unpopulated area of Talbot and southwestern Caroline County crossing into Caroline about 4 miles south of Hillsboro, along Tuckahoe Creek. The tornado lifted in Martinak State Park, just south of Denton, 3 miles NE of Williston.

Boston, MA finally hit 70°; the latest in the spring that 70 degrees or higher occurred there.

1997
A strong thunderstorm produced a wet microburst and two tornadoes at Apple Valley, CA. Winds were estimated at 130 to 140 mph. The winds caused structural damage and downed power lines caused fires. 

Goshen, INwas hard-hit by 75 mph winds that knocked over many trees and did some roof damage. A 93 mph wind gust was recorded at Michiana Regional Airport in South Bend, IN. Roof and tree damage occurred in Berrien County. A woman was injured in Hillsdale when wind blew her trailer over. 67 mph winds blew through Ridgeville Corners, Ohio. A tree killed a man in Ottawa, OH when it fell on his car.

2000
A series of thunderstorms formed and moved over a two county area of east central Illinois, over a two and a half hour period. Over $4 million worth of damage resulted.   The most intense damage was reported in the Jamaica and Georgetown areas.  Georgetown was hit twice within an hour's time by baseball sized hail. Thousands of cars sustained major hail damage. Also, hundreds of homes and businesses had windows broken out, and siding damaged. In the town of Jamaica, the high school sustained an estimated $300,000 damage. In Pesotum, 11 Illinois State Patrol cars sustained hail damage, totaling $24,000. No injuries were reported. Further north, severe thunderstorms in the Chicago metropolitan area blew down over 1,000 trees in Highland Park, and produced a wind gust of 84 mph at Wheeling. A man in Wilmette was killed when a tree fell on his car.Airline travelers were greatly affected. United Airlines cancelled over 500 flights in and out of O'Hare Airport because of the storms.

2002
An unusually cold airmass for mid-May brought many record lows to the Midwest, Plains and South along with unseasonable snows to the Northeast. Some record lows included: Hibbing, MN: 22°, International Falls, MN: 24°, Houghton, MI: 24°, Fargo, ND: 25°, Grand Forks, ND: 25°, Watertown, SD: 25°, Jamestown, ND: 26°, Bismarck, ND: 26°, Pierre, SD: 26°, Huron, SD: 26°, Minot, ND: 27°, Duluth, MN: 28°, Madison, WI: 28°, Sioux Falls, SD: 30°, Norfolk, NE: 30°, Valentine, NE: 30°, Hill City, KS: 30°, Wausau, WI: 30°, Rockford, IL: 31°, Binghamton, NY: 32°-Tied, Milwaukee, WI: 33°, Moline, IL: 33°, Mansfield, OH: 33°, Worcester, MA: 33°, Bluefield, WV: 33°-Tied, Lincoln, NE: 34°, Sioux City, IA: 34°, Peoria, IL: 34°, Chicago-O'Hare, IL: 34°, Burlington, IA: 35°, Cedar Rapids, IA: 35°, La Crosse, WI: 35°, Quincy, IL: 35°, Akron, OH: 35°, Columbia, MO: 35°, Blue Hill, MA: 35°, Dubuque, IA: 35°-Tied, Des Moines, IA: 36°, Altoona, PA: 36°-Tied, Omaha, NE: 37°, Harrison, AR: 37°, Springfield, MO: 37°, Boston, MA: 37, Pittsburgh, PA: 37°-Tied, Springfield, IL: 38°, Concordia, KS: 39°, Joplin, MO: 39°, St. Louis, MO: 39°, Paducah, KY: 39°, Gage, OK: 40°-Tied, Evansville, IN: 41°, Hobart, OK: 42°, Tulsa, OK: 44°, Memphis, TN: 44°, New York (LaGuardia), NY: 44°-Tied, Childress, TX: 47°, Wichita Falls, TX: 47°-Tied, Memphis, TN: 47°-Tied, Mobile, AL: 53°, Victoria, TX: 57°-Tied and Lake Charles, LA: 57°-Tied.

A late season snow occurred over the Northeast. Prattsville, NY recorded 8 inches. 2.2 inches fell at Albany, NY for its latest measurable snowfall on record. Snow fell as far south as northern Pennsylvania.

2003
On this date through the 20th, the heaviest rainfall in nearly 20 years affected the American Samoan Islands, causing mudslides that killed 4 people. Rainfall at Pago-Pago by the 19th totaled 10.68 inches.

2004
On this date through the 25th, low-pressure brought heavy showers and thunderstorms to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Rainfall amounts exceeded 19.7 inches and caused major flooding. The number of dead and missing reached 3,300.

2009
On this date through the 19th, Edson, Alberta Canada received 10 inches of snow.

Iceland recorded temperatures well above normal. Thingvellir National Park soared to 68°.
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May 19th:

1257
On St. Dunstan's Day, a tornado that traveled from Windsor to St Albans, England was described as a "marvelous sore tempest of weather, the air being darkened on every side from the four corners thereof, and withal chanced such a thunder as few the like had been heard."

1780
Forest fires in Michigan sent smoke across New England, which made the sky as dark at noon as it would have been at night. The darkness caused chickens to roost. People were fearful of divine wrath.

1915
A spring storm came to an end after producing widespread snow. Total snowfall from the storm included: 17.6 inches in Scottsbluff, NE, 8 inches at Cheyenne, WY and 7 inches at Chadron, NE.

1943
Many rivers in central Illinois were affected by record flooding during the month. On the Sangamon River, a record crest of 31.52 feet occurred at Riverton on this date. Downstream, a stage of 33.9 feet at Petersburg on the 20th resulted in large sections of the town being flooded.

1955
Lake Maloya, NMreceived 11.28 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a state record.

1962
A heat wave gripped the East Coast with high temperatures reaching 99° at New York City, 98° at Baltimore, MD and 96° at Philadelphia, PA (all either broke or tied records for the month of May.). Other daily records included: Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: 99°, Newark, NJ: 98°, Concord, NH: 97°, Allentown, PA: 97°, Richmond, VA: 97°, Athens, GA: 97°, Columbus, GA: 97°, Philadelphia, PA: 96°, Atlantic City, NJ: 96°, Roanoke, VA: 96°, Chattanooga, TN: 96°, LaGuardia, NY: 95°, Harrisburg, PA: 95°, Wilmington, DE: 95°, Charlotte, NC: 95°, Raleigh, NC: 95°, Nashville, TN: 95°, Hartford, CT: 94°, Lynchburg, VA: 93°, Knoxville, TN: 93°, Oak Ridge, TN: 93°, Worcester, MA: 92°, Avoca, PA: 92°, Milton, MA: 91°, Bristol, TN: 91°, Caribou, ME: 87° and Buffalo, NY: 86°.

1975
Thunderstorms produced golf ball size hail and wind gusts to 110 mph in parts of Minnesota, between Fridley and Hugo. 50 people were injured. The hail and high winds destroyed 50 mobile homes, and a dozen aircraft, and also destroyed a third of the Brighton Elementary School.

1977

Over a 9 day period, this was the fourth day of a terrible heat in the Chicago, IL area.  Over the 9 day period, the daily high temperature was 90° or higher setting eight high temperature records. The monthly average for those 9 days was 69.3° or about 20 degrees above normal. 

1982
With the ground in Black Hills already saturated from heavy rains the previous week, developing thunderstorms were not a welcome sight on this date. The thunderstorms produced additional heavy rains including 3.58 inches at Spearfish, 3.32 inches at Cheyenne Crossing and 0.82 inches in 12 minutes at Hot Springs. With Flash Flood Warnings in effect for much of the area water came out of the banks of many streams causing widespread damage in the Hills. A diversion Dam broke at Spearfish causing a mud slide to cover some roads. In Deadwood the main water line broke leaving the city temporarily without water. Homes were evacuated at Nisland, Hot Springs, and Bridger. Damage throughout the Black Hills included washed out bridges, flooded basements, several breached dams, and roads completely washed away.

1984
Record rainfall occurred along the Texas coast with 4.22 inches at Beaumont in 6 hours and 6 inches in 8 hours at Port Arthur.

1987
Thunderstorms in Texas produced 13 inches of rain northwest of Lavernia. The heavy rain, along with golf ball size hail, destroyed 80% of the crops in the area, while high winds toppled trees. Golf ball size hail was also reported south of Dallas and around San Antonio. Up to 8 inches of rain drenched Guadelupe County.

1988
Severe thunderstorms in southwest Texas produced hail as large as tennis balls around Midland, with the hail accumulating up to a foot deep. Showers and thunderstorms in the Middle Atlantic Coast Region produced 3.5 inches of rain near Schuylkill, PA.

1989
Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front spawned 10 tornadoes from Illinois to Tennessee during the afternoon and night. Snow, wind and cold prevailed in the Northern Plateau Region and the Northern Rockies. Dixie, ID was blanketed with 9 inches of snow, winds gusted to 87 mph at Choteau, MT, and the temperature at Crater Lake, OR dipped to 11°.

1990
Thunderstorms deluged Hot Springs, AR with 13 inches of rain in 9 hours resulting in a devastating flood. Two waves of water, 4 to 6 feet deep, swept down Central Avenue flooding stores and the famous bathhouses on Bathhouse Row. Water released from Lake Hamilton devastated the area between it and Remmel Dam. The 500 foot Carpenter Dam Bridge across Lake Catherine was completely washed away, as were cabins and mobile homes near the lake, many of which flowed right over the top of Remmel Dam.

A large thunderstorm complex developed over parts of South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota. Severe weather was limited with these storms but they dumped heavy rain causing flash flooding in Crawford, Woodbury and Plymouth Counties in western Iowa. On one farm near Denison in Crawford County, about 100 hogs were killed as 8 to 10 feet of water flooded a barn from 3.50 inches of rain in just over an hour. Damage in Crawford County was estimated at $2 million dollars. In Plymouth County, two to four inches of rain caused extensive flooding, especially to basements. But the most serious flooding occurred in the Sioux City area. Four to eight inches of rain fell causing a record flood crest on the Perry Creek. The creek crested about seven feet over flood stage causing the evacuation of about 1,000 homes. 526 homes sustained damage along with 86 businesses causing $4.5 million dollars in damage.

1997
A southern California radio station reported that more than 20 homes were flooded in Twentynine Palms from heavy thunderstorm rains. Also, the flooding closed Route 62 for about 10 hours due to mud and debris across the road. Damage was estimated at $200,000 dollars.

Washington, DC tied a record with a high of 96°.

2001
Drivers faced blackout conditions, as the wind whipped topsoil off farmers' fields over the roads, reducing visibility between Red Deer and Calgary Alberta Canada. A blinding wall of soil contributed to a 15-car pileup near the town of Carstairs. Two hours later, a freak snowstorm pounded Calgary, changing blackouts to whiteouts.

2002
Key West, FL recorded 4.02 inches of rain in 24 hours as a slow moving band of storms lingered over the area. Their average May precipitation is 3.31 inches.

Snowflakes flew across Lower Michigan as record cold weather prevails. Record lows include the 26° at Lansing, 29° at Muskegon and 30° at Grand Rapids. The freezing temperatures cause heavy losses to orchards across western Lower Michigan. Meanwhile on the same day Fairbanks, AK reached 77°.

2004
Two tornadoes struck southwestern Ontario Canada within minutes of each other and just a few miles apart. One touched down at Gads Hill, near Stratford, likely the strongest to hit Ontario in 8 years. The other hit near the town of Mitchell.

A tropical cyclone swept through western Myanmar with winds of up to 105 mph, leaving at least 140 people dead and 18,000 people homeless.

2007
Heavy rainfall caused severe flooding and landslides that affected more than 600 people and kill at least 13 in the AntioquiaProvince in Colombia, South America. Hardest hit were the municipalities of Taraza and Valdiva.

2008
Even by American desert standards, the searing heat is one for the books. Death Valley, CA sizzled at 120° while residents of Phoenix, AZ witnessed the year's first high of 110°.
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May 20th:

1729
A waterspout moved on land at Bexhill, Sussex England and became a tornado. The tornado leveled many buildings along its path of destruction, 12 miles long and on average 380 yards wide.

1857
A dust storm blew all day at Baghdad, Iraq. Then at about 5 pm, a darkness set in "deeper than the darkest night" terrorizing local residents.

1892
Snow and high winds pelted western New England, leaving 10 inches on the ground at Strafford, VT.

1894
A record late snow of 2 to 8 inches whitened parts of central and eastern Kentucky. Lexington, KY received 6 inches of snow.

1916
Codell, KS is hit by a tornado on May 20th for three consecutive years (1916, 1917 & 1918). Each successive one is more damaging. The tornadoes are estimated to be F2, F3 and F4 respectively on the Fujita Scale.

1949
Eight or more tornadoes were involved along an 85 mile long track across the counties of Gray, Ford, Hodgeman and Pawnee. Newspapers in the area used headlines such as Tornado army attacks Kansas to describe the record breaking number of tornadoes, at least 40 that hit the central and western part of the state. No people were killed, but hundreds of animals perished. Four funnels were seen moving northeast about 6 miles northwest of Dodge City. A tornado moved northeast from 7 miles southwest of Coldwater, KS, just missing that town, and ending at Wilmore. The "huge rotating column" sent the entire town of Coldwater running to storm cellars. Most of the $200,000 damage was at Wilmore, as the entire town was torn apart.

This is only one of two days in recorded U.S. history when 100 or more tornadoes occurred. The other was April 3, 1974.

1957
A tornado touched down near Williamsburg, KS and traveled northeast a distance of 71 miles, cutting a swath of nearly total destruction through Kansas City's southern suburbs of Martin City, Ruskin Heights, and Hickman Mills. The tornado, an F4 on the Fujita scale, killed 44 people and injured 531 others. A canceled check from Hickman Mills was found at Ottumwa, IA; 165 miles away. Pilots reported debris at 30,000 feet.

1963
Known as Black Saturday in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, flames from a forest fire moved 9 miles in just 6 hours. The flames would burn for 11 days. Seven people were killed and nearly 1,000 left homeless as more than 200,000 acres burn.

1964
A small outbreak of weak tornadoes swirled across Newbrook, Alberta Canada causing property damage. In one incident, a chimney cap from a hardware store resembled a frisbee as it sailed through a nearby window.

1966
Hilo, HI recorded their hottest day on record when the temperature soared to 94°.

1975
Severe thunderstorms with strong winds pummeled much of northern Illinois during the afternoon and evening hours. Wind gusts to 70 mph were reported at the Greater Rockford Airport. These storms also dropped golf ball size hail and strong winds caused widespread damage across northern Illinois. The city of Dwight suffered major damage as 80 mph winds ravaged the town for 10 straight minutes and gusts to 90 mph were recorded. Roofs were blown off homes and businesses and seven mobile homes were demolished. A tractor trailer was blown on its side and several cars were blown off a highway. Heavy rain caused widespread flooding of expressways, viaducts and basements in the Chicago area. These storms killed one person and injured 12 others.  

1982
2.5 inches of rain fell in just 30 minutes at Milford, OH, a suburb of Cincinnati.

1985
Brush fires near Fort Myers, FL resulted in the evacuation of a hospital and several homes.

1987
Thunderstorms in southern Texas produced grapefruit size hail, near the town of Dilley, and produced wind gusts to 73 mph at Lake Amistad. The large hail broke windows and damaged watermelon crops.

Thunderstorms developing along a warm front produced severe weather from Indiana to the Dakotas. Thunderstorms produced baseball size hail at Denver, IA, and wind gusts to 80 mph in southern Henry County, Illinois.

1988
Thunderstorms in the south central U.S. produced wind gusts to 70 mph at Omaha, NE, and wind gusts to 80 mph at Midland and Dallas, TX.

Temperatures in California soared into the 90s and above 100 degrees. San Jose, CA reported a record high of 97°.

1989
Pre-dawn thunderstorms produced large hail in eastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas. Later in the morning thunderstorms in North Carolina produced dime size hail at Hanging Dog. Thunderstorms also produced severe weather from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the Central Plains Region later that day and night, with baseball size hail reported around Lawn, Novice and Eola, TX.

1990
Thunderstorms produced severe weather across the southeastern quarter of the nation through the day and night. Severe thunderstorms spawned 6 tornadoes, including one which injured two people at Algoma, MS and another which injured 9 people at Rogersville, MO. There were 119 reports of large hail or damaging winds. Thunderstorms produced baseball size hail at Houston, MO and damaging winds which killed one person at Toccoa, GA.

 
Nearly 13 inches of rain fell in just 9 hours at Hot Springs, AR. A wall of water 4 to 6 feet high roared though the city. Cars, many occupied, were seen floating down Central Avenue. 85 people had to be rescued from flooded cars and buildings.

Very large hail fell from severe thunderstorms over the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The northern and western parts of the city were the hardest hit, as hail up to grapefruit size pounded the area. The hail broke windows and damaged roofs, resulting in about $50 million in damage. Heavy rain made matters worse. Severe flash flooding hampered cleanup efforts after 5 to 7 inches of rain fell.

1996
Bridgeport, CT soared to 97° for its hottest temperature on record in May. Washington, D.C. set a daily record high of 96°.

1997
Up to 1 million people were left homeless by a cyclone with winds of 145 mph that struck Bangladesh, killing 46 people. About a third of the casualties were reported in the port city Chittagong, Bangladesh's second largest city. Tidal surges 6 feet high covered islands and crops while winds toppled trees. Since 1970, such storms have left an estimated 1.5 million people dead.

The rainfall total for the year at Victoria, TX stood at a whopping 34.69 inches, nearly 30 inches above 1996's January to May total of 4.81 inches and very near the normal rainfall for the entire year.

1999
A devastating cyclone, packing winds of up to 170 mph and a high storm surge, struck the Sindh Province in southern Pakistan. 600 villages were devastated and more than 400 people perished.

2001
Damaging winds developed behind a vigorous cold front that moved south from Wyoming into northern Colorado.  High winds gusted to 58 mph at Denver International Airport downing trees and power lines, and kicked up blowing dust, dirt and debris reducing visibility to near zero at times.  The poor visibility caused a multi-vehicle accident north of Fort Lupton.  Several vehicles including semi-trailers were blown off of I-70 east of Denver.  Peak wind gusts included 68 mph near Parker and 63 mph near Sedalia.  Many customers in and around Denver were without power and at least a dozen flights were diverted to other airports.  After the frontal passage, temperatures plunged from the low 70’s to the mid 30’s in just one hour as light snow developed.  Heavy snow fell in the foothills during the evening.  Snowfall totals included: 7 inches near Blackhawk & Ken Caryl Ranch, 6 inches at Coal Creek Canyon, Eldorado Springs and atop Lookout Mountain, 5 inches at Chief Hosa, Louisville, Rollinsville and Wheat Ridge and 4 inches at Aurora, Bailey, Parker, Castle Rock and near Morrison.  The low temperature of 31 the next morning tied a record low for the date.

2002
A cold wave across the eastern and central U.S. led to many cities recording record low temperatures for this day. Among them was Hartford, CT where the low of 31° was the latest in the season below freezing temperatures have been recorded. This cold wave began two days earlier with 54 record daily lows set, followed by another 96 on the 19th.

A significant late-season snow event occurred in the Sierra Nevada lasting through the next day.  The storm brought 24 inches of snow to Volcanic Knob, CA, 21 inches at Pascoes, CA and 20 inches at Huntington Lake, CA.  On the same day, an F1 tornado demolished a small farm structure and peeled roofs off other structures and downed trees and fences near Madera.  North of Madera, hail as large as 1.75 inches in diameter fell damaging fruit and vegetable crops.
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