Snow event in United States, 19 to 26 May 2021

Name: Snow event in United States, 19 to 26 May 2021
Start: 2021-05-19
End: 2021-05-26
Location: United States

Snow event in United States, 19 to 26 May 2021: 183 records at 67 stations, peak on 21 May 2021. Closed.

Data as of 2026-10-17. Last revised 17 October 2026 (2026-10-17).

Key Facts

Snow event in United States, 19 to 26 May 2021 set or tied 183 station records at 67 stations.
It ran from 19 May 2021 to 26 May 2021 (8 days) and its peak day was 21 May 2021.
Status: closed.
Ft Benton set a daily record snowfall of 15.0 cm (5.9 in) on 21 May 2021.
The busiest day was 21 May 2021 with 78 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 127 years.

Footprint

19 to 26 May 2021

The area covered by Snow event in United States, 19 to 26 May 2021 is outlined, with 14 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.

Footprint of Snow event in United States, 19 to 26 May 2021: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Ft Benton	Record daily snowfall	15.0 cm (5.9 in)	2021-05-21
Choteau	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	2021-05-22
Bynum 4 SSE	Record daily snowfall	15.7 cm (6.2 in)	2021-05-21
Goldbutte 7 N	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	2021-05-21
Holter Dam	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	2021-05-20
Fairfield	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	2021-05-20
Big Timber	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	2021-05-21
Loma	Record daily snowfall	13.5 cm (5.3 in)	2021-05-21
Chinook	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	2021-05-21
Dunkirk 19NNE	Record daily snowfall	6.6 cm (2.6 in)	2021-05-21
Lake Yellowstone	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	2021-05-23
Great Falls AP	Record daily snowfall	8.1 cm (3.2 in)	2021-05-21
Sun Rvr 4 S	Record daily snowfall	10.7 cm (4.2 in)	2021-05-22
Dillon AP	Record snow depth	8.0 cm (3.1 in)	2021-05-23

Records per Day

Peak day 78

Records set or tied each day from 19 May 2021 to 26 May 2021. The most in one day was 78 on 21 May 2021.

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Snow event in United States, 19 to 26 May 2021 ranked by margin
Goldbutte 7 N, 05-21	22.9 cm (9.0 in)
Choteau, 05-22	20.3 cm (8.0 in)
Choteau, 05-21	17.8 cm (7.0 in)
Bynum 4 SSE, 05-21	15.7 cm (6.2 in)
Choteau, 05-20	15.2 cm (6.0 in)
Ft Benton, 05-21	15.0 cm (5.9 in)
Choteau, 05-20	14.0 cm (5.5 in)
Loma, 05-21	13.5 cm (5.3 in)
Goldbutte 7 N, 05-21	11.4 cm (4.5 in)
Sun Rvr 4 S, 05-22	10.7 cm (4.2 in)
Fairfield, 05-20	10.2 cm (4.0 in)
Bynum 4 SSE, 05-20	10.2 cm (4.0 in)
Holter Dam, 05-20	8.9 cm (3.5 in)
Holter Dam, 05-23	8.9 cm (3.5 in)
Great Falls AP, 05-21	8.1 cm (3.2 in)

Margin is how far the new value is beyond the record it replaced. Ties are not shown.

Margin Against Age of the Broken Record

183 records plotted by how far they beat the old record (across) and how many years the old record had stood (up). Long standing records beaten by a wide margin sit in the top right.

Margin against age of the broken record in Snow event in United States, 19 to 26 May 2021
Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
150	121
203	116
140	127
178	116
157	70
152	116
229	116
89	118
89	118
102	92
114	104
76	126
135	71
80	76
66	120
66	108
76	112
81	84
107	79
102	70
51	110
76	103
76	103
51	118
102	118
102	118
51	112
102	116
76	87
76	110
38	108
76	67
63	90
46	112
50	104
150	80
117	60
43	104
56	88
51	90
100	84
25	126
51	110
25	110
152	72
178	72
178	72
51	118
25	73
51	73
80	72
76	91
20	121
54	61
69	79
80	84
101	11
76	70
26	118
76	54
25	112
8	103
56	70
20	99
8	110
25	90
8	99
102	72
101	72
102	72
102	72
102	72
5	108
229	68
127	71
102	72
51	38
38	84
50	72
25	91
25	92
25	92
25	84
76	72
13	91
76	72
51	72
51	84
51	84
76	70
76	72
48	70
50	80
25	80
51	72
3	90
51	72
51	72
51	64
51	64
38	71
38	71
51	72
13	79
51	72
13	84
55	50
56	60
64	17
25	76
38	68
109	34
100	60
100	60
25	72
25	72
25	72
25	71
25	72
51	71
51	68
26	72
25	72
51	68
76	60
46	55
51	52
25	68
51	47
51	64
51	64
25	71
25	71
25	72
89	35
18	68
8	72
25	60
25	68
13	68
101	16
26	35
3	70
26	19
18	62
25	17
26	55
51	44
51	55
25	60
25	60
25	60
25	55
51	52
26	46
25	58
51	36
51	56
64	32
76	11
10	55
51	44
13	19
43	47
41	35
25	0
25	0
48	32
76	34
56	20
46	11
77	19
25	44
51	35
23	19
5	44
51	34
45	14
26	14
26	11
25	26
13	0
26	19

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Snow event in United States, 19 to 26 May 2021 compared with similar events
Snow event in United States, 3 to 27 January 2024	2,190 records
Snow event in United States, 24 November to 22 December 2025	1,539 records
Snow event in United States, 9 to 29 April 2022	1,475 records
Snow event in United States, 27 September to 17 October 2018	1,247 records
Snow event in United States, 26 September to 23 October 2019	1,194 records
Snow event in United States, 19 to 26 May 2021 (this event)	183 records

Every Record Set

20 of 183

Every record set or tied during Snow event in United States, 19 to 26 May 2021, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2021-05-20	Choteau	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	127	64 of 100 (Major)
2021-05-20	Choteau	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	116	59 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-20	Holter Dam	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	118	57 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-20	Fairfield	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	92	56 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-20	Bynum 4 SSE	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	70	50 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-21	Ft Benton	Record daily snowfall	15.0 cm (5.9 in)	15.0 cm (5.9 in)	121	70 of 100 (Major)
2021-05-21	Choteau	Record snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	116	62 of 100 (Major)
2021-05-21	Bynum 4 SSE	Record daily snowfall	15.7 cm (6.2 in)	15.7 cm (6.2 in)	70	61 of 100 (Major)
2021-05-21	Goldbutte 7 N	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	116	58 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-21	Goldbutte 7 N	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	104	56 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-21	Big Timber	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	126	55 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-21	Loma	Record daily snowfall	13.5 cm (5.3 in)	13.5 cm (5.3 in)	71	55 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-21	Chinook	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	6.6 cm (2.6 in)	120	53 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-21	Dunkirk 19NNE	Record daily snowfall	6.6 cm (2.6 in)	6.6 cm (2.6 in)	108	53 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-21	Great Falls AP	Record daily snowfall	8.1 cm (3.2 in)	8.1 cm (3.2 in)	84	52 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-22	Choteau	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	116	66 of 100 (Major)
2021-05-22	Sun Rvr 4 S	Record daily snowfall	10.7 cm (4.2 in)	10.7 cm (4.2 in)	79	51 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-23	Holter Dam	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	118	57 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-23	Lake Yellowstone	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	112	53 of 100 (Notable)
2021-05-23	Dillon AP	Record snow depth	8.0 cm (3.1 in)	8.0 cm (3.1 in)	76	20 of 100 (Routine)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 183 records the event counts. The counts above use the full total.

Related Headlines

Third party news, headline and link only

Download the Data

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Climatology Network Daily (GHCN-Daily). Records are computed by World Extreme Weather Monitor and are not official NOAA products. (US Government open data (NOAA NCEI)) Data as of 2026-10-17. Events are found by this site from station records and are not official designations. Records are provisional until reprocessed.

Date	Records
2021-05-19	1
2021-05-20	40
2021-05-21	78
2021-05-22	43
2021-05-23	17
2021-05-24	2
2021-05-25	1
2021-05-26	1

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
150	121
203	116
140	127
178	116
157	70
152	116
229	116
89	118
89	118
102	92
114	104
76	126
135	71
80	76
66	120
66	108
76	112
81	84
107	79
102	70
51	110
76	103
76	103
51	118
102	118
102	118
51	112
102	116
76	87
76	110
38	108
76	67
63	90
46	112
50	104
150	80
117	60
43	104
56	88
51	90
100	84
25	126
51	110
25	110
152	72
178	72
178	72
51	118
25	73
51	73
80	72
76	91
20	121
54	61
69	79
80	84
101	11
76	70
26	118
76	54
25	112
8	103
56	70
20	99
8	110
25	90
8	99
102	72
101	72
102	72
102	72
102	72
5	108
229	68
127	71
102	72
51	38
38	84
50	72
25	91
25	92
25	92
25	84
76	72
13	91
76	72
51	72
51	84
51	84
76	70
76	72
48	70
50	80
25	80
51	72
3	90
51	72
51	72
51	64
51	64
38	71
38	71
51	72
13	79
51	72
13	84
55	50
56	60
64	17
25	76
38	68
109	34
100	60
100	60
25	72
25	72
25	72
25	71
25	72
51	71
51	68
26	72
25	72
51	68
76	60
46	55
51	52
25	68
51	47
51	64
51	64
25	71
25	71
25	72
89	35
18	68
8	72
25	60
25	68
13	68
101	16
26	35
3	70
26	19
18	62
25	17
26	55
51	44
51	55
25	60
25	60
25	60
25	55
51	52
26	46
25	58
51	36
51	56
64	32
76	11
10	55
51	44
13	19
43	47
41	35
25	0
25	0
48	32
76	34
56	20
46	11
77	19
25	44
51	35
23	19
5	44
51	34
45	14
26	14
26	11
25	26
13	0
26	19

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
150	121
203	116
140	127
178	116
157	70
152	116
229	116
89	118
89	118
102	92
114	104
76	126
135	71
80	76
66	120
66	108
76	112
81	84
107	79
102	70
51	110
76	103
76	103
51	118
102	118
102	118
51	112
102	116
76	87
76	110
38	108
76	67
63	90
46	112
50	104
150	80
117	60
43	104
56	88
51	90
100	84
25	126
51	110
25	110
152	72
178	72
178	72
51	118
25	73
51	73
80	72
76	91
20	121
54	61
69	79
80	84
101	11
76	70
26	118
76	54
25	112
8	103
56	70
20	99
8	110
25	90
8	99
102	72
101	72
102	72
102	72
102	72
5	108
229	68
127	71
102	72
51	38
38	84
50	72
25	91
25	92
25	92
25	84
76	72
13	91
76	72
51	72
51	84
51	84
76	70
76	72
48	70
50	80
25	80
51	72
3	90
51	72
51	72
51	64
51	64
38	71
38	71
51	72
13	79
51	72
13	84
55	50
56	60
64	17
25	76
38	68
109	34
100	60
100	60
25	72
25	72
25	72
25	71
25	72
51	71
51	68
26	72
25	72
51	68
76	60
46	55
51	52
25	68
51	47
51	64
51	64
25	71
25	71
25	72
89	35
18	68
8	72
25	60
25	68
13	68
101	16
26	35
3	70
26	19
18	62
25	17
26	55
51	44
51	55
25	60
25	60
25	60
25	55
51	52
26	46
25	58
51	36
51	56
64	32
76	11
10	55
51	44
13	19
43	47
41	35
25	0
25	0
48	32
76	34
56	20
46	11
77	19
25	44
51	35
23	19
5	44
51	34
45	14
26	14
26	11
25	26
13	0
26	19

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
150	121
203	116
140	127
178	116
157	70
152	116
229	116
89	118
89	118
102	92
114	104
76	126
135	71
80	76
66	120
66	108
76	112
81	84
107	79
102	70
51	110
76	103
76	103
51	118
102	118
102	118
51	112
102	116
76	87
76	110
38	108
76	67
63	90
46	112
50	104
150	80
117	60
43	104
56	88
51	90
100	84
25	126
51	110
25	110
152	72
178	72
178	72
51	118
25	73
51	73
80	72
76	91
20	121
54	61
69	79
80	84
101	11
76	70
26	118
76	54
25	112
8	103
56	70
20	99
8	110
25	90
8	99
102	72
101	72
102	72
102	72
102	72
5	108
229	68
127	71
102	72
51	38
38	84
50	72
25	91
25	92
25	92
25	84
76	72
13	91
76	72
51	72
51	84
51	84
76	70
76	72
48	70
50	80
25	80
51	72
3	90
51	72
51	72
51	64
51	64
38	71
38	71
51	72
13	79
51	72
13	84
55	50
56	60
64	17
25	76
38	68
109	34
100	60
100	60
25	72
25	72
25	72
25	71
25	72
51	71
51	68
26	72
25	72
51	68
76	60
46	55
51	52
25	68
51	47
51	64
51	64
25	71
25	71
25	72
89	35
18	68
8	72
25	60
25	68
13	68
101	16
26	35
3	70
26	19
18	62
25	17
26	55
51	44
51	55
25	60
25	60
25	60
25	55
51	52
26	46
25	58
51	36
51	56
64	32
76	11
10	55
51	44
13	19
43	47
41	35
25	0
25	0
48	32
76	34
56	20
46	11
77	19
25	44
51	35
23	19
5	44
51	34
45	14
26	14
26	11
25	26
13	0
26	19