Weather Records on 21 May 1953

501 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 21 May 1953. Highest significance: Spooner Ag Rsch STN, US.

Key Facts for 21 May 1953

On 21 May 1953, 501 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
233 were record highs and 99 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 16 monthly and 484 daily.
Spooner Ag Rsch STN set a daily record precipitation of 83.8 mm (3.3 in) on 21 May 1953.
Across 156 earlier years (1793 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 460 records.

Record Map

501 stations

501 station records on 21 May 1953 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 21 May 1953: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Spooner Ag Rsch STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	83.8 mm (3.3 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Sarnia	Canada	Record daily precipitation	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Bandon 2 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Luis Gomes	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	96.0 mm (3.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Park Rapids Muni AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Suassurana	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Cloquet	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Ashland Exp Farm	United States	Record daily precipitation	66.3 mm (2.6 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Detroit Lakes 1 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Two Harbors	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Zamora (Obs)	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	42.2 C (108.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Sierraville Rs	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Macon	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Paarl (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.5 mm (1.6 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Mora	United States	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Greenville Wtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Bedford 2 SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Karlsruhe	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	31.9 C (89.4 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Orleans	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Leech Lake	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Forbes (Camp Street)	Australia	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Pemberton Meadows	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	4.4 C (39.9 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Perpignan	France	Record high maximum temperature	33.3 C (91.9 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Wangerooge	Germany	Record daily precipitation	32.4 mm (1.3 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Rest Lake	United States	Record daily precipitation	75.4 mm (3.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Happy Camp Rs	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Delaware 3 WSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Park Falls Dnr HQ	United States	Record daily precipitation	58.7 mm (2.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Superior	United States	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Houston Wb City	United States	Record high minimum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Winter	United States	Record daily precipitation	81.0 mm (3.2 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Patu	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	57.0 mm (2.2 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Kingston Queens U	Canada	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
China Flat	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Hebgen Dam	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Regensburg	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	14.3 C (57.7 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Truxton Canyon	United States	Record high minimum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Maceio (Aeroporto)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Georgetown	Canada	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Coeur D'Alene	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-1.7 C (28.9 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Crystal Springs Exp STN	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.6 C (96.1 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Hebgen Dam	United States	Record low maximum temperature	3.3 C (37.9 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Cairns Post Office	Australia	Record low minimum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Longlac	Canada	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
St Charles Elm Pt	United States	Record high minimum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Bayard 4W	United States	Record high maximum temperature	34.4 C (93.9 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Hatch	United States	Record high minimum temperature	17.8 C (64.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Springer	United States	Record high maximum temperature	33.3 C (91.9 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Graham	United States	Record high minimum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Weyerhaeuser 1N	United States	Record daily precipitation	78.7 mm (3.1 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Walgett Council Depot	Australia	Record low maximum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Daniel de Queiroz (Muxiopo)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Ketty	India	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Astrakan	Russia	Record daily precipitation	37.6 mm (1.5 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Mt Vernon 3 NE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Pana	United States	Record high minimum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
White Hall 1 E	United States	Record high minimum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Ironwood	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.3 mm (2.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Guthrie 5S	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.0 C (95.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Midland 4 ENE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	40.6 C (105.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

501 records

Records set or tied on 21 May 1953 by type: Highest daily maximum 84, Lowest daily maximum 64, Highest daily minimum 149, Lowest daily minimum 35, Heaviest daily rainfall 161, Heaviest daily snowfall 8.

Records on 21 May 1953 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	84
Lowest daily maximum	64
Highest daily minimum	149
Lowest daily minimum	35
Heaviest daily rainfall	161
Heaviest daily snowfall	8
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 21 May 1953 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 16, daily 484.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

371 broken records

Margins by which the 371 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 114.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

21 May 1953

Top 20 records on 21 May 1953 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
21 May 1953	Spooner Ag Rsch STN, US	daily rain	83.8 mm (3.3 in)	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	26 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Sarnia, CA	daily rain	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	27.5 mm (1.1 in)	69 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Bandon 2 NNE, US	daily rain	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	47 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Luis Gomes, BR	daily rain	96.0 mm (3.8 in)	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	7 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Park Rapids Muni AP, US	daily rain	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	35.9 mm (1.4 in)	16 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Suassurana, BR	daily rain	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	4 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Cloquet, US	daily rain	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	26 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Ashland Exp Farm, US	monthly rain	66.3 mm (2.6 in)	14.2 mm (0.6 in)	43 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Detroit Lakes 1 NNE, US	daily rain	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	31.3 mm (1.2 in)	16 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Two Harbors, US	daily rain	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	54 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Zamora (Obs), MX	all-time high max	42.2 C (108.0 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	6 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Sierraville Rs, US	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	43 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Macon, US	daily rain	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	17.0 mm (0.7 in)	52 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1953	Paarl (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	41.5 mm (1.6 in)	12.0 mm (0.5 in)	64 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
21 May 1953	Mora, US	daily rain	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	17.3 mm (0.7 in)	44 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
21 May 1953	Greenville Wtp, US	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	10.9 mm (0.4 in)	55 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
21 May 1953	Bedford 2 SE, US	daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	52 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
21 May 1953	Karlsruhe, DE	daily high max	31.9 C (89.4 F)	2.9 C (5.2 F)	66 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
21 May 1953	Orleans, US	daily rain	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	17.6 mm (0.7 in)	14 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
21 May 1953	Leech Lake, US	daily rain	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	15.7 mm (0.6 in)	32 years	32 of 100 (Routine)

Significance is a score from 0 to 100 combining margin, the age of the old record and the length of the station's record. How it is computed.

The Same Date in Other Years

1793 to 1953

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1953. 1953 had 501 records.

Counts for years before the ledger starts come from the same station rules.

Records on 05-21 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1795	1
1811	1
1837	2
1842	1
1847	2
1854	1
1857	1
1858	1
1865	1
1866	1
1870	2
1875	1
1876	1
1880	2
1882	1
1885	1
1886	2
1887	3
1889	5
1890	3
1891	6
1892	1
1893	1
1894	4
1895	4
1896	5
1897	2
1898	1
1899	5
1900	1
1901	3
1902	4
1903	26
1904	8
1905	7
1906	12
1907	36
1908	13
1909	13
1910	14
1911	87
1912	24
1913	13
1914	26
1915	24
1916	13
1917	76
1918	51
1919	170
1920	39
1921	158
1922	39
1923	125
1924	148
1925	250
1926	221
1927	207
1928	173
1929	247
1930	133
1931	488
1932	343
1933	290
1934	590
1935	190
1936	328
1937	227
1938	348
1939	355
1940	456
1941	525
1942	482
1943	463
1944	310
1945	515
1946	324
1947	485
1948	312
1949	593
1950	403
1951	271
1952	385
1953	501
1954	961
1955	507
1956	409
1957	709
1958	511
1959	684
1960	615
1961	306
1962	553
1963	598
1964	788
1965	238
1966	296
1967	1,022
1968	549
1969	832
1970	449
1971	536
1972	557
1973	493
1974	847
1975	1,160
1976	393
1977	756
1978	575
1979	787
1980	857
1981	1,550
1982	599
1983	1,106
1984	950
1985	610
1986	908
1987	1,242
1988	819
1989	671
1990	947
1991	1,065
1992	1,143
1993	1,197
1994	656
1995	749
1996	1,461
1997	953
1998	1,200
1999	544
2000	897
2001	1,187
2002	2,048
2003	807
2004	898
2005	1,020
2006	810
2007	894
2008	740
2009	1,315
2010	962
2011	959
2012	848
2013	884
2014	522
2015	956
2016	567
2017	780
2018	525
2019	1,668
2020	707
2021	1,131
2022	1,512
2023	794
2024	751
2025	776
2026	356

Download the Data

Data for records on 1953-05-21: CSV or JSON. Field meanings are on the data page.

Sources: 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)) Made with Natural Earth. Public domain map data. Borders are Natural Earth's de facto depiction. Data as of 2026-10-15 (15 October 2026). Records are computed by this site and are not official.

Data as of 2026-10-15. Last revised 15 October 2026 (2026-10-15).

Margin	Records
0 to 20	352
20 to 40	11
40 to 60	5
60 to 80	1
80 to 100	0
100 to 120	2