Weather Records on 18 May 1981

1,218 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 18 May 1981. Highest significance: Fall Rvr Lake, US.

Key Facts for 18 May 1981

On 18 May 1981, 1,218 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
292 were record highs and 549 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 2 were all-time records, 26 monthly and 1,190 daily.
Fall Rvr Lake set a daily record precipitation of 77.0 mm (3.0 in) on 18 May 1981.
Across 164 earlier years (1796 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 438 records.

Record Map

1,218 stations

1,218 station records on 18 May 1981 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 18 May 1981: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Fall Rvr Lake	United States	Record daily precipitation	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	70 of 100 (Major)
El Dorado Goodwin Fld	United States	Record daily precipitation	114.3 mm (4.5 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Mattoon	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Winfield 3NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	73.7 mm (2.9 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Bowling Green Warren Co AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	69.9 mm (2.8 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Hannibal Wtr Wks	United States	Record daily precipitation	78.0 mm (3.1 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Red Bluff Muni AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Eldorado Springs	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Palmyra	United States	Record daily precipitation	74.7 mm (2.9 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Brunswick	United States	Record daily precipitation	102.4 mm (4.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Central City	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Hatteras	United States	Record low minimum temperature	6.1 C (43.0 F)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Carrollton	United States	Record daily precipitation	90.2 mm (3.6 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Griggsville	United States	Record daily precipitation	79.5 mm (3.1 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Bird City 10S	United States	Record daily precipitation	116.3 mm (4.6 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Ottawa	United States	Record daily precipitation	74.9 mm (2.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Quincy Mem Brg	United States	Record daily precipitation	63.8 mm (2.5 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Macon	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.7 mm (2.3 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Bontfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Madison Sewage Plt	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Lebo	United States	Record daily precipitation	97.0 mm (3.8 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Marshall	United States	Record daily precipitation	78.7 mm (3.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Tuscola	United States	Record daily precipitation	60.7 mm (2.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Arkansas City	United States	Record daily precipitation	103.9 mm (4.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Gridley	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Paris 5 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	88.9 mm (3.5 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
St Louis Lambert Intl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.6 mm (2.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Yates Ctr	United States	Record daily precipitation	78.7 mm (3.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Quincy Dam 21	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Waverly	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Canton L&D 20	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Bentley	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Clinton	United States	Record daily precipitation	98.6 mm (3.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Martinsburg	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Richmond	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-3.0 C (26.6 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Dexter	United States	Record daily precipitation	68.6 mm (2.7 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Garnett 1 E	United States	Record daily precipitation	99.6 mm (3.9 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Great Bend 3WNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
La Cygne 4ESE	United States	Record daily precipitation	153.9 mm (6.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Moran	United States	Record daily precipitation	72.6 mm (2.9 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Mullen 3S	United States	Record daily precipitation	54.9 mm (2.2 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Saint Francis	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Edina	United States	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Arthur	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Houston Wb City	United States	Record high minimum temperature	25.6 C (78.1 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Vichy Rolla Natl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Union	United States	Record daily precipitation	75.7 mm (3.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Lexington Bluegrass AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Vevay	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Clifton City	United States	Record daily precipitation	79.2 mm (3.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Elsberry 1 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Kahoka	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.9 mm (2.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Paxton	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Concordia ASOS	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.9 mm (1.7 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Louwsburg (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Harveyville	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Monroe City	United States	Record daily precipitation	97.8 mm (3.9 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Windsor	United States	Record low maximum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Huntingdon	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-1.5 C (29.3 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Woodstock	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	7.5 C (45.5 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,218 records

Records set or tied on 18 May 1981 by type: Highest daily maximum 145, Lowest daily maximum 303, Highest daily minimum 147, Lowest daily minimum 246, Heaviest daily rainfall 362, Heaviest daily snowfall 13, Deepest snow cover 2.

Records on 18 May 1981 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	145
Lowest daily maximum	303
Highest daily minimum	147
Lowest daily minimum	246
Heaviest daily rainfall	362
Heaviest daily snowfall	13
Deepest snow cover	2

Records on 18 May 1981 by timescale: all-time 2, monthly 26, daily 1,190.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

1,020 broken records

Margins by which the 1,020 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 270.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

18 May 1981

Top 20 records on 18 May 1981 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
18 May 1981	Fall Rvr Lake, US	daily rain	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	62.3 mm (2.5 in)	82 years	70 of 100 (Major)
18 May 1981	El Dorado Goodwin Fld, US	daily rain	114.3 mm (4.5 in)	69.8 mm (2.7 in)	39 years	60 of 100 (Major)
18 May 1981	Mattoon, US	daily rain	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	84 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Winfield 3NE, US	daily rain	73.7 mm (2.9 in)	40.7 mm (1.6 in)	80 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Bowling Green Warren Co AP, US	daily rain	69.9 mm (2.8 in)	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	51 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Hannibal Wtr Wks, US	daily rain	78.0 mm (3.1 in)	54.1 mm (2.1 in)	44 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Red Bluff Muni AP, US	daily rain	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	18.3 mm (0.7 in)	64 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Eldorado Springs, US	daily rain	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	75 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Palmyra, US	daily rain	74.7 mm (2.9 in)	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	44 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Brunswick, US	monthly rain	102.4 mm (4.0 in)	11.0 mm (0.4 in)	87 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Central City, US	daily rain	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	50 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Hatteras, US	daily low min	6.1 C (43.0 F)	6.1 C (11.0 F)	85 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Carrollton, US	monthly rain	90.2 mm (3.6 in)	12.7 mm (0.5 in)	77 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Griggsville, US	daily rain	79.5 mm (3.1 in)	22.3 mm (0.9 in)	84 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Bird City 10S, US	all-time rain	116.3 mm (4.6 in)	17.2 mm (0.7 in)	35 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Ottawa, US	daily rain	74.9 mm (2.9 in)	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	46 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Quincy Mem Brg, US	daily rain	63.8 mm (2.5 in)	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	63 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Macon, US	daily rain	57.7 mm (2.3 in)	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	38 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Bontfontein, ZA	monthly rain	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	14.4 mm (0.6 in)	38 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1981	Madison Sewage Plt, US	daily rain	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	16.5 mm (0.6 in)	84 years	47 of 100 (Notable)

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

1796 to 1981

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1796 to 1981. 1981 had 1,218 records.

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

Records on 05-18 in each year
Year	Records
1796	1
1798	1
1802	2
1832	1
1833	1
1845	1
1847	1
1848	1
1855	1
1859	1
1861	2
1863	3
1864	1
1866	2
1868	2
1869	1
1870	1
1871	2
1872	1
1874	2
1877	4
1878	1
1879	1
1881	1
1883	2
1884	2
1885	1
1887	1
1888	4
1889	2
1891	1
1893	2
1894	4
1895	5
1896	2
1897	2
1898	1
1899	1
1900	13
1901	6
1902	9
1903	7
1904	11
1905	2
1906	24
1907	18
1908	5
1909	12
1910	50
1911	64
1912	5
1913	11
1914	45
1915	55
1916	74
1917	30
1918	42
1919	30
1920	26
1921	41
1922	33
1923	61
1924	92
1925	220
1926	133
1927	180
1928	160
1929	193
1930	475
1931	191
1932	460
1933	380
1934	390
1935	400
1936	282
1937	348
1938	382
1939	169
1940	315
1941	334
1942	421
1943	744
1944	496
1945	706
1946	651
1947	231
1948	426
1949	597
1950	473
1951	279
1952	493
1953	393
1954	498
1955	848
1956	795
1957	595
1958	334
1959	435
1960	404
1961	187
1962	1,199
1963	477
1964	329
1965	345
1966	438
1967	410
1968	817
1969	865
1970	703
1971	666
1972	499
1973	1,233
1974	1,097
1975	383
1976	733
1977	1,126
1978	1,090
1979	399
1980	614
1981	1,218
1982	452
1983	1,093
1984	717
1985	498
1986	1,131
1987	823
1988	1,154
1989	721
1990	753
1991	1,218
1992	921
1993	707
1994	1,015
1995	1,849
1996	1,767
1997	1,115
1998	1,060
1999	584
2000	922
2001	898
2002	1,833
2003	1,270
2004	847
2005	630
2006	1,493
2007	1,133
2008	999
2009	1,368
2010	894
2011	1,406
2012	523
2013	816
2014	609
2015	785
2016	597
2017	1,855
2018	557
2019	810
2020	706
2021	418
2022	711
2023	554
2024	551
2025	619
2026	1,131

Download the Data

Data for records on 1981-05-18: 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 2026-10-16 (16 October 2026). Records are computed by this site and are not official.

Data as of 2026-10-16. Last revised 16 October 2026 (2026-10-16).

Margin	Records
0 to 50	1,012
50 to 100	7
100 to 150	0
150 to 200	0
200 to 250	0
250 to 300	1