Weather Records on 31 May 1981

775 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 31 May 1981. Highest significance: Seymour (Mag), ZA.

Key Facts for 31 May 1981

On 31 May 1981, 775 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
253 were record highs and 155 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 39 monthly and 736 daily.
Seymour (Mag) set a daily record precipitation of 53.0 mm (2.1 in) on 31 May 1981.
Across 161 earlier years (1811 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 435 records.

Record Map

775 stations

775 station records on 31 May 1981 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 31 May 1981: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Seymour (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	72 of 100 (Major)
Breeza (Main Street)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	57.0 mm (2.2 in)	68 of 100 (Major)
Toliness Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	69.0 mm (2.7 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Biddenham	Australia	Record daily precipitation	85.0 mm (3.3 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Springvale	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.3 mm (1.5 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Telpoort	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Henderson 8 SSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Kem-Port	Russia	Record daily precipitation	33.1 mm (1.3 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Lorne Peak	Australia	Record daily precipitation	70.7 mm (2.8 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Kincaid	Canada	Record daily precipitation	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Owensboro 3ENE	United States	Record daily precipitation	87.6 mm (3.4 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Covington 3 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	58.9 mm (2.3 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Searcy	United States	Record daily precipitation	82.3 mm (3.2 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Owensboro Trtmt Plt E	United States	Record daily precipitation	88.4 mm (3.5 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Bolton	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Kananaskis	Canada	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Des Arc	United States	Record daily precipitation	72.4 mm (2.9 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Davenport Downs Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	72.0 mm (2.8 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Nieuwendijk (Nb)	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	34.7 mm (1.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Onoto	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Raznavolok	Russia	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
N Stratford	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Gridino	Russia	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ura-Tyube	Tajikistan	Record daily precipitation	35.3 mm (1.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Tres Piedras	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Biskra	Algeria	Record high minimum temperature	31.0 C (87.8 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Clyde A	Canada	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Putten (Gld)	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	29.3 mm (1.2 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Troicko-Pecherskoe	Russia	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Perryville Wtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Gillespie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Shawneetown Old Town	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.2 mm (2.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Boizenburg	Germany	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Whitingham 1 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.4 mm (1.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Cartersville	United States	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Milan Exp STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Diamantina Lakes	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.2 mm (1.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Storrs	United States	Record high minimum temperature	17.8 C (64.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Harrisburg Disposal Pl	United States	Record daily precipitation	73.7 mm (2.9 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Dixville Notch	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.4 mm (1.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Wharton Creek Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	118.0 mm (4.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Angellala Downs Homestead	Australia	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Bierbank	Australia	Record daily precipitation	62.1 mm (2.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Kokpekty	Kazakhstan	Record high minimum temperature	17.2 C (63.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Gorinchem	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	48.2 mm (1.9 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Evening Shade 1 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	63.8 mm (2.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Resaca	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Turgaj	Kazakhstan	Record low maximum temperature	13.2 C (55.8 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Harb	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Spencer	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Augusta Bush Fld AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	112.8 mm (4.4 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Coloso	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record low minimum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Syktyvkar	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	13.8 C (56.8 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Brevard	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Circleville	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Oondooroo	Australia	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Marion Downs	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Nappan Cda	Canada	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Atyrau	Kazakhstan	Record low minimum temperature	6.9 C (44.4 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Ironwood	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-3.9 C (25.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

775 records

Records set or tied on 31 May 1981 by type: Highest daily maximum 46, Lowest daily maximum 63, Highest daily minimum 207, Lowest daily minimum 92, Heaviest daily rainfall 364, Heaviest daily snowfall 2, Deepest snow cover 1.

Records on 31 May 1981 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	46
Lowest daily maximum	63
Highest daily minimum	207
Lowest daily minimum	92
Heaviest daily rainfall	364
Heaviest daily snowfall	2
Deepest snow cover	1

Records on 31 May 1981 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 39, daily 736.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

642 broken records

Margins by which the 642 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 84.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

31 May 1981

Top 20 records on 31 May 1981 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
31 May 1981	Seymour (Mag), ZA	daily rain	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	38.8 mm (1.5 in)	76 years	72 of 100 (Major)
31 May 1981	Breeza (Main Street), AU	daily rain	57.0 mm (2.2 in)	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	83 years	68 of 100 (Major)
31 May 1981	Toliness Station, AU	daily rain	69.0 mm (2.7 in)	49.7 mm (2.0 in)	51 years	61 of 100 (Major)
31 May 1981	Biddenham, AU	monthly rain	85.0 mm (3.3 in)	18.5 mm (0.7 in)	88 years	60 of 100 (Major)
31 May 1981	Springvale, AU	daily rain	38.3 mm (1.5 in)	38.3 mm (1.5 in)	86 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Telpoort, ZA	daily rain	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	67 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Henderson 8 SSW, US	daily rain	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	64 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Kem-Port, RU	monthly rain	33.1 mm (1.3 in)	7.1 mm (0.28 in)	58 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Lorne Peak, AU	daily rain	70.7 mm (2.8 in)	40.7 mm (1.6 in)	51 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Kincaid, CA	daily rain	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	36.5 mm (1.4 in)	26 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Owensboro 3ENE, US	daily rain	87.6 mm (3.4 in)	67.8 mm (2.7 in)	7 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Covington 3 SW, US	daily rain	58.9 mm (2.3 in)	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	72 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Searcy, US	daily rain	82.3 mm (3.2 in)	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	38 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Owensboro Trtmt Plt E, US	daily rain	88.4 mm (3.5 in)	79.5 mm (3.1 in)	14 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Bolton, US	daily rain	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	72 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Kananaskis, CA	daily rain	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	39.2 mm (1.5 in)	15 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Des Arc, US	daily rain	72.4 mm (2.9 in)	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	75 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Davenport Downs Station, AU	daily rain	72.0 mm (2.8 in)	67.2 mm (2.6 in)	15 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Nieuwendijk (Nb), NL	daily rain	34.7 mm (1.4 in)	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	16 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
31 May 1981	Onoto, AU	daily rain	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	31.7 mm (1.2 in)	64 years	46 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

1811 to 1981

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1811 to 1981. 1981 had 775 records.

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

Records on 05-31 in each year
Year	Records
1811	1
1818	3
1827	1
1836	2
1845	1
1847	1
1853	2
1855	2
1858	1
1864	2
1865	1
1866	1
1867	1
1868	4
1869	1
1871	2
1873	3
1874	1
1877	1
1878	2
1879	2
1880	3
1882	1
1883	1
1885	1
1888	1
1889	2
1890	1
1892	1
1893	4
1894	2
1895	8
1897	5
1898	7
1899	1
1900	2
1901	9
1902	9
1903	17
1904	19
1905	7
1906	11
1907	20
1908	12
1909	8
1910	26
1911	20
1912	15
1913	83
1914	20
1915	23
1916	23
1917	13
1918	20
1919	44
1920	46
1921	157
1922	49
1923	98
1924	152
1925	226
1926	228
1927	121
1928	67
1929	246
1930	612
1931	223
1932	181
1933	397
1934	782
1935	156
1936	559
1937	462
1938	424
1939	461
1940	383
1941	410
1942	364
1943	552
1944	372
1945	457
1946	380
1947	439
1948	295
1949	303
1950	467
1951	640
1952	374
1953	654
1954	445
1955	534
1956	632
1957	304
1958	429
1959	459
1960	247
1961	472
1962	565
1963	354
1964	1,237
1965	494
1966	601
1967	987
1968	276
1969	555
1970	573
1971	714
1972	1,127
1973	418
1974	473
1975	797
1976	435
1977	605
1978	873
1979	915
1980	517
1981	775
1982	817
1983	1,494
1984	2,047
1985	790
1986	1,365
1987	822
1988	1,255
1989	912
1990	900
1991	1,381
1992	1,031
1993	982
1994	776
1995	693
1996	946
1997	1,163
1998	1,215
1999	790
2000	1,172
2001	1,047
2002	1,162
2003	831
2004	1,071
2005	724
2006	1,045
2007	793
2008	809
2009	570
2010	741
2011	1,498
2012	764
2013	1,100
2014	565
2015	704
2016	402
2017	440
2018	1,211
2019	420
2020	673
2021	834
2022	902
2023	454
2024	809
2025	1,204
2026	536

Download the Data

Data for records on 1981-05-31: 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 20	587
20 to 40	44
40 to 60	6
60 to 80	4
80 to 100	1