Weather Records on 21 May 1986

908 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 21 May 1986. Highest significance: Wittenberg, DE.

Key Facts for 21 May 1986

On 21 May 1986, 908 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
332 were record highs and 353 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 34 monthly and 874 daily.
Wittenberg set a daily record precipitation of 35.6 mm (1.4 in) on 21 May 1986.
Across 156 earlier years (1793 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 458 records.

Record Map

908 stations

908 station records on 21 May 1986 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 21 May 1986: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Wittenberg	Germany	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Greenmount	Australia	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Le Roy	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Chemung	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Kaneohe Mauka 781	United States	Record low minimum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Midland	Australia	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Haikou	China	Record daily precipitation	97.6 mm (3.8 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Lake City 2 E	United States	Record low maximum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Juterbog	Germany	Record daily precipitation	36.7 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Moscow U of I	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Henderson 2 NNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
West Swan	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.4 mm (1.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Pompano Beach	United States	Record daily precipitation	108.0 mm (4.3 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Troy 1 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Mill Creek Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Miami Intl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Utsira Fyr	Norway	Record daily precipitation	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Mundaring	Australia	Record daily precipitation	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Mundaring Weir	Australia	Record daily precipitation	58.6 mm (2.3 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Geisenheim	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	16.4 C (61.5 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Rushville	United States	Record daily precipitation	60.5 mm (2.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Zhizdra	Russia	Record daily precipitation	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Cincinnatus	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Delaware	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Hillsboro	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Norwalk Wwtp	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Seneca	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Eagles Mere	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.3 mm (2.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Shamokin	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Dongfang	China	Record daily precipitation	142.0 mm (5.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Potlatch 3 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Brookhaven City	United States	Record low minimum temperature	5.0 C (41.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Bowling Green Wwtp	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Tiffin	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Wilmington 3 N	United States	Record low maximum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Wanneroo	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.6 mm (1.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Independence	United States	Record high minimum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Elmira	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Greenville Wtp	United States	Record low maximum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Van Wert 1 S	United States	Record low maximum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Shelbyville 1 E	United States	Record low maximum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Alma	United States	Record low maximum temperature	8.9 C (48.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Camden	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Upper Sandusky	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Urbana Wrf	United States	Record low maximum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Hialeah	United States	Record low minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Seymour 1 WSW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Rockville 1 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Benton Harbor AP	United States	Record low maximum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Hesperia 4 WNW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
P-Ranch South Place	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-3.3 C (26.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Farmland 5 NNW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Frankfort Downtown	United States	Record low maximum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Edgemont	United States	Record daily precipitation	84.8 mm (3.3 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Brockton	United States	Record high minimum temperature	17.8 C (64.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Montague 4 NW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Skq Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Norwich	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Sherburne	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Cadiz	United States	Record low maximum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

908 records

Records set or tied on 21 May 1986 by type: Highest daily maximum 64, Lowest daily maximum 244, Highest daily minimum 268, Lowest daily minimum 109, Heaviest daily rainfall 210, Heaviest daily snowfall 10, Deepest snow cover 3.

Records on 21 May 1986 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	64
Lowest daily maximum	244
Highest daily minimum	268
Lowest daily minimum	109
Heaviest daily rainfall	210
Heaviest daily snowfall	10
Deepest snow cover	3

Records on 21 May 1986 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 34, daily 874.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

754 broken records

Margins by which the 754 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 91.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

21 May 1986

Top 20 records on 21 May 1986 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
21 May 1986	Wittenberg, DE	daily rain	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	17.1 mm (0.7 in)	77 years	65 of 100 (Major)
21 May 1986	Greenmount, AU	daily rain	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	44.4 mm (1.7 in)	52 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Le Roy, US	daily rain	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	16.3 mm (0.6 in)	91 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Chemung, US	daily rain	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	24.6 mm (1.0 in)	36 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Kaneohe Mauka 781, US	daily low min	12.8 C (55.0 F)	5.0 C (9.0 F)	44 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Midland, AU	daily rain	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	21.8 mm (0.9 in)	60 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Haikou, CN	daily rain	97.6 mm (3.8 in)	73.6 mm (2.9 in)	17 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Lake City 2 E, US	daily low max	22.2 C (72.0 F)	3.4 C (6.1 F)	90 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Juterbog, DE	daily rain	36.7 mm (1.4 in)	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	12 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Moscow U of I, US	daily rain	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	9.1 mm (0.36 in)	73 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Henderson 2 NNW, US	daily rain	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	14.8 mm (0.6 in)	84 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	West Swan, AU	daily rain	46.4 mm (1.8 in)	24.3 mm (1.0 in)	52 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Pompano Beach, US	daily rain	108.0 mm (4.3 in)	91.0 mm (3.6 in)	5 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Troy 1 NE, US	daily rain	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	12 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Mill Creek Dam, US	daily rain	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	17 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Miami Intl AP, US	daily rain	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	85.9 mm (3.4 in)	32 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Utsira Fyr, NO	daily rain	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	18.1 mm (0.7 in)	9 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Mundaring, AU	daily rain	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	15.3 mm (0.6 in)	72 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Mundaring Weir, AU	daily rain	58.6 mm (2.3 in)	16.7 mm (0.7 in)	72 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1986	Geisenheim, DE	daily high min	16.4 C (61.5 F)	0.9 C (1.6 F)	99 years	41 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

1793 to 1986

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1986. 1986 had 908 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 1986-05-21: 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 2026-10-14 (14 October 2026). Records are computed by this site and are not official.

Data as of 2026-10-12. Last revised 12 October 2026 (2026-10-12).

Margin	Records
0 to 20	725
20 to 40	22
40 to 60	3
60 to 80	2
80 to 100	2