Weather Records on 21 May 2023

794 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 21 May 2023. Highest significance: Madison, US.

Key Facts for 21 May 2023

On 21 May 2023, 794 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
615 were record highs and 54 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 8 monthly and 786 daily.
Madison set a daily record precipitation of 48.5 mm (1.9 in) on 21 May 2023.
Across 156 earlier years (1793 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 458 records.

Record Map

794 stations

794 station records on 21 May 2023 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 21 May 2023: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Madison	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Norton W	United States	Record daily precipitation	81.5 mm (3.2 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Rochester	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Milford	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Lindrith 1 WSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Middleton	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Colville	United States	Record high minimum temperature	17.2 C (63.0 F)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Hingham	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Eliot	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Nashua 2 NNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Newark	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Newburyport	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Ansonia 1 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Bath	United States	Record daily precipitation	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Bakersville	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Hyannis	United States	Record high minimum temperature	17.2 C (63.0 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Wentworth	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Guanghua	China	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Bridgehampton	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Wallowa	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Prosser	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.6 C (96.1 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Teriberka	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	21.9 C (71.4 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Barkhamsted	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Bingham Wyman Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.8 mm (1.9 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Norwich Public Utility Plt	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Putnam Lake	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Harmony	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Yerington	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Kennewick	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.6 C (96.1 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Orlando Executive AP	United States	Record high minimum temperature	23.3 C (73.9 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Kennebunkport	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.1 mm (2.2 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
E Wareham	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Marblehead	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.2 mm (1.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Sunderland	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.2 mm (1.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Walpole 2	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.8 mm (1.9 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Canjilon R/S	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Antelope 6 SSW	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Keene	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Kingston	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.7 mm (2.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Huoshan	China	Record daily precipitation	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Burlington	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.3 mm (2.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Arlington	United States	Record high minimum temperature	18.3 C (64.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Yan An	China	Record low minimum temperature	-0.2 C (31.6 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Kingfield	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
W Rockport 1 NNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Orovada 3 W	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.0 C (95.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Kennewick	United States	Record high minimum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Blue Hill Coop	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.3 mm (2.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Rosalia	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Jian	China	Record daily precipitation	60.7 mm (2.4 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Sandpoint Exp STN	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Newcastle	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.2 mm (2.3 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Chelan	United States	Record high maximum temperature	33.9 C (93.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Barre Falls Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Chuuk WSO AP	Federated States of Micronesia	Record daily precipitation	90.2 mm (3.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Halmstad Flygflottilj	Sweden	Record high maximum temperature	25.5 C (77.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Norfolk 2 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Corinna	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.4 mm (1.5 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Waterville Trtmt Plt	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Topaz Lake	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

794 records

Records set or tied on 21 May 2023 by type: Highest daily maximum 279, Lowest daily maximum 22, Highest daily minimum 336, Lowest daily minimum 32, Heaviest daily rainfall 125.

Records on 21 May 2023 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	279
Lowest daily maximum	22
Highest daily minimum	336
Lowest daily minimum	32
Heaviest daily rainfall	125
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 21 May 2023 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 8, daily 786.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

677 broken records

Margins by which the 677 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 71.7. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

21 May 2023

Top 20 records on 21 May 2023 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
21 May 2023	Madison, US	daily rain	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	70 years	61 of 100 (Major)
21 May 2023	Norton W, US	daily rain	81.5 mm (3.2 in)	54.8 mm (2.2 in)	36 years	61 of 100 (Major)
21 May 2023	Rochester, US	daily rain	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	70 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Milford, US	daily rain	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	53 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Lindrith 1 WSW, US	daily rain	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	25 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Middleton, US	daily rain	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	29.3 mm (1.2 in)	49 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Colville, US	daily high min	17.2 C (63.0 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	97 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Hingham, US	daily rain	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	49 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Eliot, US	daily rain	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	48.2 mm (1.9 in)	22 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Nashua 2 NNW, US	daily rain	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	7.1 mm (0.28 in)	130 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Newark, US	daily rain	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	6.4 mm (0.25 in)	104 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Newburyport, US	daily rain	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	80 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Ansonia 1 NW, US	daily rain	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	53 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Bath, US	daily rain	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	71.7 mm (2.8 in)	9 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Bakersville, US	daily rain	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	20.6 mm (0.8 in)	65 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Hyannis, US	daily high min	17.2 C (63.0 F)	1.6 C (2.9 F)	120 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Wentworth, US	daily rain	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	12.2 mm (0.5 in)	70 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Guanghua, CN	daily rain	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	33.6 mm (1.3 in)	34 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Bridgehampton, US	daily rain	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	9.6 mm (0.38 in)	88 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 2023	Wallowa, US	daily high max	32.8 C (91.0 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	104 years	43 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 2023

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 2023. 2023 had 794 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 2023-05-21: 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 2026-10-13. Last revised 13 October 2026 (2026-10-13).

Margin	Records
0 to 10	621
10 to 20	31
20 to 30	17
30 to 40	5
40 to 50	1
50 to 60	1
60 to 70	0
70 to 80	1