...1834... The greatest May snowstorm on record for New England occurred. The hills around Newbury, Vermont were covered with up to 24 inches of snow and the higher elevations around Haverhill, New Hampshire received up to three feet of snow.

...1896... The mercury plunged to 10 degrees below zero at Climax CO. It was the lowest reading of record for the U.S. during the month of May.

...1898... A severe thunderstorm, with some hailstones up to 9.5 inches in circumference, pounded a four mile wide path across Kansas City MO. South-facing windows were broken in nearly every house in central and eastern parts of the city, and several persons were injured. An even larger hailstone was thought to have been found, but it turned out to be a chunk of ice tossed out the window of a building by a prankster.

...1923... An early morning violent (F5) tornado cut a 45 mile path of destruction Howard and Mitchell counties in Texas. 23 people lost their lives and 250 sustained injuries. The path width of the tornado reached 1.5 miles at one point and entire farms were "wiped off the face of the earth".

...1984... After 55 rainless days at Brownsville, Texas, its 4th longest dry stretch ended with .01 inch of rain recorded on this date

...1987... Seven cities across the western U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date as unseasonably hot weather made a comeback. The record high of 103 degrees at Sacramento CA was their ninth in eleven days, and also marked a record seven days of 100 degree heat for the month. Their previous record was two days of 100 degree heat in May.

...1988... Sunny and dry weather prevailed across the nation. Temperatures warmed into the 80s and lower 90s in the Great Plains Region and the Mississippi Valley.

...1989... Thunderstorms developing along a stationary front produced severe weather in south central Texas and the Southern High Plains Region during the afternoon and evening hours. Thunderstorms produced softball size hail at Spearman TX and Hitchcock TX.

...1990... Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front produced severe weather from northwest Texas to western Missouri. Severe thunder- storms spawned seventeen tornadoes, including nine in Texas. Four tornadoes in Texas injured a total of nine persons. Thunderstorms in Texas also produced hail four inches in diameter at Shamrock, and hail four and a half inches in diameter near Guthrie. Thunder- storms over northeastern Kansas produced more than seven inches of rain in Chautauqua County between 9 PM and midnight.

...1991... The high temperature peaked at 81 degrees on this day at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 76 degrees set in 1944.

...1996... At Newport, Rhode Island the low temperature fell to 35 degrees, setting the record high for the date. The previous record low was 36 degrees set in 1895 and 1987.

...2002... The barometric pressure dipped to 29.32 inches at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 29.46 inches that was set in 1959.