...1830... A tornado with a 400 yard wide track swept through Shelbyville, Kentucky. The tornado, which killed many people, was described in the "American Journal of Science".

...1895... The high temperature peaked at 90 degrees at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 62 degrees set in 1893.

...1889... The Johnstown disaster occurred, the worst flood tragedy in U.S. history. Heavy rains collapsed the South Fork Dam sending a thirty foot wall of water rushing down the already flooded Conemaugh Valley. The wall of water, traveling as fast as twenty-two feet per second, swept away all structures, objects and people. 2100 persons perished in the flood.

...1929... At Newport, Rhode Island the heat index peaked at 95 degrees, breaking the record of 80 degrees set in 1899.

...1941... Thunderstorms deluged Burlington KS with 12.59 inches of rain to establish a 24 hour rainfall record for the state.

...1951... The low temperature dipped to 37 degrees at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 40 degrees set in 1938.

...1961... A severe freeze caused heavy crop damage in New England. Burlington, Vermont reported a low reading of 25 degrees.

...1983... Albany, New York experienced its wettest Spring (March-May) in 109 years of records. 19.54 inches of precipitation was recorded.

...1984... Newport, Rhode Island was deluged with 4.87 inches of rain in very heavy thunderstorms, breaking the record of 2.12 inches that was set in 1933 and it stands today as the the biggest daily rainfall for the month of May.

...1985... A vicious tornado outbreak struck southern Ontario, central and eastern Ohio, western and central Pennsylvania, and western New York. 42 tornadoes ripped through the area. 88 people were killed and total damage was over $200 million. 8 of the tornadoes were rated F4 on the Fujita scale. The tornado that devastated Niles, Ohio was classified as F5 (winds above 260 mph). A huge F4 tornado had a 69 mile path length in central Pennsylvania, mostly through Moshannon State Forest. An estimated 88,000 trees were destroyed as the tornado's path width reached 2.2 miles at A vicious tornado outbreak struck southern Ontario, central and eastern Ohio, western and central Pennsylvania, and western New York. 42 tornadoes ripped through the area. 88 people were killed and total damage was over $200 million. 8 of the tornadoes were rated F4 on the Fujita scale. The tornado that devastated Niles, Ohio was classified as F5 (winds above 260 mph). A huge F4 tornado had a 69 mile path length in central Pennsylvania, mostly through Moshannon State Forest. An estimated 88,000 trees were destroyed as the tornado's path width reached 2.2 miles at one point.

...1986... The Weather Service Office in Washington, DC reported its driest spring on record with only 3.47 inches of precipitation from March 1st to May 31st.

...1987... Thunderstorms in New England produced wind gusts up to 90 mph at Worcester MA and Northboro MA, and hail an inch and a half in diameter at Williston VT. Unseasonably hot weather prevailed in the northeastern U.S. The afternoon high of 94 degrees at Portland ME was a record for the month of May.

...1988... Hot and humid weather prevailed in the eastern U.S. Thirteen cities reported record high temperatures for the date. Cape Hatteras NC reported their first ninety degree day in May in 115 years of records. "Dust buster" thunderstorms in northwest Texas drenched Amarillo with more than three inches of rain.

...1989... Thunderstorms produced severe weather and torrential rains in northern Indiana, northern Ohio and southern Lower Michigan. Saint John IND was drenched with four inches of rain in two hours, and Woodland MI was deluged with two inches in twenty minutes. Pittsburgh PA reported a record 6.55 inches of rain for the month of May, with measurable rain reported on twenty-five days during the month.

...1990... Afternoon and evening thunderstorms developing along a warm front produced severe weather from northwest Texas to southeastern Louisiana. The thunderstorms spawned sixteen tornadoes, including thirteen in northwest Texas. One tornado hit the town of Spearman TX causing more than a million dollars damage, and seven other tornadoes were reported within twenty-five miles of Spearman. Thunderstorms over northwest Texas also produced baseball size hail at Monahans, and wind gusts to 80 mph at Paducah. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

...1991... Norfolk, Virginia hit 100 degrees. This set a new all-time record high for the month of May for the city.

...1992... This May was the driest on record for Chicago, Illinois and Rockford, Illinois. Only .30 inches of rain fell at Chicago and Rockford had a paltry .48 inches. -The total rainfall at El Paso, Texas of this past month was 4.22 inches, making this the wettest May ever for the city. the normal rainfall for may is only .24 inches, which means that this month's rainfall total was 1758 percent of normal.

...1997... Mount Washington, New Hampshire recorded 95.8 inches of snow for the month which exceeded the previous May snowfall record by 43.6 inches.

...2003... 543 tornadoes were recorded in the U.S. for this past month -- by far the most tornadoes ever recorded in a single month.