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- 5/1
- 1980: Ball lightning, in the form of an orange fireball, was reported flying horizontally over the Arabian Sea.
- 5/2
- 1899: A snowstorm buried Havre, Montana under 24.8" of snow, an all-time record.
- 5/3
- 1895: A tornado leveled 2 schools miles apart in Sioux County, Iowa, killing a brother and sister at different schools.
- 5/4
- 1977: Excellent warnings and prior tornado drills prevented any major injuries when a 500 yd wide tornado struck 2 MO schools.
- 5/5
- 1930: An exceptional heat wave commenced when the temperature at College Park, VA soared from 43 degrees to 93 degrees.
- 5/6
- 1989: Heated Mint Juleps were required when the Kentucky Derby suffered its coldest start in 115 years, 43 degrees!
- 5/7
- 1927: At least two monstrous tornadoes tracked 95 miles from near Aetna, Kansas, to SW of McPherson, Kansas.
- 5/8
- 1837: A rare auroral pillar was seen for about 10 minutes in the night sky over the Bay Of Toronto.
- 5/9
- 1990: 1000 people died as a violent tropical cyclone lay waste to about 100 miles of India's southeast coast.
- 5/10
- 1905: The roar of a deadly tornado that killed 97 persons along its 40 mile path across OK could be heard 12 miles away.
- 5/11
- 1953: A tornado buried streets in Waco, Texas under 5 feet of fallen bricks, killing 114 people.
- 5/12
- 1971: Dust storms suddenly reduced visibilities to near 0 on Interstate Hwy. 10 in AZ. Chain reaction car accidents killed 7.
- 5/13
- 1981: A tornado that destroyed 90% of Emberson, Texas hurled a man in a bathtub 1/4 of a mile. No one was killed.
- 5/14
- 1898: Hail with 9.5" circumference broke south-facing windows in nearly every house in central and eastern Kansas City MO.
- 5/15
- 1968: A rare Alaskan tornado touched down southwest of Anchorage.
- 5/16
- 1924: Blitzen, Oregon was blitzed with warmth as it set the state's record highest May temperature of 108 degrees.
- 5/17
- 1979: The state of Hawaii reached its all-time low of 12 degrees at Mauna Kea Observatory.
- 5/18
- 1980: Mount Saint Helens in Washington State erupted, sending smoke and ash 63,000 feet into the air.
- 5/19
- 1978: Moorcroft, Wyoming received an incredible May snowfall total of 92". 55" fell from the 3rd to the 9th.
- 5/20
- 1916: A tornado hit Codell, Kansas. On this same day in both 1917 & 1918, tornadoes struck the town again.
- 5/21
- 1896: Salton, California set the US record for May with 124 degrees.
- 5/22
- 1986: A hailstorm in central China destroyed 35,000 homes & 7700 acres of crops, killed over 100 people and injured 9000.
- 5/23
- 1972: The worst ice-jam flooding in 100 years caused the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers in Alaska to "flow as one."
- 5/24
- 1990: A woman in KS who was sucked out of a truck by a tornado said she tried to run but her feet would not touch the ground.
- 5/25
- 1987: A man in a boat in LA, who stood & asked to be struck by lightning, was, and he died. Three others in the boat were unhurt.
- 5/26
- 1917: A violent tornado or family of tornadoes struck Mattoon, Illinois and carried debris 50 miles away.
- 5/27
- 1896: A destructive tornado that hit St. Louis and killed 306 people drove a 2x4 pine plank into a 5/8" sheet of iron.
- 5/28
- 1987: 13 inch rains soaked OK in $65 million in damage, forcing thousands of people to evacuate by boat or helicopter.
- 5/29
- 1953: In Fort Rice ND, a tornado, with a 600 yard width at times, jammed church pews four feet into the ground.
- 5/30
- 1951: After a tornado passed east of Scotsbluff, Nebraska, a bean was found embedded 1" into an uncracked egg.
- 5/31
- 1889: The worst US flood tragedy in history, the Johnstown disaster, occurred. A 30' wall of water killed over 2100 people.
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