Records:
Highs:
EWR: 96 (2016)
NYC: 94 (1959)
LGA: 92 (2016)
JFK: 91 (1991)
Lows:
EWR: 42 (1961)
NYC: 43 (1961)
LGA: 44 (1961)
JFK: 44 (1961)
Historical:
1809: Three tornadoes crossed through the town of Cincinnati, OH and then traveled up the Ohio valley. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)
1877 - A "terrific" two day long sandstorm (sand) blasted Yuma, AZ. (28th-29th) (The Weather Channel)
1880: Savoy, TX was hit by an F4 tornado. 14 people were killed and 60 others were injured. It leveled the entire business and northeast residential sections. The tornado was described as "a funnel blazing with balls of fire".
(Ref. Wilson Wx. History)
1896: F3 tornadoes skipped through Montgomery and Bucks counties in Pennsylvania, then across Mercer and Monmouth counties in New Jersey from south of Ambler, to Jarrrettstown south of Hatboro, near Langhorne, then crossed the Delaware River, 4 miles south of Trenton, NJ. Damage was done to businesses at White Horse and Allentown, NJ. Losses totaled over $200,000 dollars. At least 16 barns were destroyed and all of the 4 deaths may have been in barns or stables, 2 in each Pennsylvania County. 15 other people were injured. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)
1941: Record maximum temperature for Washington DC. for the date is 97 °F. (Ref. Washington Weather Records - KDCA)
The earliest 100 °F reading for Richmond International Airport and the highest temperature recorded in May. (Ref. Richmond Weather Records - KRIC)
1942 - The latest snowstorm of record for the state of Iowa left ten inches at LeMars, eight inches at Cherokee, and 7.5 inches at Waukon. Afternoon highs were in the lower 30s in parts of northwestern Iowa. (The Weather Channel)
1947 - A storm produced heavy snow across Wisconsin, with ten inches reported at Gay Mills. The snow damaged fruit and other trees, and downed power lines. The storm was followed by the coldest weather of the month for much of the High Plains Region and Missouri Valley. Williston ND reported a low of 21 degrees the morning of the 28th, and the next morning Cheyenne WY reported a morning low of 16 above zero. (David Ludlum)
1973: Two F3 tornadoes touched down during the afternoon in Morris County, New Jersey, with an F1 reported in Berks County, Pennsylvania. One of the New Jersey tornadoes injured 12 people. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)
1987 - Thunderstorms produced torrential rains in Oklahoma and northern Texas. Lake Altus, OK, was deluged with nine inches of rain. Up to eight inches drenched northern Texas, and baseball size hail was reported north of Seminole and at Knickerbocker. Ten to 13 inch rains soaked central Oklahoma the last five days of May resulting in an estimated 65 million dollars damage, and forcing several thousand persons to evacuate their homes, many by boat or helicopter. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1988 - A sharp cold front began to usher cold, wet and windy weather into the western U.S. Thunderstorms in the Great Plains Region produced wind gusts to 80 mph near Brookings, SD. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
1989 - Unseasonably hot weather continued in Florida. Five cities reported record high temperatures for the date. The record high of 98 degrees at Lakeland, FL, was their fifth in a row. Thunderstorms produced severe weather in Florida late in the day, with golf ball size hail reported at Kissimmee. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1990 - Two to five inches of rain over southeastern Ohio on the 28th and 29th capped an exceptionally wet month of May, and triggered widespread flooding. Flooding which resulted claimed three lives, and caused millions of dollars damage. Numerous roads in southeast Ohio were flooded and impassable, and many other roads were blocked by landslides. (Storm Data)
1996: Thunderstorms with extremely heavy rains moved through northern Illinois. Flash flooding was reported in several counties. In Rockford, 4.77 inches of rain fell with Doppler radar estimates exceeding 5 inches in just 8 hours over parts of northern Illinois. Creeks in Dekalb, Winnebago and Boone counties quickly rose out of their banks. As much as 2.5 inches of rain in less than one hour was reported in the city of Dekalb.
An F4 tornado moved through Jefferson, Bullitt, and Spencer counties in Kentucky, injuring 10 people, damaging 600 homes and causing $100 million damage. (Ref. Wilson Wx. History)
2003: Battle Mountain, Nevada: A new Nevada maximum temperature record for May is set when the high temperature rises to 102 °F. at Battle Mountain, NV.
Record highs for May were tied at Palm Springs, CA: 116° (5/23/2001 & 5/28/1983), Las Vegas, NV: 109° and Palomar Mountain, CA: 91° (5/31/2001). (Ref. Wilson Wx. History) (Ref. WxDoctor)
2005: Today’s record high of 90 degrees was the 14th (and last) time Honolulu, HI, set or tied a daily record high this May. Honolulu also set or tied 14 record high lows this May. They May became Honolulu’s warmest May of record. (Ref. Weather Guide Calendar with Phenomenal Weather Events 2011 Accord Pub. 2010, USA)
2006: Near Weirsdale, Florida, lightning hit a tree traveled to a metal fence, and to a 10 year old girl holding the fence. She suffered red entry marks on her arms and abdomen and a black exit mark on her rear end but she survived. (Ref. Weather Guide Calendar with Phenomenal Weather Events 2007 Accord Publishing, USA)
