Extreme rain in United States, 2 to 10 May 2023

Name: Extreme rain in United States, 2 to 10 May 2023
Start: 2023-05-02
End: 2023-05-10
Location: United States

Extreme rain in United States, 2 to 10 May 2023: 261 records at 235 stations, peak on 5 May 2023. Closed.

Data as of 2026-10-17. Last revised 17 October 2026 (2026-10-17).

Key Facts

Extreme rain in United States, 2 to 10 May 2023 set or tied 261 station records at 235 stations.
It ran from 2 May 2023 to 10 May 2023 (9 days) and its peak day was 5 May 2023.
Status: closed.
Pasadena set a daily record precipitation of 44.7 mm (1.8 in) on 4 May 2023.
The busiest day was 5 May 2023 with 62 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 127 years.

Footprint

2 to 10 May 2023

The area covered by Extreme rain in United States, 2 to 10 May 2023 is outlined, with 20 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.

Footprint of Extreme rain in United States, 2 to 10 May 2023: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Pasadena	Record daily precipitation	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	2023-05-04
Bonners Ferry	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	2023-05-06
Orovada 3 W	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	2023-05-05
Tejon Rancho	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	2023-05-05
Kalispell Glacier AP	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	2023-05-06
Odessa	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	2023-05-06
Colgate Powerhouse	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	2023-05-07
Cabinet Gorge	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	2023-05-08
Susanville 2SW	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	2023-05-05
Skq Dam	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	2023-05-06
Hart Mtn Refuge	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	2023-05-05
Cedarville	Record daily precipitation	17.5 mm (0.7 in)	2023-05-02
Lompoc	Record daily precipitation	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	2023-05-04
Wasco	Record daily precipitation	20.6 mm (0.8 in)	2023-05-04
March AFB	Record daily precipitation	8.1 mm (0.32 in)	2023-05-04
Avalon Catalina AP	Record daily precipitation	6.9 mm (0.27 in)	2023-05-04
Friant Government Camp	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	2023-05-05
Merced	Record daily precipitation	17.0 mm (0.7 in)	2023-05-05
Winnemucca AP	Record daily precipitation	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	2023-05-05
Pelton Dam	Record daily precipitation	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	2023-05-07

Records per Day

Peak day 62

Records set or tied each day from 2 May 2023 to 10 May 2023. The most in one day was 62 on 5 May 2023.

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Extreme rain in United States, 2 to 10 May 2023 ranked by margin
Pasadena, 05-04	31.7 mm (1.2 in)
Cabinet Gorge, 05-08	30.5 mm (1.2 in)
Hart Mtn Refuge, 05-05	25.9 mm (1.0 in)
Orovada 3 W, 05-05	22.4 mm (0.9 in)
Susanville 2SW, 05-05	21.3 mm (0.8 in)
Skq Dam, 05-06	20.9 mm (0.8 in)
Bonners Ferry, 05-06	18.8 mm (0.7 in)
Pelton Dam, 05-07	18.0 mm (0.7 in)
Lompoc, 05-04	17.0 mm (0.7 in)
Kalispell Glacier AP, 05-06	16.8 mm (0.7 in)
Colgate Powerhouse, 05-07	15.7 mm (0.6 in)
Tejon Rancho, 05-05	15.5 mm (0.6 in)
Odessa, 05-06	13.0 mm (0.5 in)
Wasco, 05-04	11.5 mm (0.5 in)
Cedarville, 05-02	9.1 mm (0.36 in)

Margin is how far the new value is beyond the record it replaced. Ties are not shown.

Margin Against Age of the Broken Record

261 records plotted by how far they beat the old record (across) and how many years the old record had stood (up). Long standing records beaten by a wide margin sit in the top right.

Margin against age of the broken record in Extreme rain in United States, 2 to 10 May 2023
Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
32	108
19	74
22	49
18	62
16	96
17	54
9	126
17	53
12	108
13	60
16	100
31	32
21	6
21	40
9	73
26	10
6	122
8	62
6	56
5	108
8	81
33	17
9	72
38	28
4	108
13	45
15	32
17	65
11	60
16	34
8	42
9	65
4	92
10	32
2	127
8	60
4	96
18	14
8	66
4	92
12	70
18	42
18	24
0	106
3	92
3	80
10	48
8	56
13	28
13	40
9	58
10	61
14	32
15	28
6	17
1	77
18	36
35	24
1	73
18	20
3	72
7	62
3	70
7	33
13	34
13	32
8	62
5	17
5	53
5	62
1	72
9	45
7	44
1	66
8	44
9	8
20	29
13	24
1	61
6	52
7	32
13	0
13	13
8	36
3	49
4	53
16	24
11	22
7	20
4	57
8	36
13	34
13	20
2	52
2	65
4	40
13	8
9	36
8	36
8	16
4	52
5	40
10	24
3	52
13	0
2	58
2	52
7	17
8	13
10	36
8	34
6	44
0	66
4	13
8	20
14	24
10	40
12	40
1	49
7	17
8	40
1	62
0	58
0	64
1	53
1	52
0	61
15	20
5	17
5	44
7	28
3	40
5	36
10	29
5	40
5	33
9	20
9	24
7	24
3	24
4	24
13	28
3	44
6	28
2	34
3	40
2	44
1	46
6	20
0	40
7	5
5	28
5	40
10	0
10	17
5	24
3	24
5	24
2	24
6	20
1	44
1	42
2	40
6	2
3	40
3	36
3	40
8	20
3	41
3	41
4	24
2	24
3	24
2	24
10	20
2	34
4	24
3	13
4	32
3	41
3	38
3	40
4	20
1	32
3	13
5	12
3	28
1	40
6	8
3	36
8	8
3	36
6	20
3	13
2	36
3	29
5	28
3	34
8	13
1	22

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Extreme rain in United States, 2 to 10 May 2023 compared with similar events
Extreme rain in United States and Mexico, 23 February to 15 March 2019	2,223 records
Extreme rain in United States, 3 to 19 January 2024	2,133 records
Extreme rain in Australia, 7 to 26 March 2021	2,099 records
Extreme rain in United States and Mexico, 29 September to 19 October 2018	1,970 records
Extreme rain in United States, 19 December 2022 to 13 January 2023	1,941 records
Extreme rain in United States, 2 to 10 May 2023 (this event)	261 records

Every Record Set

20 of 261

Every record set or tied during Extreme rain in United States, 2 to 10 May 2023, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2023-05-02	Cedarville	Record daily precipitation	17.5 mm (0.7 in)	9.1 mm (0.36 in)	73	20 of 100 (Routine)
2023-05-04	Pasadena	Record daily precipitation	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	31.7 mm (1.2 in)	108	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
2023-05-04	Lompoc	Record daily precipitation	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	17.0 mm (0.7 in)	53	20 of 100 (Routine)
2023-05-04	Wasco	Record daily precipitation	20.6 mm (0.8 in)	11.5 mm (0.5 in)	108	20 of 100 (Routine)
2023-05-04	March AFB	Record daily precipitation	8.1 mm (0.32 in)	7.6 mm (0.30 in)	62	20 of 100 (Routine)
2023-05-04	Avalon Catalina AP	Record daily precipitation	6.9 mm (0.27 in)	6.4 mm (0.25 in)	56	20 of 100 (Routine)
2023-05-05	Orovada 3 W	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	49	64 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-05	Tejon Rancho	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	15.5 mm (0.6 in)	96	63 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-05	Susanville 2SW	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	21.3 mm (0.8 in)	6	52 of 100 (Notable)
2023-05-05	Hart Mtn Refuge	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	10	50 of 100 (Notable)
2023-05-05	Friant Government Camp	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	5.4 mm (0.21 in)	108	20 of 100 (Routine)
2023-05-05	Merced	Record daily precipitation	17.0 mm (0.7 in)	5.6 mm (0.22 in)	122	20 of 100 (Routine)
2023-05-05	Winnemucca AP	Record daily precipitation	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	8.6 mm (0.34 in)	126	20 of 100 (Routine)
2023-05-06	Bonners Ferry	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	74	69 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-06	Kalispell Glacier AP	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	16.8 mm (0.7 in)	54	60 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-06	Odessa	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	13.0 mm (0.5 in)	60	56 of 100 (Notable)
2023-05-06	Skq Dam	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	20.9 mm (0.8 in)	40	52 of 100 (Notable)
2023-05-07	Colgate Powerhouse	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	15.7 mm (0.6 in)	100	55 of 100 (Notable)
2023-05-07	Pelton Dam	Record daily precipitation	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	18.0 mm (0.7 in)	62	20 of 100 (Routine)
2023-05-08	Cabinet Gorge	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	32	55 of 100 (Notable)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 261 records the event counts. The counts above use the full total.

Related Headlines

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Download the Data

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)) Data as of 2026-10-17. Events are found by this site from station records and are not official designations. Records are provisional until reprocessed.

Date	Records
2023-05-02	28
2023-05-03	12
2023-05-04	55
2023-05-05	62
2023-05-06	47
2023-05-07	28
2023-05-08	20
2023-05-09	8
2023-05-10	1

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
32	108
19	74
22	49
18	62
16	96
17	54
9	126
17	53
12	108
13	60
16	100
31	32
21	6
21	40
9	73
26	10
6	122
8	62
6	56
5	108
8	81
33	17
9	72
38	28
4	108
13	45
15	32
17	65
11	60
16	34
8	42
9	65
4	92
10	32
2	127
8	60
4	96
18	14
8	66
4	92
12	70
18	42
18	24
0	106
3	92
3	80
10	48
8	56
13	28
13	40
9	58
10	61
14	32
15	28
6	17
1	77
18	36
35	24
1	73
18	20
3	72
7	62
3	70
7	33
13	34
13	32
8	62
5	17
5	53
5	62
1	72
9	45
7	44
1	66
8	44
9	8
20	29
13	24
1	61
6	52
7	32
13	0
13	13
8	36
3	49
4	53
16	24
11	22
7	20
4	57
8	36
13	34
13	20
2	52
2	65
4	40
13	8
9	36
8	36
8	16
4	52
5	40
10	24
3	52
13	0
2	58
2	52
7	17
8	13
10	36
8	34
6	44
0	66
4	13
8	20
14	24
10	40
12	40
1	49
7	17
8	40
1	62
0	58
0	64
1	53
1	52
0	61
15	20
5	17
5	44
7	28
3	40
5	36
10	29
5	40
5	33
9	20
9	24
7	24
3	24
4	24
13	28
3	44
6	28
2	34
3	40
2	44
1	46
6	20
0	40
7	5
5	28
5	40
10	0
10	17
5	24
3	24
5	24
2	24
6	20
1	44
1	42
2	40
6	2
3	40
3	36
3	40
8	20
3	41
3	41
4	24
2	24
3	24
2	24
10	20
2	34
4	24
3	13
4	32
3	41
3	38
3	40
4	20
1	32
3	13
5	12
3	28
1	40
6	8
3	36
8	8
3	36
6	20
3	13
2	36
3	29
5	28
3	34
8	13
1	22

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
32	108
19	74
22	49
18	62
16	96
17	54
9	126
17	53
12	108
13	60
16	100
31	32
21	6
21	40
9	73
26	10
6	122
8	62
6	56
5	108
8	81
33	17
9	72
38	28
4	108
13	45
15	32
17	65
11	60
16	34
8	42
9	65
4	92
10	32
2	127
8	60
4	96
18	14
8	66
4	92
12	70
18	42
18	24
0	106
3	92
3	80
10	48
8	56
13	28
13	40
9	58
10	61
14	32
15	28
6	17
1	77
18	36
35	24
1	73
18	20
3	72
7	62
3	70
7	33
13	34
13	32
8	62
5	17
5	53
5	62
1	72
9	45
7	44
1	66
8	44
9	8
20	29
13	24
1	61
6	52
7	32
13	0
13	13
8	36
3	49
4	53
16	24
11	22
7	20
4	57
8	36
13	34
13	20
2	52
2	65
4	40
13	8
9	36
8	36
8	16
4	52
5	40
10	24
3	52
13	0
2	58
2	52
7	17
8	13
10	36
8	34
6	44
0	66
4	13
8	20
14	24
10	40
12	40
1	49
7	17
8	40
1	62
0	58
0	64
1	53
1	52
0	61
15	20
5	17
5	44
7	28
3	40
5	36
10	29
5	40
5	33
9	20
9	24
7	24
3	24
4	24
13	28
3	44
6	28
2	34
3	40
2	44
1	46
6	20
0	40
7	5
5	28
5	40
10	0
10	17
5	24
3	24
5	24
2	24
6	20
1	44
1	42
2	40
6	2
3	40
3	36
3	40
8	20
3	41
3	41
4	24
2	24
3	24
2	24
10	20
2	34
4	24
3	13
4	32
3	41
3	38
3	40
4	20
1	32
3	13
5	12
3	28
1	40
6	8
3	36
8	8
3	36
6	20
3	13
2	36
3	29
5	28
3	34
8	13
1	22

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
32	108
19	74
22	49
18	62
16	96
17	54
9	126
17	53
12	108
13	60
16	100
31	32
21	6
21	40
9	73
26	10
6	122
8	62
6	56
5	108
8	81
33	17
9	72
38	28
4	108
13	45
15	32
17	65
11	60
16	34
8	42
9	65
4	92
10	32
2	127
8	60
4	96
18	14
8	66
4	92
12	70
18	42
18	24
0	106
3	92
3	80
10	48
8	56
13	28
13	40
9	58
10	61
14	32
15	28
6	17
1	77
18	36
35	24
1	73
18	20
3	72
7	62
3	70
7	33
13	34
13	32
8	62
5	17
5	53
5	62
1	72
9	45
7	44
1	66
8	44
9	8
20	29
13	24
1	61
6	52
7	32
13	0
13	13
8	36
3	49
4	53
16	24
11	22
7	20
4	57
8	36
13	34
13	20
2	52
2	65
4	40
13	8
9	36
8	36
8	16
4	52
5	40
10	24
3	52
13	0
2	58
2	52
7	17
8	13
10	36
8	34
6	44
0	66
4	13
8	20
14	24
10	40
12	40
1	49
7	17
8	40
1	62
0	58
0	64
1	53
1	52
0	61
15	20
5	17
5	44
7	28
3	40
5	36
10	29
5	40
5	33
9	20
9	24
7	24
3	24
4	24
13	28
3	44
6	28
2	34
3	40
2	44
1	46
6	20
0	40
7	5
5	28
5	40
10	0
10	17
5	24
3	24
5	24
2	24
6	20
1	44
1	42
2	40
6	2
3	40
3	36
3	40
8	20
3	41
3	41
4	24
2	24
3	24
2	24
10	20
2	34
4	24
3	13
4	32
3	41
3	38
3	40
4	20
1	32
3	13
5	12
3	28
1	40
6	8
3	36
8	8
3	36
6	20
3	13
2	36
3	29
5	28
3	34
8	13
1	22