Extreme rain in United States, 4 to 24 May 2023

Name: Extreme rain in United States, 4 to 24 May 2023
Start: 2023-05-04
End: 2023-05-24
Location: United States

Extreme rain in United States, 4 to 24 May 2023: 874 records at 737 stations, peak on 13 May 2023. Closed.

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

Key Facts

Extreme rain in United States, 4 to 24 May 2023 set or tied 874 station records at 737 stations.
It ran from 4 May 2023 to 24 May 2023 (21 days) and its peak day was 13 May 2023.
Status: closed.
Prescott set a daily record precipitation of 37.1 mm (1.5 in) on 20 May 2023.
The busiest day was 13 May 2023 with 128 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 128 years.

Footprint

4 to 24 May 2023

The area covered by Extreme rain in United States, 4 to 24 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, 4 to 24 May 2023: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Prescott	Record daily precipitation	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	2023-05-20
Springview 2NW	Record daily precipitation	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	2023-05-13
Moffit 3 SE	Record daily precipitation	109.2 mm (4.3 in)	2023-05-13
Tracy	Record daily precipitation	85.1 mm (3.4 in)	2023-05-14
Walnut Grove	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	2023-05-20
Imperial	Record daily precipitation	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	2023-05-12
Bison	Record daily precipitation	56.9 mm (2.2 in)	2023-05-13
Cheesman	Record daily precipitation	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	2023-05-11
Colorado Springs Muni AP	Record daily precipitation	80.8 mm (3.2 in)	2023-05-11
Longmont 2 ESE	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	2023-05-12
Limon	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	2023-05-11
Windom	Record daily precipitation	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	2023-05-14
Bowdle	Record daily precipitation	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	2023-05-06
Cornelia	Record daily precipitation	65.8 mm (2.6 in)	2023-05-08
Sedalia 4 SSE	Record daily precipitation	102.9 mm (4.1 in)	2023-05-12
Beaver City	Record daily precipitation	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	2023-05-12
Walnut	Record daily precipitation	85.1 mm (3.4 in)	2023-05-08
Gordon 6N	Record daily precipitation	104.9 mm (4.1 in)	2023-05-11
Napoleonville	Record daily precipitation	75.2 mm (3.0 in)	2023-05-07
Dillon 1 E	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	2023-05-12

Records per Day

Peak day 128

Records set or tied each day from 4 May 2023 to 24 May 2023. The most in one day was 128 on 13 May 2023.

Records per day during Extreme rain in United States, 4 to 24 May 2023
Date	Records
2023-05-04	3
2023-05-05	10
2023-05-06	30
2023-05-07	45
2023-05-08	46
2023-05-09	28
2023-05-10	53
2023-05-11	97
2023-05-12	121
2023-05-13	128
2023-05-14	108
2023-05-15	59
2023-05-16	22
2023-05-17	24
2023-05-18	28
2023-05-19	32
2023-05-20	23
2023-05-21	6
2023-05-22	7
2023-05-23	3
2023-05-24	1

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Extreme rain in United States, 4 to 24 May 2023 ranked by margin
Napoleonville, 05-07	59.5 mm (2.3 in)
Tracy, 05-14	54.6 mm (2.1 in)
Beaver City, 05-12	52.8 mm (2.1 in)
Walnut, 05-08	49.0 mm (1.9 in)
Cornelia, 05-08	43.7 mm (1.7 in)
Springview 2NW, 05-13	38.6 mm (1.5 in)
Moffit 3 SE, 05-13	38.1 mm (1.5 in)
Limon, 05-11	36.6 mm (1.4 in)
Windom, 05-14	35.5 mm (1.4 in)
Bowdle, 05-06	30.7 mm (1.2 in)
Sedalia 4 SSE, 05-12	29.7 mm (1.2 in)
Bison, 05-13	29.0 mm (1.1 in)
Longmont 2 ESE, 05-12	26.9 mm (1.1 in)
Colorado Springs Muni AP, 05-11	24.2 mm (1.0 in)
Imperial, 05-12	22.9 mm (0.9 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

500 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, 4 to 24 May 2023
Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
22	105
39	109
38	60
55	82
14	88
23	124
29	106
20	93
27	110
24	67
36	82
37	65
30	50
44	89
53	50
31	123
49	48
14	68
20	40
60	108
29	126
35	80
15	72
40	52
44	45
21	89
47	44
25	81
24	92
59	40
60	73
20	56
21	106
92	24
9	96
15	25
20	120
41	41
92	17
37	40
18	40
23	40
38	33
24	84
45	12
14	117
17	17
31	60
12	106
25	40
56	8
16	56
15	120
35	28
18	40
48	52
53	24
22	116
32	57
7	65
15	29
15	82
12	65
11	33
28	80
25	25
82	8
15	50
40	12
58	14
25	40
26	52
33	44
24	70
12	57
21	12
22	33
23	52
10	108
10	106
29	60
14	113
8	104
51	16
23	33
22	60
8	93
9	57
23	52
19	16
17	80
20	65
11	127
7	126
21	65
7	96
7	98
4	102
8	65
7	120
15	37
27	52
24	48
24	16
8	126
11	98
11	94
11	94
12	82
11	80
5	96
20	46
41	8
26	69
25	12
33	12
6	88
21	61
11	77
4	125
19	32
4	112
32	4
19	54
19	50
31	38
3	116
6	90
36	36
7	68
1	128
11	20
7	76
8	80
2	106
19	52
28	36
38	36
14	76
60	46
21	52
8	80
18	50
22	28
1	114
1	106
3	110
2	100
5	97
23	12
13	21
37	53
11	21
0	120
29	6
32	17
6	65
23	40
5	46
8	72
1	126
16	56
1	108
0	109
5	68
13	30
5	73
9	34
9	77
13	74
26	36
12	76
38	29
49	40
13	72
3	92
3	92
21	50
20	24
7	80
3	89
21	68
27	53
6	34
13	36
46	48
12	25
7	37
4	81
13	61
13	65
20	21
29	33
25	53
26	12
1	88
66	8
1	88
19	44
3	80

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Extreme rain in United States, 4 to 24 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, 4 to 24 May 2023 (this event)	874 records

Every Record Set

20 of 874

Every record set or tied during Extreme rain in United States, 4 to 24 May 2023, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2023-05-06	Bowdle	Record daily precipitation	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	123	65 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-07	Napoleonville	Record daily precipitation	75.2 mm (3.0 in)	59.5 mm (2.3 in)	108	62 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-08	Cornelia	Record daily precipitation	65.8 mm (2.6 in)	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	89	65 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-08	Walnut	Record daily precipitation	85.1 mm (3.4 in)	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	48	64 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-11	Cheesman	Record daily precipitation	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	19.5 mm (0.8 in)	93	67 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-11	Colorado Springs Muni AP	Record daily precipitation	80.8 mm (3.2 in)	24.2 mm (1.0 in)	67	67 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-11	Limon	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	65	66 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-11	Gordon 6N	Record daily precipitation	104.9 mm (4.1 in)	13.5 mm (0.5 in)	68	64 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-12	Imperial	Record daily precipitation	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	22.9 mm (0.9 in)	124	69 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-12	Longmont 2 ESE	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	110	67 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-12	Sedalia 4 SSE	Record daily precipitation	102.9 mm (4.1 in)	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	50	65 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-12	Beaver City	Record daily precipitation	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	50	65 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-12	Dillon 1 E	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	19.8 mm (0.8 in)	40	62 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-13	Springview 2NW	Record daily precipitation	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	109	76 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-13	Moffit 3 SE	Record daily precipitation	109.2 mm (4.3 in)	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	60	76 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-13	Bison	Record daily precipitation	56.9 mm (2.2 in)	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	106	68 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-14	Tracy	Record daily precipitation	85.1 mm (3.4 in)	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	82	74 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-14	Windom	Record daily precipitation	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	35.5 mm (1.4 in)	82	66 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-20	Prescott	Record daily precipitation	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	105	79 of 100 (Major)
2023-05-20	Walnut Grove	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	13.9 mm (0.5 in)	88	70 of 100 (Major)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 874 records the event counts. The counts above use the full total.

Related Headlines

Third party news, headline and link only

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.

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
22	105
39	109
38	60
55	82
14	88
23	124
29	106
20	93
27	110
24	67
36	82
37	65
30	50
44	89
53	50
31	123
49	48
14	68
20	40
60	108
29	126
35	80
15	72
40	52
44	45
21	89
47	44
25	81
24	92
59	40
60	73
20	56
21	106
92	24
9	96
15	25
20	120
41	41
92	17
37	40
18	40
23	40
38	33
24	84
45	12
14	117
17	17
31	60
12	106
25	40
56	8
16	56
15	120
35	28
18	40
48	52
53	24
22	116
32	57
7	65
15	29
15	82
12	65
11	33
28	80
25	25
82	8
15	50
40	12
58	14
25	40
26	52
33	44
24	70
12	57
21	12
22	33
23	52
10	108
10	106
29	60
14	113
8	104
51	16
23	33
22	60
8	93
9	57
23	52
19	16
17	80
20	65
11	127
7	126
21	65
7	96
7	98
4	102
8	65
7	120
15	37
27	52
24	48
24	16
8	126
11	98
11	94
11	94
12	82
11	80
5	96
20	46
41	8
26	69
25	12
33	12
6	88
21	61
11	77
4	125
19	32
4	112
32	4
19	54
19	50
31	38
3	116
6	90
36	36
7	68
1	128
11	20
7	76
8	80
2	106
19	52
28	36
38	36
14	76
60	46
21	52
8	80
18	50
22	28
1	114
1	106
3	110
2	100
5	97
23	12
13	21
37	53
11	21
0	120
29	6
32	17
6	65
23	40
5	46
8	72
1	126
16	56
1	108
0	109
5	68
13	30
5	73
9	34
9	77
13	74
26	36
12	76
38	29
49	40
13	72
3	92
3	92
21	50
20	24
7	80
3	89
21	68
27	53
6	34
13	36
46	48
12	25
7	37
4	81
13	61
13	65
20	21
29	33
25	53
26	12
1	88
66	8
1	88
19	44
3	80

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
22	105
39	109
38	60
55	82
14	88
23	124
29	106
20	93
27	110
24	67
36	82
37	65
30	50
44	89
53	50
31	123
49	48
14	68
20	40
60	108
29	126
35	80
15	72
40	52
44	45
21	89
47	44
25	81
24	92
59	40
60	73
20	56
21	106
92	24
9	96
15	25
20	120
41	41
92	17
37	40
18	40
23	40
38	33
24	84
45	12
14	117
17	17
31	60
12	106
25	40
56	8
16	56
15	120
35	28
18	40
48	52
53	24
22	116
32	57
7	65
15	29
15	82
12	65
11	33
28	80
25	25
82	8
15	50
40	12
58	14
25	40
26	52
33	44
24	70
12	57
21	12
22	33
23	52
10	108
10	106
29	60
14	113
8	104
51	16
23	33
22	60
8	93
9	57
23	52
19	16
17	80
20	65
11	127
7	126
21	65
7	96
7	98
4	102
8	65
7	120
15	37
27	52
24	48
24	16
8	126
11	98
11	94
11	94
12	82
11	80
5	96
20	46
41	8
26	69
25	12
33	12
6	88
21	61
11	77
4	125
19	32
4	112
32	4
19	54
19	50
31	38
3	116
6	90
36	36
7	68
1	128
11	20
7	76
8	80
2	106
19	52
28	36
38	36
14	76
60	46
21	52
8	80
18	50
22	28
1	114
1	106
3	110
2	100
5	97
23	12
13	21
37	53
11	21
0	120
29	6
32	17
6	65
23	40
5	46
8	72
1	126
16	56
1	108
0	109
5	68
13	30
5	73
9	34
9	77
13	74
26	36
12	76
38	29
49	40
13	72
3	92
3	92
21	50
20	24
7	80
3	89
21	68
27	53
6	34
13	36
46	48
12	25
7	37
4	81
13	61
13	65
20	21
29	33
25	53
26	12
1	88
66	8
1	88
19	44
3	80

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
22	105
39	109
38	60
55	82
14	88
23	124
29	106
20	93
27	110
24	67
36	82
37	65
30	50
44	89
53	50
31	123
49	48
14	68
20	40
60	108
29	126
35	80
15	72
40	52
44	45
21	89
47	44
25	81
24	92
59	40
60	73
20	56
21	106
92	24
9	96
15	25
20	120
41	41
92	17
37	40
18	40
23	40
38	33
24	84
45	12
14	117
17	17
31	60
12	106
25	40
56	8
16	56
15	120
35	28
18	40
48	52
53	24
22	116
32	57
7	65
15	29
15	82
12	65
11	33
28	80
25	25
82	8
15	50
40	12
58	14
25	40
26	52
33	44
24	70
12	57
21	12
22	33
23	52
10	108
10	106
29	60
14	113
8	104
51	16
23	33
22	60
8	93
9	57
23	52
19	16
17	80
20	65
11	127
7	126
21	65
7	96
7	98
4	102
8	65
7	120
15	37
27	52
24	48
24	16
8	126
11	98
11	94
11	94
12	82
11	80
5	96
20	46
41	8
26	69
25	12
33	12
6	88
21	61
11	77
4	125
19	32
4	112
32	4
19	54
19	50
31	38
3	116
6	90
36	36
7	68
1	128
11	20
7	76
8	80
2	106
19	52
28	36
38	36
14	76
60	46
21	52
8	80
18	50
22	28
1	114
1	106
3	110
2	100
5	97
23	12
13	21
37	53
11	21
0	120
29	6
32	17
6	65
23	40
5	46
8	72
1	126
16	56
1	108
0	109
5	68
13	30
5	73
9	34
9	77
13	74
26	36
12	76
38	29
49	40
13	72
3	92
3	92
21	50
20	24
7	80
3	89
21	68
27	53
6	34
13	36
46	48
12	25
7	37
4	81
13	61
13	65
20	21
29	33
25	53
26	12
1	88
66	8
1	88
19	44
3	80