Weather History - May 1st

Local and Regional Events:

May 1, 1959:

Aberdeen recorded a high temperature of 102, which is the earliest date that Aberdeen reached 100 degrees.

May 1, 1967:

One of the latest blizzards on records for South Dakota ended on this day. Snowfall amounts in the west were 5 to 12 inches with a 16-inch report in Lemmon and 30 inches in the northern Black Hills. Winds of 40 to 50 mph caused blowing snow which occasionally reduced visibility to near zero and snow drifts of 4 to 5 feet. Other snowfall amounts include 5 inches in Murdo and 6 miles SE of McIntosh; and 4 inches in Timber Lake.

May 1, 1997:

Torrential rains of 1.5 to 2.5 inches with a separate 4.5-inch report fell over central South Dakota and caused flooding to several creeks, streams, low-lying areas, and roads. This early May rain only aggravated the areas flooded in March and April. Lyman County experienced the most significant flooding where 4.5 inches of rain fell, north of Vivian. Part of a golf course was flooded, and some personal property was flooded along with the KOA campground near Kennebec. Some rainfall amounts include 2.5 inches 7 miles NW of Presho and 2.01 inches near Stephan.

U.S.A and Global Events for May 1st:

1857: The Washington Evening Star publishes the first US national weather summary using observations from volunteers to the Smithsonian Institution's cooperative network.

1933: An estimated F4 tornado struck Minden, Louisiana, killing 28 people and injuring 400 others. 500 homes were damaged or destroyed with $1.3 million in damage. Click HERE for more information from Minden Memories.org.

1999: Record, low temperatures for the date, were broken in the Deep South. Mobile, Alabama dropped to 46 degrees.  Miami fell to 58; Miami Beach bottomed out at 61, and Vero Beach dropped to 47 degrees, all new records. Other stations in Florida also set record cold maximums for the date, including 61 at Jacksonville and Daytona Beach with 66 degrees. 

2003: A record-setting 516 tornadoes occurred during May 2003. In particular, during the period May 4-10, 2003, an unprecedented number of tornadoes, 393 total, affected the central and the southern United States. The tornadoes resulted in 39 deaths across four states. Six of these tornadoes were classified as violent (F4) on the Fujita Tornado Intensity Scale. Click HERE for more information.

Click HERE for more This Day in Weather History from the Southeast Regional Climate Center.