Weather Records on 3 January 1938

139 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 3 January 1938. Highest significance: Borroloola, AU.

Key Facts for 3 January 1938

On 3 January 1938, 139 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
52 were record highs and 13 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 2 monthly and 137 daily.
Borroloola set a daily record precipitation of 177.8 mm (7.0 in) on 3 January 1938.
Across 163 earlier years (1794 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 493 records.

Record Map

139 stations

139 station records on 3 January 1938 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 3 January 1938: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Borroloola	Australia	Record daily precipitation	177.8 mm (7.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Los Lunas	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Tres Piedras	United States	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Katherine Council	Australia	Record daily precipitation	105.9 mm (4.2 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Daly Waters	Australia	Record daily precipitation	63.8 mm (2.5 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
White River	Canada	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Georgetown Post Office	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	27.2 C (81.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Tombstone	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Elizabethtown	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Lady Frere (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Saentis	Switzerland	Record low maximum temperature	-17.5 C (0.5 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Doberlug-Kirchhain	Germany	Record snow depth	11.0 cm (4.3 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Jakutsk	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	-32.5 C (-26.5 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Richfield Radio Ksvc	United States	Record daily precipitation	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Tres Piedras	United States	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Fowlers Bay	Australia	Record daily precipitation	3.3 mm (0.13 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Colac (Shire Office)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	22.9 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
White River	Canada	Record daily precipitation	6.4 mm (0.25 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Elizabethtown	United States	Record daily precipitation	12.7 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Strathalbyn	Australia	Record daily precipitation	10.4 mm (0.4 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kursk	Russia	Record daily precipitation	10.6 mm (0.4 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Manassa	United States	Record daily precipitation	9.7 mm (0.38 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Carlsbad	United States	Record daily precipitation	6.1 mm (0.24 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Port Lincoln	Australia	Record daily precipitation	3.6 mm (0.14 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Corny Point	Australia	Record daily precipitation	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Port Victoria	Australia	Record daily precipitation	15.0 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Mulyie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	2.3 mm (0.09 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Duchesne	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Charters Towers Post Office	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	25.6 C (78.1 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Sonnblick	Austria	Record low maximum temperature	-25.4 C (-13.7 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Zugspitze	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-22.1 C (-7.8 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Roosevelt 1 S	United States	Record high minimum temperature	8.9 C (48.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Artesia 6S	United States	Record daily precipitation	5.1 mm (0.20 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Lake Moraine	United States	Record daily precipitation	10.4 mm (0.4 in)	18 of 100 (Routine)
Emerald Post Office	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	26.9 C (80.4 F)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Sailana	India	Record daily precipitation	3.6 mm (0.14 in)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Sawar	India	Record daily precipitation	3.3 mm (0.13 in)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Oracle	United States	Record high minimum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Trinidad	United States	Record daily precipitation	4.3 mm (0.17 in)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Stanton	United States	Record daily precipitation	5.6 mm (0.22 in)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Stanton	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Los Lunas	United States	Record daily precipitation	8.1 mm (0.32 in)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Belair (Kalyra)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	11.2 mm (0.4 in)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Bundaberg Post Office	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	25.3 C (77.5 F)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Wyndham Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Greifswald	Germany	Record snow depth	10.0 cm (3.9 in)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Ratlam	India	Record daily precipitation	2.8 mm (0.11 in)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Cofimvaba (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Douglas Smelter	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Durango	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Hutchinson River	United States	Record high minimum temperature	4.4 C (39.9 F)	16 of 100 (Routine)
McPherson	United States	Record high minimum temperature	3.9 C (39.0 F)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Duchesne	United States	Record daily precipitation	7.4 mm (0.29 in)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Jacksonville Wb City	United States	Record daily precipitation	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Kalgoorlie Post Office	Australia	Record low minimum temperature	10.7 C (51.3 F)	15 of 100 (Routine)
Lock (Terre)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	2.0 mm (0.08 in)	15 of 100 (Routine)
Angermunde	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-13.8 C (7.2 F)	15 of 100 (Routine)
Susner	India	Record daily precipitation	3.8 mm (0.15 in)	15 of 100 (Routine)
Nes Pa Hedmark	Norway	Record snow depth	48.0 cm (18.9 in)	15 of 100 (Routine)
Bisbee	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	15 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

139 records

Records set or tied on 3 January 1938 by type: Highest daily maximum 8, Lowest daily maximum 9, Highest daily minimum 44, Lowest daily minimum 4, Heaviest daily rainfall 53, Heaviest daily snowfall 14, Deepest snow cover 7.

Records on 3 January 1938 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	8
Lowest daily maximum	9
Highest daily minimum	44
Lowest daily minimum	4
Heaviest daily rainfall	53
Heaviest daily snowfall	14
Deepest snow cover	7

Records on 3 January 1938 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 2, daily 137.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

120 broken records

Margins by which the 120 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 170.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

3 January 1938

Top 20 records on 3 January 1938 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
3 January 1938	Borroloola, AU	daily rain	177.8 mm (7.0 in)	133.1 mm (5.2 in)	15 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1938	Los Lunas, US	daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	39 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1938	Tres Piedras, US	daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	16 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Katherine Council, AU	daily rain	105.9 mm (4.2 in)	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	16 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Daly Waters, AU	daily rain	63.8 mm (2.5 in)	35.4 mm (1.4 in)	0 years	26 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	White River, CA	daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	3.9 cm (1.5 in)	42 years	26 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Georgetown Post Office, AU	daily high min	27.2 C (81.0 F)	1.6 C (2.9 F)	40 years	25 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Tombstone, US	daily high min	11.7 C (53.1 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	39 years	24 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Elizabethtown, US	daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	4 years	24 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Lady Frere (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	6.6 mm (0.26 in)	40 years	22 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Saentis, CH	daily low max	-17.5 C (0.5 F)	2.9 C (5.2 F)	36 years	22 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Doberlug-Kirchhain, DE	daily snow depth	11.0 cm (4.3 in)	6.0 cm (2.4 in)	8 years	21 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Jakutsk, RU	daily high min	-32.5 C (-26.5 F)	6.3 C (11.3 F)	28 years	21 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Richfield Radio Ksvc, US	daily rain	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	8.7 mm (0.34 in)	36 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Tres Piedras, US	daily rain	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	11.4 mm (0.4 in)	16 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Fowlers Bay, AU	daily rain	3.3 mm (0.13 in)	2.8 mm (0.11 in)	52 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Colac (Shire Office), AU	daily rain	22.9 mm (0.9 in)	8.9 mm (0.35 in)	38 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	White River, CA	daily rain	6.4 mm (0.25 in)	3.9 mm (0.15 in)	42 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Elizabethtown, US	daily rain	12.7 mm (0.5 in)	9.7 mm (0.38 in)	16 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1938	Strathalbyn, AU	daily rain	10.4 mm (0.4 in)	5.6 mm (0.22 in)	24 years	20 of 100 (Routine)

Significance is a score from 0 to 100 combining margin, the age of the old record and the length of the station's record. How it is computed.

The Same Date in Other Years

1794 to 1938

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1794 to 1938. 1938 had 139 records.

Counts for years before the ledger starts come from the same station rules.

Records on 01-03 in each year
Year	Records
1794	1
1798	1
1800	1
1823	2
1825	1
1830	2
1839	1
1848	1
1853	1
1860	2
1861	1
1864	1
1867	2
1868	2
1871	2
1873	1
1874	2
1876	2
1877	3
1878	1
1879	2
1882	2
1883	3
1884	1
1886	4
1887	5
1888	3
1889	4
1890	3
1891	4
1892	1
1893	1
1894	1
1895	3
1896	1
1897	3
1899	2
1900	15
1901	4
1902	15
1903	17
1904	51
1905	12
1906	13
1907	26
1908	8
1909	11
1910	23
1911	40
1912	26
1913	83
1914	33
1915	29
1916	60
1917	52
1918	80
1919	54
1920	31
1921	139
1922	80
1923	46
1924	222
1925	139
1926	268
1927	235
1928	412
1929	58
1930	160
1931	100
1932	167
1933	160
1934	208
1935	249
1936	404
1937	291
1938	139
1939	498
1940	312
1941	595
1942	505
1943	508
1944	361
1945	148
1946	171
1947	662
1948	462
1949	910
1950	2,025
1951	459
1952	587
1953	241
1954	370
1955	443
1956	188
1957	177
1958	326
1959	861
1960	431
1961	543
1962	802
1963	494
1964	513
1965	492
1966	885
1967	247
1968	582
1969	516
1970	749
1971	1,280
1972	313
1973	623
1974	1,010
1975	710
1976	524
1977	790
1978	745
1979	2,417
1980	470
1981	1,401
1982	1,380
1983	921
1984	983
1985	739
1986	676
1987	843
1988	1,034
1989	740
1990	467
1991	1,077
1992	1,200
1993	910
1994	902
1995	726
1996	2,085
1997	3,676
1998	1,434
1999	1,568
2000	2,063
2001	1,385
2002	1,307
2003	981
2004	1,406
2005	1,157
2006	1,472
2007	1,396
2008	948
2009	682
2010	1,337
2011	681
2012	956
2013	496
2014	1,029
2015	869
2016	605
2017	1,053
2018	1,444
2019	474
2020	772
2021	476
2022	989
2023	1,318
2024	734
2025	653
2026	902

Download the Data

Data for records on 1938-01-03: CSV or JSON. Field meanings are on the data page.

Sources: 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)) Made with Natural Earth. Public domain map data. Borders are Natural Earth's de facto depiction. Data as of 2026-10-17 (17 October 2026). Records are computed by this site and are not official.

Data as of 2026-10-15. Last revised 15 October 2026 (2026-10-15).

Margin	Records
0 to 25	105
25 to 50	7
50 to 75	3
75 to 100	1
100 to 125	0
125 to 150	1
150 to 175	3