Weather Records on 4 May 1938

445 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 4 May 1938. Highest significance: Webster City, US.

Key Facts for 4 May 1938

On 4 May 1938, 445 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
176 were record highs and 91 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 10 monthly and 435 daily.
Webster City set a daily record precipitation of 66.3 mm (2.6 in) on 4 May 1938.
Across 163 earlier years (1795 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 430 records.

Record Map

445 stations

445 station records on 4 May 1938 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 4 May 1938: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Webster City	United States	Record daily precipitation	66.3 mm (2.6 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Hampton	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Seward	United States	Record daily precipitation	72.1 mm (2.8 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Topeka	United States	Record daily precipitation	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Wahoo	United States	Record daily precipitation	69.3 mm (2.7 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Oregon	United States	Record daily precipitation	85.1 mm (3.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Newton	United States	Record daily precipitation	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ironwood	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Atchison	United States	Record daily precipitation	66.3 mm (2.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Ripley	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Sac City	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Mt Hope	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Osage City	United States	Record daily precipitation	69.9 mm (2.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Melbourne Regional Office	Australia	Record low maximum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Jefferson	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Crete 4ESE	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Macknade Sugar Mill	Australia	Record daily precipitation	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Anthony	United States	Record daily precipitation	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Burdwan	India	Record daily precipitation	89.2 mm (3.5 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Minneapolis	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Frederick	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.3 mm (2.5 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Lenox	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Kislovodsk	Russia	Record daily precipitation	28.1 mm (1.1 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Cottonwood Falls	United States	Record daily precipitation	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Sidi-Bel-Abbes	Algeria	Record low maximum temperature	14.0 C (57.2 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Little Sioux	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Perry	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Horton	United States	Record daily precipitation	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Concordia ASOS	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.9 mm (1.7 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Bedford	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Ashland #2	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Corning	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Culbertson	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.3 mm (2.0 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Afton	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Cumberland	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Ellsworth	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Pratt 3NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Fairmont	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
St Peter	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Bancroft	United States	Record high minimum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Traverse Cy Cherry Capital AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Eskridge	United States	Record daily precipitation	69.6 mm (2.7 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Grant City	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Ashland	United States	Record high minimum temperature	18.9 C (66.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Greenville 2 NE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Quakertown	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Gorlitz	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-1.0 C (30.2 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Kazalinsk	Kazakhstan	Record high minimum temperature	18.0 C (64.4 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Carroll	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Dodge 5NNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Guthrie Ctr	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Iowa Falls	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Pawnee City	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Ravenna	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Bedford 2 SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Swan Island Lighthouse	Australia	Record daily precipitation	16.3 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Onaway 12 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Harrisville	United States	Record daily precipitation	16.5 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Nemours (Ghazaouet)	Algeria	Record daily precipitation	15.4 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kiev	Ukraine	Record daily precipitation	23.5 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

445 records

Records set or tied on 4 May 1938 by type: Highest daily maximum 82, Lowest daily maximum 46, Highest daily minimum 94, Lowest daily minimum 45, Heaviest daily rainfall 176, Heaviest daily snowfall 2.

Records on 4 May 1938 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	82
Lowest daily maximum	46
Highest daily minimum	94
Lowest daily minimum	45
Heaviest daily rainfall	176
Heaviest daily snowfall	2
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 4 May 1938 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 10, daily 435.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

333 broken records

Margins by which the 333 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 75.1. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

4 May 1938

Top 20 records on 4 May 1938 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
4 May 1938	Webster City, US	daily rain	66.3 mm (2.6 in)	50.6 mm (2.0 in)	44 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Hampton, US	daily rain	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	43 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Seward, US	daily rain	72.1 mm (2.8 in)	49.7 mm (2.0 in)	39 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Topeka, US	daily rain	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	75.1 mm (3.0 in)	29 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Wahoo, US	daily rain	69.3 mm (2.7 in)	52.0 mm (2.0 in)	29 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Oregon, US	daily rain	85.1 mm (3.4 in)	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	29 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Newton, US	daily rain	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	15 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Ironwood, US	daily rain	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	32 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Atchison, US	daily rain	66.3 mm (2.6 in)	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	41 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Ft Ripley, US	daily rain	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	42 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Sac City, US	daily rain	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	36 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Mt Hope, US	daily rain	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	31.7 mm (1.2 in)	31 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Osage City, US	daily rain	69.9 mm (2.8 in)	37.4 mm (1.5 in)	29 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1938	Melbourne Regional Office, AU	daily low max	12.2 C (54.0 F)	0.7 C (1.3 F)	80 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
4 May 1938	Jefferson, US	daily rain	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	38.4 mm (1.5 in)	9 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
4 May 1938	Crete 4ESE, US	daily rain	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	25 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
4 May 1938	Macknade Sugar Mill, AU	daily rain	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	48.8 mm (1.9 in)	5 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
4 May 1938	Anthony, US	daily rain	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	34.8 mm (1.4 in)	29 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
4 May 1938	Burdwan, IN	daily rain	89.2 mm (3.5 in)	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	32 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
4 May 1938	Minneapolis, US	daily rain	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	29.8 mm (1.2 in)	8 years	31 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

1795 to 1938

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1795 to 1938. 1938 had 445 records.

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

Records on 05-04 in each year
Year	Records
1795	1
1796	1
1820	1
1836	2
1840	1
1847	1
1850	2
1851	2
1852	1
1856	3
1858	1
1859	1
1861	2
1862	1
1864	3
1865	2
1868	3
1869	1
1870	2
1875	1
1877	2
1878	1
1879	1
1880	1
1882	1
1885	1
1886	1
1888	1
1889	4
1890	1
1892	4
1893	3
1894	6
1895	3
1896	3
1897	2
1898	2
1899	2
1900	2
1902	5
1903	8
1904	8
1905	19
1906	5
1907	37
1908	18
1909	13
1910	14
1911	37
1912	12
1913	63
1914	21
1915	75
1916	57
1917	60
1918	30
1919	69
1920	43
1921	62
1922	283
1923	82
1924	88
1925	80
1926	230
1927	112
1928	205
1929	177
1930	269
1931	169
1932	104
1933	274
1934	456
1935	518
1936	313
1937	230
1938	445
1939	295
1940	602
1941	436
1942	820
1943	358
1944	872
1945	654
1946	463
1947	649
1948	578
1949	1,130
1950	953
1951	292
1952	698
1953	389
1954	1,045
1955	471
1956	433
1957	433
1958	414
1959	613
1960	443
1961	466
1962	265
1963	313
1964	570
1965	433
1966	1,113
1967	928
1968	304
1969	377
1970	454
1971	810
1972	364
1973	313
1974	367
1975	683
1976	554
1977	736
1978	1,016
1979	1,529
1980	511
1981	667
1982	591
1983	539
1984	885
1985	821
1986	1,128
1987	1,004
1988	591
1989	743
1990	1,461
1991	1,088
1992	933
1993	791
1994	821
1995	974
1996	1,298
1997	962
1998	898
1999	1,167
2000	1,398
2001	1,345
2002	1,343
2003	1,158
2004	1,341
2005	1,152
2006	650
2007	699
2008	624
2009	727
2010	999
2011	1,023
2012	1,343
2013	1,447
2014	602
2015	622
2016	463
2017	669
2018	972
2019	574
2020	504
2021	616
2022	470
2023	681
2024	885
2025	456
2026	554

Download the Data

Data for records on 1938-05-04: 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 10	260
10 to 20	47
20 to 30	10
30 to 40	8
40 to 50	3
50 to 60	4
60 to 70	0
70 to 80	1