Weather Records on 12 May 1938

394 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 12 May 1938. Highest significance: Vriddhachalam, IN.

Key Facts for 12 May 1938

On 12 May 1938, 394 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
42 were record highs and 228 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 12 monthly and 382 daily.
Vriddhachalam set a daily record precipitation of 58.4 mm (2.3 in) on 12 May 1938.
Across 164 earlier years (1814 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 453 records.

Record Map

394 stations

394 station records on 12 May 1938 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 12 May 1938: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Vriddhachalam	India	Record daily precipitation	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Charduar	India	Record daily precipitation	93.5 mm (3.7 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Tranqubar	India	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
King River	Australia	Record daily precipitation	56.1 mm (2.2 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Boreli	India	Record daily precipitation	88.1 mm (3.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Tiruvannamalai	India	Record daily precipitation	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Chidambaram	India	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Adanakottai	India	Record daily precipitation	46.2 mm (1.8 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Darjeeling	India	Record daily precipitation	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Kearney 4 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Macksville Country Club	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Armagh	United Kingdom	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Tindivanam	India	Record daily precipitation	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Vattaram	India	Record daily precipitation	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Kurseong	India	Record daily precipitation	81.8 mm (3.2 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Millinocket	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Vaniyambadi	India	Record daily precipitation	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Nashua 2 NNW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Kelowna	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Dhone	India	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Lancaster 2 NW	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-3.3 C (26.1 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Sitka Magnetic Obsy	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.1 mm (2.2 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Busselton Shire	Australia	Record daily precipitation	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Laurieton (Elouera St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Dublin Phoenix Park	Ireland	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Cottbus	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-2.9 C (26.8 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Chanchal	India	Record daily precipitation	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Emporia 1 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	103.4 mm (4.1 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Neosho Rapids	United States	Record daily precipitation	69.6 mm (2.7 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Forster - Tuncurry R.V.C.P.	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.8 mm (1.5 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Sirkali	India	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Sfax El-Maou	Tunisia	Record low maximum temperature	17.0 C (62.6 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Cadiz	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-2.8 C (27.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Creston	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-2.2 C (28.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Fort Chipewyan	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Harrington (Oxley Anchorage Ca	Australia	Record daily precipitation	54.4 mm (2.1 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Burlington	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Poplar Bluff	United States	Record low maximum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Angelica	United States	Record low maximum temperature	5.0 C (41.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Dunvegan	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Lungleh	India	Record daily precipitation	67.6 mm (2.7 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Polur	India	Record daily precipitation	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Tiruvadanai	India	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Kherson	Ukraine	Record daily precipitation	20.2 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Sagar	India	Record daily precipitation	11.7 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Welland	Canada	Record daily snowfall	1.3 cm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Jakutsk	Russia	Record daily precipitation	8.1 mm (0.32 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Arcadia	United States	Record daily precipitation	19.3 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Constantine	Algeria	Record daily precipitation	19.5 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Quebec	Canada	Record daily precipitation	24.1 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Drevja	Norway	Record daily precipitation	19.2 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Covelong	India	Record daily precipitation	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Taree (Radio Station 2Re)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Mayuram	India	Record daily precipitation	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Jayamkondam	India	Record daily precipitation	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Evelyn Sharp Fld	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Watertown Wwtp	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-2.2 C (28.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kanigiri	India	Record daily precipitation	24.1 mm (0.9 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Neidavasal	India	Record daily precipitation	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Kapskarmo	Norway	Record daily precipitation	20.5 mm (0.8 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

394 records

Records set or tied on 12 May 1938 by type: Highest daily maximum 6, Lowest daily maximum 90, Highest daily minimum 36, Lowest daily minimum 138, Heaviest daily rainfall 123, Heaviest daily snowfall 1.

Records on 12 May 1938 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	6
Lowest daily maximum	90
Highest daily minimum	36
Lowest daily minimum	138
Heaviest daily rainfall	123
Heaviest daily snowfall	1
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 12 May 1938 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 12, daily 382.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

306 broken records

Margins by which the 306 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 71.1. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

12 May 1938

Top 20 records on 12 May 1938 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
12 May 1938	Vriddhachalam, IN	daily rain	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	36 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
12 May 1938	Charduar, IN	daily rain	93.5 mm (3.7 in)	62.5 mm (2.5 in)	32 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
12 May 1938	Tranqubar, IN	daily rain	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	25 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
12 May 1938	King River, AU	daily rain	56.1 mm (2.2 in)	26.1 mm (1.0 in)	28 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
12 May 1938	Boreli, IN	daily rain	88.1 mm (3.5 in)	46.2 mm (1.8 in)	36 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
12 May 1938	Tiruvannamalai, IN	daily rain	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	39.7 mm (1.6 in)	12 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Chidambaram, IN	daily rain	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	36 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Adanakottai, IN	daily rain	46.2 mm (1.8 in)	46.2 mm (1.8 in)	36 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Darjeeling, IN	daily rain	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	32 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Kearney 4 NE, US	daily rain	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	28.9 mm (1.1 in)	35 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Macksville Country Club, AU	daily rain	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	48 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Armagh, GB	daily high min	11.1 C (52.0 F)	0.3 C (0.5 F)	77 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Tindivanam, IN	daily rain	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	44.9 mm (1.8 in)	9 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Vattaram, IN	daily rain	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	37.9 mm (1.5 in)	33 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Kurseong, IN	daily rain	81.8 mm (3.2 in)	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	19 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Millinocket, US	daily rain	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	20.6 mm (0.8 in)	13 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Vaniyambadi, IN	daily rain	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	9 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Nashua 2 NNW, US	daily low max	8.3 C (46.9 F)	6.1 C (11.0 F)	49 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Kelowna, CA	daily high min	14.4 C (57.9 F)	5.5 C (9.9 F)	32 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1938	Dhone, IN	daily rain	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	5 years	28 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

1814 to 1938

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1814 to 1938. 1938 had 394 records.

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

Records on 05-12 in each year
Year	Records
1814	2
1823	1
1825	1
1827	1
1834	1
1837	1
1838	1
1845	1
1847	1
1848	1
1849	2
1851	1
1855	2
1860	2
1862	2
1863	1
1867	1
1868	1
1872	2
1874	1
1877	1
1878	1
1879	1
1881	4
1882	5
1884	3
1885	2
1886	3
1887	1
1888	1
1889	1
1890	1
1891	4
1894	1
1895	1
1896	1
1897	7
1898	3
1900	3
1901	6
1902	5
1903	7
1904	11
1905	10
1906	20
1907	53
1908	12
1909	4
1910	9
1911	37
1912	46
1913	6
1914	36
1915	50
1916	42
1917	54
1918	113
1919	42
1920	19
1921	64
1922	43
1923	109
1924	245
1925	275
1926	121
1927	167
1928	192
1929	172
1930	500
1931	350
1932	199
1933	476
1934	293
1935	404
1936	329
1937	214
1938	394
1939	233
1940	440
1941	568
1942	418
1943	803
1944	368
1945	389
1946	653
1947	286
1948	390
1949	414
1950	283
1951	427
1952	711
1953	891
1954	305
1955	265
1956	1,568
1957	454
1958	714
1959	740
1960	1,583
1961	381
1962	713
1963	777
1964	401
1965	196
1966	909
1967	810
1968	890
1969	506
1970	698
1971	668
1972	641
1973	393
1974	702
1975	418
1976	541
1977	855
1978	802
1979	763
1980	684
1981	855
1982	763
1983	1,281
1984	887
1985	1,199
1986	473
1987	1,295
1988	619
1989	856
1990	617
1991	1,177
1992	1,022
1993	1,208
1994	738
1995	1,190
1996	1,420
1997	921
1998	1,576
1999	881
2000	1,486
2001	1,015
2002	1,027
2003	861
2004	1,054
2005	1,369
2006	797
2007	630
2008	858
2009	687
2010	1,250
2011	1,119
2012	660
2013	689
2014	949
2015	958
2016	421
2017	529
2018	819
2019	784
2020	1,338
2021	712
2022	1,930
2023	429
2024	447
2025	940
2026	1,110

Download the Data

Data for records on 1938-05-12: 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	254
10 to 20	23
20 to 30	16
30 to 40	4
40 to 50	6
50 to 60	1
60 to 70	1
70 to 80	1