Weather Records on 18 May 1938

382 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 18 May 1938. Highest significance: Karlshamn, SE.

Key Facts for 18 May 1938

On 18 May 1938, 382 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
109 were record highs and 71 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 3 were all-time records, 5 monthly and 374 daily.
Karlshamn set a daily record precipitation of 25.7 mm (1.0 in) on 18 May 1938.
Across 164 earlier years (1796 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 443 records.

Record Map

382 stations

382 station records on 18 May 1938 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 18 May 1938: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Karlshamn	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Flahult	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Copper	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
De Smet	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Varberg	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	35.9 mm (1.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Skara 1	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	29.3 mm (1.2 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Bird Island	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Brookhaven City	United States	Record daily precipitation	118.1 mm (4.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Paragonah	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Willmar Wwtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Babb 6 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	65.5 mm (2.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Hata	India	Record daily precipitation	76.7 mm (3.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Mitchell 2 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
East Anaconda	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
East Anaconda	United States	Record daily snowfall	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Alexandria	United States	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Castlewood	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Howard	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
New Ulm 2 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Stanley Wwtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Jonkoping	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	38.5 mm (1.5 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Montevideo 1SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Eau Claire	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Wokha	India	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Akalkot	India	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Browning	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.8 mm (1.9 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Nigriting	India	Record daily precipitation	74.4 mm (2.9 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Farmington 3NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Falmouth	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Fillmore	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
New London	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Augusta	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Butte Bert Mooney AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	13.2 cm (5.2 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Prentice #2	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Aijal	India	Record daily precipitation	94.2 mm (3.7 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Tranebjerg	Denmark	Record daily precipitation	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Blackfoot Fire Dept	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Philo 3 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Vale	United States	Record low maximum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Nidingen A	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Sfax El-Maou	Tunisia	Record low maximum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Greeley	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Cambridge City 3 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Natchez	United States	Record daily precipitation	188.5 mm (7.4 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Forestburg 4 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Merrill	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Gazole	India	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Monroe #2	United States	Record daily precipitation	75.9 mm (3.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
St Joseph	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
St Peter	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Goldbutte 7 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Greenville Wtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Spooner Ag Rsch STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Marseille Obs. Palais-Lonchamp	France	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Ulricehamn	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	29.8 mm (1.2 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Virginia City	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Sidney 2 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Pickens 1	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.6 mm (1.5 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Grantsburg	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.4 mm (1.5 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Collegeville St John's	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

382 records

Records set or tied on 18 May 1938 by type: Highest daily maximum 21, Lowest daily maximum 51, Highest daily minimum 88, Lowest daily minimum 20, Heaviest daily rainfall 196, Heaviest daily snowfall 6.

Records on 18 May 1938 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	21
Lowest daily maximum	51
Highest daily minimum	88
Lowest daily minimum	20
Heaviest daily rainfall	196
Heaviest daily snowfall	6
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 18 May 1938 by timescale: all-time 3, monthly 5, daily 374.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

307 broken records

Margins by which the 307 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 132.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

18 May 1938

Top 20 records on 18 May 1938 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
18 May 1938	Karlshamn, SE	daily rain	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	13.0 mm (0.5 in)	59 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Flahult, SE	daily rain	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	36 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Copper, US	daily rain	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	32 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	De Smet, US	daily rain	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	36 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Varberg, SE	daily rain	35.9 mm (1.4 in)	16.4 mm (0.6 in)	8 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Skara 1, SE	daily rain	29.3 mm (1.2 in)	16.5 mm (0.6 in)	27 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Bird Island, US	daily rain	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	28 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Brookhaven City, US	daily rain	118.1 mm (4.6 in)	96.5 mm (3.8 in)	8 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Paragonah, US	daily rain	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	22.3 mm (0.9 in)	23 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Willmar Wwtp, US	daily rain	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	36.5 mm (1.4 in)	13 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Babb 6 NE, US	daily rain	65.5 mm (2.6 in)	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	7 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Hata, IN	daily rain	76.7 mm (3.0 in)	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	1 year	43 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Mitchell 2 N, US	daily rain	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	11 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	East Anaconda, US	all-time rain	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	5.4 mm (0.21 in)	28 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	East Anaconda, US	all-time snowfall	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	3.8 cm (1.5 in)	29 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Alexandria, US	daily rain	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	38.3 mm (1.5 in)	36 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Castlewood, US	daily rain	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	19 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Howard, US	daily rain	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	36 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	New Ulm 2 SE, US	daily rain	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	24.1 mm (0.9 in)	28 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1938	Stanley Wwtp, US	daily rain	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	16 years	38 of 100 (Notable)

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

1796 to 1938

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1796 to 1938. 1938 had 382 records.

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

Records on 05-18 in each year
Year	Records
1796	1
1798	1
1802	2
1832	1
1833	1
1845	1
1847	1
1848	1
1855	1
1859	1
1861	2
1863	3
1864	1
1866	2
1868	2
1869	1
1870	1
1871	2
1872	1
1874	2
1877	4
1878	1
1879	1
1881	1
1883	2
1884	2
1885	1
1887	1
1888	4
1889	2
1891	1
1893	2
1894	4
1895	5
1896	2
1897	2
1898	1
1899	1
1900	13
1901	6
1902	9
1903	7
1904	11
1905	2
1906	24
1907	18
1908	5
1909	12
1910	50
1911	64
1912	5
1913	11
1914	45
1915	55
1916	74
1917	30
1918	42
1919	30
1920	26
1921	41
1922	33
1923	61
1924	92
1925	220
1926	133
1927	180
1928	160
1929	193
1930	475
1931	191
1932	460
1933	380
1934	390
1935	400
1936	282
1937	348
1938	382
1939	169
1940	315
1941	334
1942	421
1943	744
1944	496
1945	706
1946	651
1947	231
1948	426
1949	597
1950	473
1951	279
1952	493
1953	393
1954	498
1955	848
1956	795
1957	595
1958	334
1959	435
1960	404
1961	187
1962	1,199
1963	477
1964	329
1965	345
1966	438
1967	410
1968	817
1969	865
1970	703
1971	666
1972	499
1973	1,233
1974	1,097
1975	383
1976	733
1977	1,126
1978	1,090
1979	399
1980	614
1981	1,218
1982	452
1983	1,093
1984	717
1985	498
1986	1,131
1987	823
1988	1,154
1989	721
1990	753
1991	1,218
1992	921
1993	707
1994	1,015
1995	1,849
1996	1,767
1997	1,115
1998	1,060
1999	584
2000	922
2001	898
2002	1,833
2003	1,270
2004	847
2005	630
2006	1,493
2007	1,133
2008	999
2009	1,368
2010	894
2011	1,406
2012	523
2013	816
2014	609
2015	785
2016	597
2017	1,855
2018	557
2019	810
2020	706
2021	418
2022	711
2023	554
2024	551
2025	619
2026	1,131

Download the Data

Data for records on 1938-05-18: 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 20	271
20 to 40	29
40 to 60	4
60 to 80	1
80 to 100	1
100 to 120	0
120 to 140	1