Weather Records on 20 May 1938

331 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 May 1938. Highest significance: Schenley Lock 5, US.

Key Facts for 20 May 1938

On 20 May 1938, 331 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
184 were record highs and 41 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 6 monthly and 325 daily.
Schenley Lock 5 set a daily record precipitation of 45.2 mm (1.8 in) on 20 May 1938.
Across 162 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 456 records.

Record Map

331 stations

331 station records on 20 May 1938 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 May 1938: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Schenley Lock 5	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Milan	Italy	Record low maximum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ljubljana Bezigrad	Slovenia	Record daily precipitation	47.6 mm (1.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Ebrach	Germany	Record daily precipitation	31.6 mm (1.2 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Hvar	Croatia	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Maunawili Rch	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Soro	India	Record daily precipitation	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Burpengary Ulmann Rd	Australia	Record daily precipitation	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Sonnblick	Austria	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Pembroke Eddy Match	Canada	Record daily precipitation	54.1 mm (2.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Sherbrooke	Canada	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Bamberg (Sternwarte)	Germany	Record daily precipitation	26.1 mm (1.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Quebec	Canada	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Montreal McGill	Canada	Record daily precipitation	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Glenville	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Cheboygan	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Greenville Wtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Mantova	Italy	Record daily precipitation	29.6 mm (1.2 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Sfax El-Maou	Tunisia	Record low maximum temperature	16.0 C (60.8 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Ocala	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.8 C (100.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Holland Wtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Luz (Estacao)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Conway	United States	Record high maximum temperature	38.3 C (100.9 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Philippi	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Koebenhavn: Landbohojskolen-1	Denmark	Record low maximum temperature	9.1 C (48.4 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Montgomery Wb City	United States	Record high maximum temperature	33.9 C (93.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Creston	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Mackinac Island	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Union 3 SSE	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Attarikhat	India	Record daily precipitation	86.4 mm (3.4 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Philipsburg	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Highland Home	United States	Record high minimum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Petoskey	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
St Ignace	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Kingfisher	United States	Record high minimum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Dover 1 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Dublin 2SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Gollhofen	Germany	Record daily precipitation	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Augsburg (Sankt Stephan)	Germany	Record daily precipitation	19.9 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Heinersreuth-Vollhof	Germany	Record daily precipitation	18.7 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kualapuu 534	United States	Record daily precipitation	22.6 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Nurnberg	Germany	Record daily precipitation	20.1 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Artern	Germany	Record daily precipitation	17.4 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Acmetonia Lock 3	United States	Record daily precipitation	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Tullinga	Australia	Record daily precipitation	10.7 mm (0.4 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Tallebung (Vermont Hill)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	8.1 mm (0.32 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Tonderburine	Australia	Record daily precipitation	13.5 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Napoleon	United States	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Chemnitz	Germany	Record daily precipitation	16.4 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Tottenham (Moira Vale)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	10.9 mm (0.4 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Begusarai	India	Record daily precipitation	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Waycross 4 NE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	36.1 C (97.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Highlands	United States	Record high minimum temperature	17.2 C (63.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Winnsboro	United States	Record high maximum temperature	36.7 C (98.1 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Muskegon Co AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Altastenberg	Germany	Record daily precipitation	25.6 mm (1.0 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Weissenburg	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Jamalpur	India	Record daily precipitation	24.1 mm (0.9 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Lugano	Switzerland	Record low maximum temperature	10.8 C (51.4 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Tuscumbia	United States	Record high maximum temperature	33.9 C (93.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

331 records

Records set or tied on 20 May 1938 by type: Highest daily maximum 84, Lowest daily maximum 28, Highest daily minimum 100, Lowest daily minimum 13, Heaviest daily rainfall 104, Heaviest daily snowfall 1, Deepest snow cover 1.

Records on 20 May 1938 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	84
Lowest daily maximum	28
Highest daily minimum	100
Lowest daily minimum	13
Heaviest daily rainfall	104
Heaviest daily snowfall	1
Deepest snow cover	1

Records on 20 May 1938 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 6, daily 325.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

252 broken records

Margins by which the 252 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 102.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 May 1938

Top 20 records on 20 May 1938 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 May 1938	Schenley Lock 5, US	daily rain	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	22.8 mm (0.9 in)	43 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1938	Milan, IT	daily low max	12.2 C (54.0 F)	2.4 C (4.3 F)	100 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1938	Ljubljana Bezigrad, SI	daily rain	47.6 mm (1.9 in)	30.9 mm (1.2 in)	16 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1938	Ebrach, DE	daily rain	31.6 mm (1.2 in)	19.9 mm (0.8 in)	7 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1938	Hvar, HR	daily rain	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	12.4 mm (0.5 in)	54 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1938	Maunawili Rch, US	daily rain	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	35.9 mm (1.4 in)	32 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1938	Soro, IN	daily rain	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	36 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1938	Burpengary Ulmann Rd, AU	daily rain	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	57.9 mm (2.3 in)	27 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1938	Sonnblick, AT	daily rain	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	21.1 mm (0.8 in)	24 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1938	Pembroke Eddy Match, CA	daily rain	54.1 mm (2.1 in)	9.6 mm (0.38 in)	59 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1938	Sherbrooke, CA	daily rain	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	18.3 mm (0.7 in)	9 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1938	Bamberg (Sternwarte), DE	daily rain	26.1 mm (1.0 in)	9.1 mm (0.36 in)	25 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1938	Quebec, CA	daily rain	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	7.1 mm (0.28 in)	47 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1938	Montreal McGill, CA	monthly rain	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	5.5 mm (0.22 in)	22 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1938	Glenville, US	daily rain	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	10.2 mm (0.4 in)	47 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1938	Cheboygan, US	daily rain	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	7 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1938	Greenville Wtp, US	daily rain	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	18.5 mm (0.7 in)	19 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1938	Mantova, IT	daily rain	29.6 mm (1.2 in)	6.5 mm (0.26 in)	36 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1938	Sfax El-Maou, TN	daily low max	16.0 C (60.8 F)	4.0 C (7.2 F)	36 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1938	Ocala, US	monthly high max	37.8 C (100.0 F)	0.6 C (1.1 F)	39 years	27 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

1802 to 1938

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1938. 1938 had 331 records.

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

Records on 05-20 in each year
Year	Records
1802	1
1803	1
1804	1
1815	1
1825	1
1837	1
1844	1
1845	3
1847	1
1854	1
1858	3
1861	1
1862	1
1865	1
1867	1
1868	2
1870	3
1871	2
1876	2
1877	3
1879	1
1880	2
1884	2
1885	1
1887	2
1889	3
1890	3
1891	5
1892	3
1893	1
1894	6
1895	3
1896	3
1897	3
1898	4
1899	4
1900	1
1901	5
1902	11
1903	19
1904	4
1905	4
1906	22
1907	35
1908	23
1909	10
1910	20
1911	82
1912	20
1913	10
1914	16
1915	42
1916	29
1917	46
1918	92
1919	56
1920	44
1921	234
1922	40
1923	125
1924	189
1925	251
1926	128
1927	118
1928	138
1929	323
1930	129
1931	451
1932	689
1933	449
1934	582
1935	259
1936	207
1937	270
1938	331
1939	266
1940	337
1941	378
1942	337
1943	802
1944	315
1945	498
1946	339
1947	358
1948	514
1949	586
1950	327
1951	288
1952	615
1953	518
1954	822
1955	421
1956	565
1957	728
1958	378
1959	785
1960	612
1961	333
1962	773
1963	732
1964	517
1965	200
1966	416
1967	587
1968	743
1969	885
1970	310
1971	653
1972	612
1973	419
1974	893
1975	1,332
1976	837
1977	553
1978	534
1979	683
1980	751
1981	1,540
1982	554
1983	1,307
1984	867
1985	426
1986	790
1987	1,036
1988	805
1989	764
1990	722
1991	925
1992	1,200
1993	1,208
1994	778
1995	734
1996	1,749
1997	1,106
1998	1,124
1999	673
2000	991
2001	847
2002	2,299
2003	1,201
2004	746
2005	929
2006	1,006
2007	565
2008	999
2009	1,529
2010	1,011
2011	1,117
2012	604
2013	919
2014	629
2015	1,001
2016	692
2017	1,214
2018	460
2019	1,483
2020	784
2021	904
2022	1,643
2023	1,106
2024	478
2025	969
2026	696

Download the Data

Data for records on 1938-05-20: 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	240
20 to 40	9
40 to 60	2
60 to 80	0
80 to 100	0
100 to 120	1