Weather Records on 20 August 1938

250 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 August 1938. Highest significance: Owk, IN.

Key Facts for 20 August 1938

On 20 August 1938, 250 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
71 were record highs and 47 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 9 monthly and 241 daily.
Owk set a monthly record daily precipitation of 108.7 mm (4.3 in) on 20 August 1938.
Across 163 earlier years (1797 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 456 records.

Record Map

250 stations

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

Weather records on 20 August 1938: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Owk	India	Record daily precipitation	108.7 mm (4.3 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Tartu	Estonia	Record daily precipitation	61.4 mm (2.4 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Chinaganjam	India	Record daily precipitation	88.9 mm (3.5 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Kaisersbach-Cronhutte	Germany	Record daily precipitation	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Mangalgiri	India	Record daily precipitation	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Beberu	India	Record daily precipitation	86.6 mm (3.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Nagappattinam	India	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Kandukur	India	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Kanigiri	India	Record daily precipitation	47.2 mm (1.9 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Milwaukee Wb City	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Upper Shillong	India	Record daily precipitation	101.6 mm (4.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Ketty	India	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Zuerich/Fluntern	Switzerland	Record daily precipitation	40.7 mm (1.6 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Gollhofen	Germany	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Stuttgart	Germany	Record daily precipitation	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Jammalamadugu	India	Record daily precipitation	75.2 mm (3.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Karnah	India	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Morpeth Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Kunzelsau	Germany	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Kamasin	India	Record daily precipitation	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Federal Pt	United States	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Bedford	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Zamana	India	Record daily precipitation	57.4 mm (2.3 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Unnao	India	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Atyrau	Kazakhstan	Record high minimum temperature	24.5 C (76.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Menno	United States	Record high minimum temperature	25.6 C (78.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Waianae 798	United States	Record low maximum temperature	27.2 C (81.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Dhone	India	Record daily precipitation	57.9 mm (2.3 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Barh	India	Record daily precipitation	101.1 mm (4.0 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Tura	India	Record daily precipitation	136.1 mm (5.4 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Haparanda	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	31.7 mm (1.2 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Durango	United States	Record low minimum temperature	1.7 C (35.1 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Lambertville River	United States	Record high minimum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Ulm	Germany	Record daily precipitation	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Chandrapur	India	Record daily precipitation	55.1 mm (2.2 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Shillong	India	Record daily precipitation	75.4 mm (3.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Espanola	United States	Record low minimum temperature	4.4 C (39.9 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Muskegon Co AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	83.8 mm (3.3 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Augsburg (Sankt Stephan)	Germany	Record daily precipitation	23.1 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Atyrau	Kazakhstan	Record daily precipitation	8.1 mm (0.32 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Bamberg (Sternwarte)	Germany	Record daily precipitation	18.6 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Berlin-Dahlem (Lfag)	Germany	Record daily precipitation	8.1 mm (0.32 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Rothenburg Ob der Tauber	Germany	Record daily precipitation	19.8 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Ebrach	Germany	Record daily precipitation	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Heinersreuth-Vollhof	Germany	Record daily precipitation	19.7 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Tadpatri	India	Record daily precipitation	54.1 mm (2.1 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Vedasandur	India	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Balurghat	India	Record daily precipitation	96.5 mm (3.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Gaddede	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	28.9 mm (1.1 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Lenox	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Crystal Springs Exp STN	United States	Record high minimum temperature	25.6 C (78.1 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Galway	Ireland	Record low maximum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Peapalli(Pyapali)	India	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Mul	India	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Ghosi	India	Record daily precipitation	77.2 mm (3.0 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Manassa	United States	Record low minimum temperature	0.0 C (32.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Newaygo Hardy Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.1 mm (2.2 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Gadhchiroli	India	Record daily precipitation	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	18 of 100 (Routine)
Usilampatti	India	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	18 of 100 (Routine)
Chita	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	18 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

250 records

Records set or tied on 20 August 1938 by type: Highest daily maximum 29, Lowest daily maximum 7, Highest daily minimum 42, Lowest daily minimum 40, Heaviest daily rainfall 132.

Records on 20 August 1938 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	29
Lowest daily maximum	7
Highest daily minimum	42
Lowest daily minimum	40
Heaviest daily rainfall	132
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 20 August 1938 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 9, daily 241.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

193 broken records

Margins by which the 193 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 73.6. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 August 1938

Top 20 records on 20 August 1938 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 August 1938	Owk, IN	monthly rain	108.7 mm (4.3 in)	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	31 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
20 August 1938	Tartu, EE	daily rain	61.4 mm (2.4 in)	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	33 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
20 August 1938	Chinaganjam, IN	daily rain	88.9 mm (3.5 in)	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	28 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
20 August 1938	Kaisersbach-Cronhutte, DE	daily rain	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	20 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
20 August 1938	Mangalgiri, IN	daily rain	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	9 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
20 August 1938	Beberu, IN	daily rain	86.6 mm (3.4 in)	73.6 mm (2.9 in)	29 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
20 August 1938	Nagappattinam, IN	daily rain	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	17 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
20 August 1938	Kandukur, IN	daily rain	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	28 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
20 August 1938	Kanigiri, IN	daily rain	47.2 mm (1.9 in)	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	21 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
20 August 1938	Milwaukee Wb City, US	daily rain	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	14.8 mm (0.6 in)	46 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
20 August 1938	Upper Shillong, IN	daily rain	101.6 mm (4.0 in)	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	20 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
20 August 1938	Ketty, IN	daily rain	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	24.6 mm (1.0 in)	23 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
20 August 1938	Zuerich/Fluntern, CH	daily rain	40.7 mm (1.6 in)	19.9 mm (0.8 in)	9 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
20 August 1938	Gollhofen, DE	daily rain	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	12.0 mm (0.5 in)	20 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
20 August 1938	Stuttgart, DE	daily rain	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	11.3 mm (0.4 in)	20 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
20 August 1938	Jammalamadugu, IN	daily rain	75.2 mm (3.0 in)	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	20 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
20 August 1938	Karnah, IN	daily rain	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	33 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
20 August 1938	Morpeth Post Office, AU	daily rain	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	7.3 mm (0.29 in)	50 years	26 of 100 (Routine)
20 August 1938	Kunzelsau, DE	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	10.2 mm (0.4 in)	21 years	25 of 100 (Routine)
20 August 1938	Kamasin, IN	daily rain	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	21 years	25 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

1797 to 1938

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1797 to 1938. 1938 had 250 records.

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

Records on 08-20 in each year
Year	Records
1797	1
1807	1
1809	2
1816	1
1830	1
1832	1
1838	1
1840	1
1842	1
1846	1
1849	1
1850	1
1852	1
1858	3
1863	5
1867	4
1870	3
1871	1
1873	1
1875	2
1877	1
1883	2
1884	2
1885	6
1886	1
1888	1
1889	2
1890	2
1891	2
1892	6
1893	1
1894	1
1895	1
1896	5
1897	6
1898	1
1899	5
1900	7
1901	12
1902	3
1903	7
1904	30
1905	7
1906	26
1907	15
1908	21
1909	69
1910	7
1911	18
1912	25
1913	23
1914	15
1915	14
1916	74
1917	51
1918	69
1919	25
1920	47
1921	23
1922	52
1923	83
1924	132
1925	193
1926	187
1927	338
1928	101
1929	213
1930	318
1931	214
1932	299
1933	324
1934	376
1935	339
1936	543
1937	537
1938	250
1939	448
1940	695
1941	230
1942	429
1943	436
1944	355
1945	398
1946	349
1947	988
1948	403
1949	431
1950	1,341
1951	824
1952	425
1953	441
1954	476
1955	848
1956	678
1957	342
1958	281
1959	764
1960	465
1961	520
1962	684
1963	577
1964	629
1965	470
1966	1,094
1967	657
1968	862
1969	608
1970	414
1971	585
1972	522
1973	490
1974	565
1975	411
1976	894
1977	860
1978	563
1979	1,009
1980	991
1981	856
1982	620
1983	1,465
1984	696
1985	666
1986	819
1987	564
1988	991
1989	603
1990	1,262
1991	804
1992	1,168
1993	759
1994	719
1995	1,113
1996	900
1997	1,214
1998	802
1999	810
2000	989
2001	909
2002	1,208
2003	1,031
2004	1,333
2005	1,112
2006	851
2007	1,955
2008	1,170
2009	1,414
2010	1,028
2011	987
2012	1,086
2013	545
2014	582
2015	1,075
2016	872
2017	324
2018	657
2019	698
2020	1,051
2021	1,028
2022	1,038
2023	1,479
2024	589
2025	1,134
2026	985

Download the Data

Data for records on 1938-08-20: 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 10	138
10 to 20	28
20 to 30	15
30 to 40	6
40 to 50	3
50 to 60	2
60 to 70	0
70 to 80	1