Weather Records on 18 October 1938

536 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 18 October 1938. Highest significance: Quincy Mem Brg, US.

Key Facts for 18 October 1938

On 18 October 1938, 536 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
440 were record highs and 41 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 6 monthly and 530 daily.
Quincy Mem Brg set a daily record precipitation of 49.5 mm (1.9 in) on 18 October 1938.
Across 167 earlier years (1794 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 433 records.

Record Map

536 stations

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

Weather records on 18 October 1938: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Quincy Mem Brg	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Tallinn	Estonia	Record daily precipitation	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Cairns Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Crosby	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Macomb	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.9 mm (2.2 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Shelbina	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Philipsburg	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Barpukhuri	India	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Poplar 2 E	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Hay River	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Gorin	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Augsburg (Sankt Stephan)	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	20.7 C (69.3 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Kirksville	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Culbertson	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Marlinton	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.0 C (86.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Steffenville	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Pierce 1 E	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Hambledon Mill Csr	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Rocky Mt	United States	Record high maximum temperature	33.3 C (91.9 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Asheville	United States	Record high maximum temperature	29.4 C (84.9 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Jefferson 2 E	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.6 C (87.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Lancaster 4 WSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Pelee Island	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	26.7 C (80.1 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Clemson UNIV	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Lexington Bluegrass AP	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.6 C (87.1 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Patacharkuchi	India	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Clarksville 2NE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	23.3 C (73.9 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Ridgetown	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Stratford	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	26.1 C (79.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Potsdam	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	11.9 C (53.4 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Bergplaats	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Greensboro	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Morganton	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.7 C (89.1 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Mt Airy 2 W	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Lynchburg - Coop	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Skara 1	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	20.5 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Orebro	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	16.0 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Vestervig	Denmark	Record daily precipitation	19.5 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Bremen-Seefahrtschule	Germany	Record daily precipitation	20.5 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Tobolsk	Russia	Record daily precipitation	6.2 mm (0.24 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Vinga	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	18.6 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Bamberg	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	10.7 C (51.3 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Waren	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	12.3 C (54.1 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Rani(Ranigoda)	India	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Colusa Brg	United States	Record low minimum temperature	3.3 C (37.9 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Centerville	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Altoona Horseshoe Curv	United States	Record high maximum temperature	28.9 C (84.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Greenville Dwtn AP	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.0 C (86.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Helena Wb City	United States	Record snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Booroondara Tank	Australia	Record daily precipitation	9.1 mm (0.36 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Hohenpeissenberg	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	18.1 C (64.6 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Magdeburg	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	11.5 C (52.7 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Weissenburg	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	20.2 C (68.4 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Timovskoe	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-13.1 C (8.4 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Buckeye	United States	Record low minimum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Frankfort Downtown	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.1 C (88.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Cambridge Water Trmt P	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.6 C (87.1 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Lebanon 2W	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Chapel Hill 2 W	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Burkes Garden	United States	Record high maximum temperature	27.8 C (82.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

536 records

Records set or tied on 18 October 1938 by type: Highest daily maximum 295, Lowest daily maximum 8, Highest daily minimum 145, Lowest daily minimum 33, Heaviest daily rainfall 51, Heaviest daily snowfall 1, Deepest snow cover 3.

Records on 18 October 1938 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	295
Lowest daily maximum	8
Highest daily minimum	145
Lowest daily minimum	33
Heaviest daily rainfall	51
Heaviest daily snowfall	1
Deepest snow cover	3

Records on 18 October 1938 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 6, daily 530.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

397 broken records

Margins by which the 397 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 152.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

18 October 1938

Top 20 records on 18 October 1938 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
18 October 1938	Quincy Mem Brg, US	daily rain	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	20 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1938	Tallinn, EE	daily rain	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	28 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1938	Cairns Post Office, AU	daily rain	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	42 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1938	Crosby, US	daily rain	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	23.4 mm (0.9 in)	25 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1938	Macomb, US	daily rain	56.9 mm (2.2 in)	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	20 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1938	Shelbina, US	daily rain	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	0 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1938	Philipsburg, US	daily snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	33 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Barpukhuri, IN	daily rain	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	33 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Poplar 2 E, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	10.1 cm (4.0 in)	20 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Hay River, CA	daily high max	21.1 C (70.0 F)	8.3 C (14.9 F)	44 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Gorin, US	daily rain	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	20 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Augsburg (Sankt Stephan), DE	daily high max	20.7 C (69.3 F)	4.6 C (8.3 F)	40 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Kirksville, US	daily rain	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	21.1 mm (0.8 in)	43 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Culbertson, US	daily rain	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	13.9 mm (0.5 in)	4 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Marlinton, US	daily high max	30.0 C (86.0 F)	6.7 C (12.1 F)	38 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Steffenville, US	daily rain	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	13.7 mm (0.5 in)	32 years	26 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Pierce 1 E, US	daily rain	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	28 years	26 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Hambledon Mill Csr, AU	daily rain	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	16 years	25 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Rocky Mt, US	monthly high max	33.3 C (91.9 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	26 years	25 of 100 (Routine)
18 October 1938	Asheville, US	daily high max	29.4 C (84.9 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	43 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

1794 to 1938

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1794 to 1938. 1938 had 536 records.

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

Records on 10-18 in each year
Year	Records
1794	1
1796	1
1799	1
1806	1
1807	1
1810	1
1811	2
1817	1
1832	1
1835	1
1836	1
1843	1
1846	2
1848	1
1849	1
1851	1
1852	1
1859	1
1863	1
1865	2
1866	2
1868	1
1869	1
1871	1
1872	1
1874	4
1876	2
1877	2
1879	3
1881	1
1882	1
1883	2
1887	1
1888	1
1890	4
1892	4
1893	1
1894	3
1895	2
1897	6
1898	5
1899	12
1900	5
1901	5
1902	6
1903	9
1904	12
1905	27
1906	17
1907	11
1908	44
1909	23
1910	50
1911	22
1912	12
1913	26
1914	52
1915	12
1916	64
1917	109
1918	24
1919	31
1920	87
1921	87
1922	59
1923	114
1924	151
1925	153
1926	149
1927	309
1928	316
1929	190
1930	507
1931	350
1932	446
1933	264
1934	222
1935	360
1936	483
1937	671
1938	536
1939	475
1940	532
1941	240
1942	332
1943	844
1944	264
1945	398
1946	355
1947	965
1948	1,128
1949	665
1950	996
1951	325
1952	394
1953	678
1954	621
1955	403
1956	578
1957	220
1958	407
1959	246
1960	612
1961	362
1962	252
1963	492
1964	311
1965	1,066
1966	613
1967	405
1968	737
1969	789
1970	501
1971	1,199
1972	1,581
1973	789
1974	746
1975	779
1976	1,326
1977	533
1978	545
1979	555
1980	1,024
1981	680
1982	654
1983	684
1984	1,331
1985	831
1986	344
1987	518
1988	733
1989	1,196
1990	1,043
1991	999
1992	1,295
1993	1,051
1994	1,296
1995	1,227
1996	795
1997	1,240
1998	1,323
1999	773
2000	823
2001	818
2002	878
2003	1,097
2004	1,156
2005	755
2006	1,328
2007	1,298
2008	531
2009	1,546
2010	634
2011	736
2012	741
2013	430
2014	690
2015	915
2016	1,511
2017	590
2018	759
2019	346
2020	957
2021	387
2022	1,334
2023	693
2024	1,142
2025	367

Download the Data

Data for records on 1938-10-18: 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	382
20 to 40	10
40 to 60	2
60 to 80	0
80 to 100	0
100 to 120	2
120 to 140	0
140 to 160	1