Weather Records on 20 October 1938

231 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 October 1938. Highest significance: Odendaalsrus, ZA.

Key Facts for 20 October 1938

On 20 October 1938, 231 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
165 were record highs and 12 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 1 monthly and 230 daily.
Odendaalsrus set a daily record precipitation of 52.8 mm (2.1 in) on 20 October 1938.
Across 160 earlier years (1806 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 459 records.

Record Map

231 stations

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

Weather records on 20 October 1938: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Odendaalsrus	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Trenton 2	United States	Record high maximum temperature	26.1 C (79.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Port Gibson 1 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Ashland	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Taunton	United States	Record high maximum temperature	26.1 C (79.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Masset Airport	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Astrakan	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Sitka Magnetic Obsy	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Nanaimo	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	18.9 C (66.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Clayoquot	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Dawson	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Brockton	United States	Record high maximum temperature	26.1 C (79.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Martinsburg E W Virginia Rgnl	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.0 C (86.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Delmas (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Niznij Novgorod	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	10.4 C (50.7 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Balfour (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Cooperstown	United States	Record high maximum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Sewanee	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.1 mm (1.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Snoqualmie Falls	United States	Record high maximum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Nome AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	8.4 mm (0.33 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Helena Wb City	United States	Record snow depth	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
New Westminster	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Elatma	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Heidelberg I	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Milford 2 SE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	28.9 C (84.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Fall River	United States	Record high maximum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Astoria	United States	Record high maximum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
University Exp STN	United States	Record high maximum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Zametchino	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	18 of 100 (Routine)
Hollowaysrust	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	12.4 mm (0.5 in)	18 of 100 (Routine)
Batesville L&D 1	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	18 of 100 (Routine)
Yreka	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	18 of 100 (Routine)
Plymouth-Kingston	United States	Record high maximum temperature	26.7 C (80.1 F)	18 of 100 (Routine)
Socorro	United States	Record low maximum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	18 of 100 (Routine)
Hot Springs 2	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	18 of 100 (Routine)
Clemson UNIV	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	18 of 100 (Routine)
Bella Coola	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Calgary Int'l A	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	6.7 C (44.1 F)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Moose Jaw Chab	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Saskatoon Diefenbaker Int'l A	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Kriel (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Sibasa	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	10.9 mm (0.4 in)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Monticello	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.7 C (89.1 F)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Cumberland	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.1 C (88.0 F)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Caruthersville	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Corvallis State UNIV	United States	Record high maximum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Romney 1 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Butte Bert Mooney AP	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-10.0 C (14.0 F)	17 of 100 (Routine)
Darwin Post Office	Australia	Record low minimum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Bulgoo	Australia	Record daily precipitation	9.7 mm (0.38 in)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Atlin	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Dawson	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Vlakfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	21.1 mm (0.8 in)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Louisville 1 E	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.7 C (89.1 F)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Salmon AP	United States	Record low maximum temperature	3.9 C (39.0 F)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Cairo River	United States	Record daily precipitation	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	16 of 100 (Routine)
New Bedford Coop	United States	Record high maximum temperature	23.3 C (73.9 F)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Natchez	United States	Record daily precipitation	8.6 mm (0.34 in)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Taos	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-6.1 C (21.0 F)	16 of 100 (Routine)
Quesnel	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	15 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

231 records

Records set or tied on 20 October 1938 by type: Highest daily maximum 124, Lowest daily maximum 3, Highest daily minimum 41, Lowest daily minimum 9, Heaviest daily rainfall 52, Deepest snow cover 2.

Records on 20 October 1938 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	124
Lowest daily maximum	3
Highest daily minimum	41
Lowest daily minimum	9
Heaviest daily rainfall	52
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	2

Records on 20 October 1938 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 1, daily 230.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

182 broken records

Margins by which the 182 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 51.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 October 1938

Top 20 records on 20 October 1938 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 October 1938	Odendaalsrus, ZA	daily rain	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	12 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 October 1938	Trenton 2, US	daily high max	26.1 C (79.0 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	70 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Port Gibson 1 NE, US	daily rain	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	39 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Ashland, US	daily high min	11.7 C (53.1 F)	3.4 C (6.1 F)	41 years	25 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Taunton, US	daily high max	26.1 C (79.0 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	43 years	24 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Masset Airport, CA	daily high min	11.1 C (52.0 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	27 years	22 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Astrakan, RU	daily high max	20.6 C (69.1 F)	1.4 C (2.5 F)	52 years	22 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Sitka Magnetic Obsy, US	daily high min	12.8 C (55.0 F)	3.4 C (6.1 F)	27 years	22 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Nanaimo, CA	daily high max	18.9 C (66.0 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	35 years	21 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Clayoquot, CA	daily high max	20.6 C (69.1 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	27 years	21 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Dawson, CA	monthly high min	10.6 C (51.1 F)	2.3 C (4.1 F)	15 years	21 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Brockton, US	daily high max	26.1 C (79.0 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	43 years	21 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Martinsburg E W Virginia Rgnl, US	daily high max	30.0 C (86.0 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	36 years	21 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Delmas (Pol), ZA	daily rain	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	13.5 mm (0.5 in)	13 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Niznij Novgorod, RU	daily high min	10.4 C (50.7 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	32 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Balfour (Mag), ZA	daily rain	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	13.5 mm (0.5 in)	12 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Cooperstown, US	daily high max	23.9 C (75.0 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	43 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Sewanee, US	daily rain	39.1 mm (1.5 in)	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	25 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Snoqualmie Falls, US	daily high max	24.4 C (75.9 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	36 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
20 October 1938	Nome AP, US	daily rain	8.4 mm (0.33 in)	5.4 mm (0.21 in)	21 years	20 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

1806 to 1938

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1806 to 1938. 1938 had 231 records.

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

Records on 10-20 in each year
Year	Records
1806	1
1835	1
1844	1
1846	1
1847	2
1851	1
1852	1
1858	1
1863	2
1864	2
1866	3
1867	1
1868	2
1872	2
1874	2
1875	3
1876	2
1877	1
1878	1
1880	3
1881	2
1884	1
1885	1
1886	1
1887	1
1888	6
1891	4
1892	4
1893	1
1894	3
1895	4
1896	9
1897	2
1898	7
1899	1
1900	8
1901	7
1902	5
1903	9
1904	13
1905	22
1906	28
1907	32
1908	26
1909	17
1910	31
1911	16
1912	6
1913	38
1914	16
1915	20
1916	72
1917	201
1918	34
1919	19
1920	81
1921	68
1922	83
1923	96
1924	182
1925	247
1926	147
1927	283
1928	92
1929	129
1930	672
1931	125
1932	331
1933	675
1934	422
1935	390
1936	370
1937	189
1938	231
1939	367
1940	757
1941	459
1942	152
1943	501
1944	288
1945	363
1946	310
1947	1,494
1948	320
1949	1,084
1950	619
1951	279
1952	520
1953	1,057
1954	262
1955	529
1956	283
1957	440
1958	461
1959	451
1960	671
1961	479
1962	733
1963	765
1964	598
1965	340
1966	857
1967	511
1968	244
1969	607
1970	710
1971	606
1972	1,724
1973	878
1974	1,122
1975	587
1976	1,304
1977	467
1978	508
1979	1,647
1980	350
1981	1,083
1982	1,191
1983	944
1984	1,562
1985	835
1986	823
1987	590
1988	737
1989	2,092
1990	609
1991	971
1992	1,174
1993	1,238
1994	650
1995	703
1996	1,417
1997	949
1998	683
1999	603
2000	737
2001	589
2002	985
2003	1,761
2004	1,861
2005	1,092
2006	1,170
2007	923
2008	477
2009	786
2010	539
2011	785
2012	945
2013	592
2014	851
2015	523
2016	947
2017	602
2018	394
2019	744
2020	1,010
2021	900
2022	834
2023	1,468
2024	707
2025	326

Download the Data

Data for records on 1938-10-20: 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	168
10 to 20	11
20 to 30	1
30 to 40	0
40 to 50	1
50 to 60	1