Weather Records on 3 December 1938

347 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 3 December 1938. Highest significance: Mexico, US.

Key Facts for 3 December 1938

On 3 December 1938, 347 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
98 were record highs and 50 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 5 monthly and 342 daily.
Mexico set a daily record precipitation of 56.4 mm (2.2 in) on 3 December 1938.
Across 163 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 467 records.

Record Map

347 stations

347 station records on 3 December 1938 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 3 December 1938: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Mexico	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Hermann	United States	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Holland Wtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Szeged	Hungary	Record daily precipitation	28.3 mm (1.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Hannibal 1 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Boonville	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Fulton	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.3 mm (2.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Alkmaar	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Winona Lake	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Altastenberg	Germany	Record daily precipitation	45.6 mm (1.8 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Eldon	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Jefferson City Wtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
St Charles Elm Pt	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Crescent City 3 NNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Huntington	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Warrenton 1 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Flora 5 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.8 mm (1.4 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Palmyra	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Prospect 2 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.9 mm (2.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Grafton	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Coldwater St School	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Arcadia	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Quincy Mem Brg	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Hambantota	Sri Lanka	Record high minimum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Bergplaats	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	51.3 mm (2.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Mena	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.5 mm (2.5 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Mascoutah	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
St. Petersburg	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	5.1 C (41.2 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Sfax El-Maou	Tunisia	Record high minimum temperature	16.0 C (60.8 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Calico Rock 2 WSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Mt Ida 3 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Bloomington Normal	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Quincy	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Katanning Comparison	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	19.7 C (67.5 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Big Rapids Wtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Wandering Comparison	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Ozark	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Howe	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Upper Mattole	United States	Record daily precipitation	153.7 mm (6.1 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Keene	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-21.7 C (-7.1 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Hakalau 142	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.0 C (86.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
McAlester Rgnl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Perth Regional Office	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	22.1 C (71.8 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Tuscola	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Gardiner	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-18.9 C (-2.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Northam	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	23.8 C (74.8 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Dohne (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Nashville 1 E	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Olney 2S	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Quakertown	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-12.8 C (9.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Hannibal	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Buhl	United States	Record daily precipitation	16.3 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Grayling	United States	Record daily precipitation	23.1 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
W Branch 3SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Osijek	Croatia	Record daily precipitation	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
St Joseph	United States	Record daily precipitation	22.9 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Muskegon Co AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Hastings	United States	Record daily precipitation	24.4 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Saranac	United States	Record daily precipitation	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Ogden 2	United States	Record daily precipitation	24.4 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

347 records

Records set or tied on 3 December 1938 by type: Highest daily maximum 28, Lowest daily maximum 3, Highest daily minimum 70, Lowest daily minimum 47, Heaviest daily rainfall 195, Heaviest daily snowfall 3, Deepest snow cover 1.

Records on 3 December 1938 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	28
Lowest daily maximum	3
Highest daily minimum	70
Lowest daily minimum	47
Heaviest daily rainfall	195
Heaviest daily snowfall	3
Deepest snow cover	1

Records on 3 December 1938 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 5, daily 342.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

298 broken records

Margins by which the 298 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 69.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

3 December 1938

Top 20 records on 3 December 1938 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
3 December 1938	Mexico, US	daily rain	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	39.9 mm (1.6 in)	40 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1938	Hermann, US	daily rain	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	24 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1938	Holland Wtp, US	daily rain	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	18.5 mm (0.7 in)	31 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1938	Szeged, HU	daily rain	28.3 mm (1.1 in)	22.3 mm (0.9 in)	8 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1938	Hannibal 1 N, US	daily rain	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	4 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1938	Boonville, US	daily rain	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	20.1 mm (0.8 in)	44 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1938	Fulton, US	daily rain	52.3 mm (2.1 in)	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	5 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1938	Alkmaar, ZA	daily rain	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	21 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1938	Winona Lake, US	daily rain	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	17.5 mm (0.7 in)	27 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1938	Altastenberg, DE	monthly rain	45.6 mm (1.8 in)	10.2 mm (0.4 in)	2 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1938	Eldon, US	daily rain	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	40 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1938	Jefferson City Wtp, US	daily rain	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	40 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1938	St Charles Elm Pt, US	daily rain	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	16 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
3 December 1938	Crescent City 3 NNW, US	daily rain	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	39.2 mm (1.5 in)	23 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
3 December 1938	Huntington, US	daily rain	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	12.7 mm (0.5 in)	38 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
3 December 1938	Warrenton 1 N, US	daily rain	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	24 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
3 December 1938	Flora 5 NW, US	daily rain	34.8 mm (1.4 in)	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	4 years	30 of 100 (Routine)
3 December 1938	Palmyra, US	daily rain	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	22.6 mm (0.9 in)	4 years	30 of 100 (Routine)
3 December 1938	Prospect 2 SW, US	daily rain	57.9 mm (2.3 in)	18.5 mm (0.7 in)	28 years	30 of 100 (Routine)
3 December 1938	Grafton, US	daily rain	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	14.5 mm (0.6 in)	36 years	29 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

1793 to 1938

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1938. 1938 had 347 records.

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

Records on 12-03 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1796	1
1797	1
1801	1
1807	1
1810	1
1816	1
1828	1
1829	2
1831	1
1832	1
1846	1
1853	1
1855	3
1856	4
1866	2
1867	1
1869	4
1870	2
1872	3
1873	1
1875	4
1876	3
1879	8
1882	3
1886	1
1887	2
1888	3
1890	2
1891	3
1892	4
1893	1
1894	1
1895	4
1896	2
1897	4
1898	2
1899	4
1900	4
1901	9
1902	13
1903	9
1904	5
1905	33
1906	23
1907	2
1908	4
1909	45
1910	8
1911	12
1912	23
1913	66
1914	74
1915	19
1916	153
1917	34
1918	29
1919	88
1920	44
1921	128
1922	68
1923	58
1924	89
1925	152
1926	189
1927	247
1928	79
1929	651
1930	131
1931	352
1932	528
1933	486
1934	270
1935	267
1936	379
1937	284
1938	347
1939	443
1940	1,023
1941	1,141
1942	595
1943	290
1944	284
1945	194
1946	443
1947	814
1948	419
1949	177
1950	689
1951	881
1952	242
1953	804
1954	493
1955	763
1956	679
1957	211
1958	583
1959	372
1960	577
1961	342
1962	923
1963	331
1964	824
1965	308
1966	1,076
1967	859
1968	646
1969	395
1970	1,247
1971	999
1972	890
1973	778
1974	661
1975	638
1976	1,315
1977	681
1978	1,406
1979	959
1980	1,128
1981	644
1982	3,010
1983	1,255
1984	645
1985	2,305
1986	801
1987	682
1988	672
1989	1,064
1990	1,178
1991	1,521
1992	776
1993	670
1994	664
1995	725
1996	694
1997	854
1998	1,969
1999	982
2000	759
2001	604
2002	977
2003	519
2004	739
2005	1,140
2006	1,167
2007	793
2008	804
2009	1,124
2010	1,879
2011	852
2012	1,355
2013	799
2014	510
2015	533
2016	347
2017	669
2018	1,043
2019	490
2020	409
2021	1,364
2022	448
2023	810
2024	709
2025	578

Download the Data

Data for records on 1938-12-03: 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	226
10 to 20	49
20 to 30	14
30 to 40	5
40 to 50	3
50 to 60	0
60 to 70	1