Weather Records on 18 December 1938

185 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 18 December 1938. Highest significance: Jena Sternwarte, DE.

Key Facts for 18 December 1938

On 18 December 1938, 185 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
36 were record highs and 133 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 11 monthly and 174 daily.
Jena Sternwarte set a daily record low maximum temperature of -10.6 C (12.9 F) on 18 December 1938.
Across 156 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 482 records.

Record Map

185 stations

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

Weather records on 18 December 1938: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Jena Sternwarte	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-10.6 C (12.9 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Altastenberg	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-15.6 C (3.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Wien	Austria	Record low minimum temperature	-15.3 C (4.5 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Magdeburg	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-10.2 C (13.6 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Chemnitz	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-13.4 C (7.9 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Bremen-Seefahrtschule	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-9.0 C (15.8 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Fichtelberg	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-19.0 C (-2.2 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Clausthal-Zellerfeld	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-12.5 C (9.5 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Kiev	Ukraine	Record low maximum temperature	-17.5 C (0.5 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Claremont Pomona Clg	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Sierra Madre Henszey	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Waren	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-9.8 C (14.4 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Schwerin	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-13.2 C (8.2 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Berlin-Dahlem	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-15.0 C (5.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Potsdam	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-15.2 C (4.6 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Gorlitz	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-13.0 C (8.6 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Plauen	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-12.4 C (9.7 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Waren	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-14.6 C (5.7 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Lowestoft	United Kingdom	Record low maximum temperature	-3.3 C (26.1 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Pasadena	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Berlin-Dahlem	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-10.2 C (13.6 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Fichtelberg	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-23.2 C (-9.8 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Altastenberg	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-20.0 C (-4.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Brocken	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-22.3 C (-8.1 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Marnitz	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-11.4 C (11.5 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Arnsberg	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-8.5 C (16.7 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Leipzig-Holzhausen	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-10.9 C (12.4 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Kremsmuenster	Austria	Record low maximum temperature	-9.8 C (14.4 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Brocken	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-18.3 C (-0.9 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Cottbus	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-11.5 C (11.3 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Cottbus	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-15.7 C (3.7 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Baziya (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Tustin Irvine Rch	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Hamburg Fuhlsbuettel	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-12.1 C (10.2 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Clausthal-Zellerfeld	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-17.5 C (0.5 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Visby_Flygplats	Sweden	Record low minimum temperature	-8.5 C (16.7 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Sfax El-Maou	Tunisia	Record high minimum temperature	14.0 C (57.2 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Kiev	Ukraine	Record low minimum temperature	-20.2 C (-4.4 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Uman	Ukraine	Record low maximum temperature	-16.5 C (2.3 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Bremen-Seefahrtschule	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-12.6 C (9.3 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Greifswald	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-6.1 C (21.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Greifswald	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-12.3 C (9.9 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Lubeck-Werft	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-7.4 C (18.7 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Zerbst	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-11.8 C (10.8 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Poltava	Ukraine	Record low maximum temperature	-17.5 C (0.5 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Nikolaev	Ukraine	Record low maximum temperature	-14.6 C (5.7 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Pomona/Fairplex	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Hamburg Fuhlsbuettel	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-8.4 C (16.9 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Angermunde	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-11.5 C (11.3 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Marnitz	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-14.6 C (5.7 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Den Helder	Netherlands	Record low maximum temperature	-6.5 C (20.3 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Schwerin	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-5.8 C (21.6 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Lubeck-Werft	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-12.4 C (9.7 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Den Helder-1	Netherlands	Record low maximum temperature	-7.3 C (18.9 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Drobeta Turnu Severin	Romania	Record low maximum temperature	-11.0 C (12.2 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
St. Petersburg	Russia	Record low maximum temperature	-16.5 C (2.3 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Henichesk	Ukraine	Record low minimum temperature	-15.0 C (5.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Mahackala	Russia	Record daily precipitation	20.1 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Graz	Austria	Record low maximum temperature	-10.0 C (14.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Potsdam	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-10.6 C (12.9 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

185 records

Records set or tied on 18 December 1938 by type: Highest daily maximum 12, Lowest daily maximum 76, Highest daily minimum 24, Lowest daily minimum 57, Heaviest daily rainfall 16.

Records on 18 December 1938 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	12
Lowest daily maximum	76
Highest daily minimum	24
Lowest daily minimum	57
Heaviest daily rainfall	16
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 18 December 1938 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 11, daily 174.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

165 broken records

Margins by which the 165 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 40.4. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

18 December 1938

Top 20 records on 18 December 1938 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
18 December 1938	Jena Sternwarte, DE	daily low max	-10.6 C (12.9 F)	1.3 C (2.3 F)	97 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1938	Altastenberg, DE	monthly low max	-15.6 C (3.9 F)	2.5 C (4.5 F)	47 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1938	Wien, AT	daily low min	-15.3 C (4.5 F)	1.2 C (2.2 F)	78 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Magdeburg, DE	daily low max	-10.2 C (13.6 F)	5.6 C (10.1 F)	47 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Chemnitz, DE	daily low max	-13.4 C (7.9 F)	5.9 C (10.6 F)	47 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Bremen-Seefahrtschule, DE	daily low max	-9.0 C (15.8 F)	5.7 C (10.3 F)	47 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Fichtelberg, DE	monthly low max	-19.0 C (-2.2 F)	2.7 C (4.9 F)	39 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Clausthal-Zellerfeld, DE	daily low max	-12.5 C (9.5 F)	4.3 C (7.7 F)	47 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Kiev, UA	daily low max	-17.5 C (0.5 F)	3.8 C (6.8 F)	56 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Claremont Pomona Clg, US	daily rain	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	16 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Sierra Madre Henszey, US	daily rain	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	36 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Waren, DE	daily low max	-9.8 C (14.4 F)	3.6 C (6.5 F)	47 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Schwerin, DE	daily low min	-13.2 C (8.2 F)	3.8 C (6.8 F)	47 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Berlin-Dahlem, DE	daily low min	-15.0 C (5.0 F)	3.4 C (6.1 F)	47 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Potsdam, DE	daily low min	-15.2 C (4.6 F)	5.1 C (9.2 F)	41 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Gorlitz, DE	daily low max	-13.0 C (8.6 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	47 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Plauen, DE	daily low max	-12.4 C (9.7 F)	3.6 C (6.5 F)	47 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Waren, DE	daily low min	-14.6 C (5.7 F)	4.0 C (7.2 F)	47 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Lowestoft, GB	monthly low max	-3.3 C (26.1 F)	2.7 C (4.9 F)	11 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
18 December 1938	Pasadena, US	daily rain	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	16 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

1793 to 1938

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1938. 1938 had 185 records.

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

Records on 12-18 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1796	1
1805	1
1814	1
1825	1
1846	1
1849	1
1852	2
1858	1
1859	4
1862	2
1864	1
1868	1
1873	1
1875	1
1876	2
1878	1
1881	2
1882	1
1884	2
1886	1
1887	1
1888	1
1889	4
1890	5
1892	4
1894	8
1895	1
1897	4
1898	9
1899	3
1900	2
1901	6
1902	33
1903	11
1904	25
1905	3
1906	21
1907	15
1908	16
1909	18
1910	19
1911	9
1912	33
1913	38
1914	20
1915	28
1916	57
1917	62
1918	21
1919	117
1920	77
1921	123
1922	108
1923	378
1924	480
1925	74
1926	173
1927	151
1928	165
1929	366
1930	230
1931	360
1932	353
1933	506
1934	209
1935	138
1936	466
1937	459
1938	185
1939	900
1940	242
1941	213
1942	281
1943	419
1944	191
1945	598
1946	199
1947	266
1948	354
1949	561
1950	289
1951	867
1952	450
1953	373
1954	507
1955	611
1956	333
1957	901
1958	524
1959	477
1960	477
1961	885
1962	759
1963	571
1964	840
1965	402
1966	644
1967	1,105
1968	488
1969	376
1970	502
1971	387
1972	375
1973	1,008
1974	229
1975	625
1976	459
1977	992
1978	946
1979	1,087
1980	772
1981	1,362
1982	537
1983	2,014
1984	1,439
1985	1,384
1986	875
1987	1,505
1988	1,061
1989	1,818
1990	1,367
1991	756
1992	1,045
1993	697
1994	643
1995	1,065
1996	1,833
1997	1,195
1998	863
1999	923
2000	1,572
2001	906
2002	1,437
2003	987
2004	506
2005	987
2006	1,167
2007	746
2008	1,014
2009	1,253
2010	1,322
2011	697
2012	729
2013	513
2014	556
2015	1,254
2016	1,821
2017	516
2018	464
2019	679
2020	326
2021	762
2022	536
2023	1,293
2024	780
2025	994

Download the Data

Data for records on 1938-12-18: 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 10	159
10 to 20	3
20 to 30	0
30 to 40	2
40 to 50	1