Weather Records on 16 May 1939

448 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 16 May 1939. Highest significance: Oudenbosch, NL.

Key Facts for 16 May 1939

On 16 May 1939, 448 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
144 were record highs and 90 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 9 monthly and 439 daily.
Oudenbosch set a daily record precipitation of 25.9 mm (1.0 in) on 16 May 1939.
Across 165 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 438 records.

Record Map

448 stations

448 station records on 16 May 1939 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 16 May 1939: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Oudenbosch	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Haskell	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Glenloth Shingle Hut Hmsd	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Imphal (C.Hosp)	India	Record daily precipitation	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Westminter Estate	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Mankayane	Swaziland	Record daily precipitation	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Natte Yallock	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Leoti	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
San Jon	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Nagambie Cba	Australia	Record daily precipitation	60.7 mm (2.4 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Bellellen	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Ballarat Mount Pleasant Obs.	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Whroo	Australia	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Lovely Banks (Reservoir)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
De Bilt	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	26.6 mm (1.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Bannockburn	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Waitchie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Uccle	Belgium	Record daily precipitation	27.8 mm (1.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Wooroonook	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Beeac (Post Office)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Weatherford	United States	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Wartook Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Lake Charm	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Horsham Polkemmet Rd	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Barwon Heads (Jirrahlinga)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Wartook Reservoir	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Bealiba	Australia	Record daily precipitation	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Lexton	Australia	Record daily precipitation	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Serpentine	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Mount Moriac	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Ballarat Botanical Gardens	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.6 mm (1.5 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Bothaville (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Concord	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-1.7 C (28.9 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Moyston	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Stawell	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Newstead	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Kelowna	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Waxahachie	United States	Record high minimum temperature	23.3 C (73.9 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Pomonal Windy Ridge	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Lugano	Switzerland	Record daily precipitation	65.7 mm (2.6 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Gatesville	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Great Western (Seppelt)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Jallukar	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Avoca (Post Office)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Monticello 5 SE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	17.2 C (63.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Kohala 179.1	United States	Record high maximum temperature	29.4 C (84.9 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Shelford	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Winchelsea (Post Office)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Coeur D'Alene	United States	Record high maximum temperature	33.3 C (91.9 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Charlotteburg Rsvr	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-3.9 C (25.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Fort St James	Canada	Record daily precipitation	21.1 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Durdidwarrah	Australia	Record daily precipitation	24.4 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Poortjie	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Sheffield	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Overdene	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	21.1 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Odendaalsrus	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	23.1 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Pella	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	7.1 mm (0.28 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Wickliffe	Australia	Record daily precipitation	24.4 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Taung	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	15.5 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Little River (Mount Rothwell)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	12.7 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

448 records

Records set or tied on 16 May 1939 by type: Highest daily maximum 86, Lowest daily maximum 24, Highest daily minimum 58, Lowest daily minimum 66, Heaviest daily rainfall 214.

Records on 16 May 1939 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	86
Lowest daily maximum	24
Highest daily minimum	58
Lowest daily minimum	66
Heaviest daily rainfall	214
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 16 May 1939 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 9, daily 439.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

356 broken records

Margins by which the 356 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 56.1. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

16 May 1939

Top 20 records on 16 May 1939 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
16 May 1939	Oudenbosch, NL	daily rain	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	19.2 mm (0.8 in)	29 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Haskell, US	daily rain	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	56.1 mm (2.2 in)	24 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Glenloth Shingle Hut Hmsd, AU	daily rain	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	12 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Imphal (C.Hosp), IN	daily rain	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	29 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Westminter Estate, ZA	daily rain	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	27.1 mm (1.1 in)	32 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Mankayane, SZ	daily rain	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	20 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Natte Yallock, AU	daily rain	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	20.1 mm (0.8 in)	29 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Leoti, US	daily rain	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	34.6 mm (1.4 in)	37 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	San Jon, US	daily rain	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	16 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Nagambie Cba, AU	monthly rain	60.7 mm (2.4 in)	13.2 mm (0.5 in)	30 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Bellellen, AU	daily rain	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	29 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Ballarat Mount Pleasant Obs., AU	daily rain	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	15.2 mm (0.6 in)	20 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Whroo, AU	monthly rain	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	7.6 mm (0.30 in)	46 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Lovely Banks (Reservoir), AU	daily rain	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	11.4 mm (0.4 in)	20 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	De Bilt, NL	daily rain	26.6 mm (1.0 in)	15.0 mm (0.6 in)	16 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Bannockburn, AU	daily rain	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	14.5 mm (0.6 in)	20 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1939	Waitchie, AU	daily rain	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	15.3 mm (0.6 in)	20 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1939	Uccle, BE	daily rain	27.8 mm (1.1 in)	12.5 mm (0.5 in)	12 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1939	Wooroonook, AU	daily rain	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	15.3 mm (0.6 in)	20 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1939	Beeac (Post Office), AU	daily rain	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	13.4 mm (0.5 in)	20 years	33 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

1802 to 1939

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1939. 1939 had 448 records.

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

Records on 05-16 in each year
Year	Records
1802	1
1806	1
1820	1
1825	1
1832	1
1837	1
1847	1
1856	1
1858	1
1861	1
1862	1
1863	1
1864	1
1866	1
1867	2
1871	1
1874	3
1878	1
1879	1
1880	1
1881	1
1882	1
1883	1
1884	1
1885	1
1886	1
1887	2
1888	2
1889	2
1890	1
1891	4
1892	3
1893	1
1894	2
1895	6
1896	2
1897	1
1898	11
1899	6
1900	7
1901	2
1902	10
1903	9
1904	17
1905	13
1906	25
1907	13
1908	6
1909	57
1910	24
1911	22
1912	13
1913	24
1914	11
1915	104
1916	38
1917	48
1918	395
1919	28
1920	69
1921	106
1922	31
1923	126
1924	152
1925	177
1926	211
1927	230
1928	121
1929	273
1930	170
1931	254
1932	441
1933	268
1934	304
1935	320
1936	520
1937	279
1938	299
1939	448
1940	334
1941	429
1942	721
1943	652
1944	531
1945	888
1946	327
1947	344
1948	281
1949	360
1950	210
1951	558
1952	773
1953	421
1954	251
1955	525
1956	697
1957	610
1958	361
1959	680
1960	370
1961	378
1962	1,295
1963	552
1964	313
1965	442
1966	420
1967	611
1968	790
1969	423
1970	520
1971	509
1972	625
1973	869
1974	1,207
1975	544
1976	518
1977	1,269
1978	808
1979	506
1980	830
1981	896
1982	427
1983	1,579
1984	981
1985	536
1986	747
1987	1,369
1988	946
1989	938
1990	1,068
1991	1,094
1992	809
1993	653
1994	705
1995	1,235
1996	1,835
1997	1,932
1998	1,500
1999	778
2000	1,129
2001	1,110
2002	694
2003	1,289
2004	869
2005	870
2006	1,345
2007	692
2008	1,034
2009	897
2010	836
2011	1,398
2012	770
2013	596
2014	1,483
2015	782
2016	793
2017	710
2018	1,013
2019	572
2020	431
2021	419
2022	717
2023	653
2024	601
2025	993
2026	558

Download the Data

Data for records on 1939-05-16: 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).