Weather Records on 17 May 1939

285 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 May 1939. Highest significance: Fremantle, AU.

Key Facts for 17 May 1939

On 17 May 1939, 285 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
69 were record highs and 58 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 3 monthly and 282 daily.
Fremantle set a daily record precipitation of 40.1 mm (1.6 in) on 17 May 1939.
Across 167 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 435 records.

Record Map

285 stations

285 station records on 17 May 1939 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 May 1939: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Fremantle	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Dobikin	Australia	Record daily precipitation	67.1 mm (2.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Tumut (Wattle Cres)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Axel	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Armadale	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Windsor Kings College	Canada	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Albany 3 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Rottnest Island Lighthouse	Australia	Record daily precipitation	42.9 mm (1.7 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Rainworth	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Moree (Bullerana)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Gurley (Glenroy)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Chatham	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-4.4 C (24.1 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Esperance Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Terry Hie Hie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Nandoura	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Chidlow	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Guildford Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Big Timber	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.9 C (57.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Rockingham Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Nannup	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Kriel (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Claremont Pomona Clg	United States	Record low minimum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Hewitt	United States	Record daily precipitation	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Ashley (Midkin)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Kopati(Kaupati)	India	Record daily precipitation	82.6 mm (3.3 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Bridgetown Comparison	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Pinjarra	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Port Arthur	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-4.4 C (24.1 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Concord	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Cape Riche	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Moree Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Running Stream (Brooklyn)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Dimapur	India	Record daily precipitation	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Solomons	United States	Record low minimum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Borzja	Russia	Record daily precipitation	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Geelong Salines (Moolap)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	21.8 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Makwassie	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Jagersfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	11.4 mm (0.4 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Cassilis (Dalkeith)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Coolah (Binnia St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Cassilis Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	22.6 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Koo Wee Rup	Australia	Record daily precipitation	21.3 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Weetaliba (Weetalabah)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Wolfville	Canada	Record daily precipitation	24.6 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Cope Cope	Australia	Record daily precipitation	22.9 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Miles Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	22.9 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Sunny Corner (Snow Line)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	15.5 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Rowena (Bunna Bunna)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	20.1 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
O'Connell (Stratford)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	16.5 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Jarrahdale	Australia	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kalamunda	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.1 mm (1.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Donnybrook	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Margaret River 1	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Blythwood	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Chinchilla Water Treatment Pla	Australia	Record daily precipitation	21.3 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Gravesend Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Buckland (Brockley)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Dauphin	Canada	Record daily snowfall	0.5 cm (0.2 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Jalpaiguri	India	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Lewiston	United States	Record low minimum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

285 records

Records set or tied on 17 May 1939 by type: Highest daily maximum 28, Lowest daily maximum 7, Highest daily minimum 41, Lowest daily minimum 51, Heaviest daily rainfall 157, Heaviest daily snowfall 1.

Records on 17 May 1939 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	28
Lowest daily maximum	7
Highest daily minimum	41
Lowest daily minimum	51
Heaviest daily rainfall	157
Heaviest daily snowfall	1
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 17 May 1939 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 3, daily 282.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

226 broken records

Margins by which the 226 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 39.4. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 May 1939

Top 20 records on 17 May 1939 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 May 1939	Fremantle, AU	daily rain	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	28 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1939	Dobikin, AU	daily rain	67.1 mm (2.6 in)	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	44 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1939	Tumut (Wattle Cres), AU	daily rain	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	23.3 mm (0.9 in)	29 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1939	Axel, NL	daily rain	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	15.1 mm (0.6 in)	4 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1939	Armadale, AU	daily rain	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	22.6 mm (0.9 in)	32 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Windsor Kings College, CA	daily rain	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	7.8 mm (0.31 in)	57 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Albany 3 SE, US	daily rain	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	36 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Rottnest Island Lighthouse, AU	daily rain	42.9 mm (1.7 in)	18.0 mm (0.7 in)	28 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Rainworth, AU	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	18 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Moree (Bullerana), AU	daily rain	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	24 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Gurley (Glenroy), AU	daily rain	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	16.5 mm (0.6 in)	38 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Chatham, CA	daily low min	-4.4 C (24.1 F)	1.6 C (2.9 F)	62 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Esperance Post Office, AU	daily rain	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	13.2 mm (0.5 in)	24 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Terry Hie Hie, AU	daily rain	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	25 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Nandoura, AU	daily rain	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	13.7 mm (0.5 in)	38 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Chidlow, AU	daily rain	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	21.3 mm (0.8 in)	16 years	26 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Guildford Post Office, AU	daily rain	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	12.2 mm (0.5 in)	32 years	26 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Big Timber, US	daily high min	13.9 C (57.0 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	41 years	26 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Rockingham Post Office, AU	daily rain	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	14.0 mm (0.6 in)	32 years	25 of 100 (Routine)
17 May 1939	Nannup, AU	daily rain	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	12.4 mm (0.5 in)	32 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

1802 to 1939

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1939. 1939 had 285 records.

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

Records on 05-17 in each year
Year	Records
1802	2
1803	1
1808	1
1816	1
1834	1
1837	1
1839	1
1847	2
1848	1
1851	1
1853	1
1855	1
1858	1
1859	1
1861	2
1862	2
1863	2
1864	1
1871	2
1872	2
1873	2
1874	4
1877	1
1878	1
1879	2
1880	1
1881	1
1882	2
1883	3
1885	1
1887	1
1888	2
1889	3
1891	8
1892	4
1893	3
1895	8
1896	2
1897	3
1898	6
1899	7
1900	12
1901	2
1902	3
1903	9
1904	12
1905	10
1906	22
1907	10
1908	5
1909	33
1910	16
1911	30
1912	16
1913	24
1914	24
1915	53
1916	49
1917	18
1918	56
1919	35
1920	46
1921	50
1922	30
1923	95
1924	80
1925	326
1926	133
1927	264
1928	127
1929	168
1930	421
1931	201
1932	288
1933	365
1934	373
1935	341
1936	270
1937	183
1938	340
1939	285
1940	338
1941	408
1942	589
1943	855
1944	521
1945	799
1946	586
1947	249
1948	412
1949	544
1950	371
1951	373
1952	777
1953	441
1954	298
1955	570
1956	1,166
1957	469
1958	331
1959	488
1960	402
1961	291
1962	1,325
1963	368
1964	417
1965	462
1966	489
1967	644
1968	564
1969	638
1970	711
1971	723
1972	610
1973	1,016
1974	1,302
1975	365
1976	426
1977	1,078
1978	872
1979	459
1980	768
1981	940
1982	476
1983	1,326
1984	925
1985	561
1986	921
1987	1,054
1988	1,096
1989	1,307
1990	1,135
1991	1,237
1992	1,025
1993	495
1994	858
1995	1,734
1996	1,706
1997	1,619
1998	1,080
1999	795
2000	825
2001	960
2002	964
2003	1,127
2004	769
2005	784
2006	1,522
2007	742
2008	1,309
2009	1,050
2010	880
2011	1,483
2012	711
2013	739
2014	1,062
2015	824
2016	741
2017	1,302
2018	726
2019	686
2020	496
2021	443
2022	479
2023	385
2024	566
2025	928
2026	745

Download the Data

Data for records on 1939-05-17: 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 5	147
5 to 10	34
10 to 15	18
15 to 20	10
20 to 25	11
25 to 30	3
30 to 35	2
35 to 40	1