Weather Records on 20 May 1939

266 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 May 1939. Highest significance: Durban-Botanical Gardens, ZA.

Key Facts for 20 May 1939

On 20 May 1939, 266 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
83 were record highs and 28 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 2 monthly and 264 daily.
Durban-Botanical Gardens set a daily record precipitation of 81.8 mm (3.2 in) on 20 May 1939.
Across 162 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 457 records.

Record Map

266 stations

266 station records on 20 May 1939 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 May 1939: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Durban-Botanical Gardens	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	81.8 mm (3.2 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Dunvegan	Canada	Record daily precipitation	55.1 mm (2.2 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Port Blair	India	Record daily precipitation	186.9 mm (7.4 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Umzimkulu (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Elandshoek, Boston	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Roodepoort	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Malta	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Pretoria-Fountains	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Wonderfontein (Skl)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Jowai	India	Record daily precipitation	117.3 mm (4.6 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Bhagwanpur	India	Record daily precipitation	80.8 mm (3.2 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Harrismith (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Port Said	Egypt	Record high maximum temperature	35.0 C (95.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Buenos Aires Observ	Argentina	Record high maximum temperature	27.5 C (81.5 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Hohenpeissenberg	Germany	Record daily precipitation	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Bathurst Gaol	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Winfield 3NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Sturgeon Bay Exp Farm	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Flagstaff (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Woudzicht	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Graz	Austria	Record daily precipitation	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Zugspitze	Germany	Record daily precipitation	33.7 mm (1.3 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Mahespur	India	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Iola	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Glasgow #2	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Minden	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Ottoshoop (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Sodankyla AWS	Finland	Record daily precipitation	20.1 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Jokkmokk	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	18.9 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kingston	Australia	Record daily precipitation	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Keilor (Arundel)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kvikkjokk-Arrenjarka	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	20.9 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Randfontein (Gm)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Lichtenburg	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	17.5 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Reitz 36	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
St John's	Canada	Record daily snowfall	1.8 cm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Jhb-Braamfontein (Cem)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	11.2 mm (0.4 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Mqanduli (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	8.9 mm (0.35 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Krugersdorp	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	15.0 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Heidelberg I	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	16.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Buckland Downs	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Rooiberg	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	13.0 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Two Harbors	United States	Record daily precipitation	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Cumberland	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	16.0 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kloofend	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Klerkskraal (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Pennyroyal Creek	Australia	Record daily precipitation	24.4 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Karasjok	Norway	Record daily precipitation	6.8 mm (0.27 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Maclear (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Jhb-Vrededorp	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	8.9 mm (0.35 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Mickleham	Australia	Record daily precipitation	16.0 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Colac (Shire Office)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	18.5 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Baziya (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	15.7 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Durban Roodepoort Deep Gm	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	21.1 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Delmas (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	24.1 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Karesuando	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	7.3 mm (0.29 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Aberfoyle	Australia	Record daily precipitation	4.3 mm (0.17 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Hubbard	Canada	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kentani (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	15.7 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Potchefstroom	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	14.0 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

266 records

Records set or tied on 20 May 1939 by type: Highest daily maximum 42, Lowest daily maximum 5, Highest daily minimum 41, Lowest daily minimum 23, Heaviest daily rainfall 153, Heaviest daily snowfall 2.

Records on 20 May 1939 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	42
Lowest daily maximum	5
Highest daily minimum	41
Lowest daily minimum	23
Heaviest daily rainfall	153
Heaviest daily snowfall	2
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 20 May 1939 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 2, daily 264.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

217 broken records

Margins by which the 217 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 118.1. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 May 1939

Top 20 records on 20 May 1939 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 May 1939	Durban-Botanical Gardens, ZA	daily rain	81.8 mm (3.2 in)	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	51 years	61 of 100 (Major)
20 May 1939	Dunvegan, CA	daily rain	55.1 mm (2.2 in)	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	29 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1939	Port Blair, IN	daily rain	186.9 mm (7.4 in)	118.1 mm (4.6 in)	33 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1939	Umzimkulu (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	51 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1939	Elandshoek, Boston, ZA	daily rain	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	33 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1939	Roodepoort, ZA	daily rain	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	32 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1939	Malta, US	daily rain	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	12 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1939	Pretoria-Fountains, ZA	daily rain	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	24 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1939	Wonderfontein (Skl), ZA	daily rain	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	24 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1939	Jowai, IN	daily rain	117.3 mm (4.6 in)	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	13 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1939	Bhagwanpur, IN	daily rain	80.8 mm (3.2 in)	53.9 mm (2.1 in)	1 year	31 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1939	Harrismith (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	13.9 mm (0.5 in)	48 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1939	Port Said, EG	daily high max	35.0 C (95.0 F)	5.0 C (9.0 F)	24 years	30 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1939	Buenos Aires Observ, AR	daily high max	27.5 C (81.5 F)	7.0 C (12.6 F)	25 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1939	Hohenpeissenberg, DE	daily rain	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	5.9 mm (0.23 in)	40 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1939	Bathurst Gaol, AU	daily high max	21.7 C (71.1 F)	0.6 C (1.1 F)	65 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1939	Winfield 3NE, US	daily rain	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	34.2 mm (1.3 in)	4 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1939	Sturgeon Bay Exp Farm, US	daily rain	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	15.0 mm (0.6 in)	26 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1939	Flagstaff (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	18.3 mm (0.7 in)	32 years	26 of 100 (Routine)
20 May 1939	Woudzicht, ZA	daily rain	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	24 years	26 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 266 records.

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

Records on 05-20 in each year
Year	Records
1802	1
1803	1
1804	1
1815	1
1825	1
1837	1
1844	1
1845	3
1847	1
1854	1
1858	3
1861	1
1862	1
1865	1
1867	1
1868	2
1870	3
1871	2
1876	2
1877	3
1879	1
1880	2
1884	2
1885	1
1887	2
1889	3
1890	3
1891	5
1892	3
1893	1
1894	6
1895	3
1896	3
1897	3
1898	4
1899	4
1900	1
1901	5
1902	11
1903	19
1904	4
1905	4
1906	22
1907	35
1908	23
1909	10
1910	20
1911	82
1912	20
1913	10
1914	16
1915	42
1916	29
1917	46
1918	92
1919	56
1920	44
1921	234
1922	40
1923	125
1924	189
1925	251
1926	128
1927	118
1928	138
1929	323
1930	129
1931	451
1932	689
1933	449
1934	582
1935	259
1936	207
1937	270
1938	331
1939	266
1940	337
1941	378
1942	337
1943	802
1944	315
1945	498
1946	339
1947	358
1948	514
1949	586
1950	327
1951	288
1952	615
1953	518
1954	822
1955	421
1956	565
1957	728
1958	378
1959	785
1960	612
1961	333
1962	773
1963	732
1964	517
1965	200
1966	416
1967	587
1968	743
1969	885
1970	310
1971	653
1972	612
1973	419
1974	893
1975	1,332
1976	837
1977	553
1978	534
1979	683
1980	751
1981	1,540
1982	554
1983	1,307
1984	867
1985	426
1986	790
1987	1,036
1988	805
1989	764
1990	722
1991	925
1992	1,200
1993	1,208
1994	778
1995	734
1996	1,749
1997	1,106
1998	1,124
1999	673
2000	991
2001	847
2002	2,299
2003	1,201
2004	746
2005	929
2006	1,006
2007	565
2008	999
2009	1,529
2010	1,011
2011	1,117
2012	604
2013	919
2014	629
2015	1,001
2016	692
2017	1,214
2018	460
2019	1,483
2020	784
2021	904
2022	1,643
2023	1,106
2024	478
2025	969
2026	696

Download the Data

Data for records on 1939-05-20: 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 20	200
20 to 40	12
40 to 60	2
60 to 80	2
80 to 100	0
100 to 120	1