Weather Records on 21 May 1939

355 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 21 May 1939. Highest significance: Hillsdale, US.

Key Facts for 21 May 1939

On 21 May 1939, 355 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
106 were record highs and 32 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 7 monthly and 348 daily.
Hillsdale set a daily record precipitation of 49.0 mm (1.9 in) on 21 May 1939.
Across 156 earlier years (1793 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 461 records.

Record Map

355 stations

355 station records on 21 May 1939 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 21 May 1939: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Hillsdale	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Redding Fire STN 2	United States	Record daily precipitation	60.2 mm (2.4 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Kokomo 3 WSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Chico UNIV Farm	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Orland	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Botanic Gardens - Pmb	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Mathinna (Fingal Road)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Premier Mine-Cullinan	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Tower Hill	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Wien	Austria	Record daily precipitation	42.5 mm (1.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Tshakhuma	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Zagreb-Gric	Croatia	Record daily precipitation	53.2 mm (2.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Nawabganj	India	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Oberlin	United States	Record daily precipitation	81.3 mm (3.2 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Red Bluff Muni AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Kremsmuenster	Austria	Record daily precipitation	32.6 mm (1.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Zuerich/Fluntern	Switzerland	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Hoopeston	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Witsieshoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Jowai	India	Record daily precipitation	160.0 mm (6.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Ferrara	Italy	Record daily precipitation	46.8 mm (1.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Augsburg (Sankt Stephan)	Germany	Record daily precipitation	30.3 mm (1.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Oroville 1 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Dehradun	India	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Verwoedburg-Mu"Lytteltn"	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Brockville	Canada	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Valparaiso Wtr Wks	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Mount Wellington (the Springs)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Ulm	Germany	Record daily precipitation	28.6 mm (1.1 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Lindsay	Canada	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Keonjhargarh	India	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Gayndah Post Office	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
De Sabla	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Ulmarra (Newsagency)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Kilmashogue,Lowlands	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Bloomfield 3 SE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	18.3 C (64.9 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Zugspitze	Germany	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Greenfield	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Lake Spaulding	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.7 mm (2.3 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
W Pt	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.8 mm (1.4 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Newton	United States	Record high minimum temperature	18.3 C (64.9 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Hamburg Fuhlsbuettel	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	0.8 C (33.4 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Represa	United States	Record low maximum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Ashland	United States	Record high minimum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Lakeside	United States	Record daily precipitation	23.1 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Heinersreuth-Vollhof	Germany	Record daily precipitation	20.2 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Corvallis State UNIV	United States	Record daily precipitation	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Heavitree, Estcourt	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	21.8 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Vancouver 4 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Chernjaevo	Russia	Record daily precipitation	13.6 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Southampton	Canada	Record daily precipitation	22.6 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Stockdill Rch	United States	Record daily precipitation	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Alkmaar	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	13.2 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Amersfoort (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	15.2 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Maraisburg (Gm)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	16.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Mankayane	Swaziland	Record daily precipitation	15.7 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Fingal (Legge Street)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	16.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Coldwater	Canada	Record daily precipitation	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kustanai	Kazakhstan	Record daily precipitation	10.6 mm (0.4 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

355 records

Records set or tied on 21 May 1939 by type: Highest daily maximum 58, Lowest daily maximum 18, Highest daily minimum 48, Lowest daily minimum 14, Heaviest daily rainfall 217.

Records on 21 May 1939 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	58
Lowest daily maximum	18
Highest daily minimum	48
Lowest daily minimum	14
Heaviest daily rainfall	217
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 21 May 1939 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 7, daily 348.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

304 broken records

Margins by which the 304 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 62.5. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

21 May 1939

Top 20 records on 21 May 1939 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
21 May 1939	Hillsdale, US	daily rain	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	40 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Redding Fire STN 2, US	daily rain	60.2 mm (2.4 in)	39.9 mm (1.6 in)	40 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Kokomo 3 WSW, US	daily rain	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	51.3 mm (2.0 in)	36 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Chico UNIV Farm, US	daily rain	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	32 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Orland, US	daily rain	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	23.8 mm (0.9 in)	26 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Botanic Gardens - Pmb, ZA	daily rain	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	35.3 mm (1.4 in)	32 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Mathinna (Fingal Road), AU	daily rain	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	48.8 mm (1.9 in)	16 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Premier Mine-Cullinan, ZA	daily rain	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	34 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Tower Hill, AU	daily rain	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	21 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Wien, AT	daily rain	42.5 mm (1.7 in)	37.2 mm (1.5 in)	10 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Tshakhuma, ZA	daily rain	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	25 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Zagreb-Gric, HR	daily rain	53.2 mm (2.1 in)	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	0 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Nawabganj, IN	daily rain	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	16 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Oberlin, US	monthly rain	81.3 mm (3.2 in)	24.1 mm (0.9 in)	1 year	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Red Bluff Muni AP, US	daily rain	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	17 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Kremsmuenster, AT	daily rain	32.6 mm (1.3 in)	15.4 mm (0.6 in)	50 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Zuerich/Fluntern, CH	daily rain	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	22.8 mm (0.9 in)	21 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Hoopeston, US	daily rain	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	36 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Witsieshoek, ZA	daily rain	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	30 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
21 May 1939	Jowai, IN	daily rain	160.0 mm (6.3 in)	62.5 mm (2.5 in)	32 years	36 of 100 (Notable)

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 1939

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1939. 1939 had 355 records.

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

Records on 05-21 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1795	1
1811	1
1837	2
1842	1
1847	2
1854	1
1857	1
1858	1
1865	1
1866	1
1870	2
1875	1
1876	1
1880	2
1882	1
1885	1
1886	2
1887	3
1889	5
1890	3
1891	6
1892	1
1893	1
1894	4
1895	4
1896	5
1897	2
1898	1
1899	5
1900	1
1901	3
1902	4
1903	26
1904	8
1905	7
1906	12
1907	36
1908	13
1909	13
1910	14
1911	87
1912	24
1913	13
1914	26
1915	24
1916	13
1917	76
1918	51
1919	170
1920	39
1921	158
1922	39
1923	125
1924	148
1925	250
1926	221
1927	207
1928	173
1929	247
1930	133
1931	488
1932	343
1933	290
1934	590
1935	190
1936	328
1937	227
1938	348
1939	355
1940	456
1941	525
1942	482
1943	463
1944	310
1945	515
1946	324
1947	485
1948	312
1949	593
1950	403
1951	271
1952	385
1953	501
1954	961
1955	507
1956	409
1957	709
1958	511
1959	684
1960	615
1961	306
1962	553
1963	598
1964	788
1965	238
1966	296
1967	1,022
1968	549
1969	832
1970	449
1971	536
1972	557
1973	493
1974	847
1975	1,160
1976	393
1977	756
1978	575
1979	787
1980	857
1981	1,550
1982	599
1983	1,106
1984	950
1985	610
1986	908
1987	1,242
1988	819
1989	671
1990	947
1991	1,065
1992	1,143
1993	1,197
1994	656
1995	749
1996	1,461
1997	953
1998	1,200
1999	544
2000	897
2001	1,187
2002	2,048
2003	807
2004	898
2005	1,020
2006	810
2007	894
2008	740
2009	1,315
2010	962
2011	959
2012	848
2013	884
2014	522
2015	956
2016	567
2017	780
2018	525
2019	1,668
2020	707
2021	1,131
2022	1,512
2023	794
2024	751
2025	776
2026	356

Download the Data

Data for records on 1939-05-21: 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 2026-10-14 (14 October 2026). Records are computed by this site and are not official.

Data as of 2026-10-12. Last revised 12 October 2026 (2026-10-12).

Margin	Records
0 to 10	213
10 to 20	58
20 to 30	19
30 to 40	7
40 to 50	3
50 to 60	3
60 to 70	1