Weather Records on 3 January 1940

312 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 3 January 1940. Highest significance: Palermo, IT.

Key Facts for 3 January 1940

On 3 January 1940, 312 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
85 were record highs and 84 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 8 monthly and 303 daily.
Palermo set a daily record precipitation of 33.7 mm (1.3 in) on 3 January 1940.
Across 163 earlier years (1794 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 492 records.

Record Map

312 stations

312 station records on 3 January 1940 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 3 January 1940: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Palermo	Italy	Record daily precipitation	33.7 mm (1.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Rolla Missouri S&T	United States	Record snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Rushville	United States	Record snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Skegness	United Kingdom	Record low minimum temperature	-8.3 C (17.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Melbourne Regional Office	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	39.8 C (103.6 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Schoonoord	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Chandler	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Proserpine Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	189.7 mm (7.5 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Wisley	United Kingdom	Record low minimum temperature	-8.9 C (16.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Jefferson 3SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Shawnee	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Husum	Germany	Record snow depth	17.0 cm (6.7 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Bamberg	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-12.3 C (9.9 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Kaiserslautern	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-18.2 C (-0.8 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Heinersreuth-Vollhof	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-11.5 C (11.3 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Bajramaly	Turkmenistan	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Springfield	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Bamboo Springs	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Karlsruhe	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-18.3 C (-0.9 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Pawnee City	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Passau-Maierhof	Germany	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Hull	United Kingdom	Record low minimum temperature	-9.4 C (15.1 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Rocklin	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Hana 354	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.1 C (88.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Deniliquin (Wilkinson St)	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	25.6 C (78.1 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Mt Pleasant 2 W	United States	Record low maximum temperature	4.4 C (39.9 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Carbondale Sewage Plt	United States	Record snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Griggsville	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Hillsboro	United States	Record snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Champaign 3S	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Tbilisi	Georgia	Record daily precipitation	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Levan	United States	Record daily precipitation	13.7 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Alpine	United States	Record daily precipitation	15.2 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Poronajsk	Russia	Record daily precipitation	9.4 mm (0.37 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Duchesne	United States	Record daily precipitation	6.6 mm (0.26 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Mc Cool Junction	United States	Record daily precipitation	2.5 mm (0.10 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kingfisher	United States	Record snow depth	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Mount Wallace	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Salzburg	Austria	Record low minimum temperature	-22.6 C (-8.7 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
St Georges	Canada	Record daily snowfall	13.2 cm (5.2 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Muenster	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-15.0 C (5.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Heinersreuth-Vollhof	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-23.2 C (-9.8 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Bezenchuk	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-34.6 C (-30.3 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Parys (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	24.1 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Morrisonville 4 SE	United States	Record snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Choteau	United States	Record daily snowfall	1.3 cm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Chandler	United States	Record snow depth	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Pawhuska	United States	Record daily snowfall	2.5 cm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Dalhart Exp STN	United States	Record snow depth	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Launceston (Pumping Station)	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	35.6 C (96.1 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Bamberg	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-21.9 C (-7.4 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Munchen-Nymphenburg	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-21.6 C (-6.9 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Chemnitz	Germany	Record snow depth	25.0 cm (9.8 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Nikolaevsk-Na-Amure	Russia	Record daily precipitation	7.5 mm (0.30 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Morgan	United States	Record daily precipitation	1.3 mm (0.05 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Westcliffe	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.7 cm (4.2 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Ashland	United States	Record snow depth	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Sitka Magnetic Obsy	United States	Record high maximum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Clayoquot	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	18 of 100 (Routine)
Regensburg	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-22.2 C (-8.0 F)	18 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

312 records

Records set or tied on 3 January 1940 by type: Highest daily maximum 16, Lowest daily maximum 13, Highest daily minimum 69, Lowest daily minimum 71, Heaviest daily rainfall 62, Heaviest daily snowfall 27, Deepest snow cover 54.

Records on 3 January 1940 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	16
Lowest daily maximum	13
Highest daily minimum	69
Lowest daily minimum	71
Heaviest daily rainfall	62
Heaviest daily snowfall	27
Deepest snow cover	54

Records on 3 January 1940 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 8, daily 303.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

237 broken records

Margins by which the 237 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 153.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

3 January 1940

Top 20 records on 3 January 1940 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
3 January 1940	Palermo, IT	daily rain	33.7 mm (1.3 in)	9.4 mm (0.37 in)	61 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1940	Rolla Missouri S&T, US	daily snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	15.3 cm (6.0 in)	34 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1940	Rushville, US	daily snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	39 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1940	Skegness, GB	daily low min	-8.3 C (17.1 F)	6.6 C (11.9 F)	32 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1940	Melbourne Regional Office, AU	daily high max	39.8 C (103.6 F)	2.1 C (3.8 F)	76 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Schoonoord, ZA	daily rain	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	28 years	30 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Chandler, US	daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	37 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Proserpine Post Office, AU	daily rain	189.7 mm (7.5 in)	89.1 mm (3.5 in)	10 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Wisley, GB	daily low min	-8.9 C (16.0 F)	7.2 C (13.0 F)	21 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Jefferson 3SE, US	daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	43 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Shawnee, US	daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	37 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Husum, DE	daily snow depth	17.0 cm (6.7 in)	9.0 cm (3.5 in)	32 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Bamberg, DE	daily low max	-12.3 C (9.9 F)	2.4 C (4.3 F)	46 years	25 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Kaiserslautern, DE	monthly low min	-18.2 C (-0.8 F)	0.4 C (0.7 F)	34 years	24 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Heinersreuth-Vollhof, DE	daily low max	-11.5 C (11.3 F)	2.0 C (3.6 F)	46 years	24 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Bajramaly, TM	daily high min	10.6 C (51.1 F)	4.3 C (7.7 F)	43 years	24 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Springfield, US	daily snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	7.7 cm (3.0 in)	33 years	24 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Bamboo Springs, AU	daily rain	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	18.6 mm (0.7 in)	13 years	23 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Karlsruhe, DE	daily low min	-18.3 C (-0.9 F)	3.7 C (6.7 F)	34 years	23 of 100 (Routine)
3 January 1940	Pawnee City, US	daily snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	5.0 cm (2.0 in)	33 years	23 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

1794 to 1940

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1794 to 1940. 1940 had 312 records.

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

Records on 01-03 in each year
Year	Records
1794	1
1798	1
1800	1
1823	2
1825	1
1830	2
1839	1
1848	1
1853	1
1860	2
1861	1
1864	1
1867	2
1868	2
1871	2
1873	1
1874	2
1876	2
1877	3
1878	1
1879	2
1882	2
1883	3
1884	1
1886	4
1887	5
1888	3
1889	4
1890	3
1891	4
1892	1
1893	1
1894	1
1895	3
1896	1
1897	3
1899	2
1900	15
1901	4
1902	15
1903	17
1904	51
1905	12
1906	13
1907	26
1908	8
1909	11
1910	23
1911	40
1912	26
1913	83
1914	33
1915	29
1916	60
1917	52
1918	80
1919	54
1920	31
1921	139
1922	80
1923	46
1924	222
1925	139
1926	268
1927	235
1928	412
1929	58
1930	160
1931	100
1932	167
1933	160
1934	208
1935	249
1936	404
1937	291
1938	139
1939	498
1940	312
1941	595
1942	505
1943	508
1944	361
1945	148
1946	171
1947	662
1948	462
1949	910
1950	2,025
1951	459
1952	587
1953	241
1954	370
1955	443
1956	188
1957	177
1958	326
1959	861
1960	431
1961	543
1962	802
1963	494
1964	513
1965	492
1966	885
1967	247
1968	582
1969	516
1970	749
1971	1,280
1972	313
1973	623
1974	1,010
1975	710
1976	524
1977	790
1978	745
1979	2,417
1980	470
1981	1,401
1982	1,380
1983	921
1984	983
1985	739
1986	676
1987	843
1988	1,034
1989	740
1990	467
1991	1,077
1992	1,200
1993	910
1994	902
1995	726
1996	2,085
1997	3,676
1998	1,434
1999	1,568
2000	2,063
2001	1,385
2002	1,307
2003	981
2004	1,406
2005	1,157
2006	1,472
2007	1,396
2008	948
2009	682
2010	1,337
2011	681
2012	956
2013	496
2014	1,029
2015	869
2016	605
2017	1,053
2018	1,444
2019	474
2020	772
2021	476
2022	989
2023	1,318
2024	734
2025	653
2026	902

Download the Data

Data for records on 1940-01-03: 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	189
20 to 40	17
40 to 60	16
60 to 80	7
80 to 100	3
100 to 120	2
120 to 140	1
140 to 160	2