Weather Records on 4 May 1940

602 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 4 May 1940. Highest significance: Engcobo (Tnk), ZA.

Key Facts for 4 May 1940

On 4 May 1940, 602 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
122 were record highs and 251 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 52 monthly and 550 daily.
Engcobo (Tnk) set a monthly record daily precipitation of 83.6 mm (3.3 in) on 4 May 1940.
Across 163 earlier years (1795 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 429 records.

Record Map

602 stations

602 station records on 4 May 1940 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 4 May 1940: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Engcobo (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	83.6 mm (3.3 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Huxley	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	85.6 mm (3.4 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Ida	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.5 mm (2.4 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Dordrecht - Tnk 14	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	62.5 mm (2.5 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Contest	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Isidinge (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	73.4 mm (2.9 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Rocklands	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Willowvale (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	78.7 mm (3.1 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Lady Frere (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Exwell Park	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Kokstad	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Fort Cunynghame (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Yardley Chase	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Elandshoek, Boston	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Kentani (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	69.3 mm (2.7 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Chittur	India	Record daily precipitation	125.7 mm (4.9 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Komga (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	78.0 mm (3.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Brakfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Bhir	India	Record daily precipitation	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Nqamakwe (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Baziya (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
The Meadows	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Tsomo (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Elliotdale (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Fountain Head	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Ukiah	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Katberg (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	47.5 mm (1.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Seymour (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Kloofend	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Arkalgud	India	Record daily precipitation	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Pearston (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Adelaide (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Hogsback (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Kollegal	India	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Balfour (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Cata (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Kieskamahoek (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Pirie (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Crawley	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Sterkstroom (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Mqanduli (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Barkly East	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.3 mm (1.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Umzimkulu (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Harrismith (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Kanjirapally	India	Record daily precipitation	118.4 mm (4.7 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Sankari	India	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Waverley	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Kubusie (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Port Orford 2	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Manor Holme	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Val (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Fort Fordyce (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Upper Mattole	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Concord	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Wolfridge (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	58.2 mm (2.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Bluefield 2 NW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	2.2 C (36.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Somerset East	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Qacu (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Herschel	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Durban-Botanical Gardens	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

602 records

Records set or tied on 4 May 1940 by type: Highest daily maximum 73, Lowest daily maximum 115, Highest daily minimum 49, Lowest daily minimum 136, Heaviest daily rainfall 227, Heaviest daily snowfall 2.

Records on 4 May 1940 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	73
Lowest daily maximum	115
Highest daily minimum	49
Lowest daily minimum	136
Heaviest daily rainfall	227
Heaviest daily snowfall	2
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 4 May 1940 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 52, daily 550.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

481 broken records

Margins by which the 481 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 90.1. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

4 May 1940

Top 20 records on 4 May 1940 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
4 May 1940	Engcobo (Tnk), ZA	monthly rain	83.6 mm (3.3 in)	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	48 years	63 of 100 (Major)
4 May 1940	Huxley, ZA	monthly rain	85.6 mm (3.4 in)	56.9 mm (2.2 in)	30 years	62 of 100 (Major)
4 May 1940	Ida, ZA	monthly rain	60.5 mm (2.4 in)	20.4 mm (0.8 in)	34 years	61 of 100 (Major)
4 May 1940	Dordrecht - Tnk 14, ZA	daily rain	62.5 mm (2.5 in)	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	48 years	60 of 100 (Major)
4 May 1940	Contest, ZA	monthly rain	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	18.5 mm (0.7 in)	34 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Isidinge (Bos), ZA	daily rain	73.4 mm (2.9 in)	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	42 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Rocklands, ZA	daily rain	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	24.4 mm (1.0 in)	44 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Willowvale (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	78.7 mm (3.1 in)	57.9 mm (2.3 in)	42 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Lady Frere (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	34.8 mm (1.4 in)	42 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Exwell Park, ZA	daily rain	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	40 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Kokstad, ZA	daily rain	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	42 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Fort Cunynghame (Bos), ZA	monthly rain	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	34 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Yardley Chase, ZA	daily rain	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	22 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Elandshoek, Boston, ZA	daily rain	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	57.9 mm (2.3 in)	32 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Kentani (Bos), ZA	daily rain	69.3 mm (2.7 in)	47.7 mm (1.9 in)	45 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Chittur, IN	daily rain	125.7 mm (4.9 in)	90.1 mm (3.5 in)	19 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Komga (Pol), ZA	monthly rain	78.0 mm (3.1 in)	24.4 mm (1.0 in)	34 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Brakfontein, ZA	daily rain	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	22.3 mm (0.9 in)	24 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Bhir, IN	daily rain	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	15 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
4 May 1940	Nqamakwe (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	24.2 mm (1.0 in)	42 years	48 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

1795 to 1940

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1795 to 1940. 1940 had 602 records.

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

Records on 05-04 in each year
Year	Records
1795	1
1796	1
1820	1
1836	2
1840	1
1847	1
1850	2
1851	2
1852	1
1856	3
1858	1
1859	1
1861	2
1862	1
1864	3
1865	2
1868	3
1869	1
1870	2
1875	1
1877	2
1878	1
1879	1
1880	1
1882	1
1885	1
1886	1
1888	1
1889	4
1890	1
1892	4
1893	3
1894	6
1895	3
1896	3
1897	2
1898	2
1899	2
1900	2
1902	5
1903	8
1904	8
1905	19
1906	5
1907	37
1908	18
1909	13
1910	14
1911	37
1912	12
1913	63
1914	21
1915	75
1916	57
1917	60
1918	30
1919	69
1920	43
1921	62
1922	283
1923	82
1924	88
1925	80
1926	230
1927	112
1928	205
1929	177
1930	269
1931	169
1932	104
1933	274
1934	456
1935	518
1936	313
1937	230
1938	445
1939	295
1940	602
1941	436
1942	820
1943	358
1944	872
1945	654
1946	463
1947	649
1948	578
1949	1,130
1950	953
1951	292
1952	698
1953	389
1954	1,045
1955	471
1956	433
1957	433
1958	414
1959	613
1960	443
1961	466
1962	265
1963	313
1964	570
1965	433
1966	1,113
1967	928
1968	304
1969	377
1970	454
1971	810
1972	364
1973	313
1974	367
1975	683
1976	554
1977	736
1978	1,016
1979	1,529
1980	511
1981	667
1982	591
1983	539
1984	885
1985	821
1986	1,128
1987	1,004
1988	591
1989	743
1990	1,461
1991	1,088
1992	933
1993	791
1994	821
1995	974
1996	1,298
1997	962
1998	898
1999	1,167
2000	1,398
2001	1,345
2002	1,343
2003	1,158
2004	1,341
2005	1,152
2006	650
2007	699
2008	624
2009	727
2010	999
2011	1,023
2012	1,343
2013	1,447
2014	602
2015	622
2016	463
2017	669
2018	972
2019	574
2020	504
2021	616
2022	470
2023	681
2024	885
2025	456
2026	554

Download the Data

Data for records on 1940-05-04: 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	426
20 to 40	41
40 to 60	10
60 to 80	3
80 to 100	1