Weather Records on 12 May 1940

440 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 12 May 1940. Highest significance: Kaanapali AP 453.1, US.

Key Facts for 12 May 1940

On 12 May 1940, 440 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
256 were record highs and 110 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 2 monthly and 438 daily.
Kaanapali AP 453.1 set a daily record precipitation of 50.8 mm (2.0 in) on 12 May 1940.
Across 164 earlier years (1814 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 453 records.

Record Map

440 stations

440 station records on 12 May 1940 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 12 May 1940: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Kaanapali AP 453.1	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
White Cliffs (Purnanga)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Sable Island	Canada	Record daily precipitation	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Gammon Ranges (Wertaloona)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Cooyar Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Pembroke Eddy Match	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-3.9 C (25.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Haiku 490	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.6 mm (2.2 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Hunsur	India	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Collins	United States	Record high minimum temperature	18.3 C (64.9 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Bloomfield 3 SE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	36.7 C (98.1 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Hubbard	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	31.1 C (88.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Port Arthur	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	26.7 C (80.1 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Eustis 2 S	United States	Record low maximum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Holy Cross	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Honomanu 450	United States	Record high minimum temperature	19.4 C (66.9 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Luakaha Lower 782	United States	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Jamestown State Hosp	United States	Record high minimum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Larimore 4SW	United States	Record high minimum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Ewa Plantation 741	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.1 C (88.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Kailua 446	United States	Record high minimum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Chemnitz	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	7.4 C (45.3 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Kissimmee	United States	Record low maximum temperature	22.8 C (73.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Gainesville	United States	Record low minimum temperature	2.8 C (37.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Faribault	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.6 C (96.1 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Culbertson	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Hot Springs 2	United States	Record low minimum temperature	0.6 C (33.1 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Clemson UNIV	United States	Record low minimum temperature	3.9 C (39.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Oelrichs	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Vermillion 2 SE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Mayaguez City	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record high minimum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Winona	United States	Record high maximum temperature	34.4 C (93.9 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Hot Springs	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
St Georges	Canada	Record daily precipitation	14.2 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Gallivare_A	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	17.7 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Baku	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	8.1 mm (0.32 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
White Cliffs (Wonnaminta)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	17.3 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Norddal	Norway	Record daily precipitation	20.0 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Waiopai Rch 256	United States	Record daily precipitation	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Helidon Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kiruna	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Collingwood	Canada	Record daily precipitation	10.2 mm (0.4 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Salmon AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	8.4 mm (0.33 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Arrowie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	21.1 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Jokkmokk	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	14.3 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Tibooburra Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	15.7 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Kallara	Australia	Record daily precipitation	7.6 mm (0.30 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Pondooma Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	6.6 mm (0.26 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Forest Hill	Australia	Record daily precipitation	11.9 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Nanango Wills St	Australia	Record daily precipitation	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Saguache	United States	Record daily precipitation	2.3 mm (0.09 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Worthington	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Redfield	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Pandappa Homestead	Australia	Record daily precipitation	13.2 mm (0.5 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Mt Perry the Pines	Australia	Record daily precipitation	11.9 mm (0.5 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Shirol	India	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Gotska Sandon	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	10.2 mm (0.4 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
New Hampton	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.1 C (88.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Spencer 1 N	United States	Record high minimum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
St Peter	United States	Record high maximum temperature	33.3 C (91.9 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Batesville	United States	Record low minimum temperature	6.1 C (43.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

440 records

Records set or tied on 12 May 1940 by type: Highest daily maximum 128, Lowest daily maximum 9, Highest daily minimum 128, Lowest daily minimum 101, Heaviest daily rainfall 74.

Records on 12 May 1940 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	128
Lowest daily maximum	9
Highest daily minimum	128
Lowest daily minimum	101
Heaviest daily rainfall	74
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 12 May 1940 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 2, daily 438.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

342 broken records

Margins by which the 342 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 26.4. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

12 May 1940

Top 20 records on 12 May 1940 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
12 May 1940	Kaanapali AP 453.1, US	daily rain	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	27 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
12 May 1940	White Cliffs (Purnanga), AU	daily rain	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	23.4 mm (0.9 in)	51 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
12 May 1940	Sable Island, CA	daily rain	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	47 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
12 May 1940	Gammon Ranges (Wertaloona), AU	daily rain	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	21.1 mm (0.8 in)	22 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Cooyar Post Office, AU	daily rain	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	18.5 mm (0.7 in)	43 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Pembroke Eddy Match, CA	daily low min	-3.9 C (25.0 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	71 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Haiku 490, US	daily rain	56.6 mm (2.2 in)	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	2 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Hunsur, IN	daily rain	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	24.6 mm (1.0 in)	28 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Ft Collins, US	daily high min	18.3 C (64.9 F)	8.3 C (14.9 F)	3 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Bloomfield 3 SE, US	daily high max	36.7 C (98.1 F)	5.0 C (9.0 F)	45 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Hubbard, CA	daily high max	31.1 C (88.0 F)	10.5 C (18.9 F)	25 years	26 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Port Arthur, CA	daily high max	26.7 C (80.1 F)	3.4 C (6.1 F)	48 years	26 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Eustis 2 S, US	daily low max	23.9 C (75.0 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	37 years	26 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Holy Cross, US	daily high min	7.2 C (45.0 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	40 years	25 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Honomanu 450, US	daily high min	19.4 C (66.9 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	21 years	25 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Luakaha Lower 782, US	daily rain	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	27 years	25 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Jamestown State Hosp, US	daily high min	15.6 C (60.1 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	43 years	24 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Larimore 4SW, US	daily high min	14.4 C (57.9 F)	4.4 C (7.9 F)	40 years	24 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Ewa Plantation 741, US	daily high max	31.1 C (88.0 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	34 years	23 of 100 (Routine)
12 May 1940	Kailua 446, US	daily high min	20.6 C (69.1 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	17 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

1814 to 1940

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1814 to 1940. 1940 had 440 records.

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

Records on 05-12 in each year
Year	Records
1814	2
1823	1
1825	1
1827	1
1834	1
1837	1
1838	1
1845	1
1847	1
1848	1
1849	2
1851	1
1855	2
1860	2
1862	2
1863	1
1867	1
1868	1
1872	2
1874	1
1877	1
1878	1
1879	1
1881	4
1882	5
1884	3
1885	2
1886	3
1887	1
1888	1
1889	1
1890	1
1891	4
1894	1
1895	1
1896	1
1897	7
1898	3
1900	3
1901	6
1902	5
1903	7
1904	11
1905	10
1906	20
1907	53
1908	12
1909	4
1910	9
1911	37
1912	46
1913	6
1914	36
1915	50
1916	42
1917	54
1918	113
1919	42
1920	19
1921	64
1922	43
1923	109
1924	245
1925	275
1926	121
1927	167
1928	192
1929	172
1930	500
1931	350
1932	199
1933	476
1934	293
1935	404
1936	329
1937	214
1938	394
1939	233
1940	440
1941	568
1942	418
1943	803
1944	368
1945	389
1946	653
1947	286
1948	390
1949	414
1950	283
1951	427
1952	711
1953	891
1954	305
1955	265
1956	1,568
1957	454
1958	714
1959	740
1960	1,583
1961	381
1962	713
1963	777
1964	401
1965	196
1966	909
1967	810
1968	890
1969	506
1970	698
1971	668
1972	641
1973	393
1974	702
1975	418
1976	541
1977	855
1978	802
1979	763
1980	684
1981	855
1982	763
1983	1,281
1984	887
1985	1,199
1986	473
1987	1,295
1988	619
1989	856
1990	617
1991	1,177
1992	1,022
1993	1,208
1994	738
1995	1,190
1996	1,420
1997	921
1998	1,576
1999	881
2000	1,486
2001	1,015
2002	1,027
2003	861
2004	1,054
2005	1,369
2006	797
2007	630
2008	858
2009	687
2010	1,250
2011	1,119
2012	660
2013	689
2014	949
2015	958
2016	421
2017	529
2018	819
2019	784
2020	1,338
2021	712
2022	1,930
2023	429
2024	447
2025	940
2026	1,110

Download the Data

Data for records on 1940-05-12: 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	297
5 to 10	27
10 to 15	9
15 to 20	3
20 to 25	4
25 to 30	2