Weather Records on 16 May 1940

334 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 16 May 1940. Highest significance: Palermo, IT.

Key Facts for 16 May 1940

On 16 May 1940, 334 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
79 were record highs and 170 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 4 monthly and 330 daily.
Palermo set a daily record precipitation of 59.1 mm (2.3 in) on 16 May 1940.
Across 165 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 439 records.

Record Map

334 stations

334 station records on 16 May 1940 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 16 May 1940: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Palermo	Italy	Record daily precipitation	59.1 mm (2.3 in)	72 of 100 (Major)
Karikode	India	Record daily precipitation	180.3 mm (7.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Indian Mills 2 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	75.2 mm (3.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Minsk	Belarus	Record daily precipitation	36.7 mm (1.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Bridgeville 1 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	75.4 mm (3.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Millington 1 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Matamoras	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.9 mm (1.7 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Paterson	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Mankachar	India	Record daily precipitation	133.9 mm (5.3 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Scarsdale	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Ellsworth	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Bridgeton 1 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	68.6 mm (2.7 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Putbus	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	7.5 C (45.5 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Medford	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Wien	Austria	Record low maximum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Graz	Austria	Record low maximum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Trenton 2	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Easton	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Phillipsburg	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Heywood Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Demagiri	India	Record daily precipitation	71.6 mm (2.8 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Greencastle 1 W	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Layton 3 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Greenville Wtp	United States	Record low maximum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Ewa Plantation 741	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Kremsmuenster	Austria	Record low maximum temperature	6.8 C (44.2 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Amchong(Sonepur)	India	Record daily precipitation	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Kokomo 3 WSW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Hagerstown 1E	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Cottbus	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-0.8 C (30.6 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Paso Robles	United States	Record high minimum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Cambridge City 3 N	United States	Record low maximum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Marion 2 N	United States	Record low maximum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
W Pt	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Madison Wb City	United States	Record low maximum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Gorlitz	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-0.8 C (30.6 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Zagreb-Gric	Croatia	Record low maximum temperature	11.5 C (52.7 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Szombathely	Hungary	Record low maximum temperature	7.9 C (46.2 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Col du Grand St-Bernard	Switzerland	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Anderson 1 N	United States	Record low maximum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Howe	United States	Record low maximum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Mauzy	United States	Record low maximum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Rockville	United States	Record low maximum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Rushville	United States	Record low maximum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Newaygo Hardy Dam	United States	Record low maximum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Roebling	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Kustanai	Kazakhstan	Record daily precipitation	13.9 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Mmabatho Arpt	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	9.7 mm (0.38 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Luna Rs	United States	Record daily precipitation	15.7 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Woodstock	Canada	Record daily precipitation	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Vilnius	Lithuania	Record daily precipitation	16.0 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Coloso	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record daily precipitation	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Jokkmokk	Sweden	Record high maximum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Bisbee	United States	Record daily precipitation	1.3 mm (0.05 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Globe Rs	United States	Record high minimum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Shelbyville Sewage Plt	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Hillsdale	United States	Record low maximum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Central Michigan UNIV	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Grand Meadow	United States	Record low maximum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Glencliff	United States	Record daily precipitation	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

334 records

Records set or tied on 16 May 1940 by type: Highest daily maximum 26, Lowest daily maximum 133, Highest daily minimum 53, Lowest daily minimum 37, Heaviest daily rainfall 83, Heaviest daily snowfall 2.

Records on 16 May 1940 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	26
Lowest daily maximum	133
Highest daily minimum	53
Lowest daily minimum	37
Heaviest daily rainfall	83
Heaviest daily snowfall	2
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 16 May 1940 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 4, daily 330.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

266 broken records

Margins by which the 266 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 120.1. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

16 May 1940

Top 20 records on 16 May 1940 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
16 May 1940	Palermo, IT	daily rain	59.1 mm (2.3 in)	52.4 mm (2.1 in)	75 years	72 of 100 (Major)
16 May 1940	Karikode, IN	daily rain	180.3 mm (7.1 in)	120.1 mm (4.7 in)	16 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1940	Indian Mills 2 W, US	daily rain	75.2 mm (3.0 in)	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	14 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1940	Minsk, BY	daily rain	36.7 mm (1.4 in)	17.7 mm (0.7 in)	32 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1940	Bridgeville 1 NW, US	daily rain	75.4 mm (3.0 in)	33.2 mm (1.3 in)	33 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1940	Millington 1 SE, US	daily rain	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	23.3 mm (0.9 in)	33 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1940	Matamoras, US	daily rain	42.9 mm (1.7 in)	32.7 mm (1.3 in)	6 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1940	Paterson, US	daily rain	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	33 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1940	Mankachar, IN	daily rain	133.9 mm (5.3 in)	65.3 mm (2.6 in)	29 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1940	Scarsdale, US	daily rain	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	24.1 mm (0.9 in)	28 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1940	Ellsworth, US	daily rain	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	24.7 mm (1.0 in)	30 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1940	Bridgeton 1 NE, US	daily rain	68.6 mm (2.7 in)	27.5 mm (1.1 in)	14 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1940	Putbus, DE	daily low max	7.5 C (45.5 F)	1.3 C (2.3 F)	66 years	30 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1940	Medford, US	daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	44 years	30 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1940	Wien, AT	daily low max	7.2 C (45.0 F)	1.0 C (1.8 F)	65 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1940	Graz, AT	daily low max	7.2 C (45.0 F)	5.1 C (9.2 F)	44 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1940	Trenton 2, US	daily rain	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	16.5 mm (0.6 in)	33 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1940	Easton, US	daily rain	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	13.5 mm (0.5 in)	33 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1940	Phillipsburg, US	daily rain	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	15.5 mm (0.6 in)	28 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
16 May 1940	Heywood Post Office, AU	daily rain	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	13.2 mm (0.5 in)	5 years	25 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 1940

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1940. 1940 had 334 records.

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

Records on 05-16 in each year
Year	Records
1802	1
1806	1
1820	1
1825	1
1832	1
1837	1
1847	1
1856	1
1858	1
1861	1
1862	1
1863	1
1864	1
1866	1
1867	2
1871	1
1874	3
1878	1
1879	1
1880	1
1881	1
1882	1
1883	1
1884	1
1885	1
1886	1
1887	2
1888	2
1889	2
1890	1
1891	4
1892	3
1893	1
1894	2
1895	6
1896	2
1897	1
1898	11
1899	6
1900	7
1901	2
1902	10
1903	9
1904	17
1905	13
1906	25
1907	13
1908	6
1909	57
1910	24
1911	22
1912	13
1913	24
1914	11
1915	104
1916	38
1917	48
1918	395
1919	28
1920	69
1921	106
1922	31
1923	126
1924	152
1925	177
1926	211
1927	230
1928	121
1929	273
1930	170
1931	254
1932	441
1933	268
1934	304
1935	320
1936	520
1937	279
1938	299
1939	448
1940	334
1941	429
1942	721
1943	652
1944	531
1945	888
1946	327
1947	344
1948	281
1949	360
1950	210
1951	558
1952	773
1953	421
1954	251
1955	525
1956	697
1957	610
1958	361
1959	680
1960	370
1961	378
1962	1,295
1963	552
1964	313
1965	442
1966	420
1967	611
1968	790
1969	423
1970	520
1971	509
1972	625
1973	869
1974	1,207
1975	544
1976	518
1977	1,269
1978	808
1979	506
1980	830
1981	896
1982	427
1983	1,579
1984	981
1985	536
1986	747
1987	1,369
1988	946
1989	938
1990	1,068
1991	1,094
1992	809
1993	653
1994	705
1995	1,235
1996	1,835
1997	1,932
1998	1,500
1999	778
2000	1,129
2001	1,110
2002	694
2003	1,289
2004	869
2005	870
2006	1,345
2007	692
2008	1,034
2009	897
2010	836
2011	1,398
2012	770
2013	596
2014	1,483
2015	782
2016	793
2017	710
2018	1,013
2019	572
2020	431
2021	419
2022	717
2023	653
2024	601
2025	993
2026	558

Download the Data

Data for records on 1940-05-16: 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	251
20 to 40	10
40 to 60	2
60 to 80	2
80 to 100	0
100 to 120	0
120 to 140	1