Weather Records on 31 August 1940

400 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 31 August 1940. Highest significance: Emmitsburg, US.

Key Facts for 31 August 1940

On 31 August 1940, 400 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
194 were record highs and 101 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 17 monthly and 382 daily.
Emmitsburg set a daily record precipitation of 83.8 mm (3.3 in) on 31 August 1940.
Across 165 earlier years (1796 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 436 records.

Record Map

400 stations

400 station records on 31 August 1940 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 31 August 1940: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Emmitsburg	United States	Record daily precipitation	83.8 mm (3.3 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Towanda 1 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Montrose	United States	Record daily precipitation	66.8 mm (2.6 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Bisauli	India	Record daily precipitation	121.7 mm (4.8 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Pelee Island	Canada	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Griffin	United States	Record daily precipitation	74.4 mm (2.9 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Wilkes Barre	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.2 mm (2.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ivanhoe	United States	Record daily precipitation	81.5 mm (3.2 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Colebrook	United States	Record daily precipitation	97.8 mm (3.9 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Jena Sternwarte	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	14.2 C (57.6 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Bainbridge 2 E	United States	Record daily precipitation	54.1 mm (2.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
American River	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Gordon	United States	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Radford	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.9 mm (1.7 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Vik I Sogn III	Norway	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Carlisle	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.6 mm (2.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Calhoun Falls	United States	Record daily precipitation	60.5 mm (2.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Hovlandsdal	Norway	Record daily precipitation	87.7 mm (3.5 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Sogndal - Selseng	Norway	Record daily precipitation	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Norwich	United States	Record daily precipitation	93.0 mm (3.7 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Karlsruhe	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	4.0 C (39.2 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Mt Pocono 2 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	108.0 mm (4.3 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Shahganj	India	Record daily precipitation	79.8 mm (3.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Suldalsvatn	Norway	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Vastervik	Sweden	Record low minimum temperature	3.8 C (38.8 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Lucan	Canada	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Lysebotn	Norway	Record daily precipitation	64.6 mm (2.5 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Williams	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Gettysburg	United States	Record daily precipitation	101.6 mm (4.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Putbus	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	13.5 C (56.3 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
York 3 SSW Pump STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Traverse Cy Cherry Capital AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Edmonton	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Bulken	Norway	Record daily precipitation	36.2 mm (1.4 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Kohala Mis 175.1	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Washington	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Kadipur	India	Record daily precipitation	109.7 mm (4.3 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Harnosand	Sweden	Record low minimum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Layton 3 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Quebec	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	19.4 C (66.9 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Pointe Au Pere	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	13.9 C (57.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Kaiserslautern	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	2.0 C (35.6 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Hafslo	Norway	Record daily precipitation	31.9 mm (1.3 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Corinne	United States	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Gorlitz	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	5.9 C (42.6 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Oestersund-Froesoen	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	31.6 mm (1.2 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Port Jervis	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Baltimore Customs House	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Dwtn Charleston	United States	Record daily precipitation	70.9 mm (2.8 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Prince Albert	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Kaimganj	India	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Bluefield 2 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Sarajevo	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Record low maximum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Calgary Int'l A	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Schwerin	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	5.5 C (41.9 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Halle	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	6.0 C (42.8 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Jaunpur	India	Record daily precipitation	76.5 mm (3.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Botnen I Forde	Norway	Record daily precipitation	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Salisbury	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Paauilo 221	United States	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

400 records

Records set or tied on 31 August 1940 by type: Highest daily maximum 89, Lowest daily maximum 41, Highest daily minimum 105, Lowest daily minimum 60, Heaviest daily rainfall 105.

Records on 31 August 1940 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	89
Lowest daily maximum	41
Highest daily minimum	105
Lowest daily minimum	60
Heaviest daily rainfall	105
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 31 August 1940 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 17, daily 382.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

309 broken records

Margins by which the 309 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 89.9. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

31 August 1940

Top 20 records on 31 August 1940 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
31 August 1940	Emmitsburg, US	daily rain	83.8 mm (3.3 in)	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	39 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Towanda 1 S, US	daily rain	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	43.9 mm (1.7 in)	39 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Montrose, US	daily rain	66.8 mm (2.6 in)	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	22 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Bisauli, IN	daily rain	121.7 mm (4.8 in)	89.9 mm (3.5 in)	13 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Pelee Island, CA	daily rain	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	48.2 mm (1.9 in)	39 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Griffin, US	daily rain	74.4 mm (2.9 in)	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	30 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Wilkes Barre, US	daily rain	61.2 mm (2.4 in)	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	12 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Ivanhoe, US	daily rain	81.5 mm (3.2 in)	56.9 mm (2.2 in)	3 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Colebrook, US	daily rain	97.8 mm (3.9 in)	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	29 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Jena Sternwarte, DE	daily low max	14.2 C (57.6 F)	0.1 C (0.2 F)	110 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Bainbridge 2 E, US	daily rain	54.1 mm (2.1 in)	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	12 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	American River, AU	daily rain	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	16.7 mm (0.7 in)	7 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Gordon, US	daily rain	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	38.3 mm (1.5 in)	29 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Radford, US	daily rain	43.9 mm (1.7 in)	24.6 mm (1.0 in)	29 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Vik I Sogn III, NO	daily rain	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	18.6 mm (0.7 in)	2 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Carlisle, US	daily rain	52.6 mm (2.1 in)	41.2 mm (1.6 in)	20 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Calhoun Falls, US	daily rain	60.5 mm (2.4 in)	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	30 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Hovlandsdal, NO	daily rain	87.7 mm (3.5 in)	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	40 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Sogndal - Selseng, NO	daily rain	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	19.3 mm (0.8 in)	29 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1940	Norwich, US	monthly rain	93.0 mm (3.7 in)	19.3 mm (0.8 in)	23 years	35 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

1796 to 1940

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1796 to 1940. 1940 had 400 records.

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

Records on 08-31 in each year
Year	Records
1796	1
1806	1
1807	2
1813	1
1814	1
1816	1
1827	1
1836	1
1846	1
1849	1
1851	1
1856	2
1858	1
1859	1
1860	1
1861	1
1863	1
1867	1
1869	1
1873	1
1875	1
1876	1
1877	2
1879	2
1881	3
1882	2
1885	1
1886	5
1887	1
1889	1
1890	2
1892	3
1893	1
1894	1
1895	1
1896	1
1897	5
1898	10
1899	4
1900	3
1901	5
1902	5
1903	16
1904	13
1905	8
1906	47
1907	6
1908	12
1909	39
1910	20
1911	31
1912	34
1913	40
1914	23
1915	71
1916	7
1917	60
1918	58
1919	25
1920	46
1921	86
1922	58
1923	63
1924	232
1925	111
1926	148
1927	103
1928	201
1929	300
1930	243
1931	192
1932	807
1933	424
1934	381
1935	540
1936	226
1937	508
1938	324
1939	296
1940	400
1941	528
1942	422
1943	650
1944	638
1945	572
1946	545
1947	473
1948	367
1949	409
1950	662
1951	910
1952	388
1953	1,054
1954	633
1955	539
1956	734
1957	317
1958	417
1959	496
1960	366
1961	625
1962	432
1963	415
1964	591
1965	886
1966	830
1967	952
1968	562
1969	474
1970	558
1971	326
1972	287
1973	793
1974	587
1975	658
1976	732
1977	621
1978	891
1979	400
1980	701
1981	692
1982	586
1983	788
1984	866
1985	854
1986	1,218
1987	836
1988	570
1989	622
1990	966
1991	848
1992	1,274
1993	1,286
1994	1,139
1995	1,077
1996	1,451
1997	943
1998	1,163
1999	988
2000	1,545
2001	944
2002	852
2003	1,232
2004	963
2005	1,782
2006	1,147
2007	1,110
2008	870
2009	1,224
2010	1,490
2011	994
2012	932
2013	771
2014	458
2015	1,074
2016	599
2017	596
2018	366
2019	781
2020	737
2021	553
2022	1,191
2023	600
2024	766
2025	307
2026	595

Download the Data

Data for records on 1940-08-31: 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	281
20 to 40	15
40 to 60	11
60 to 80	1
80 to 100	1