Weather Records on 3 May 1950

854 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 3 May 1950. Highest significance: Vryburg, ZA.

Key Facts for 3 May 1950

On 3 May 1950, 854 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
193 were record highs and 331 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 95 monthly and 759 daily.
Vryburg set a monthly record daily precipitation of 65.0 mm (2.6 in) on 3 May 1950.
Across 168 earlier years (1795 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 431 records.

Record Map

854 stations

854 station records on 3 May 1950 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 3 May 1950: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Vryburg	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Hartbeesfontein (Skl)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	81.8 mm (3.2 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Potchefstroom;Braksp	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	74.9 mm (2.9 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Syferfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	56.9 mm (2.2 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Ottosdal	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Beatrix	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	79.8 mm (3.1 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Green Rvr	United States	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Heilbron (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Hollowaysrust	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	55.1 mm (2.2 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Laketown	United States	Record daily snowfall	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Elandsheuwel	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Farson 2NNE	United States	Record daily snowfall	18.0 cm (7.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Rietfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Driefontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Lakeview 2 NNW	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Lifton Pumping STN	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Vryburg (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Urawilkie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Rienzi	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Pokegama Dam	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Saluda	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Sacramento 5 ESE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	2.8 C (37.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Klerkskraal (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Quincy	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Greensboro	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Taung	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Copper	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Gibson Dam	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Birtle	Canada	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Weltevrede	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Reitz 36	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Bidwell	United States	Record low maximum temperature	3.3 C (37.9 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Twin Lakes	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Two Harbors	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Lakeview 2 NNW	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Snake Creek Powerhouse	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Riverton	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Ada	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Jiggs 3 N	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Langdon Exp Farm	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Schikfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Tuscaloosa Oliver Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Tallapoosa 2 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Virginia	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Winnemucca AP	United States	Record low maximum temperature	5.0 C (41.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Madrid	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Potchefstroom	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Parys (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	58.9 mm (2.3 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Montpelier Rs	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Augusta	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Jamestown	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Cedarville	United States	Record low maximum temperature	2.8 C (37.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Choteau	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Harwood Island (Harwood Sugar	Australia	Record daily precipitation	86.6 mm (3.4 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Esperanza	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Oranjerivier (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Potchefstroom Agr.	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Nevada City	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Coldwater	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.2 C (99.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Leeuspruit Wes	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

854 records

Records set or tied on 3 May 1950 by type: Highest daily maximum 63, Lowest daily maximum 247, Highest daily minimum 130, Lowest daily minimum 84, Heaviest daily rainfall 263, Heaviest daily snowfall 60, Deepest snow cover 7.

Records on 3 May 1950 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	63
Lowest daily maximum	247
Highest daily minimum	130
Lowest daily minimum	84
Heaviest daily rainfall	263
Heaviest daily snowfall	60
Deepest snow cover	7

Records on 3 May 1950 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 95, daily 759.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

682 broken records

Margins by which the 682 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 203.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

3 May 1950

Top 20 records on 3 May 1950 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
3 May 1950	Vryburg, ZA	monthly rain	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	24 years	60 of 100 (Major)
3 May 1950	Hartbeesfontein (Skl), ZA	monthly rain	81.8 mm (3.2 in)	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	15 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Potchefstroom;Braksp, ZA	monthly rain	74.9 mm (2.9 in)	35.5 mm (1.4 in)	15 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Syferfontein, ZA	monthly rain	56.9 mm (2.2 in)	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	10 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Ottosdal, ZA	monthly rain	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	10 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Beatrix, ZA	monthly rain	79.8 mm (3.1 in)	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	15 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Green Rvr, US	monthly snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	3 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Heilbron (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	33 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Hollowaysrust, ZA	daily rain	55.1 mm (2.2 in)	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	28 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Laketown, US	monthly snowfall	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	37 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Elandsheuwel, ZA	daily rain	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	28 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Farson 2NNE, US	daily snowfall	18.0 cm (7.1 in)	18.0 cm (7.1 in)	35 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Rietfontein, ZA	daily rain	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	28.9 mm (1.1 in)	28 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Driefontein, ZA	daily rain	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	9 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Lakeview 2 NNW, US	monthly snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	7 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Lifton Pumping STN, US	monthly snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	12.9 cm (5.1 in)	20 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Vryburg (Pol), ZA	monthly rain	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	8.6 mm (0.34 in)	53 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Urawilkie, AU	daily rain	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	26.1 mm (1.0 in)	44 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Rienzi, ZA	monthly rain	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	15.7 mm (0.6 in)	15 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
3 May 1950	Pokegama Dam, US	daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	48 years	41 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 1950

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1795 to 1950. 1950 had 854 records.

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

Records on 05-03 in each year
Year	Records
1795	1
1796	1
1799	1
1820	1
1832	1
1836	2
1837	1
1845	1
1849	1
1850	5
1851	2
1852	1
1855	1
1861	1
1864	2
1866	1
1868	1
1869	1
1870	1
1871	1
1873	1
1874	1
1875	1
1877	1
1878	4
1879	2
1881	1
1883	1
1884	1
1885	1
1886	3
1887	3
1888	1
1889	3
1891	2
1892	4
1893	1
1894	4
1896	2
1897	3
1898	5
1899	3
1900	2
1901	4
1902	5
1903	7
1904	7
1905	23
1906	10
1907	25
1908	8
1909	22
1910	17
1911	31
1912	17
1913	125
1914	10
1915	28
1916	52
1917	36
1918	28
1919	77
1920	37
1921	42
1922	292
1923	69
1924	55
1925	126
1926	250
1927	78
1928	255
1929	329
1930	279
1931	141
1932	136
1933	376
1934	353
1935	644
1936	356
1937	240
1938	527
1939	331
1940	550
1941	456
1942	1,161
1943	417
1944	728
1945	486
1946	353
1947	879
1948	919
1949	761
1950	854
1951	336
1952	447
1953	373
1954	1,210
1955	811
1956	590
1957	292
1958	485
1959	817
1960	280
1961	389
1962	243
1963	360
1964	908
1965	372
1966	850
1967	1,122
1968	324
1969	404
1970	464
1971	600
1972	380
1973	486
1974	323
1975	475
1976	760
1977	426
1978	1,046
1979	1,217
1980	573
1981	898
1982	564
1983	1,768
1984	807
1985	1,152
1986	965
1987	1,122
1988	782
1989	563
1990	1,715
1991	987
1992	792
1993	824
1994	703
1995	1,050
1996	1,058
1997	933
1998	910
1999	872
2000	1,056
2001	1,541
2002	1,312
2003	934
2004	1,562
2005	1,570
2006	633
2007	693
2008	981
2009	650
2010	1,565
2011	970
2012	1,318
2013	1,562
2014	553
2015	466
2016	505
2017	458
2018	1,004
2019	562
2020	506
2021	491
2022	570
2023	846
2024	627
2025	475
2026	879

Download the Data

Data for records on 1950-05-03: 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 50	647
50 to 100	21
100 to 150	11
150 to 200	2
200 to 250	1