Weather Records on 20 May 1954

822 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 May 1954. Highest significance: Philadelphia Polisie, ZA.

Key Facts for 20 May 1954

On 20 May 1954, 822 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
348 were record highs and 261 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 30 monthly and 791 daily.
Philadelphia Polisie set an all-time record daily precipitation of 68.0 mm (2.7 in) on 20 May 1954.
Across 162 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 453 records.

Record Map

822 stations

822 station records on 20 May 1954 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 May 1954: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Philadelphia Polisie	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Port Alfred	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Merweville	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Witelsbos (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Knysna (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Calitzdorp (Dam)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Whitehead	Canada	Record daily precipitation	58.7 mm (2.3 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Alexandria (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	172.5 mm (6.8 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Woodville (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	59.0 mm (2.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Blackdown	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Herold (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Bloukrans (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	77.5 mm (3.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Lokenburg	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.1 mm (1.8 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Goudveld (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Geilo	Norway	Record daily precipitation	25.8 mm (1.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Southport	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Clausthal-Zellerfeld	Germany	Record daily precipitation	34.1 mm (1.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Humansdorp (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Drift Sands (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	72.0 mm (2.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Cape Otway Lighthouse	Australia	Record low maximum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Caruaru	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	37.2 mm (1.5 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Estancia	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	67.3 mm (2.6 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Oorschot	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Lottering (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	64.5 mm (2.5 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
San Diego de la Union	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Albertinia (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Hailey 3 NNW	United States	Record high maximum temperature	33.9 C (93.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Touros	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	104.6 mm (4.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Grahamstown	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Nongoma	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	54.5 mm (2.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Bartow 1SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Jonkersberg (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	108.5 mm (4.3 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Concordia (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Steinkopf (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.5 mm (1.5 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Red Lodge	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Oak City	United States	Record high minimum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Burkes Garden	United States	Record low maximum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Kukuihaele Hic 199	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Ibeka (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	30.4 mm (1.2 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Blackfoot Fire Dept	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Richfield	United States	Record high minimum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Austin #2	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Hopewell	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Beckley Va Hospital	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Ismailia	Egypt	Record high maximum temperature	42.0 C (107.6 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Hailey 3 NNW	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Virginia City	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Richfield Radio Ksvc	United States	Record high minimum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Ranaghat	India	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Bidwell	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Oelrichs	United States	Record high minimum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Green Rvr	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Bosbokrand (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
American Falls 6 NE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Challis	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.9 C (57.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Jordan	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Duchesne	United States	Record high maximum temperature	33.3 C (91.9 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Ely AP	United States	Record high minimum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Camp Hill 2NW	United States	Record low minimum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Mt Trumbull	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

822 records

Records set or tied on 20 May 1954 by type: Highest daily maximum 205, Lowest daily maximum 79, Highest daily minimum 143, Lowest daily minimum 182, Heaviest daily rainfall 213.

Records on 20 May 1954 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	205
Lowest daily maximum	79
Highest daily minimum	143
Lowest daily minimum	182
Heaviest daily rainfall	213
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 20 May 1954 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 30, daily 791.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

655 broken records

Margins by which the 655 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 148.4. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 May 1954

Top 20 records on 20 May 1954 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 May 1954	Philadelphia Polisie, ZA	all-time rain	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	31 years	61 of 100 (Major)
20 May 1954	Port Alfred, ZA	daily rain	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	58.0 mm (2.3 in)	37 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Merweville, ZA	monthly rain	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	20.1 mm (0.8 in)	28 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Witelsbos (Bos), ZA	daily rain	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	86.1 mm (3.4 in)	29 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Knysna (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	35.7 mm (1.4 in)	66 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Calitzdorp (Dam), ZA	monthly rain	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	14.0 mm (0.6 in)	10 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Whitehead, CA	daily rain	58.7 mm (2.3 in)	30.3 mm (1.2 in)	58 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Alexandria (Bos), ZA	daily rain	172.5 mm (6.8 in)	148.4 mm (5.8 in)	29 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Woodville (Bos), ZA	daily rain	59.0 mm (2.3 in)	50.6 mm (2.0 in)	29 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Blackdown, ZA	daily rain	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	8 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Herold (Pol), ZA	daily rain	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	50.1 mm (2.0 in)	29 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Bloukrans (Bos), ZA	daily rain	77.5 mm (3.1 in)	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	37 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Lokenburg, ZA	daily rain	45.1 mm (1.8 in)	36.5 mm (1.4 in)	11 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Goudveld (Bos), ZA	daily rain	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	28.9 mm (1.1 in)	43 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Geilo, NO	daily rain	25.8 mm (1.0 in)	16.4 mm (0.6 in)	4 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Southport, AU	daily rain	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	11.9 mm (0.5 in)	55 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Clausthal-Zellerfeld, DE	daily rain	34.1 mm (1.3 in)	9.1 mm (0.36 in)	61 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Humansdorp (Pol), ZA	daily rain	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	37 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Drift Sands (Bos), ZA	daily rain	72.0 mm (2.8 in)	29.6 mm (1.2 in)	29 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1954	Cape Otway Lighthouse, AU	daily low max	11.1 C (52.0 F)	0.6 C (1.1 F)	81 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

1802 to 1954

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1954. 1954 had 822 records.

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

Records on 05-20 in each year
Year	Records
1802	1
1803	1
1804	1
1815	1
1825	1
1837	1
1844	1
1845	3
1847	1
1854	1
1858	3
1861	1
1862	1
1865	1
1867	1
1868	2
1870	3
1871	2
1876	2
1877	3
1879	1
1880	2
1884	2
1885	1
1887	2
1889	3
1890	3
1891	5
1892	3
1893	1
1894	6
1895	3
1896	3
1897	3
1898	4
1899	4
1900	1
1901	5
1902	11
1903	19
1904	4
1905	4
1906	22
1907	35
1908	23
1909	10
1910	20
1911	82
1912	20
1913	10
1914	16
1915	42
1916	29
1917	46
1918	92
1919	56
1920	44
1921	234
1922	40
1923	125
1924	189
1925	251
1926	128
1927	118
1928	138
1929	323
1930	129
1931	451
1932	689
1933	449
1934	582
1935	259
1936	207
1937	270
1938	331
1939	266
1940	337
1941	378
1942	337
1943	802
1944	315
1945	498
1946	339
1947	358
1948	514
1949	586
1950	327
1951	288
1952	615
1953	518
1954	822
1955	421
1956	565
1957	728
1958	378
1959	785
1960	612
1961	333
1962	773
1963	732
1964	517
1965	200
1966	416
1967	587
1968	743
1969	885
1970	310
1971	653
1972	612
1973	419
1974	893
1975	1,332
1976	837
1977	553
1978	534
1979	683
1980	751
1981	1,540
1982	554
1983	1,307
1984	867
1985	426
1986	790
1987	1,036
1988	805
1989	764
1990	722
1991	925
1992	1,200
1993	1,208
1994	778
1995	734
1996	1,749
1997	1,106
1998	1,124
1999	673
2000	991
2001	847
2002	2,299
2003	1,201
2004	746
2005	929
2006	1,006
2007	565
2008	999
2009	1,529
2010	1,011
2011	1,117
2012	604
2013	919
2014	629
2015	1,001
2016	692
2017	1,214
2018	460
2019	1,483
2020	784
2021	904
2022	1,643
2023	1,106
2024	478
2025	969
2026	696

Download the Data

Data for records on 1954-05-20: 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 2026-10-16. Last revised 16 October 2026 (2026-10-16).

Margin	Records
0 to 20	627
20 to 40	21
40 to 60	5
60 to 80	0
80 to 100	1
100 to 120	0
120 to 140	0
140 to 160	1