Weather Records on 20 May 1959

785 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 May 1959. Highest significance: Boulia Airport, AU.

Key Facts for 20 May 1959

On 20 May 1959, 785 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
348 were record highs and 108 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 18 monthly and 767 daily.
Boulia Airport set a daily record precipitation of 47.0 mm (1.9 in) on 20 May 1959.
Across 162 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 454 records.

Record Map

785 stations

785 station records on 20 May 1959 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 May 1959: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Boulia Airport	Australia	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Spencer 1 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	95.5 mm (3.8 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Springvale	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Kottaram	India	Record daily precipitation	151.0 mm (5.9 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Perundurai	India	Record daily precipitation	132.4 mm (5.2 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Headingly Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Lake City 2 E	United States	Record daily precipitation	95.3 mm (3.8 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Eulo Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Thylungra Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Riachao Do Jacuipe	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	28.6 mm (1.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Chilton	United States	Record daily precipitation	86.9 mm (3.4 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Colachel Salt Fa	India	Record daily precipitation	102.8 mm (4.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Carandotta Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Cork Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Urandangi	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Bay Minette	United States	Record daily precipitation	129.5 mm (5.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Champaign 3S	United States	Record daily precipitation	63.0 mm (2.5 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
North Yancho	Australia	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Rajakkamangalam	India	Record daily precipitation	121.0 mm (4.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Savannah USDA Plt Gd	United States	Record daily precipitation	144.3 mm (5.7 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Lucknow Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Detour Village	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Sarnia	Canada	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Brunswick	United States	Record daily precipitation	120.1 mm (4.7 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Selwyn Wrc	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Simcoe	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	17.2 C (63.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Highlands	United States	Record daily precipitation	103.4 mm (4.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Dublin Phoenix Park	Ireland	Record daily precipitation	32.2 mm (1.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Hale Loud Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Debrecen Airport	Hungary	Record daily precipitation	34.7 mm (1.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Mulanur	India	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Eraniel	India	Record daily precipitation	89.0 mm (3.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Bierbank	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Fernandina Beach	United States	Record daily precipitation	108.5 mm (4.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Diamantina Lakes	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Ballandool	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Iowa Falls	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Manitowoc	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Gobichettipalaya	India	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Oshkosh	United States	Record daily precipitation	73.2 mm (2.9 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Winnemucca AP	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-3.3 C (26.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Goodooga Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Caledonia	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.1 mm (2.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Soldier Summit	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-10.6 C (12.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Mount Isa Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Mount Alfred	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
St Petersburg	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Roberts 3 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
E Tawas	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Okolona	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Thurulgoona	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Comongin North	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Federal Pt	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.2 mm (1.7 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Decorah	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Hampton	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.6 mm (2.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Enngonia (Shearer Street)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Carway	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-8.3 C (17.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Westminster 2 SSE	United States	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Mt Mitchell	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Toulby	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

785 records

Records set or tied on 20 May 1959 by type: Highest daily maximum 68, Lowest daily maximum 38, Highest daily minimum 280, Lowest daily minimum 70, Heaviest daily rainfall 320, Heaviest daily snowfall 7, Deepest snow cover 2.

Records on 20 May 1959 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	68
Lowest daily maximum	38
Highest daily minimum	280
Lowest daily minimum	70
Heaviest daily rainfall	320
Heaviest daily snowfall	7
Deepest snow cover	2

Records on 20 May 1959 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 18, daily 767.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

629 broken records

Margins by which the 629 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 94.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 May 1959

Top 20 records on 20 May 1959 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 May 1959	Boulia Airport, AU	daily rain	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	63 years	66 of 100 (Major)
20 May 1959	Spencer 1 N, US	monthly rain	95.5 mm (3.8 in)	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	31 years	65 of 100 (Major)
20 May 1959	Springvale, AU	daily rain	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	64 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Kottaram, IN	monthly rain	151.0 mm (5.9 in)	58.3 mm (2.3 in)	33 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Perundurai, IN	monthly rain	132.4 mm (5.2 in)	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	29 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Headingly Station, AU	daily rain	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	75 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Lake City 2 E, US	daily rain	95.3 mm (3.8 in)	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	32 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Eulo Post Office, AU	daily rain	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	62 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Thylungra Station, AU	daily rain	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	60 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Riachao Do Jacuipe, BR	daily rain	28.6 mm (1.1 in)	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	26 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Chilton, US	monthly rain	86.9 mm (3.4 in)	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	55 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Colachel Salt Fa, IN	daily rain	102.8 mm (4.0 in)	74.4 mm (2.9 in)	40 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Carandotta Station, AU	daily rain	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	63 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Cork Station, AU	daily rain	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	62 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Urandangi, AU	daily rain	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	66 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Bay Minette, US	daily rain	129.5 mm (5.1 in)	90.1 mm (3.5 in)	12 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Champaign 3S, US	daily rain	63.0 mm (2.5 in)	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	48 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	North Yancho, AU	daily rain	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	43.1 mm (1.7 in)	26 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Rajakkamangalam, IN	daily rain	121.0 mm (4.8 in)	77.8 mm (3.1 in)	1 year	45 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1959	Savannah USDA Plt Gd, US	monthly rain	144.3 mm (5.7 in)	37.9 mm (1.5 in)	24 years	45 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 1959

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1959. 1959 had 785 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 1959-05-20: 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	570
20 to 40	35
40 to 60	18
60 to 80	4
80 to 100	2