Weather Records on 20 January 1972

823 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 January 1972. Highest significance: Summit, US.

Key Facts for 20 January 1972

On 20 January 1972, 823 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
290 were record highs and 63 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 6 were all-time records, 28 monthly and 789 daily.
Summit set an all-time record daily snowfall of 111.8 cm (44.0 in) on 20 January 1972.
Across 157 earlier years (1795 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 510 records.

Record Map

823 stations

823 station records on 20 January 1972 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 January 1972: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Summit	United States	Record daily snowfall	111.8 cm (44.0 in)	81 of 100 (Exceptional)
Sub-Nigel (Gm)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	169.0 mm (6.7 in)	78 of 100 (Major)
Jhb-Joubert Park	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	140.5 mm (5.5 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Brakpan (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	176.0 mm (6.9 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Springs (Rwb)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	131.5 mm (5.2 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Jhb-Turffontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	164.0 mm (6.5 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Boksburg (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	91.0 mm (3.6 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Delmas (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	94.0 mm (3.7 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Jennings	United States	Record daily precipitation	83.8 mm (3.3 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Witbankfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	90.5 mm (3.6 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Springkell	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	119.0 mm (4.7 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Jhb-Zoological Garden	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	120.0 mm (4.7 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Sandpoint Exp STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Estacada 2 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	96.5 mm (3.8 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Mc Minnville	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Moorddrift	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	77.5 mm (3.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Bochum-1	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	103.5 mm (4.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Packwood	United States	Record daily precipitation	89.4 mm (3.5 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Boetsap (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.6 mm (1.8 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Maraisburg (Gm)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	100.0 mm (3.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Springs-Olympia Park	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	98.5 mm (3.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Slurry	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	106.0 mm (4.2 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Newport	United States	Record daily precipitation	80.8 mm (3.2 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Priest Rvr Exp STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Roodepoort (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	58.0 mm (2.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Centralia	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Snoqualmie Falls	United States	Record daily precipitation	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Lafayette Rgnl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	71.4 mm (2.8 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Devon (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	106.5 mm (4.2 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Pedro Beicht	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	92.8 mm (3.7 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Grand Coteau	United States	Record daily precipitation	81.3 mm (3.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Mc Henry 5 ESE	United States	Record daily precipitation	102.4 mm (4.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Kent City 2 SW	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Morokweng (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Germiston-Fj Payne Park	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	84.5 mm (3.3 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Waynesboro 2 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
McKenzie Rvr Rs	United States	Record daily precipitation	60.5 mm (2.4 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Vryburg (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Rosherville (Pow)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	94.0 mm (3.7 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Jhb-Braamfontein (Cem)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	104.0 mm (4.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Bonners Ferry	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Rainer Ohanapecosh	United States	Record daily precipitation	101.6 mm (4.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Tonti (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	75.0 mm (3.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Moscow U of I	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.8 mm (1.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Clatskanie	United States	Record daily precipitation	74.7 mm (2.9 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Longmire Rainier Nps	United States	Record daily precipitation	82.3 mm (3.2 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Lady Grey (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Doornkom	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	94.5 mm (3.7 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Battle Ground	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Vlakfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.8 mm (1.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Silverton	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Hartebeespoort-Agrc.	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	58.5 mm (2.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
New Iberia AP - Acadiana Rgnl	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Seattle Urban Site	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Mae Dagua de Dentro	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	78.2 mm (3.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Martenshoop (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Dallas 2 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Tidewater	United States	Record daily precipitation	101.1 mm (4.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Ganca	Azerbaijan	Record low minimum temperature	-10.5 C (13.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Coleman	Canada	Record daily snowfall	15.7 cm (6.2 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

823 records

Records set or tied on 20 January 1972 by type: Highest daily maximum 107, Lowest daily maximum 32, Highest daily minimum 183, Lowest daily minimum 31, Heaviest daily rainfall 379, Heaviest daily snowfall 84, Deepest snow cover 7.

Records on 20 January 1972 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	107
Lowest daily maximum	32
Highest daily minimum	183
Lowest daily minimum	31
Heaviest daily rainfall	379
Heaviest daily snowfall	84
Deepest snow cover	7

Records on 20 January 1972 by timescale: all-time 6, monthly 28, daily 789.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

679 broken records

Margins by which the 679 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 508.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 January 1972

Top 20 records on 20 January 1972 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 January 1972	Summit, US	all-time snowfall	111.8 cm (44.0 in)	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	68 years	81 of 100 (Exceptional)
20 January 1972	Sub-Nigel (Gm), ZA	all-time rain	169.0 mm (6.7 in)	47.1 mm (1.9 in)	61 years	78 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1972	Jhb-Joubert Park, ZA	daily rain	140.5 mm (5.5 in)	48.8 mm (1.9 in)	62 years	65 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1972	Brakpan (Mun), ZA	all-time rain	176.0 mm (6.9 in)	34.8 mm (1.4 in)	32 years	64 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1972	Springs (Rwb), ZA	monthly rain	131.5 mm (5.2 in)	31.4 mm (1.2 in)	54 years	62 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1972	Jhb-Turffontein, ZA	monthly rain	164.0 mm (6.5 in)	78.0 mm (3.1 in)	14 years	60 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1972	Boksburg (Mun), ZA	daily rain	91.0 mm (3.6 in)	40.2 mm (1.6 in)	62 years	60 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1972	Delmas (Pol), ZA	daily rain	94.0 mm (3.7 in)	55.1 mm (2.2 in)	40 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1972	Jennings, US	daily rain	83.8 mm (3.3 in)	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	65 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1972	Witbankfontein, ZA	daily rain	90.5 mm (3.6 in)	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	48 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1972	Springkell, ZA	monthly rain	119.0 mm (4.7 in)	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	0 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1972	Jhb-Zoological Garden, ZA	monthly rain	120.0 mm (4.7 in)	40.5 mm (1.6 in)	13 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1972	Sandpoint Exp STN, US	daily rain	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	28 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1972	Estacada 2 SE, US	daily rain	96.5 mm (3.8 in)	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	28 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1972	Mc Minnville, US	daily rain	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	75 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1972	Moorddrift, ZA	daily rain	77.5 mm (3.1 in)	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	40 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1972	Bochum-1, ZA	daily rain	103.5 mm (4.1 in)	70.0 mm (2.8 in)	38 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1972	Packwood, US	daily rain	89.4 mm (3.5 in)	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	28 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1972	Boetsap (Pol), ZA	daily rain	44.6 mm (1.8 in)	34.9 mm (1.4 in)	53 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1972	Maraisburg (Gm), ZA	daily rain	100.0 mm (3.9 in)	31.9 mm (1.3 in)	62 years	50 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 1972

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1795 to 1972. 1972 had 823 records.

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

Records on 01-20 in each year
Year	Records
1795	2
1796	1
1798	1
1804	2
1820	1
1844	1
1850	1
1858	2
1861	1
1862	1
1863	1
1866	2
1867	1
1872	1
1874	4
1875	4
1878	1
1879	1
1880	5
1881	4
1885	1
1890	2
1891	1
1892	3
1893	3
1894	1
1895	2
1896	1
1897	3
1898	6
1899	12
1900	15
1901	11
1902	5
1903	4
1904	14
1905	2
1906	25
1907	26
1908	9
1909	30
1910	11
1911	3
1912	7
1913	44
1914	57
1915	153
1916	34
1917	123
1918	71
1919	28
1920	103
1921	45
1922	86
1923	41
1924	298
1925	181
1926	110
1927	381
1928	383
1929	203
1930	540
1931	90
1932	139
1933	441
1934	118
1935	904
1936	602
1937	1,041
1938	219
1939	238
1940	1,147
1941	214
1942	979
1943	1,002
1944	568
1945	302
1946	487
1947	534
1948	422
1949	429
1950	653
1951	958
1952	386
1953	476
1954	791
1955	278
1956	906
1957	349
1958	494
1959	603
1960	329
1961	641
1962	1,162
1963	921
1964	567
1965	283
1966	634
1967	556
1968	1,096
1969	859
1970	1,301
1971	936
1972	823
1973	450
1974	978
1975	688
1976	848
1977	997
1978	1,669
1979	1,158
1980	423
1981	823
1982	958
1983	847
1984	1,957
1985	2,188
1986	1,327
1987	1,063
1988	1,637
1989	955
1990	1,257
1991	562
1992	493
1993	1,327
1994	2,035
1995	1,136
1996	851
1997	658
1998	576
1999	1,368
2000	1,132
2001	667
2002	666
2003	732
2004	451
2005	1,335
2006	1,395
2007	2,143
2008	1,366
2009	738
2010	986
2011	731
2012	848
2013	432
2014	480
2015	413
2016	726
2017	1,370
2018	634
2019	722
2020	498
2021	375
2022	346
2023	778
2024	841
2025	1,599
2026	193

Download the Data

Data for records on 1972-01-20: 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 100	672
100 to 200	2
200 to 300	2
300 to 400	1
400 to 500	1
500 to 600	1