Weather Records on 20 May 1973

419 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 May 1973. Highest significance: Lankaran, AZ.

Key Facts for 20 May 1973

On 20 May 1973, 419 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
142 were record highs and 132 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 8 monthly and 411 daily.
Lankaran set a daily record precipitation of 58.5 mm (2.3 in) on 20 May 1973.
Across 162 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 456 records.

Record Map

419 stations

419 station records on 20 May 1973 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 May 1973: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Lankaran	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	58.5 mm (2.3 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Kurdamir	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	27.6 mm (1.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Sal'jny	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	25.3 mm (1.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Aguiar da Beira	Portugal	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Fizuly	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	31.7 mm (1.2 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Iskanderkul'	Tajikistan	Record daily precipitation	30.9 mm (1.2 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Norcross	United States	Record daily precipitation	80.8 mm (3.2 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Oneonta	United States	Record daily precipitation	93.5 mm (3.7 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Valley Head	United States	Record daily precipitation	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Carrollton	United States	Record daily precipitation	66.5 mm (2.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Rome	United States	Record daily precipitation	71.9 mm (2.8 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Aksakovo	Russia	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Scottsboro	United States	Record daily precipitation	60.2 mm (2.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Jonesboro	United States	Record daily precipitation	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Healdton 3 E	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.2 C (99.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Hightower	United States	Record daily precipitation	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Regina Int'l A	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	13.9 C (57.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Zinapecuaro	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Hartwell	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Milledgeville	United States	Record low minimum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
W Chester 2 NW	United States	Record low minimum temperature	2.2 C (36.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Raevsky	Russia	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Newnan 7 WNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	69.3 mm (2.7 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Apatzingan (Smn)	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Cedartown	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.1 mm (2.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Campi	Portugal	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Summerville	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Brackettville	United States	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Brady	United States	Record high maximum temperature	38.3 C (100.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Brownwood 2NE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	39.4 C (102.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Magnitogorsk	Russia	Record daily precipitation	29.8 mm (1.2 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Benton	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Anderson	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Koolau Dam 833	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Pine Bluff	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Huntsville	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.0 C (95.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Nokomis	Canada	Record daily precipitation	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Covington	United States	Record daily precipitation	60.7 mm (2.4 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Waynesboro 2 S	United States	Record low minimum temperature	6.1 C (43.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Bom Jesus	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	29.3 mm (1.2 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Catus	France	Record daily precipitation	32.1 mm (1.3 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Monticello	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Waycross 4 NE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Coatesville 1 SW	United States	Record low minimum temperature	2.2 C (36.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Dilley	United States	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Graham	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.8 C (100.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Menard	United States	Record high maximum temperature	39.4 C (102.9 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Sonora	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.8 C (100.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Kaycee	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Dushanbe	Tajikistan	Record daily precipitation	33.7 mm (1.3 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Independence	United States	Record high minimum temperature	18.3 C (64.9 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Canton	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.9 mm (2.4 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Cartersville	United States	Record daily precipitation	83.6 mm (3.3 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Cartersville #2	United States	Record daily precipitation	67.3 mm (2.6 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Dyer 5S	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Junction 4SSW	United States	Record high maximum temperature	39.4 C (102.9 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Embry	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Taylorsville	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.7 mm (2.3 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Poplar 2 E	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Flemington 5 NNW	United States	Record low minimum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

419 records

Records set or tied on 20 May 1973 by type: Highest daily maximum 65, Lowest daily maximum 61, Highest daily minimum 77, Lowest daily minimum 71, Heaviest daily rainfall 145.

Records on 20 May 1973 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	65
Lowest daily maximum	61
Highest daily minimum	77
Lowest daily minimum	71
Heaviest daily rainfall	145
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 20 May 1973 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 8, daily 411.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

338 broken records

Margins by which the 338 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 49.4. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 May 1973

Top 20 records on 20 May 1973 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 May 1973	Lankaran, AZ	daily rain	58.5 mm (2.3 in)	49.4 mm (1.9 in)	40 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Kurdamir, AZ	daily rain	27.6 mm (1.1 in)	22.7 mm (0.9 in)	30 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Sal'jny, AZ	daily rain	25.3 mm (1.0 in)	18.7 mm (0.7 in)	30 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Aguiar da Beira, PT	daily rain	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	36 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Fizuly, AZ	daily rain	31.7 mm (1.2 in)	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	14 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Iskanderkul', TJ	daily rain	30.9 mm (1.2 in)	20.7 mm (0.8 in)	8 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Norcross, US	daily rain	80.8 mm (3.2 in)	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	20 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Oneonta, US	daily rain	93.5 mm (3.7 in)	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	23 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Valley Head, US	daily rain	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	63 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Carrollton, US	daily rain	66.5 mm (2.6 in)	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	63 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Rome, US	daily rain	71.9 mm (2.8 in)	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	63 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Aksakovo, RU	daily rain	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	17.1 mm (0.7 in)	24 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Scottsboro, US	daily rain	60.2 mm (2.4 in)	15.5 mm (0.6 in)	64 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Jonesboro, US	daily rain	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	27 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Healdton 3 E, US	daily high max	37.2 C (99.0 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	76 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Hightower, US	daily rain	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	14 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Regina Int'l A, CA	daily high min	13.9 C (57.0 F)	0.6 C (1.1 F)	86 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Zinapecuaro, MX	daily rain	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	23.4 mm (0.9 in)	8 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Hartwell, US	daily rain	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	24.1 mm (0.9 in)	34 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1973	Milledgeville, US	daily low min	5.6 C (42.1 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	68 years	36 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 1973

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1973. 1973 had 419 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 1973-05-20: 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).

Histogram of margins by which records were beaten on 20 May 1973
Margin	Records
0 to 10	282
10 to 20	29
20 to 30	18
30 to 40	4
40 to 50	5