Weather Records on 20 January 1974

978 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 January 1974. Highest significance: Bay City, US.

Key Facts for 20 January 1974

On 20 January 1974, 978 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
424 were record highs and 19 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 13 monthly and 964 daily.
Bay City set a daily record precipitation of 44.5 mm (1.8 in) on 20 January 1974.
Across 157 earlier years (1795 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 509 records.

Record Map

978 stations

978 station records on 20 January 1974 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 January 1974: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Bay City	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	69 of 100 (Major)
Idracowra	Australia	Record daily precipitation	61.9 mm (2.4 in)	68 of 100 (Major)
Klipfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	52.5 mm (2.1 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Winterhoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	94.5 mm (3.7 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Aberdeen (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Saginaw Mbs Intl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
West Leichhardt Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	78.6 mm (3.1 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Pedra Lavrada	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	99.0 mm (3.9 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Ernabella	Australia	Record daily precipitation	71.0 mm (2.8 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Grootfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Nqamakwe (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Grootvlakte	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	49.2 mm (1.9 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Aberdeen Rd (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Steelville 2 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Hamilton Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Cheviot Fells	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Lands End Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	121.4 mm (4.8 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Graaff Reinet	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Maryvale Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	96.0 mm (3.8 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Grootfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Miranda Downs Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	136.0 mm (5.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Fazenda Malhada da Areia	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	86.4 mm (3.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Koffiefontein (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	54.0 mm (2.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Beaumont City	United States	Record daily precipitation	101.6 mm (4.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Rabbit Lake	Canada	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Brucefield	Canada	Record daily precipitation	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Zoetvlei	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Spitshoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Venterstad	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Muskegon Co AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Groothoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Grand Haven Fire Dept	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Milford Gm Proving Ground	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Klipplaat	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.5 mm (1.7 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Nord-Rana	Norway	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Fulton L&D #13	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Vanrook Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	116.4 mm (4.6 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Manaira (Alagoa Nova)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	101.0 mm (4.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Fort Fordyce (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	47.5 mm (1.9 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Marydale (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Keithsburg	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Clinton 2	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Benton Harbor AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Werrina Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	70.0 mm (2.8 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Calton Hills Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	130.0 mm (5.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Clarke River Telecom	Australia	Record daily precipitation	85.0 mm (3.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Tsabong	Botswana	Record daily precipitation	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Inga	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	35.5 mm (1.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Keilands	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Bosduiwekop	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Simmesport	United States	Record daily precipitation	77.5 mm (3.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Eau Claire 4 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Greenville 2 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Fort Huachuca	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Milwaukee Mitchell AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Bluff Downs Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	87.0 mm (3.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Luroy	Norway	Record daily precipitation	84.2 mm (3.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Ida	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	66.5 mm (2.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Bencuti (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Flora 5 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

978 records

Records set or tied on 20 January 1974 by type: Highest daily maximum 94, Lowest daily maximum 14, Highest daily minimum 330, Lowest daily minimum 5, Heaviest daily rainfall 516, Heaviest daily snowfall 15, Deepest snow cover 4.

Records on 20 January 1974 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	94
Lowest daily maximum	14
Highest daily minimum	330
Lowest daily minimum	5
Heaviest daily rainfall	516
Heaviest daily snowfall	15
Deepest snow cover	4

Records on 20 January 1974 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 13, daily 964.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

830 broken records

Margins by which the 830 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 180.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 January 1974

Top 20 records on 20 January 1974 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 January 1974	Bay City, US	daily rain	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	75 years	69 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1974	Idracowra, AU	daily rain	61.9 mm (2.4 in)	61.4 mm (2.4 in)	83 years	68 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1974	Klipfontein, ZA	daily rain	52.5 mm (2.1 in)	46.1 mm (1.8 in)	64 years	67 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1974	Winterhoek, ZA	monthly rain	94.5 mm (3.7 in)	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	75 years	66 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1974	Aberdeen (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	33.4 mm (1.3 in)	82 years	63 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1974	Saginaw Mbs Intl AP, US	daily rain	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	16.0 mm (0.6 in)	75 years	60 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1974	West Leichhardt Station, AU	daily rain	78.6 mm (3.1 in)	52.9 mm (2.1 in)	78 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Pedra Lavrada, BR	monthly rain	99.0 mm (3.9 in)	42.5 mm (1.7 in)	30 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Ernabella, AU	daily rain	71.0 mm (2.8 in)	68.2 mm (2.7 in)	36 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Grootfontein, ZA	daily rain	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	42 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Nqamakwe (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	79 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Grootvlakte, ZA	daily rain	49.2 mm (1.9 in)	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	35 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Aberdeen Rd (Sar), ZA	daily rain	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	42 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Steelville 2 N, US	daily rain	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	31.3 mm (1.2 in)	20 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Hamilton Station, AU	daily rain	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	42 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Cheviot Fells, ZA	daily rain	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	36 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Lands End Station, AU	daily rain	121.4 mm (4.8 in)	105.7 mm (4.2 in)	18 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Graaff Reinet, ZA	daily rain	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	26.1 mm (1.0 in)	44 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Maryvale Station, AU	daily rain	96.0 mm (3.8 in)	57.4 mm (2.3 in)	42 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1974	Grootfontein, ZA	daily rain	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	60 years	49 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 1974

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1795 to 1974. 1974 had 978 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 1974-01-20: 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 25	761
25 to 50	51
50 to 75	13
75 to 100	1
100 to 125	3
125 to 150	0
150 to 175	0
175 to 200	1