Weather Records on 20 August 1979

1,009 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 August 1979. Highest significance: Heilbron (Tnk), ZA.

Key Facts for 20 August 1979

On 20 August 1979, 1,009 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
115 were record highs and 266 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 3 were all-time records, 54 monthly and 952 daily.
Heilbron (Tnk) set a daily record precipitation of 45.0 mm (1.8 in) on 20 August 1979.
Across 163 earlier years (1797 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 451 records.

Record Map

1,009 stations

1,009 station records on 20 August 1979 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 August 1979: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Heilbron (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	70 of 100 (Major)
Streator 2SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	101.6 mm (4.0 in)	70 of 100 (Major)
Potchefstroom;Braksp	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	69 of 100 (Major)
Reitz 36	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Rooipoort	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Adelaide (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	67.5 mm (2.7 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Weltevrede	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Heritage	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Goshen 3SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	108.7 mm (4.3 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Kulin	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.2 mm (1.5 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Fort Cunynghame (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	83.0 mm (3.3 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Peddie (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Wesselsbron (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Hettinger	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Schoongezicht	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.6 mm (2.0 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Klipfontein "Rietpan"	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	67.5 mm (2.7 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Barrage (Rwb)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	57.5 mm (2.3 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Kestell (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Klerkskraal (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Marshall	United States	Record daily precipitation	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Uitenhage	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	94.5 mm (3.7 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Warden (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Potchefstroom Agr.	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.3 mm (1.5 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Cornelia Creek Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.6 mm (1.2 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Narembeen	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.4 mm (1.5 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Santana Do Jacare	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	32.2 mm (1.3 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Hollowaysrust	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Parys (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	42.6 mm (1.7 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Geneseo	United States	Record daily precipitation	95.8 mm (3.8 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Leeukop	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
N Vernon 2 ESE	United States	Record daily precipitation	121.9 mm (4.8 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Middelweg	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Hartbeesfontein (Skl)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Utica Starved Rock Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Gallipolis	United States	Record daily precipitation	95.5 mm (3.8 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Clarens (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Witbankfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Syferfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	54.5 mm (2.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Viljoenskroon (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Oranjeville (Skl)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Los Reyes	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	129.8 mm (5.1 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Somerset East	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	64.5 mm (2.5 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Steynsrus (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Vryburg	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Zamenkomst	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Newton	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Newdegate	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Moirton	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Leliefontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Klipdrift	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Vredefort (Skl)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Le Claire L&D 14	United States	Record daily precipitation	100.6 mm (4.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Horton	United States	Record daily precipitation	82.6 mm (3.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Bambui	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	28.1 mm (1.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Kei Road (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	115.0 mm (4.5 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Katberg (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Driekoppies	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Dunkeld	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Mimosa Park	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Slutsk	Belarus	Record daily precipitation	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,009 records

Records set or tied on 20 August 1979 by type: Highest daily maximum 52, Lowest daily maximum 154, Highest daily minimum 63, Lowest daily minimum 112, Heaviest daily rainfall 627, Heaviest daily snowfall 1.

Records on 20 August 1979 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	52
Lowest daily maximum	154
Highest daily minimum	63
Lowest daily minimum	112
Heaviest daily rainfall	627
Heaviest daily snowfall	1
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 20 August 1979 by timescale: all-time 3, monthly 54, daily 952.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

872 broken records

Margins by which the 872 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 98.6. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 August 1979

Top 20 records on 20 August 1979 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 August 1979	Heilbron (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	73 years	70 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Streator 2SE, US	daily rain	101.6 mm (4.0 in)	72.4 mm (2.9 in)	74 years	70 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Potchefstroom;Braksp, ZA	daily rain	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	74 years	69 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Reitz 36, ZA	daily rain	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	64 years	66 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Rooipoort, ZA	daily rain	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	68 years	66 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Adelaide (Pol), ZA	monthly rain	67.5 mm (2.7 in)	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	25 years	65 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Weltevrede, ZA	daily rain	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	65 years	64 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Heritage, ZA	daily rain	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	34.2 mm (1.3 in)	64 years	63 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Goshen 3SW, US	daily rain	108.7 mm (4.3 in)	88.6 mm (3.5 in)	57 years	63 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Kulin, AU	daily rain	39.2 mm (1.5 in)	27.3 mm (1.1 in)	54 years	62 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Fort Cunynghame (Bos), ZA	daily rain	83.0 mm (3.3 in)	51.2 mm (2.0 in)	48 years	62 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Peddie (Mag), ZA	daily rain	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	61.8 mm (2.4 in)	48 years	61 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Wesselsbron (Mun), ZA	daily rain	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	54 years	61 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Hettinger, US	daily rain	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	50 years	61 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Schoongezicht, ZA	daily rain	50.6 mm (2.0 in)	50.6 mm (2.0 in)	52 years	60 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Klipfontein "Rietpan", ZA	daily rain	67.5 mm (2.7 in)	67.5 mm (2.7 in)	52 years	60 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Barrage (Rwb), ZA	monthly rain	57.5 mm (2.3 in)	18.9 mm (0.7 in)	60 years	60 of 100 (Major)
20 August 1979	Kestell (Pol), ZA	daily rain	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	70 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
20 August 1979	Klerkskraal (Pol), ZA	daily rain	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	38.5 mm (1.5 in)	61 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
20 August 1979	Marshall, US	daily rain	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	44 years	57 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

1797 to 1979

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1797 to 1979. 1979 had 1,009 records.

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

Records on 08-20 in each year
Year	Records
1797	1
1807	1
1809	2
1816	1
1830	1
1832	1
1838	1
1840	1
1842	1
1846	1
1849	1
1850	1
1852	1
1858	3
1863	5
1867	4
1870	3
1871	1
1873	1
1875	2
1877	1
1883	2
1884	2
1885	6
1886	1
1888	1
1889	2
1890	2
1891	2
1892	6
1893	1
1894	1
1895	1
1896	5
1897	6
1898	1
1899	5
1900	7
1901	12
1902	3
1903	7
1904	30
1905	7
1906	26
1907	15
1908	21
1909	69
1910	7
1911	18
1912	25
1913	23
1914	15
1915	14
1916	74
1917	51
1918	69
1919	25
1920	47
1921	23
1922	52
1923	83
1924	132
1925	193
1926	187
1927	338
1928	101
1929	213
1930	318
1931	214
1932	299
1933	324
1934	376
1935	339
1936	543
1937	537
1938	250
1939	448
1940	695
1941	230
1942	429
1943	436
1944	355
1945	398
1946	349
1947	988
1948	403
1949	431
1950	1,341
1951	824
1952	425
1953	441
1954	476
1955	848
1956	678
1957	342
1958	281
1959	764
1960	465
1961	520
1962	684
1963	577
1964	629
1965	470
1966	1,094
1967	657
1968	862
1969	608
1970	414
1971	585
1972	522
1973	490
1974	565
1975	411
1976	894
1977	860
1978	563
1979	1,009
1980	991
1981	856
1982	620
1983	1,465
1984	696
1985	666
1986	819
1987	564
1988	991
1989	603
1990	1,262
1991	804
1992	1,168
1993	759
1994	719
1995	1,113
1996	900
1997	1,214
1998	802
1999	810
2000	989
2001	909
2002	1,208
2003	1,031
2004	1,333
2005	1,112
2006	851
2007	1,955
2008	1,170
2009	1,414
2010	1,028
2011	987
2012	1,086
2013	545
2014	582
2015	1,075
2016	872
2017	324
2018	657
2019	698
2020	1,051
2021	1,028
2022	1,038
2023	1,479
2024	589
2025	1,134
2026	985

Download the Data

Data for records on 1979-08-20: 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	746
20 to 40	96
40 to 60	22
60 to 80	5
80 to 100	3