Weather Records on 20 May 1980

751 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 May 1980. Highest significance: Melbourne Regional Office, AU.

Key Facts for 20 May 1980

On 20 May 1980, 751 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
336 were record highs and 89 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 21 monthly and 729 daily.
Melbourne Regional Office set a daily record precipitation of 35.8 mm (1.4 in) on 20 May 1980.
Across 162 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 454 records.

Record Map

751 stations

751 station records on 20 May 1980 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 May 1980: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Melbourne Regional Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	71 of 100 (Major)
Tarwin Lower (Riverside)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.6 mm (1.2 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Bungaree (Kirks Reservoir)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Scotsburn (Mount Boninyong)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.4 mm (1.2 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Beales Reservoir	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Peterborough	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.6 mm (1.4 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Forsyth 6 NNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Gulfport Naval Ctr	United States	Record daily precipitation	174.0 mm (6.9 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Port Campbell Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Cape Otway Lighthouse	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
The Hermatige	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Vadstena	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	28.9 mm (1.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Athens Ben Epps AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	93.2 mm (3.7 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Callendale	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Svinhult_D	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Hogemalen	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Tranas	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Greensboro Wtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	70.4 mm (2.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Flemington Racecourse	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Pointe Noire	Congo (Brazzaville)	Record daily precipitation	86.6 mm (3.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Turnu Magurele	Romania	Record daily precipitation	26.1 mm (1.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Columbia	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.5 mm (2.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Prahran (Como House)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Wilsons Reservoir	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.6 mm (1.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Medicine Hat A	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Lake Louise	Canada	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Cape Bridgewater	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Sar'ja	Russia	Record daily precipitation	28.8 mm (1.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
W Liberty 3NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Moorabool Reservoir	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Morgan 1 W	United States	Record high minimum temperature	23.3 C (73.9 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Stillmore	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Gibson Dam	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Maribyrnong Explosives Factory	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.8 mm (1.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Statesville 2 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse	Australia	Record daily precipitation	63.0 mm (2.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Portland	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.6 mm (1.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Minnedosa	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	30.0 C (86.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Parnu	Estonia	Record low minimum temperature	-0.5 C (31.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Anderson	United States	Record daily precipitation	82.6 mm (3.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Anderson FAA AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	87.6 mm (3.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Princetown	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Lughrata	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Shelby 2 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Branchville 6 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	100.3 mm (3.9 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Winthrop UNIV	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Franklin Sewage Plt	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Minnedosa	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	14.0 C (57.2 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Asheboro 2 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Rhodhiss Hydro Plt	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Bowbells	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Trentham (Post Office)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.8 mm (1.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Pierce	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.6 C (96.1 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Inverloch	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.4 mm (1.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Essendon Airport	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.6 mm (1.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Curryville 3 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	108.7 mm (4.3 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Shoreham	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.2 mm (1.4 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Fernie	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	12.5 C (54.5 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Hammond	United States	Record daily precipitation	88.6 mm (3.5 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Babb 6 NE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

751 records

Records set or tied on 20 May 1980 by type: Highest daily maximum 91, Lowest daily maximum 68, Highest daily minimum 245, Lowest daily minimum 21, Heaviest daily rainfall 325, Deepest snow cover 1.

Records on 20 May 1980 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	91
Lowest daily maximum	68
Highest daily minimum	245
Lowest daily minimum	21
Heaviest daily rainfall	325
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	1

Records on 20 May 1980 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 21, daily 729.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

628 broken records

Margins by which the 628 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 96.5. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 May 1980

Top 20 records on 20 May 1980 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 May 1980	Melbourne Regional Office, AU	daily rain	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	116 years	71 of 100 (Major)
20 May 1980	Tarwin Lower (Riverside), AU	daily rain	31.6 mm (1.2 in)	21.4 mm (0.8 in)	91 years	65 of 100 (Major)
20 May 1980	Bungaree (Kirks Reservoir), AU	daily rain	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	17.3 mm (0.7 in)	90 years	62 of 100 (Major)
20 May 1980	Scotsburn (Mount Boninyong), AU	daily rain	31.4 mm (1.2 in)	12.3 mm (0.5 in)	100 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Beales Reservoir, AU	daily rain	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	13.7 mm (0.5 in)	90 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Peterborough, AU	daily rain	34.6 mm (1.4 in)	16.8 mm (0.7 in)	73 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Forsyth 6 NNW, US	daily rain	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	71 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Gulfport Naval Ctr, US	daily rain	174.0 mm (6.9 in)	96.5 mm (3.8 in)	45 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Port Campbell Post Office, AU	daily rain	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	15.5 mm (0.6 in)	63 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Cape Otway Lighthouse, AU	daily rain	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	12.6 mm (0.5 in)	63 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	The Hermatige, AU	daily rain	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	15.3 mm (0.6 in)	63 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Vadstena, SE	daily rain	28.9 mm (1.1 in)	23.7 mm (0.9 in)	14 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Athens Ben Epps AP, US	daily rain	93.2 mm (3.7 in)	67.0 mm (2.6 in)	21 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Callendale, AU	daily rain	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	16.7 mm (0.7 in)	48 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Svinhult_D, SE	daily rain	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	12 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Hogemalen, SE	daily rain	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	11 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Tranas, SE	daily rain	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	24.0 mm (0.9 in)	8 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Greensboro Wtp, US	daily rain	70.4 mm (2.8 in)	55.7 mm (2.2 in)	11 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Flemington Racecourse, AU	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	18.6 mm (0.7 in)	14 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1980	Pointe Noire, CG	daily rain	86.6 mm (3.4 in)	75.5 mm (3.0 in)	7 years	44 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 1980

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1980. 1980 had 751 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 1980-05-20: 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	591
20 to 40	29
40 to 60	5
60 to 80	2
80 to 100	1