Weather Records on 20 July 1981

1,048 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 July 1981. Highest significance: Bookaloo, AU.

Key Facts for 20 July 1981

On 20 July 1981, 1,048 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
364 were record highs and 248 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 6 were all-time records, 28 monthly and 1,014 daily.
Bookaloo set a daily record precipitation of 26.0 mm (1.0 in) on 20 July 1981.
Across 161 earlier years (1809 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 455 records.

Record Map

1,048 stations

1,048 station records on 20 July 1981 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 July 1981: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Bookaloo	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	71 of 100 (Major)
Invergordon	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	71 of 100 (Major)
Nhill	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.4 mm (1.3 in)	68 of 100 (Major)
Oondooroo	Australia	Record daily precipitation	73.0 mm (2.9 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Loxton (Pyap)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Goondi Mill Csr	Australia	Record daily precipitation	120.4 mm (4.7 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Mourilyan Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	101.0 mm (4.0 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Oestersund-Froesoen	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
White Cliffs (Wonnaminta)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Cockburn (Burta)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.6 mm (1.2 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Gerang Gerung	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Macknade Sugar Mill	Australia	Record daily precipitation	56.2 mm (2.2 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Tibooburra (Onepah)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.4 mm (1.8 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Murrayville	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Glenlee	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.8 mm (1.1 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Nadda (Zimmerman)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Diapur	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.4 mm (1.3 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Garrigala	Turkmenistan	Record daily precipitation	42.1 mm (1.7 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Nhill (Woorak)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Esengyly	Turkmenistan	Record daily precipitation	34.4 mm (1.4 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Nhill (Salisbury (Lynbar))	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.8 mm (1.1 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Gaudan-In-Turkmen	Turkmenistan	Record daily precipitation	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Mellette 4 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.2 mm (2.4 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Lake Cargelligo (Gunniguldrie)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Cairns Aero	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Praha-Klementinum	Czech Republic	Record low maximum temperature	12.7 C (54.9 F)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Herrnhut	Germany	Record daily precipitation	75.7 mm (3.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Wentworth (Woodlands)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
South Johnstone Exp STN	Australia	Record daily precipitation	82.6 mm (3.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Wien	Austria	Record low maximum temperature	13.7 C (56.7 F)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Gyzyletrek	Turkmenistan	Record daily precipitation	34.9 mm (1.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Bingil Bay	Australia	Record daily precipitation	75.6 mm (3.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Yanac North	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.2 mm (1.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Bakherden	Turkmenistan	Record daily precipitation	30.6 mm (1.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Rochester Gtr Intl	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.9 mm (2.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Angola	United States	Record daily precipitation	90.2 mm (3.6 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Sorel	Canada	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Kuranda Railway Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	70.0 mm (2.8 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Kremsmuenster	Austria	Record low maximum temperature	12.1 C (53.8 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Pointe Au Pere	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	28.0 C (82.4 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
New Orleans Audubon	United States	Record high minimum temperature	27.2 C (81.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Ruhnu	Latvia	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Colville AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Belmont	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Ste Anne de la Perade	Canada	Record daily precipitation	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Hillsdale	United States	Record daily precipitation	68.1 mm (2.7 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Majors Creek	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Brinkley	United States	Record high minimum temperature	25.6 C (78.1 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Cardwell Marine Pde	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Salzburg	Austria	Record low minimum temperature	5.4 C (41.7 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Bartow 1SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	72.4 mm (2.9 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Barron Upper 1	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.6 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Wentworth (Willow Point)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Grong Grong (Berembed)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Bremen-Seefahrtschule	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	6.9 C (44.4 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Manati 2 E	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Effingham 3SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	97.5 mm (3.8 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Versailles	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Centerville 5 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Memphis	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.6 mm (2.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,048 records

Records set or tied on 20 July 1981 by type: Highest daily maximum 143, Lowest daily maximum 142, Highest daily minimum 221, Lowest daily minimum 106, Heaviest daily rainfall 435, Deepest snow cover 1.

Records on 20 July 1981 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	143
Lowest daily maximum	142
Highest daily minimum	221
Lowest daily minimum	106
Heaviest daily rainfall	435
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	1

Records on 20 July 1981 by timescale: all-time 6, monthly 28, daily 1,014.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

868 broken records

Margins by which the 868 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 70.4. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 July 1981

Top 20 records on 20 July 1981 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 July 1981	Bookaloo, AU	daily rain	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	23.5 mm (0.9 in)	76 years	71 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	Invergordon, AU	daily rain	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	83 years	71 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	Nhill, AU	daily rain	33.4 mm (1.3 in)	24.3 mm (1.0 in)	64 years	68 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	Oondooroo, AU	daily rain	73.0 mm (2.9 in)	58.8 mm (2.3 in)	64 years	65 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	Loxton (Pyap), AU	daily rain	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	16.3 mm (0.6 in)	55 years	64 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	Goondi Mill Csr, AU	monthly rain	120.4 mm (4.7 in)	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	22 years	63 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	Mourilyan Post Office, AU	daily rain	101.0 mm (4.0 in)	67.0 mm (2.6 in)	50 years	63 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	Oestersund-Froesoen, SE	daily rain	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	20.0 mm (0.8 in)	79 years	63 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	White Cliffs (Wonnaminta), AU	daily rain	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	34.2 mm (1.3 in)	43 years	62 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	Cockburn (Burta), AU	daily rain	29.6 mm (1.2 in)	18.9 mm (0.7 in)	50 years	62 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	Gerang Gerung, AU	daily rain	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	17.3 mm (0.7 in)	55 years	61 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	Macknade Sugar Mill, AU	daily rain	56.2 mm (2.2 in)	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	39 years	60 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	Tibooburra (Onepah), AU	daily rain	46.4 mm (1.8 in)	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	50 years	60 of 100 (Major)
20 July 1981	Murrayville, AU	daily rain	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	43 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
20 July 1981	Glenlee, AU	daily rain	28.8 mm (1.1 in)	17.1 mm (0.7 in)	35 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
20 July 1981	Nadda (Zimmerman), AU	daily rain	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	43 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
20 July 1981	Diapur, AU	daily rain	32.4 mm (1.3 in)	22.2 mm (0.9 in)	39 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
20 July 1981	Garrigala, TM	daily rain	42.1 mm (1.7 in)	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	44 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
20 July 1981	Nhill (Woorak), AU	daily rain	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	15.0 mm (0.6 in)	55 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
20 July 1981	Esengyly, TM	daily rain	34.4 mm (1.4 in)	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	44 years	56 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

1809 to 1981

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1809 to 1981. 1981 had 1,048 records.

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

Records on 07-20 in each year
Year	Records
1809	1
1810	1
1811	2
1832	2
1844	2
1850	1
1859	2
1863	1
1865	4
1866	1
1867	1
1868	1
1870	1
1872	1
1874	2
1876	1
1877	2
1879	3
1880	1
1881	2
1882	1
1883	2
1885	1
1886	2
1887	1
1888	1
1889	2
1890	5
1892	7
1893	1
1894	1
1895	1
1897	4
1898	2
1899	4
1900	9
1901	3
1902	13
1903	6
1904	10
1905	6
1906	8
1907	12
1908	31
1909	6
1910	27
1911	12
1912	33
1913	28
1914	20
1915	163
1916	117
1917	57
1918	53
1919	40
1920	16
1921	55
1922	52
1923	173
1924	112
1925	125
1926	411
1927	106
1928	366
1929	480
1930	598
1931	362
1932	338
1933	201
1934	857
1935	386
1936	358
1937	213
1938	392
1939	336
1940	325
1941	270
1942	609
1943	326
1944	470
1945	278
1946	482
1947	635
1948	385
1949	807
1950	563
1951	448
1952	488
1953	316
1954	512
1955	377
1956	545
1957	351
1958	536
1959	605
1960	758
1961	338
1962	327
1963	457
1964	416
1965	1,110
1966	469
1967	455
1968	389
1969	649
1970	890
1971	619
1972	1,062
1973	804
1974	489
1975	470
1976	580
1977	899
1978	663
1979	1,249
1980	925
1981	1,048
1982	580
1983	1,117
1984	799
1985	604
1986	848
1987	1,156
1988	1,103
1989	1,183
1990	724
1991	1,024
1992	1,137
1993	901
1994	611
1995	961
1996	1,365
1997	903
1998	1,682
1999	815
2000	1,393
2001	755
2002	986
2003	1,313
2004	978
2005	1,266
2006	1,487
2007	1,124
2008	663
2009	1,533
2010	1,154
2011	1,339
2012	817
2013	850
2014	1,000
2015	812
2016	744
2017	398
2018	930
2019	867
2020	524
2021	683
2022	1,108
2023	812
2024	737
2025	680
2026	864

Download the Data

Data for records on 1981-07-20: 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 2026-10-14 (14 October 2026). Records are computed by this site and are not official.

Data as of 2026-10-12. Last revised 12 October 2026 (2026-10-12).

Margin	Records
0 to 10	707
10 to 20	109
20 to 30	32
30 to 40	11
40 to 50	5
50 to 60	1
60 to 70	2
70 to 80	1