Weather Records on 31 August 1981

692 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 31 August 1981. Highest significance: Findlay Wpcc, US.

Key Facts for 31 August 1981

On 31 August 1981, 692 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
284 were record highs and 133 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 5 were all-time records, 38 monthly and 649 daily.
Findlay Wpcc set a monthly record daily precipitation of 142.7 mm (5.6 in) on 31 August 1981.
Across 165 earlier years (1796 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 434 records.

Record Map

692 stations

692 station records on 31 August 1981 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 31 August 1981: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Findlay Wpcc	United States	Record daily precipitation	142.7 mm (5.6 in)	82 of 100 (Exceptional)
Flatonia 4SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	299.2 mm (11.8 in)	71 of 100 (Major)
Gonzales 2S	United States	Record daily precipitation	414.3 mm (16.3 in)	70 of 100 (Major)
Waelder 7 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	315.7 mm (12.4 in)	69 of 100 (Major)
Houston William P Hobby AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	170.2 mm (6.7 in)	69 of 100 (Major)
Abilene	United States	Record daily precipitation	148.6 mm (5.9 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Palmyra	United States	Record daily precipitation	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Richmond	United States	Record daily precipitation	193.0 mm (7.6 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Galveston	United States	Record daily precipitation	275.8 mm (10.9 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Findlay AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	111.0 mm (4.4 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Cypress	United States	Record daily precipitation	183.1 mm (7.2 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Nixon	United States	Record daily precipitation	121.4 mm (4.8 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Tiffin	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Bucyrus	United States	Record daily precipitation	164.8 mm (6.5 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Houston N Houston	United States	Record daily precipitation	132.1 mm (5.2 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Ganado	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Upper Sandusky	United States	Record daily precipitation	106.9 mm (4.2 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Whitestown	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.3 mm (2.5 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Wisconsin Dells Wwtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	133.9 mm (5.3 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Three Rivers	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Angleton 2 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	261.6 mm (10.3 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Baraboo Wwtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	68.6 mm (2.7 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Dixon Wwtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	72.9 mm (2.9 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Adelaide (Glenside)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Karnes City 2N	United States	Record daily precipitation	279.4 mm (11.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Sealy	United States	Record daily precipitation	134.6 mm (5.3 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Houston Wb City	United States	Record daily precipitation	136.1 mm (5.4 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Oelwein 2 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	162.1 mm (6.4 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Clodine	United States	Record daily precipitation	199.4 mm (7.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Yoakum	United States	Record daily precipitation	158.8 mm (6.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Palpan	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	17.8 C (64.0 F)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Fulton L&D #13	United States	Record daily precipitation	74.9 mm (2.9 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Houston Indep Hts	United States	Record daily precipitation	105.4 mm (4.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Runge	United States	Record daily precipitation	125.2 mm (4.9 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Hateruma	Japan	Record daily precipitation	199.5 mm (7.9 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Tshakhuma	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Windsor	United States	Record daily precipitation	101.6 mm (4.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Schulenburg	United States	Record daily precipitation	170.2 mm (6.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Sugar Land	United States	Record daily precipitation	128.3 mm (5.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Monroe City	United States	Record daily precipitation	69.9 mm (2.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Houston Barker	United States	Record daily precipitation	170.7 mm (6.7 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Perm	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	18.1 C (64.6 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Independence #1	United States	Record daily precipitation	118.6 mm (4.7 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Hallettsville 2 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	162.6 mm (6.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Bowling Green Wwtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.3 mm (1.9 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Rockford Gtr Rockford AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	58.9 mm (2.3 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Pocahontas 1	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.4 mm (2.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Pana	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Beeville 5 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	88.9 mm (3.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Luling	United States	Record daily precipitation	133.9 mm (5.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Smithville	United States	Record daily precipitation	176.0 mm (6.9 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Rapidan	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.5 mm (2.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Uil	Kazakhstan	Record high minimum temperature	22.7 C (72.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Col du Grand St-Bernard	Switzerland	Record high maximum temperature	15.4 C (59.7 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Auburn 2 SSE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Enterprise	United States	Record daily precipitation	60.5 mm (2.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Gridley	United States	Record daily precipitation	82.6 mm (3.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Madison	United States	Record daily precipitation	126.0 mm (5.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Sumrall	United States	Record daily precipitation	88.1 mm (3.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Thunder Bay A	Canada	Record daily precipitation	57.9 mm (2.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

692 records

Records set or tied on 31 August 1981 by type: Highest daily maximum 87, Lowest daily maximum 73, Highest daily minimum 197, Lowest daily minimum 60, Heaviest daily rainfall 273, Heaviest daily snowfall 2.

Records on 31 August 1981 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	87
Lowest daily maximum	73
Highest daily minimum	197
Lowest daily minimum	60
Heaviest daily rainfall	273
Heaviest daily snowfall	2
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 31 August 1981 by timescale: all-time 5, monthly 38, daily 649.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

566 broken records

Margins by which the 566 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 231.4. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

31 August 1981

Top 20 records on 31 August 1981 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
31 August 1981	Findlay Wpcc, US	monthly rain	142.7 mm (5.6 in)	67.5 mm (2.7 in)	81 years	82 of 100 (Exceptional)
31 August 1981	Flatonia 4SE, US	monthly rain	299.2 mm (11.8 in)	128.3 mm (5.1 in)	49 years	71 of 100 (Major)
31 August 1981	Gonzales 2S, US	all-time rain	414.3 mm (16.3 in)	231.4 mm (9.1 in)	13 years	70 of 100 (Major)
31 August 1981	Waelder 7 S, US	all-time rain	315.7 mm (12.4 in)	155.2 mm (6.1 in)	20 years	69 of 100 (Major)
31 August 1981	Houston William P Hobby AP, US	monthly rain	170.2 mm (6.7 in)	64.3 mm (2.5 in)	49 years	69 of 100 (Major)
31 August 1981	Abilene, US	monthly rain	148.6 mm (5.9 in)	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	29 years	66 of 100 (Major)
31 August 1981	Palmyra, US	daily rain	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	64.7 mm (2.5 in)	63 years	66 of 100 (Major)
31 August 1981	Richmond, US	monthly rain	193.0 mm (7.6 in)	78.7 mm (3.1 in)	34 years	66 of 100 (Major)
31 August 1981	Galveston, US	monthly rain	275.8 mm (10.9 in)	158.7 mm (6.2 in)	28 years	66 of 100 (Major)
31 August 1981	Findlay AP, US	monthly rain	111.0 mm (4.4 in)	51.6 mm (2.0 in)	39 years	65 of 100 (Major)
31 August 1981	Cypress, US	monthly rain	183.1 mm (7.2 in)	82.8 mm (3.3 in)	37 years	64 of 100 (Major)
31 August 1981	Nixon, US	daily rain	121.4 mm (4.8 in)	74.4 mm (2.9 in)	55 years	62 of 100 (Major)
31 August 1981	Tiffin, US	daily rain	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	71 years	60 of 100 (Major)
31 August 1981	Bucyrus, US	monthly rain	164.8 mm (6.5 in)	72.6 mm (2.9 in)	6 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1981	Houston N Houston, US	monthly rain	132.1 mm (5.2 in)	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	22 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1981	Ganado, US	daily rain	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	29.4 mm (1.2 in)	46 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1981	Upper Sandusky, US	daily rain	106.9 mm (4.2 in)	63.7 mm (2.5 in)	32 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1981	Whitestown, US	daily rain	64.3 mm (2.5 in)	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	43 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1981	Wisconsin Dells Wwtp, US	daily rain	133.9 mm (5.3 in)	75.7 mm (3.0 in)	36 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
31 August 1981	Three Rivers, US	daily rain	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	36 years	55 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

1796 to 1981

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1796 to 1981. 1981 had 692 records.

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

Records on 08-31 in each year
Year	Records
1796	1
1806	1
1807	2
1813	1
1814	1
1816	1
1827	1
1836	1
1846	1
1849	1
1851	1
1856	2
1858	1
1859	1
1860	1
1861	1
1863	1
1867	1
1869	1
1873	1
1875	1
1876	1
1877	2
1879	2
1881	3
1882	2
1885	1
1886	5
1887	1
1889	1
1890	2
1892	3
1893	1
1894	1
1895	1
1896	1
1897	5
1898	10
1899	4
1900	3
1901	5
1902	5
1903	16
1904	13
1905	8
1906	47
1907	6
1908	12
1909	39
1910	20
1911	31
1912	34
1913	40
1914	23
1915	71
1916	7
1917	60
1918	58
1919	25
1920	46
1921	86
1922	58
1923	63
1924	232
1925	111
1926	148
1927	103
1928	201
1929	300
1930	243
1931	192
1932	807
1933	424
1934	381
1935	540
1936	226
1937	508
1938	324
1939	296
1940	400
1941	528
1942	422
1943	650
1944	638
1945	572
1946	545
1947	473
1948	367
1949	409
1950	662
1951	910
1952	388
1953	1,054
1954	633
1955	539
1956	734
1957	317
1958	417
1959	496
1960	366
1961	625
1962	432
1963	415
1964	591
1965	886
1966	830
1967	952
1968	562
1969	474
1970	558
1971	326
1972	287
1973	793
1974	587
1975	658
1976	732
1977	621
1978	891
1979	400
1980	701
1981	692
1982	586
1983	788
1984	866
1985	854
1986	1,218
1987	836
1988	570
1989	622
1990	966
1991	848
1992	1,274
1993	1,286
1994	1,139
1995	1,077
1996	1,451
1997	943
1998	1,163
1999	988
2000	1,545
2001	944
2002	852
2003	1,232
2004	963
2005	1,782
2006	1,147
2007	1,110
2008	870
2009	1,224
2010	1,490
2011	994
2012	932
2013	771
2014	458
2015	1,074
2016	599
2017	596
2018	366
2019	781
2020	737
2021	553
2022	1,191
2023	600
2024	766
2025	307
2026	595

Download the Data

Data for records on 1981-08-31: 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 2026-10-15 (15 October 2026). Records are computed by this site and are not official.

Data as of 2026-10-15. Last revised 15 October 2026 (2026-10-15).

Margin	Records
0 to 50	533
50 to 100	25
100 to 150	3
150 to 200	4
200 to 250	1