Weather Records on 20 May 1997

1,106 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 May 1997. Highest significance: Luchow, DE.

Key Facts for 20 May 1997

On 20 May 1997, 1,106 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
281 were record highs and 362 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 3 were all-time records, 33 monthly and 1,070 daily.
Luchow set an all-time record daily precipitation of 86.9 mm (3.4 in) on 20 May 1997.
Across 162 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 452 records.

Record Map

1,106 stations

1,106 station records on 20 May 1997 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 May 1997: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Luchow	Germany	Record daily precipitation	86.9 mm (3.4 in)	74 of 100 (Major)
Willcox	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	68 of 100 (Major)
Marknesse_1	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	27.8 mm (1.1 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Passo Do Mendonca	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	87.5 mm (3.4 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Staryj Oskol	Russia	Record daily precipitation	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Goldthwaite 1 WSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	76.7 mm (3.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Schellingwoude	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	40.7 mm (1.6 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Healdton 3 E	United States	Record low maximum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Cangucu	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	61.1 mm (2.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Weilburg (Klaranlage)	Germany	Record daily precipitation	33.4 mm (1.3 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Amerongen	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	41.8 mm (1.6 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Stein (L)	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	29.8 mm (1.2 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Gluckstadt	Germany	Record daily precipitation	25.3 mm (1.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Apeldoorn	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	39.7 mm (1.6 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Oosterbeek	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	31.9 mm (1.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Vaassen	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	30.8 mm (1.2 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Wijk Bij Duurstede	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	29.9 mm (1.2 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Valentine 10 WSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Morokweng (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Portal 4 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Lebanon	United States	Record daily precipitation	93.2 mm (3.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Chesterfield	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Holyoke	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Chilo Meldahl Locks & Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ripley Exp Farm	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Coleman	United States	Record low maximum temperature	18.3 C (64.9 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Dresden-Strehlen	Germany	Record daily precipitation	30.6 mm (1.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Rheezerveen	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Oracle 2 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Oconto 4 W	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-5.6 C (21.9 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Jever	Germany	Record daily precipitation	33.9 mm (1.3 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Pagosa Springs 1SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.3 mm (1.4 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Hoek_van_Holland_1	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	35.2 mm (1.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
La Belle	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Amherst	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Franklin	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Creighton	United States	Record low minimum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Chapel Hill 2 W	United States	Record high minimum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Winnemucca AP	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Elsinore	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Clarksburg 1	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Boqueirao	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	103.0 mm (4.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Vilsteren	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Buhta Providenja	Russia	Record daily precipitation	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Livingston	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Petoskey	United States	Record low maximum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
New London	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-3.3 C (26.1 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Bonham 3NNE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Vernon	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Veenendaal	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Grafton	United States	Record low maximum temperature	8.9 C (48.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Sanger	United States	Record daily precipitation	78.0 mm (3.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Encantado	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	57.5 mm (2.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Mexcala (Cfe)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	99.8 mm (3.9 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Haverhill	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Plainview	United States	Record low maximum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Rendsburg	Germany	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Crailsheim-Alexandersreut	Germany	Record daily precipitation	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Nevada City	United States	Record high minimum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Redlands	United States	Record high minimum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,106 records

Records set or tied on 20 May 1997 by type: Highest daily maximum 82, Lowest daily maximum 219, Highest daily minimum 199, Lowest daily minimum 143, Heaviest daily rainfall 450, Heaviest daily snowfall 1, Deepest snow cover 12.

Records on 20 May 1997 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	82
Lowest daily maximum	219
Highest daily minimum	199
Lowest daily minimum	143
Heaviest daily rainfall	450
Heaviest daily snowfall	1
Deepest snow cover	12

Records on 20 May 1997 by timescale: all-time 3, monthly 33, daily 1,070.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

877 broken records

Margins by which the 877 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 380.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 May 1997

Top 20 records on 20 May 1997 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 May 1997	Luchow, DE	all-time rain	86.9 mm (3.4 in)	24.5 mm (1.0 in)	26 years	74 of 100 (Major)
20 May 1997	Willcox, US	monthly rain	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	10.2 mm (0.4 in)	94 years	68 of 100 (Major)
20 May 1997	Marknesse_1, NL	daily rain	27.8 mm (1.1 in)	25.8 mm (1.0 in)	46 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Passo Do Mendonca, BR	daily rain	87.5 mm (3.4 in)	77.2 mm (3.0 in)	24 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Staryj Oskol, RU	daily rain	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	29.1 mm (1.1 in)	28 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Goldthwaite 1 WSW, US	daily rain	76.7 mm (3.0 in)	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	54 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Schellingwoude, NL	daily rain	40.7 mm (1.6 in)	22.6 mm (0.9 in)	11 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Healdton 3 E, US	daily low max	16.7 C (62.1 F)	4.4 C (7.9 F)	96 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Cangucu, BR	daily rain	61.1 mm (2.4 in)	46.1 mm (1.8 in)	54 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Weilburg (Klaranlage), DE	daily rain	33.4 mm (1.3 in)	20.6 mm (0.8 in)	18 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Amerongen, NL	daily rain	41.8 mm (1.6 in)	29.3 mm (1.2 in)	14 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Stein (L), NL	daily rain	29.8 mm (1.2 in)	21.4 mm (0.8 in)	20 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Gluckstadt, DE	daily rain	25.3 mm (1.0 in)	16.0 mm (0.6 in)	24 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Apeldoorn, NL	daily rain	39.7 mm (1.6 in)	29.3 mm (1.2 in)	11 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Oosterbeek, NL	daily rain	31.9 mm (1.3 in)	23.4 mm (0.9 in)	10 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Vaassen, NL	daily rain	30.8 mm (1.2 in)	22.2 mm (0.9 in)	14 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Wijk Bij Duurstede, NL	daily rain	29.9 mm (1.2 in)	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	14 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Valentine 10 WSW, US	daily rain	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	8.4 mm (0.33 in)	96 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Morokweng (Pol), ZA	monthly rain	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	9.5 mm (0.37 in)	47 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1997	Portal 4 SW, US	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	10 years	46 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 1997

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1997. 1997 had 1,106 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 1997-05-20: 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 50	861
50 to 100	10
100 to 150	2
150 to 200	1
200 to 250	0
250 to 300	1
300 to 350	1
350 to 400	1