Weather Records on 20 January 1998

576 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 January 1998. Highest significance: Thermopolis, US.

Key Facts for 20 January 1998

On 20 January 1998, 576 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
253 were record highs and 79 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 2 were all-time records, 23 monthly and 551 daily.
Thermopolis set a daily record snowfall of 20.3 cm (8.0 in) on 20 January 1998.
Across 157 earlier years (1795 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 511 records.

Record Map

576 stations

576 station records on 20 January 1998 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 January 1998: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Thermopolis	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	73 of 100 (Major)
Osijek	Croatia	Record daily precipitation	39.3 mm (1.5 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Udskoe	Russia	Record daily precipitation	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Lake Arthur 7 SW	United States	Record snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Becanchen	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Logan Radio Kvnu	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Budapest	Hungary	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Calkini (Smn)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Power 6 SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	13.5 cm (5.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Col du Grand St-Bernard	Switzerland	Record daily precipitation	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Estherville 4E	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Belgrade (Observatory)	Serbia	Record daily precipitation	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Virginia City	United States	Record snow depth	48.3 cm (19.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Logan Radio Kvnu	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
St. Petersburg	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	1.0 C (33.8 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Holter Dam	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Logan Utah St UNIV	United States	Record daily snowfall	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Bridger 2 N	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Lewistown AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.5 cm (6.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Billy Creek	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Le Mars	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Dutch Harbor	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Laura Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	88.2 mm (3.5 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Arrowrock Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.2 mm (1.7 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Gas Hills 4E	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Belltower	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Maranboy	Australia	Record daily precipitation	64.5 mm (2.5 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Unai	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	63.1 mm (2.5 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Zadar	Croatia	Record daily precipitation	33.6 mm (1.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Novi Sad	Serbia	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Iliad	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Arad	Romania	Record high minimum temperature	5.0 C (41.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Albion 1 N	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Debrecen Airport	Hungary	Record high minimum temperature	4.2 C (39.6 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Szeged	Hungary	Record high minimum temperature	4.5 C (40.1 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Nikolaevsk-Na-Amure	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	-2.5 C (27.5 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Nogliki	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	-2.4 C (27.7 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Murcia/San Javier	Spain	Record high minimum temperature	14.8 C (58.6 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Chesterfield	United States	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Lake Arrowhead	United States	Record high maximum temperature	19.4 C (66.9 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Saint Anthony	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Trident	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Usta 8 WNW Kelly Rch	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Sioux Falls	United States	Record daily snowfall	13.5 cm (5.3 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Acajete	Mexico	Record low minimum temperature	-3.3 C (26.1 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Ridgeway 1 S	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Thermopolis 21WNW	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
El Tecomate	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	37.8 C (100.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Pogibi	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	-4.6 C (23.7 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Sugarloaf Rsvr	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.2 cm (5.6 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Burlington Fire STN #5	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Petersburg 2 N	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Sheridan AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Worland Muni AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Keflavik	Iceland	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Santa Maria (Dge)	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	28.9 C (84.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Tancochapa	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Quelimane	Mozambique	Record high minimum temperature	26.2 C (79.2 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Koror	Palau	Record low minimum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Bozeman Montana State UNIV	United States	Record daily snowfall	18.0 cm (7.1 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

576 records

Records set or tied on 20 January 1998 by type: Highest daily maximum 104, Lowest daily maximum 38, Highest daily minimum 149, Lowest daily minimum 41, Heaviest daily rainfall 160, Heaviest daily snowfall 66, Deepest snow cover 18.

Records on 20 January 1998 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	104
Lowest daily maximum	38
Highest daily minimum	149
Lowest daily minimum	41
Heaviest daily rainfall	160
Heaviest daily snowfall	66
Deepest snow cover	18

Records on 20 January 1998 by timescale: all-time 2, monthly 23, daily 551.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

442 broken records

Margins by which the 442 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 203.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 January 1998

Top 20 records on 20 January 1998 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 January 1998	Thermopolis, US	daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	87 years	73 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1998	Osijek, HR	daily rain	39.3 mm (1.5 in)	18.6 mm (0.7 in)	64 years	65 of 100 (Major)
20 January 1998	Udskoe, RU	daily rain	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	22.5 mm (0.9 in)	42 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Lake Arthur 7 SW, US	all-time snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	48 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Becanchen, MX	daily rain	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	44 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Logan Radio Kvnu, US	daily rain	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	13.2 mm (0.5 in)	40 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Budapest, HU	daily rain	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	14.6 mm (0.6 in)	14 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Calkini (Smn), MX	daily rain	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	34.8 mm (1.4 in)	40 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Power 6 SE, US	daily snowfall	13.5 cm (5.3 in)	10.5 cm (4.1 in)	12 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Col du Grand St-Bernard, CH	daily rain	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	12.1 mm (0.5 in)	88 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Estherville 4E, US	daily rain	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	14.8 mm (0.6 in)	46 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Belgrade (Observatory), RS	daily rain	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	9.1 mm (0.36 in)	60 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Virginia City, US	daily snow depth	48.3 cm (19.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	40 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Logan Radio Kvnu, US	daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	15.3 cm (6.0 in)	4 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	St. Petersburg, RU	daily high min	1.0 C (33.8 F)	0.4 C (0.7 F)	115 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Holter Dam, US	daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	55 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Logan Utah St UNIV, US	daily snowfall	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	2.5 cm (1.0 in)	87 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Bridger 2 N, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	8.8 cm (3.5 in)	36 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Lewistown AP, US	daily snowfall	15.5 cm (6.1 in)	7.9 cm (3.1 in)	28 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
20 January 1998	Billy Creek, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	8.3 cm (3.3 in)	24 years	37 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

1795 to 1998

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1795 to 1998. 1998 had 576 records.

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

Records on 01-20 in each year
Year	Records
1795	2
1796	1
1798	1
1804	2
1820	1
1844	1
1850	1
1858	2
1861	1
1862	1
1863	1
1866	2
1867	1
1872	1
1874	4
1875	4
1878	1
1879	1
1880	5
1881	4
1885	1
1890	2
1891	1
1892	3
1893	3
1894	1
1895	2
1896	1
1897	3
1898	6
1899	12
1900	15
1901	11
1902	5
1903	4
1904	14
1905	2
1906	25
1907	26
1908	9
1909	30
1910	11
1911	3
1912	7
1913	44
1914	57
1915	153
1916	34
1917	123
1918	71
1919	28
1920	103
1921	45
1922	86
1923	41
1924	298
1925	181
1926	110
1927	381
1928	383
1929	203
1930	540
1931	90
1932	139
1933	441
1934	118
1935	904
1936	602
1937	1,041
1938	219
1939	238
1940	1,147
1941	214
1942	979
1943	1,002
1944	568
1945	302
1946	487
1947	534
1948	422
1949	429
1950	653
1951	958
1952	386
1953	476
1954	791
1955	278
1956	906
1957	349
1958	494
1959	603
1960	329
1961	641
1962	1,162
1963	921
1964	567
1965	283
1966	634
1967	556
1968	1,096
1969	859
1970	1,301
1971	936
1972	823
1973	450
1974	978
1975	688
1976	848
1977	997
1978	1,669
1979	1,158
1980	423
1981	823
1982	958
1983	847
1984	1,957
1985	2,188
1986	1,327
1987	1,063
1988	1,637
1989	955
1990	1,257
1991	562
1992	493
1993	1,327
1994	2,035
1995	1,136
1996	851
1997	658
1998	576
1999	1,368
2000	1,132
2001	667
2002	666
2003	732
2004	451
2005	1,335
2006	1,395
2007	2,143
2008	1,366
2009	738
2010	986
2011	731
2012	848
2013	432
2014	480
2015	413
2016	726
2017	1,370
2018	634
2019	722
2020	498
2021	375
2022	346
2023	778
2024	841
2025	1,599
2026	193

Download the Data

Data for records on 1998-01-20: 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	415
50 to 100	20
100 to 150	2
150 to 200	4
200 to 250	1