Weather Records on 21 January 1998

606 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 21 January 1998. Highest significance: Buzau, RO.

Key Facts for 21 January 1998

On 21 January 1998, 606 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
268 were record highs and 67 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 2 were all-time records, 13 monthly and 591 daily.
Buzau set a daily record precipitation of 33.6 mm (1.3 in) on 21 January 1998.
Across 163 earlier years (1793 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 466 records.

Record Map

606 stations

606 station records on 21 January 1998 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 21 January 1998: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Buzau	Romania	Record daily precipitation	33.6 mm (1.3 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Lajas Substn	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record low maximum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Rockwell City	United States	Record daily snowfall	26.7 cm (10.5 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Port Arthur SE Tx Rgnl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	105.2 mm (4.1 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Houston William P Hobby AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	100.8 mm (4.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Webster City	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Pelahatchie	United States	Record daily precipitation	132.8 mm (5.2 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Rockport	United States	Record daily precipitation	78.7 mm (3.1 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Albert Lea 3SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	18.5 cm (7.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Bucuresti-Baneasa	Romania	Record daily precipitation	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Leknes I Lofoten	Norway	Record daily precipitation	52.0 mm (2.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Jefferson	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Sanborn	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Wauneta	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Toledo 3N	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.6 cm (8.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
San Miguel Ejutla	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	18.9 C (66.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Guthrie Ctr	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Rock Rapids	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Glen Morrison (Millbank)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Perry	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Primghar	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Colo	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Valentine	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Sparta	United States	Record daily snowfall	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Jackson Intl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	65.8 mm (2.6 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Darwin Airport	Australia	Record daily precipitation	186.2 mm (7.3 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Plattsmouth 1E	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Deming	United States	Record high minimum temperature	4.4 C (39.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Madison Dane Co Rgnl AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Burr Oak 4S	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.1 cm (3.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Lebanon	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Luverne	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Ryegate 18 NNW	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Pisco Intl	Peru	Record high minimum temperature	24.6 C (76.3 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Jewell	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Marshalltown	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Spring Grove	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Cashton	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Huatusco de Chicuellar	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	31.7 C (89.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
El Tecomate	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	35.6 C (96.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Boone	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Titonka	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Cedar Rapids Muni AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	13.5 cm (5.3 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Minatitlan	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	34.4 C (93.9 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Jacksboro	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Coroneo	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	30.0 C (86.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Palpan	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	33.3 C (91.9 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Sarh	Chad	Record low minimum temperature	11.5 C (52.7 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Tenango de Doria	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Cherokee	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Eldora	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Belfast	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Wells	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Red Cloud	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Bau	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Calarasi	Romania	Record high minimum temperature	5.4 C (41.7 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Zonguldak	Turkey	Record high minimum temperature	13.0 C (55.4 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Oakdale	United States	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Winnebago	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Lake Park 3SSE	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

606 records

Records set or tied on 21 January 1998 by type: Highest daily maximum 148, Lowest daily maximum 28, Highest daily minimum 120, Lowest daily minimum 39, Heaviest daily rainfall 141, Heaviest daily snowfall 116, Deepest snow cover 14.

Records on 21 January 1998 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	148
Lowest daily maximum	28
Highest daily minimum	120
Lowest daily minimum	39
Heaviest daily rainfall	141
Heaviest daily snowfall	116
Deepest snow cover	14

Records on 21 January 1998 by timescale: all-time 2, monthly 13, daily 591.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

474 broken records

Margins by which the 474 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

21 January 1998

Top 20 records on 21 January 1998 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
21 January 1998	Buzau, RO	daily rain	33.6 mm (1.3 in)	26.3 mm (1.0 in)	46 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Lajas Substn, PR	daily low max	24.4 C (75.9 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	43 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Rockwell City, US	daily snowfall	26.7 cm (10.5 in)	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	39 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Port Arthur SE Tx Rgnl AP, US	daily rain	105.2 mm (4.1 in)	66.1 mm (2.6 in)	42 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Houston William P Hobby AP, US	daily rain	100.8 mm (4.0 in)	56.3 mm (2.2 in)	18 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Webster City, US	daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	80 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Pelahatchie, US	daily rain	132.8 mm (5.2 in)	77.4 mm (3.0 in)	15 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Rockport, US	daily rain	78.7 mm (3.1 in)	60.2 mm (2.4 in)	52 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Albert Lea 3SE, US	daily snowfall	18.5 cm (7.3 in)	5.8 cm (2.3 in)	80 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Bucuresti-Baneasa, RO	daily rain	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	22.5 mm (0.9 in)	4 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Leknes I Lofoten, NO	daily rain	52.0 mm (2.0 in)	30.4 mm (1.2 in)	4 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Jefferson, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	2.5 cm (1.0 in)	94 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Sanborn, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	5.0 cm (2.0 in)	80 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Wauneta, US	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	82 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Toledo 3N, US	daily snowfall	20.6 cm (8.1 in)	10.4 cm (4.1 in)	39 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	San Miguel Ejutla, MX	daily low max	18.9 C (66.0 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	68 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Guthrie Ctr, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	8.8 cm (3.5 in)	39 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Rock Rapids, US	daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	2.5 cm (1.0 in)	80 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Glen Morrison (Millbank), AU	daily rain	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	7.0 mm (0.28 in)	88 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1998	Perry, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	39 years	39 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

1793 to 1998

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1998. 1998 had 606 records.

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

Records on 01-21 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1795	2
1796	1
1798	1
1800	2
1803	1
1804	2
1829	1
1838	3
1840	2
1845	2
1846	1
1850	2
1864	2
1866	4
1867	1
1869	1
1871	1
1873	2
1876	1
1878	4
1880	3
1881	4
1884	1
1885	1
1886	1
1888	3
1890	2
1891	3
1892	2
1893	1
1894	3
1895	2
1896	2
1897	3
1898	3
1899	15
1900	5
1901	4
1902	8
1903	18
1904	30
1905	3
1906	53
1907	10
1908	11
1909	25
1910	11
1911	8
1912	7
1913	23
1914	37
1915	47
1916	38
1917	83
1918	49
1919	14
1920	75
1921	54
1922	35
1923	62
1924	535
1925	103
1926	157
1927	447
1928	206
1929	132
1930	616
1931	112
1932	167
1933	572
1934	255
1935	771
1936	314
1937	852
1938	250
1939	305
1940	562
1941	205
1942	522
1943	1,168
1944	324
1945	290
1946	339
1947	205
1948	387
1949	452
1950	643
1951	367
1952	436
1953	325
1954	1,094
1955	399
1956	653
1957	527
1958	506
1959	936
1960	319
1961	746
1962	741
1963	761
1964	771
1965	251
1966	636
1967	511
1968	1,179
1969	927
1970	1,770
1971	672
1972	598
1973	573
1974	992
1975	496
1976	860
1977	549
1978	1,301
1979	1,675
1980	425
1981	972
1982	1,339
1983	1,179
1984	2,132
1985	2,457
1986	883
1987	934
1988	771
1989	511
1990	927
1991	559
1992	447
1993	1,763
1994	1,195
1995	1,276
1996	528
1997	950
1998	606
1999	1,387
2000	686
2001	736
2002	796
2003	690
2004	535
2005	1,111
2006	1,116
2007	1,955
2008	1,061
2009	788
2010	1,166
2011	836
2012	1,148
2013	455
2014	522
2015	426
2016	580
2017	1,248
2018	664
2019	526
2020	894
2021	626
2022	430
2023	517
2024	1,015
2025	1,386
2026	201

Download the Data

Data for records on 1998-01-21: 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 2026-10-13 (13 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 50	426
50 to 100	43
100 to 150	4
150 to 200	0
200 to 250	1