Weather Records on 20 May 1998

1,124 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 May 1998. Highest significance: Jartai, CN.

Key Facts for 20 May 1998

On 20 May 1998, 1,124 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
735 were record highs and 223 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 41 monthly and 1,082 daily.
Jartai set a monthly record daily precipitation of 41.6 mm (1.6 in) on 20 May 1998.
Across 162 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 451 records.

Record Map

1,124 stations

1,124 station records on 20 May 1998 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 May 1998: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Jartai	China	Record daily precipitation	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
N Bend SW Oregon Rgnl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	110.5 mm (4.4 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Ashland	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Keaau 92	United States	Record daily precipitation	120.4 mm (4.7 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Bandon 2 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Semijarka	Kazakhstan	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Gilman	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Merluna	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.4 mm (1.4 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Kohala Mis 175.1	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Madrid	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Roseburg Rgnl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Upper Rouchel (Mount View)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	135.0 mm (5.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
York	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Dublin Phoenix Park	Ireland	Record high maximum temperature	24.0 C (75.2 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Nashville 2 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Martinsburg E W Virginia Rgnl	United States	Record high minimum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Hilo Intl AP 87	United States	Record daily precipitation	67.6 mm (2.7 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Seymour 1 WSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Paola	United States	Record high minimum temperature	22.8 C (73.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Haskell	United States	Record high minimum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Kinglake West (Wallaby Creek)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Thomasville	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.0 C (95.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Brunswick	United States	Record high maximum temperature	34.4 C (93.9 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Saltillo	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	24.5 C (76.1 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Marianna 2 S	United States	Record high maximum temperature	34.4 C (93.9 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Inverness 3 SE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.0 C (95.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Saint Leo	United States	Record high maximum temperature	36.1 C (97.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Tarpon Spgs Sewage Plt	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.0 C (95.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Sidell 4N	United States	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Atchison	United States	Record high maximum temperature	34.4 C (93.9 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Kutaisi	Georgia	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Winchester	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Zonguldak	Turkey	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Tucumcari 4 NE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	18.3 C (64.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
McAlester Rgnl AP	United States	Record high minimum temperature	22.8 C (73.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Elgin Water	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Bend	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Tecolutla	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	41.7 C (107.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Ankeny	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Hobart Muni AP	United States	Record high maximum temperature	36.7 C (98.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Plenty	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.4 mm (1.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Cerralvo (Dge)	Mexico	Record low minimum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Willows 6 W	United States	Record low minimum temperature	5.0 C (41.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Whitestown	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Greenfield	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Corvallis Water Bureau	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Roseburg Rgnl AP	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Almaty	Kazakhstan	Record low minimum temperature	0.1 C (32.2 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Obrestad Fyr	Norway	Record high minimum temperature	15.1 C (59.2 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
W Branch 3SE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Kewaunee	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.9 C (57.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Marble Bar Comparison	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	23.0 C (73.4 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Tecoman (Dge)	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	38.9 C (102.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Columbus	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Olton	United States	Record high minimum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Eltham	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.6 mm (1.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
San Jeronimo	Mexico	Record low minimum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Coyotepec	Mexico	Record low minimum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Chardzhev	Turkmenistan	Record low minimum temperature	9.2 C (48.6 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Gravette	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,124 records

Records set or tied on 20 May 1998 by type: Highest daily maximum 474, Lowest daily maximum 55, Highest daily minimum 261, Lowest daily minimum 168, Heaviest daily rainfall 161, Heaviest daily snowfall 2, Deepest snow cover 3.

Records on 20 May 1998 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	474
Lowest daily maximum	55
Highest daily minimum	261
Lowest daily minimum	168
Heaviest daily rainfall	161
Heaviest daily snowfall	2
Deepest snow cover	3

Records on 20 May 1998 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 41, daily 1,082.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

749 broken records

Margins by which the 749 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 120.8. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 May 1998

Top 20 records on 20 May 1998 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 May 1998	Jartai, CN	monthly rain	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	20.7 mm (0.8 in)	33 years	64 of 100 (Major)
20 May 1998	N Bend SW Oregon Rgnl AP, US	monthly rain	110.5 mm (4.4 in)	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	7 years	61 of 100 (Major)
20 May 1998	Ashland, US	daily rain	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	14.0 mm (0.6 in)	72 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Keaau 92, US	daily rain	120.4 mm (4.7 in)	87.6 mm (3.4 in)	33 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Bandon 2 NNE, US	daily rain	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	22.9 mm (0.9 in)	37 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Semijarka, KZ	daily rain	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	19 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Gilman, US	daily rain	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	85 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Merluna, AU	daily rain	34.4 mm (1.4 in)	17.9 mm (0.7 in)	84 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Kohala Mis 175.1, US	daily rain	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	23.8 mm (0.9 in)	33 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Madrid, US	daily rain	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	28.9 mm (1.1 in)	47 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Roseburg Rgnl AP, US	daily rain	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	14.2 mm (0.6 in)	37 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Upper Rouchel (Mount View), AU	daily rain	135.0 mm (5.3 in)	120.8 mm (4.8 in)	12 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	York, US	daily rain	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	7.1 mm (0.28 in)	101 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Dublin Phoenix Park, IE	daily high max	24.0 C (75.2 F)	1.5 C (2.7 F)	117 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Nashville 2 NNE, US	daily rain	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	17.6 mm (0.7 in)	83 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Martinsburg E W Virginia Rgnl, US	daily high min	21.1 C (70.0 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	96 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Hilo Intl AP 87, US	daily rain	67.6 mm (2.7 in)	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	48 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Seymour 1 WSW, US	daily rain	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	7.1 mm (0.28 in)	96 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Paola, US	daily high min	22.8 C (73.0 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	96 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
20 May 1998	Haskell, US	daily high min	24.4 C (75.9 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	104 years	42 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 1998

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1998. 1998 had 1,124 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 1998-05-20: 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 20	733
20 to 40	12
40 to 60	2
60 to 80	0
80 to 100	1
100 to 120	0
120 to 140	1