Weather Records on 17 March 1940

250 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 March 1940. Highest significance: Hanover (Pol), ZA.

Key Facts for 17 March 1940

On 17 March 1940, 250 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
83 were record highs and 32 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 6 monthly and 244 daily.
Hanover (Pol) set a daily record precipitation of 72.9 mm (2.9 in) on 17 March 1940.
Across 161 earlier years (1825 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 476 records.

Record Map

250 stations

250 station records on 17 March 1940 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 March 1940: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Hanover (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	72.9 mm (2.9 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Karlsruhe	Germany	Record daily precipitation	29.4 mm (1.2 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
St Lawrence Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	159.0 mm (6.3 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Walterhall	Australia	Record daily precipitation	127.8 mm (5.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Marlborough Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	100.3 mm (3.9 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Nebo	Australia	Record daily precipitation	106.9 mm (4.2 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Mackay Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	185.2 mm (7.3 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Gordon Downs	Australia	Record daily precipitation	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Tihoreck	Russia	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Langmorn	Australia	Record daily precipitation	127.0 mm (5.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Flat Top Island	Australia	Record daily precipitation	190.5 mm (7.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Orion	Australia	Record daily precipitation	59.2 mm (2.3 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Thornlea	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Derby	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	66.5 mm (2.6 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Kempten	Germany	Record daily precipitation	27.8 mm (1.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Te Kowai Exp STN	Australia	Record daily precipitation	154.9 mm (6.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Pilanesberg-Pol	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Kaiserslautern	Germany	Record daily precipitation	28.6 mm (1.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Collaroy Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	158.8 mm (6.3 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Boomi (Barwon St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	57.9 mm (2.3 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Putbus	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-9.8 C (14.4 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Lacombe Cda	Canada	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Zuerich/Fluntern	Switzerland	Record daily precipitation	30.8 mm (1.2 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Blackwater Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	95.3 mm (3.8 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Emerald Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Rolleston	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Tulloona (Coolanga)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Oberstdorf	Germany	Record daily precipitation	40.8 mm (1.6 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Capella Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Sandvig	Denmark	Record low minimum temperature	-8.2 C (17.2 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Ekaterinburg	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	10.4 C (50.7 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Rietfontein (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	57.2 mm (2.3 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Mingela Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Karlshamn	Sweden	Record low minimum temperature	-13.5 C (7.7 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Hamilton Downs	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Proserpine Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	67.3 mm (2.6 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Pathalipam	India	Record daily precipitation	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Daflating	India	Record daily precipitation	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Unionville	United States	Record high maximum temperature	29.4 C (84.9 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Peak Downs	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Elgin Downs	Australia	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Rock Rapids	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Ekaterinburg	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	0.4 C (32.7 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
St John's	Canada	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Agartala	India	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Atyrau	Kazakhstan	Record high minimum temperature	2.3 C (36.1 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Lien I Selbu	Norway	Record snow depth	94.0 cm (37.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Spencer 1 N	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Roermond	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Helmond	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	20.0 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Gollhofen	Germany	Record daily precipitation	19.0 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Aachen	Germany	Record daily precipitation	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Arnhem	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	21.8 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Uccle	Belgium	Record daily precipitation	19.7 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Stuttgart	Germany	Record daily precipitation	20.0 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Putten (Gld)	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	16.8 mm (0.7 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Oudenbosch	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	16.5 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Lacombe Cda	Canada	Record daily precipitation	14.0 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Bad-Neunkirchen Mergentheim	Germany	Record daily precipitation	15.7 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Cambridge Niab	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	11.2 mm (0.4 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

250 records

Records set or tied on 17 March 1940 by type: Highest daily maximum 51, Lowest daily maximum 12, Highest daily minimum 32, Lowest daily minimum 20, Heaviest daily rainfall 123, Heaviest daily snowfall 5, Deepest snow cover 7.

Records on 17 March 1940 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	51
Lowest daily maximum	12
Highest daily minimum	32
Lowest daily minimum	20
Heaviest daily rainfall	123
Heaviest daily snowfall	5
Deepest snow cover	7

Records on 17 March 1940 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 6, daily 244.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

211 broken records

Margins by which the 211 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 254.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 March 1940

Top 20 records on 17 March 1940 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 March 1940	Hanover (Pol), ZA	daily rain	72.9 mm (2.9 in)	57.7 mm (2.3 in)	52 years	61 of 100 (Major)
17 March 1940	Karlsruhe, DE	daily rain	29.4 mm (1.2 in)	17.9 mm (0.7 in)	62 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	St Lawrence Post Office, AU	daily rain	159.0 mm (6.3 in)	146.0 mm (5.7 in)	31 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Walterhall, AU	daily rain	127.8 mm (5.0 in)	106.5 mm (4.2 in)	31 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Marlborough Post Office, AU	daily rain	100.3 mm (3.9 in)	73.6 mm (2.9 in)	32 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Nebo, AU	daily rain	106.9 mm (4.2 in)	76.4 mm (3.0 in)	27 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Mackay Post Office, AU	daily rain	185.2 mm (7.3 in)	87.4 mm (3.4 in)	52 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Gordon Downs, AU	daily rain	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	64.2 mm (2.5 in)	4 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Tihoreck, RU	daily rain	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	20.7 mm (0.8 in)	9 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Langmorn, AU	daily rain	127.0 mm (5.0 in)	120.6 mm (4.7 in)	1 year	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Flat Top Island, AU	daily rain	190.5 mm (7.5 in)	157.5 mm (6.2 in)	1 year	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Orion, AU	daily rain	59.2 mm (2.3 in)	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	30 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Thornlea, ZA	daily rain	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	29 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Derby, ZA	daily rain	66.5 mm (2.6 in)	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	35 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Kempten, DE	daily rain	27.8 mm (1.1 in)	14.3 mm (0.6 in)	41 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Te Kowai Exp STN, AU	daily rain	154.9 mm (6.1 in)	116.8 mm (4.6 in)	1 year	37 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Pilanesberg-Pol, ZA	daily rain	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	41.2 mm (1.6 in)	22 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Kaiserslautern, DE	monthly rain	28.6 mm (1.1 in)	5.1 mm (0.20 in)	34 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Collaroy Station, AU	daily rain	158.8 mm (6.3 in)	46.3 mm (1.8 in)	30 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1940	Boomi (Barwon St), AU	daily rain	57.9 mm (2.3 in)	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	14 years	34 of 100 (Routine)

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

1825 to 1940

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1825 to 1940. 1940 had 250 records.

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

Records on 03-17 in each year
Year	Records
1825	2
1839	1
1845	1
1850	2
1852	1
1853	1
1856	1
1857	1
1863	1
1866	2
1867	1
1869	1
1870	1
1872	1
1874	3
1876	1
1877	2
1878	3
1879	1
1881	1
1882	4
1883	1
1884	3
1885	3
1886	1
1887	3
1888	2
1889	3
1890	2
1892	1
1895	5
1896	2
1897	9
1898	14
1899	5
1900	5
1901	4
1902	16
1903	10
1904	11
1905	10
1906	15
1907	14
1908	20
1909	20
1910	17
1911	7
1912	7
1913	31
1914	28
1915	22
1916	40
1917	52
1918	26
1919	86
1920	50
1921	96
1922	49
1923	130
1924	78
1925	143
1926	185
1927	369
1928	230
1929	85
1930	306
1931	124
1932	484
1933	198
1934	368
1935	259
1936	601
1937	455
1938	394
1939	583
1940	250
1941	689
1942	783
1943	500
1944	288
1945	1,345
1946	810
1947	332
1948	340
1949	178
1950	1,105
1951	489
1952	527
1953	236
1954	365
1955	385
1956	573
1957	327
1958	535
1959	471
1960	814
1961	679
1962	321
1963	738
1964	241
1965	1,115
1966	970
1967	856
1968	849
1969	651
1970	768
1971	361
1972	1,013
1973	943
1974	837
1975	475
1976	534
1977	479
1978	787
1979	507
1980	658
1981	679
1982	1,315
1983	912
1984	599
1985	662
1986	551
1987	1,362
1988	1,325
1989	1,082
1990	1,916
1991	756
1992	740
1993	1,608
1994	822
1995	989
1996	689
1997	895
1998	972
1999	688
2000	792
2001	1,349
2002	1,210
2003	1,244
2004	1,406
2005	1,475
2006	579
2007	1,470
2008	955
2009	717
2010	584
2011	926
2012	2,715
2013	723
2014	1,039
2015	1,145
2016	545
2017	847
2018	891
2019	738
2020	454
2021	502
2022	452
2023	875
2024	668
2025	722
2026	2,522

Download the Data

Data for records on 1940-03-17: 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 2026-10-15. Last revised 15 October 2026 (2026-10-15).

Margin	Records
0 to 50	194
50 to 100	9
100 to 150	5
150 to 200	1
200 to 250	1
250 to 300	1