Weather Records on 17 May 1956

1,166 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 May 1956. Highest significance: Sheringa (Lake Hamilton), AU.

Key Facts for 17 May 1956

On 17 May 1956, 1,166 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
381 were record highs and 545 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 17 monthly and 1,149 daily.
Sheringa (Lake Hamilton) set a daily record precipitation of 47.2 mm (1.9 in) on 17 May 1956.
Across 167 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 430 records.

Record Map

1,166 stations

1,166 station records on 17 May 1956 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 May 1956: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Sheringa (Lake Hamilton)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	47.2 mm (1.9 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Beechworth Composite	Australia	Record daily precipitation	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Port Kenny (Yandra)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Triabunna (3 Boyle Street)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Colton (Boola Boola)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Dhone	India	Record daily precipitation	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Sheringa	Australia	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Swansea Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Port Arthur	Australia	Record daily precipitation	64.3 mm (2.5 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Werribee Research Farm	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Wooragee	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Fingal (Legge Street)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	51.6 mm (2.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Kellevie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	77.5 mm (3.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Coulta	Australia	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Yackandandah	Australia	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Bicheno (Council Depot)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Shahada	India	Record daily precipitation	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Penong	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Molesworth	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Ozuluama	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	59.9 mm (2.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Bright Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Jamieson	Australia	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Caveside	Australia	Record daily precipitation	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Bic	Canada	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Chula Vista	United States	Record high maximum temperature	28.3 C (82.9 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Harrietville	Australia	Record daily precipitation	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Gisborne	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.8 mm (1.4 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Swansea (Kelvedon)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Myklebust I Breim	Norway	Record daily precipitation	35.5 mm (1.4 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Mount Buffalo Chalet	Australia	Record daily precipitation	108.7 mm (4.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Sheffield	Australia	Record daily precipitation	72.4 mm (2.9 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Woodend (Corinella Road)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Oxnard	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Elliston	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Marysville (Post Office)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Barrie	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-5.0 C (23.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Euroa	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Smoko	Australia	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Baltimore Customs House	United States	Record low minimum temperature	5.0 C (41.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Strathbogie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Watsonville Wtr Wks	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.6 C (96.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Maibong	India	Record daily precipitation	63.0 mm (2.5 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Miepoll South	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Goulburn River @ Shepparton	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Apslawn	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Cranbrook (Cranbrook House)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Kingston Queens U	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Quebec	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Santa Paula	United States	Record high maximum temperature	36.1 C (97.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Atlantic City Marina	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Baltimore Customs House	United States	Record low maximum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Bramfield Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Lima East	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.3 mm (1.4 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Fort William	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Los Gatos	United States	Record high minimum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Sierra Madre Henszey	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Newark Ag Farm	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-0.6 C (30.9 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Chambersburg 1 ESE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Portland Rfc City	United States	Record high maximum temperature	34.4 C (93.9 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Los Angeles Downtown/Usc	United States	Record high minimum temperature	17.8 C (64.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,166 records

Records set or tied on 17 May 1956 by type: Highest daily maximum 320, Lowest daily maximum 192, Highest daily minimum 61, Lowest daily minimum 353, Heaviest daily rainfall 229, Heaviest daily snowfall 7, Deepest snow cover 4.

Records on 17 May 1956 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	320
Lowest daily maximum	192
Highest daily minimum	61
Lowest daily minimum	353
Heaviest daily rainfall	229
Heaviest daily snowfall	7
Deepest snow cover	4

Records on 17 May 1956 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 17, daily 1,149.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

954 broken records

Margins by which the 954 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 500.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 May 1956

Top 20 records on 17 May 1956 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 May 1956	Sheringa (Lake Hamilton), AU	daily rain	47.2 mm (1.9 in)	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	56 years	65 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1956	Beechworth Composite, AU	daily rain	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	61 years	62 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1956	Port Kenny (Yandra), AU	daily rain	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	56 years	60 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1956	Triabunna (3 Boyle Street), AU	daily rain	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	45 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Colton (Boola Boola), AU	daily rain	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	20.9 mm (0.8 in)	56 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Dhone, IN	daily rain	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	82.8 mm (3.3 in)	39 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Sheringa, AU	monthly rain	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	15.2 mm (0.6 in)	39 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Swansea Post Office, AU	daily rain	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	23.4 mm (0.9 in)	41 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Port Arthur, AU	daily rain	64.3 mm (2.5 in)	24.2 mm (1.0 in)	38 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Werribee Research Farm, AU	daily rain	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	16 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Wooragee, AU	daily rain	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	26.1 mm (1.0 in)	47 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Fingal (Legge Street), AU	daily rain	51.6 mm (2.0 in)	18.6 mm (0.7 in)	57 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Kellevie, AU	monthly rain	77.5 mm (3.1 in)	17.0 mm (0.7 in)	47 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Coulta, AU	daily rain	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	10 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Yackandandah, AU	daily rain	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	65 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Bicheno (Council Depot), AU	daily rain	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	26 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Shahada, IN	daily rain	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	23 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Penong, AU	daily rain	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	15.0 mm (0.6 in)	35 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Molesworth, AU	daily rain	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	18.3 mm (0.7 in)	40 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1956	Ozuluama, MX	daily rain	59.9 mm (2.4 in)	58.6 mm (2.3 in)	29 years	44 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 1956

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1956. 1956 had 1,166 records.

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

Records on 05-17 in each year
Year	Records
1802	2
1803	1
1808	1
1816	1
1834	1
1837	1
1839	1
1847	2
1848	1
1851	1
1853	1
1855	1
1858	1
1859	1
1861	2
1862	2
1863	2
1864	1
1871	2
1872	2
1873	2
1874	4
1877	1
1878	1
1879	2
1880	1
1881	1
1882	2
1883	3
1885	1
1887	1
1888	2
1889	3
1891	8
1892	4
1893	3
1895	8
1896	2
1897	3
1898	6
1899	7
1900	12
1901	2
1902	3
1903	9
1904	12
1905	10
1906	22
1907	10
1908	5
1909	33
1910	16
1911	30
1912	16
1913	24
1914	24
1915	53
1916	49
1917	18
1918	56
1919	35
1920	46
1921	50
1922	30
1923	95
1924	80
1925	326
1926	133
1927	264
1928	127
1929	168
1930	421
1931	201
1932	288
1933	365
1934	373
1935	341
1936	270
1937	183
1938	340
1939	285
1940	338
1941	408
1942	589
1943	855
1944	521
1945	799
1946	586
1947	249
1948	412
1949	544
1950	371
1951	373
1952	777
1953	441
1954	298
1955	570
1956	1,166
1957	469
1958	331
1959	488
1960	402
1961	291
1962	1,325
1963	368
1964	417
1965	462
1966	489
1967	644
1968	564
1969	638
1970	711
1971	723
1972	610
1973	1,016
1974	1,302
1975	365
1976	426
1977	1,078
1978	872
1979	459
1980	768
1981	940
1982	476
1983	1,326
1984	925
1985	561
1986	921
1987	1,054
1988	1,096
1989	1,307
1990	1,135
1991	1,237
1992	1,025
1993	495
1994	858
1995	1,734
1996	1,706
1997	1,619
1998	1,080
1999	795
2000	825
2001	960
2002	964
2003	1,127
2004	769
2005	784
2006	1,522
2007	742
2008	1,309
2009	1,050
2010	880
2011	1,483
2012	711
2013	739
2014	1,062
2015	824
2016	741
2017	1,302
2018	726
2019	686
2020	496
2021	443
2022	479
2023	385
2024	566
2025	928
2026	745

Download the Data

Data for records on 1956-05-17: 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 2026-10-16. Last revised 16 October 2026 (2026-10-16).

Histogram of margins by which records were beaten on 17 May 1956
Margin	Records
0 to 100	953
100 to 200	0
200 to 300	0
300 to 400	0
400 to 500	1