Weather Records on 17 March 1959

471 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 March 1959. Highest significance: Rocklands, ZA.

Key Facts for 17 March 1959

On 17 March 1959, 471 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
153 were record highs and 88 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 2 monthly and 468 daily.
Rocklands set a daily record precipitation of 49.0 mm (1.9 in) on 17 March 1959.
Across 161 earlier years (1825 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 475 records.

Record Map

471 stations

471 station records on 17 March 1959 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 March 1959: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Rocklands	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
S Bend AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Qacu (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Simcoe	Canada	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Burnett 3 S	United States	Record snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Millington 3 SE	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Aberdeen (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Roodebloem	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Tarkastad (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Cambridge Galt Moe	Canada	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Waverley	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Darlington Wwtp	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Pillar Valley	Australia	Record daily precipitation	102.9 mm (4.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Loerie (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	51.3 mm (2.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Virden	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Adelaide (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Kubusie (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Fort Cunynghame (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Nqamakwe (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Fellsmere 7 SSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Midland 2	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Winterhoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.5 mm (1.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Gladwin	United States	Record snow depth	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Kendrew Estates	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.1 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Elandsfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Lorraine	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.4 mm (1.5 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Calgary Int'l A	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	3.9 C (39.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Houd Constant	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.5 mm (1.6 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Owosso Wwtp	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Cordova AP	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-5.6 C (21.9 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Traverse Cy Cherry Capital AP	United States	Record snow depth	81.3 cm (32.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Vineland Station	Canada	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Tsomo (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.8 mm (1.7 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Big Rapids Wtp	United States	Record snow depth	53.3 cm (21.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Aberfoyle	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Vajda-Guba	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	0.7 C (33.3 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Rockford	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Heilbron "Smoordrif"	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Alma	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Makaweli 965	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.0 C (86.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Cordova AP	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-22.2 C (-8.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Gudauri	Georgia	Record daily precipitation	34.9 mm (1.4 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
St Augustine	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Millington 3 SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Brownsville	United States	Record low maximum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Vardoe	Norway	Record high minimum temperature	0.3 C (32.5 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Eenstroom	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Waterfall	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Katberg (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	61.6 mm (2.4 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Avoca	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.5 mm (1.5 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Bushy Vales, Margate	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	73.0 mm (2.9 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Rio Grande City	United States	Record low maximum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
New Orleans Audubon	United States	Record low maximum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Rabula (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Madison Wb City	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Yakutat AP	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-17.2 C (1.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Eagles Nest	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Salekhard	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	-3.8 C (25.2 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Compton	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Coldwater St School	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

471 records

Records set or tied on 17 March 1959 by type: Highest daily maximum 72, Lowest daily maximum 43, Highest daily minimum 81, Lowest daily minimum 45, Heaviest daily rainfall 166, Heaviest daily snowfall 39, Deepest snow cover 25.

Records on 17 March 1959 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	72
Lowest daily maximum	43
Highest daily minimum	81
Lowest daily minimum	45
Heaviest daily rainfall	166
Heaviest daily snowfall	39
Deepest snow cover	25

Records on 17 March 1959 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 2, daily 468.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

388 broken records

Margins by which the 388 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 1959

Top 20 records on 17 March 1959 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 March 1959	Rocklands, ZA	daily rain	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	62 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	S Bend AP, US	daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	11.5 cm (4.5 in)	58 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Qacu (Bos), ZA	daily rain	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	63 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Simcoe, CA	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	91 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Burnett 3 S, US	daily snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	2 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Millington 3 SE, US	daily snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	58 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Aberdeen (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	16.1 mm (0.6 in)	71 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Roodebloem, ZA	daily rain	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	14.8 mm (0.6 in)	65 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Tarkastad (Pol), ZA	daily rain	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	10.5 mm (0.4 in)	77 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Cambridge Galt Moe, CA	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	7.7 cm (3.0 in)	54 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Waverley, ZA	daily rain	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	17.0 mm (0.7 in)	62 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Darlington Wwtp, US	daily snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	17 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Pillar Valley, AU	daily rain	102.9 mm (4.1 in)	69.6 mm (2.7 in)	6 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Loerie (Bos), ZA	daily rain	51.3 mm (2.0 in)	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	36 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Virden, CA	daily high max	5.6 C (42.1 F)	9.5 C (17.1 F)	67 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1959	Adelaide (Pol), ZA	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	10.2 mm (0.4 in)	64 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
17 March 1959	Kubusie (Bos), ZA	daily rain	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	22.7 mm (0.9 in)	42 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
17 March 1959	Fort Cunynghame (Bos), ZA	daily rain	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	16.8 mm (0.7 in)	40 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
17 March 1959	Nqamakwe (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	42 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
17 March 1959	Fellsmere 7 SSW, US	daily rain	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	24 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 1959

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1825 to 1959. 1959 had 471 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 1959-03-17: 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 2026-10-16. Last revised 16 October 2026 (2026-10-16).

Margin	Records
0 to 50	366
50 to 100	12
100 to 150	5
150 to 200	1
200 to 250	1
250 to 300	3