Weather Records on 15 May 1959

764 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 15 May 1959. Highest significance: Kentani (Bos), ZA.

Key Facts for 15 May 1959

On 15 May 1959, 764 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
73 were record highs and 480 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 7 monthly and 757 daily.
Kentani (Bos) set a monthly record daily precipitation of 139.0 mm (5.5 in) on 15 May 1959.
Across 162 earlier years (1820 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 429 records.

Record Map

764 stations

764 station records on 15 May 1959 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 15 May 1959: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Kentani (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	139.0 mm (5.5 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Wilo (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	190.0 mm (7.5 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Cornucopia	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.8 mm (1.5 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Dontsa	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	62.5 mm (2.5 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Ida	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Palmiet, Kokstad	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Singimari	India	Record daily precipitation	114.3 mm (4.5 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Lady Frere (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Carmichael (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	52.5 mm (2.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Fountain Head	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Sirsi	India	Record daily precipitation	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Jalalabad	India	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Kieskamahoek (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Umzonia (Rsv)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	93.0 mm (3.7 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Richland	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Fort Cunynghame (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Krielsfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Swaziland Ranch-Homest	Swaziland	Record daily precipitation	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Mount Coke (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	79.5 mm (3.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Isidinge (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	67.5 mm (2.7 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Engcobo (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	66.8 mm (2.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Elim (Hosp)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Karimganj Farm	India	Record daily precipitation	165.1 mm (6.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Rabula (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	58.5 mm (2.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Mundo Novo	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Fig Tree	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.5 mm (1.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Lindsay	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	5.0 C (41.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Port Alfred	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Seymour (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Dohne (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Kei Road (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Everett	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Southampton	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Toronto	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
East London -Signal STN	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Kubusie (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Contest	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.1 mm (1.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Buffelsfontein 14	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Quilcene 2 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Pirie (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Frankfort C/K	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Rockford	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Nqamakwe (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Parasala	India	Record daily precipitation	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Port Dover	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Port Stanley	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Mudukulathur	India	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Kandalaksa	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	22.9 C (73.2 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Oorschot	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Wallowa	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Huron Rgnl AP	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-4.4 C (24.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Brantford	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
St Andrews	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Idaho City	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Frankfort Downtown	United States	Record low maximum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Cairo 3 S	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Hawi 168	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Lucknow	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	6.1 C (43.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Izeleni (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Impendle (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

764 records

Records set or tied on 15 May 1959 by type: Highest daily maximum 33, Lowest daily maximum 218, Highest daily minimum 40, Lowest daily minimum 262, Heaviest daily rainfall 206, Heaviest daily snowfall 5.

Records on 15 May 1959 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	33
Lowest daily maximum	218
Highest daily minimum	40
Lowest daily minimum	262
Heaviest daily rainfall	206
Heaviest daily snowfall	5
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 15 May 1959 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 7, daily 757.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

612 broken records

Margins by which the 612 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 94.5. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

15 May 1959

Top 20 records on 15 May 1959 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
15 May 1959	Kentani (Bos), ZA	monthly rain	139.0 mm (5.5 in)	55.7 mm (2.2 in)	37 years	65 of 100 (Major)
15 May 1959	Wilo (Bos), ZA	monthly rain	190.0 mm (7.5 in)	70.0 mm (2.8 in)	4 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Cornucopia, US	daily rain	37.8 mm (1.5 in)	24.8 mm (1.0 in)	44 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Dontsa, ZA	daily rain	62.5 mm (2.5 in)	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	16 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Ida, ZA	daily rain	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	60 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Palmiet, Kokstad, ZA	daily rain	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	26 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Singimari, IN	daily rain	114.3 mm (4.5 in)	67.3 mm (2.6 in)	14 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Lady Frere (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	18.0 mm (0.7 in)	60 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Carmichael (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	52.5 mm (2.1 in)	42.8 mm (1.7 in)	8 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Fountain Head, ZA	daily rain	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	19.8 mm (0.8 in)	60 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Sirsi, IN	daily rain	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	52 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Jalalabad, IN	daily rain	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	22.3 mm (0.9 in)	25 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Kieskamahoek (Pol), ZA	daily rain	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	16.0 mm (0.6 in)	67 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Umzonia (Rsv), ZA	daily rain	93.0 mm (3.7 in)	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	16 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Richland, US	daily rain	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	14.4 mm (0.6 in)	48 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Fort Cunynghame (Bos), ZA	daily rain	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	20.7 mm (0.8 in)	36 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Krielsfontein, ZA	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	17.3 mm (0.7 in)	52 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Swaziland Ranch-Homest, SZ	daily rain	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	21.7 mm (0.9 in)	40 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Mount Coke (Bos), ZA	daily rain	79.5 mm (3.1 in)	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	16 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1959	Isidinge (Bos), ZA	daily rain	67.5 mm (2.7 in)	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	16 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

1820 to 1959

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1820 to 1959. 1959 had 764 records.

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

Records on 05-15 in each year
Year	Records
1820	1
1825	1
1831	1
1832	1
1837	2
1845	1
1847	2
1848	1
1855	2
1857	2
1859	1
1862	1
1863	1
1865	1
1866	2
1867	1
1868	2
1870	1
1871	3
1874	2
1876	4
1878	1
1879	2
1881	1
1883	1
1885	1
1886	2
1888	3
1891	3
1893	5
1894	2
1895	4
1896	2
1897	4
1898	3
1899	9
1900	9
1901	2
1902	9
1903	4
1904	13
1905	16
1906	10
1907	27
1908	25
1909	89
1910	27
1911	27
1912	26
1913	60
1914	16
1915	236
1916	27
1917	80
1918	133
1919	25
1920	58
1921	92
1922	30
1923	125
1924	174
1925	100
1926	161
1927	191
1928	144
1929	161
1930	136
1931	459
1932	368
1933	439
1934	227
1935	288
1936	372
1937	373
1938	393
1939	351
1940	179
1941	454
1942	701
1943	568
1944	630
1945	588
1946	238
1947	334
1948	264
1949	363
1950	260
1951	736
1952	476
1953	426
1954	355
1955	538
1956	466
1957	521
1958	605
1959	764
1960	291
1961	508
1962	1,128
1963	782
1964	347
1965	320
1966	389
1967	609
1968	1,019
1969	790
1970	512
1971	351
1972	484
1973	818
1974	1,230
1975	372
1976	803
1977	1,186
1978	922
1979	404
1980	625
1981	586
1982	500
1983	1,215
1984	1,059
1985	649
1986	679
1987	1,073
1988	643
1989	552
1990	776
1991	1,179
1992	944
1993	784
1994	910
1995	1,750
1996	1,452
1997	1,175
1998	1,641
1999	810
2000	850
2001	1,280
2002	801
2003	1,023
2004	1,046
2005	767
2006	955
2007	949
2008	995
2009	675
2010	1,088
2011	1,298
2012	751
2013	1,081
2014	1,411
2015	717
2016	890
2017	435
2018	1,074
2019	627
2020	472
2021	412
2022	847
2023	566
2024	596
2025	801
2026	481

Download the Data

Data for records on 1959-05-15: 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	581
20 to 40	21
40 to 60	7
60 to 80	2
80 to 100	1