Weather Records on 16 May 1959

680 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 16 May 1959. Highest significance: Engcobo (Tnk), ZA.

Key Facts for 16 May 1959

On 16 May 1959, 680 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
61 were record highs and 381 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 6 were all-time records, 21 monthly and 653 daily.
Engcobo (Tnk) set an all-time record daily precipitation of 168.5 mm (6.6 in) on 16 May 1959.
Across 165 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 437 records.

Record Map

680 stations

680 station records on 16 May 1959 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 16 May 1959: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Engcobo (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	168.5 mm (6.6 in)	83 of 100 (Exceptional)
Emgcewe (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	145.0 mm (5.7 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Cegcuana (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	85.0 mm (3.3 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Nkobongo (Agr)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	115.5 mm (4.5 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Elliotdale (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	187.5 mm (7.4 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Komga (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	116.2 mm (4.6 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Ibeka (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	128.5 mm (5.1 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Nqamakwe (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	100.0 mm (3.9 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Ida	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	83.8 mm (3.3 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Superior	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Manubie (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	177.0 mm (7.0 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Insikeni (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Mazelspoort Dam	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Granta	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	80.5 mm (3.2 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Fort Cunynghame (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Coonoor	India	Record daily precipitation	109.0 mm (4.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Butterworth (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Cwebe	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	202.0 mm (8.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Ntywenka (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	54.5 mm (2.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Bloemfontein Airpor	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Hlobane	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Spitskrans	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Berlin (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	92.5 mm (3.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Huxley	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ben Lomond	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	69.6 mm (2.7 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Elandshoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ayikudi	India	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Cata (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	67.0 mm (2.6 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Kieskamahoek (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Kentani (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	100.0 mm (3.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Nqadu Heights (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	75.0 mm (3.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Qacha's Nek	Lesotho	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Hogsback (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	112.0 mm (4.4 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Hopewell	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	117.0 mm (4.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Mqanduli (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	122.5 mm (4.8 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Likatlong	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Umzimkulu (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Badplaas (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Moorside	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.6 mm (1.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Armagh	United Kingdom	Record high maximum temperature	24.1 C (75.4 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Kopati(Kaupati)	India	Record daily precipitation	86.6 mm (3.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Dohne (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Mbulu (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	85.0 mm (3.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Sihota	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	84.0 mm (3.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Bele (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Haugan 1 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Wolfridge (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Clarks Siding	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Elliot	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Flagstaff (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Nongoma	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Rangia	India	Record daily precipitation	123.9 mm (4.9 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Qunu (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	93.5 mm (3.7 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Colwana (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Mvenyane (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Matatiele	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Flitwick Grange	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Bloemfontein Kings Park	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Logan	United States	Record low maximum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Thermopolis	United States	Record high minimum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

680 records

Records set or tied on 16 May 1959 by type: Highest daily maximum 43, Lowest daily maximum 126, Highest daily minimum 18, Lowest daily minimum 255, Heaviest daily rainfall 232, Heaviest daily snowfall 6.

Records on 16 May 1959 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	43
Lowest daily maximum	126
Highest daily minimum	18
Lowest daily minimum	255
Heaviest daily rainfall	232
Heaviest daily snowfall	6
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 16 May 1959 by timescale: all-time 6, monthly 21, daily 653.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

535 broken records

Margins by which the 535 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 98.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

16 May 1959

Top 20 records on 16 May 1959 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
16 May 1959	Engcobo (Tnk), ZA	all-time rain	168.5 mm (6.6 in)	46.3 mm (1.8 in)	56 years	83 of 100 (Exceptional)
16 May 1959	Emgcewe (Bos), ZA	all-time rain	145.0 mm (5.7 in)	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	2 years	63 of 100 (Major)
16 May 1959	Cegcuana (Bos), ZA	monthly rain	85.0 mm (3.3 in)	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	24 years	60 of 100 (Major)
16 May 1959	Nkobongo (Agr), ZA	monthly rain	115.5 mm (4.5 in)	55.3 mm (2.2 in)	19 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Elliotdale (Tnk), ZA	all-time rain	187.5 mm (7.4 in)	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	35 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Komga (Pol), ZA	monthly rain	116.2 mm (4.6 in)	38.2 mm (1.5 in)	19 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Ibeka (Bos), ZA	monthly rain	128.5 mm (5.1 in)	57.4 mm (2.3 in)	19 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Nqamakwe (Tnk), ZA	monthly rain	100.0 mm (3.9 in)	51.5 mm (2.0 in)	0 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Ida, ZA	monthly rain	83.8 mm (3.3 in)	23.3 mm (0.9 in)	19 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Superior, US	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	40 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Manubie (Bos), ZA	monthly rain	177.0 mm (7.0 in)	98.0 mm (3.9 in)	4 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Insikeni (Bos), ZA	daily rain	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	37.9 mm (1.5 in)	49 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Mazelspoort Dam, ZA	daily rain	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	25.6 mm (1.0 in)	20 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Granta, ZA	daily rain	80.5 mm (3.2 in)	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	22 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Fort Cunynghame (Bos), ZA	daily rain	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	22 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Coonoor, IN	daily rain	109.0 mm (4.3 in)	65.8 mm (2.6 in)	26 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Butterworth (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	20.9 mm (0.8 in)	67 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Cwebe, ZA	all-time rain	202.0 mm (8.0 in)	15.3 mm (0.6 in)	56 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Ntywenka (Bos), ZA	daily rain	54.5 mm (2.1 in)	43.1 mm (1.7 in)	22 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1959	Bloemfontein Airpor, ZA	daily rain	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	46 years	49 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 1959

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1959. 1959 had 680 records.

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

Records on 05-16 in each year
Year	Records
1802	1
1806	1
1820	1
1825	1
1832	1
1837	1
1847	1
1856	1
1858	1
1861	1
1862	1
1863	1
1864	1
1866	1
1867	2
1871	1
1874	3
1878	1
1879	1
1880	1
1881	1
1882	1
1883	1
1884	1
1885	1
1886	1
1887	2
1888	2
1889	2
1890	1
1891	4
1892	3
1893	1
1894	2
1895	6
1896	2
1897	1
1898	11
1899	6
1900	7
1901	2
1902	10
1903	9
1904	17
1905	13
1906	25
1907	13
1908	6
1909	57
1910	24
1911	22
1912	13
1913	24
1914	11
1915	104
1916	38
1917	48
1918	395
1919	28
1920	69
1921	106
1922	31
1923	126
1924	152
1925	177
1926	211
1927	230
1928	121
1929	273
1930	170
1931	254
1932	441
1933	268
1934	304
1935	320
1936	520
1937	279
1938	299
1939	448
1940	334
1941	429
1942	721
1943	652
1944	531
1945	888
1946	327
1947	344
1948	281
1949	360
1950	210
1951	558
1952	773
1953	421
1954	251
1955	525
1956	697
1957	610
1958	361
1959	680
1960	370
1961	378
1962	1,295
1963	552
1964	313
1965	442
1966	420
1967	611
1968	790
1969	423
1970	520
1971	509
1972	625
1973	869
1974	1,207
1975	544
1976	518
1977	1,269
1978	808
1979	506
1980	830
1981	896
1982	427
1983	1,579
1984	981
1985	536
1986	747
1987	1,369
1988	946
1989	938
1990	1,068
1991	1,094
1992	809
1993	653
1994	705
1995	1,235
1996	1,835
1997	1,932
1998	1,500
1999	778
2000	1,129
2001	1,110
2002	694
2003	1,289
2004	869
2005	870
2006	1,345
2007	692
2008	1,034
2009	897
2010	836
2011	1,398
2012	770
2013	596
2014	1,483
2015	782
2016	793
2017	710
2018	1,013
2019	572
2020	431
2021	419
2022	717
2023	653
2024	601
2025	993
2026	558

Download the Data

Data for records on 1959-05-16: 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	466
20 to 40	53
40 to 60	12
60 to 80	3
80 to 100	1