Weather Records on 17 January 1972

884 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 January 1972. Highest significance: Sans Souci (Public School), AU.

Key Facts for 17 January 1972

On 17 January 1972, 884 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
146 were record highs and 502 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 13 were all-time records, 19 monthly and 852 daily.
Sans Souci (Public School) set a daily record precipitation of 111.5 mm (4.4 in) on 17 January 1972.
Across 168 earlier years (1795 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 473 records.

Record Map

884 stations

884 station records on 17 January 1972 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 January 1972: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Sans Souci (Public School)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	111.5 mm (4.4 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
St Walburg	Canada	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
St Walburg	Canada	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Murwillumbah Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	177.5 mm (7.0 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Humboldt	Canada	Record daily snowfall	10.9 cm (4.3 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Sydney Airport AMO	Australia	Record daily precipitation	106.4 mm (4.2 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Audley National Park Bottom St	Australia	Record daily precipitation	81.5 mm (3.2 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Wahroonga Reservoir	Australia	Record daily precipitation	132.1 mm (5.2 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Sutherland Mwsdb	Australia	Record daily precipitation	87.6 mm (3.4 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Alstonville Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	198.6 mm (7.8 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Miranda (Blackwood St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	97.5 mm (3.8 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Randwick Racecourse	Australia	Record daily precipitation	108.2 mm (4.3 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Neverset	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	75.0 mm (3.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Bondi Bowling Club	Australia	Record daily precipitation	76.7 mm (3.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Mazelspoort Dam	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	78.0 mm (3.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Byrock (Wave Hill)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Vaucluse	Australia	Record daily precipitation	78.0 mm (3.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Sheep Hills	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Durham	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.2 C (19.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Langley AFB	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-18.9 C (-2.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Helensburgh (Sawan St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	94.5 mm (3.7 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Biggar	Canada	Record daily snowfall	5.3 cm (2.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Chapel Hill 2 W	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.8 C (18.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Bexley Bowling Club	Australia	Record daily precipitation	74.9 mm (2.9 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Sydney Botanic Gardens	Australia	Record daily precipitation	51.6 mm (2.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Toledo Blade	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-24.4 C (-11.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Warren (Haddon Rig)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Sydney (Observatory Hill)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Francistown	Botswana	Record daily precipitation	88.5 mm (3.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
San Juan City	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Mahackala	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-18.6 C (-1.5 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Kafferskraal	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	58.5 mm (2.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Pretoria-Burgerspark	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	52.0 mm (2.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Raleigh State UNIV	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.2 C (19.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Charlottesville 2W	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-9.4 C (15.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Staunton Wtp	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-21.1 C (-6.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Karina	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	84.0 mm (3.3 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Middlesboro Fire Dept	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-6.7 C (19.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Southport 5 N	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-11.7 C (10.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Swaziland Ranch-Homest	Swaziland	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Greenville	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.2 C (19.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Mt Airy 2 W	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-13.9 C (7.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Glenville	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-12.2 C (10.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Bundanoon Bowling Club	Australia	Record daily precipitation	66.5 mm (2.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Kanye	Botswana	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Schwerin	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-10.5 C (13.1 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Premier Mine-Cullinan	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Hot Springs 1 NNE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-11.7 C (10.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Baudette	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Yalwal	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Conceicao	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	73.0 mm (2.9 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Waren	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-10.9 C (12.4 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Donkerhoek (Skl)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Vacaville	United States	Record low maximum temperature	3.9 C (39.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Morgan 1 W	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-10.0 C (14.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Kokomo 3 WSW	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-27.8 C (-18.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Conway	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-5.0 C (23.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Randwick Bowling Club	Australia	Record daily precipitation	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Alert Bay	Canada	Record daily snowfall	13.7 cm (5.4 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Lubeck-Werft	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-9.4 C (15.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

884 records

Records set or tied on 17 January 1972 by type: Highest daily maximum 52, Lowest daily maximum 198, Highest daily minimum 94, Lowest daily minimum 304, Heaviest daily rainfall 199, Heaviest daily snowfall 31, Deepest snow cover 6.

Records on 17 January 1972 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	52
Lowest daily maximum	198
Highest daily minimum	94
Lowest daily minimum	304
Heaviest daily rainfall	199
Heaviest daily snowfall	31
Deepest snow cover	6

Records on 17 January 1972 by timescale: all-time 13, monthly 19, daily 852.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

736 broken records

Margins by which the 736 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 584.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 January 1972

Top 20 records on 17 January 1972 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 January 1972	Sans Souci (Public School), AU	daily rain	111.5 mm (4.4 in)	98.8 mm (3.9 in)	60 years	65 of 100 (Major)
17 January 1972	St Walburg, CA	daily rain	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	56 years	63 of 100 (Major)
17 January 1972	St Walburg, CA	daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	23.6 cm (9.3 in)	56 years	63 of 100 (Major)
17 January 1972	Murwillumbah Post Office, AU	daily rain	177.5 mm (7.0 in)	103.3 mm (4.1 in)	50 years	61 of 100 (Major)
17 January 1972	Humboldt, CA	daily snowfall	10.9 cm (4.3 in)	8.4 cm (3.3 in)	45 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Sydney Airport AMO, AU	daily rain	106.4 mm (4.2 in)	88.9 mm (3.5 in)	36 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Audley National Park Bottom St, AU	daily rain	81.5 mm (3.2 in)	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	60 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Wahroonga Reservoir, AU	daily rain	132.1 mm (5.2 in)	76.7 mm (3.0 in)	24 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Sutherland Mwsdb, AU	daily rain	87.6 mm (3.4 in)	61.9 mm (2.4 in)	26 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Alstonville Post Office, AU	daily rain	198.6 mm (7.8 in)	149.1 mm (5.9 in)	4 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Miranda (Blackwood St), AU	daily rain	97.5 mm (3.8 in)	86.1 mm (3.4 in)	8 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Randwick Racecourse, AU	daily rain	108.2 mm (4.3 in)	86.6 mm (3.4 in)	20 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Neverset, ZA	daily rain	75.0 mm (3.0 in)	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	41 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Bondi Bowling Club, AU	daily rain	76.7 mm (3.0 in)	54.9 mm (2.2 in)	13 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Mazelspoort Dam, ZA	daily rain	78.0 mm (3.1 in)	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	1 year	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Byrock (Wave Hill), AU	daily rain	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	26 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Vaucluse, AU	daily rain	78.0 mm (3.1 in)	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	13 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Sheep Hills, AU	daily rain	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	25 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Durham, US	all-time low max	-7.2 C (19.0 F)	0.5 C (0.9 F)	52 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1972	Langley AFB, US	all-time low min	-18.9 C (-2.0 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	37 years	42 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

1795 to 1972

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1795 to 1972. 1972 had 884 records.

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

Records on 01-17 in each year
Year	Records
1795	1
1800	2
1802	1
1804	1
1805	2
1809	1
1812	1
1820	1
1826	2
1828	1
1838	2
1845	3
1854	1
1858	1
1861	1
1864	3
1865	1
1866	1
1869	1
1870	2
1871	1
1874	1
1875	1
1876	2
1877	1
1878	1
1880	1
1881	2
1883	3
1884	1
1885	2
1886	1
1888	1
1889	4
1890	2
1891	4
1893	5
1894	5
1895	3
1896	4
1897	6
1899	5
1900	5
1901	1
1902	4
1903	3
1904	9
1905	2
1906	19
1907	38
1908	10
1909	13
1910	21
1911	49
1912	8
1913	66
1914	13
1915	19
1916	47
1917	32
1918	37
1919	45
1920	148
1921	70
1922	25
1923	122
1924	278
1925	184
1926	118
1927	144
1928	309
1929	118
1930	942
1931	130
1932	489
1933	203
1934	120
1935	444
1936	377
1937	196
1938	323
1939	375
1940	566
1941	644
1942	601
1943	1,086
1944	333
1945	511
1946	1,089
1947	354
1948	613
1949	566
1950	731
1951	535
1952	773
1953	531
1954	632
1955	303
1956	431
1957	1,040
1958	555
1959	760
1960	657
1961	537
1962	625
1963	537
1964	450
1965	1,180
1966	275
1967	423
1968	400
1969	526
1970	931
1971	871
1972	884
1973	1,147
1974	1,327
1975	647
1976	717
1977	2,352
1978	1,458
1979	1,182
1980	601
1981	821
1982	1,899
1983	592
1984	888
1985	988
1986	848
1987	1,375
1988	751
1989	745
1990	1,986
1991	776
1992	958
1993	1,685
1994	1,805
1995	1,186
1996	1,353
1997	791
1998	832
1999	775
2000	1,060
2001	744
2002	505
2003	764
2004	1,245
2005	682
2006	1,055
2007	1,911
2008	1,114
2009	851
2010	876
2011	972
2012	847
2013	643
2014	548
2015	489
2016	458
2017	1,002
2018	1,273
2019	582
2020	828
2021	375
2022	1,022
2023	808
2024	1,585
2025	586
2026	370

Download the Data

Data for records on 1972-01-17: 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 100	729
100 to 200	3
200 to 300	1
300 to 400	1
400 to 500	1
500 to 600	1