Weather Records on 21 January 1972

598 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 21 January 1972. Highest significance: Beltana Station, AU.

Key Facts for 21 January 1972

On 21 January 1972, 598 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
185 were record highs and 53 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 4 were all-time records, 18 monthly and 576 daily.
Beltana Station set a daily record precipitation of 33.0 mm (1.3 in) on 21 January 1972.
Across 163 earlier years (1793 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 466 records.

Record Map

598 stations

598 station records on 21 January 1972 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 21 January 1972: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Beltana Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Detroit	United States	Record daily precipitation	114.8 mm (4.5 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Arneiroz	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	68.2 mm (2.7 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Araripe	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	136.0 mm (5.4 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Saboeiro	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	71.2 mm (2.8 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Bencuti (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Three Lynx	United States	Record daily precipitation	103.9 mm (4.1 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Tanhurst Est, Umzint	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	93.0 mm (3.7 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Moro	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Fairview	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	90.0 mm (3.5 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Summit	United States	Record daily precipitation	91.2 mm (3.6 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Sawoti	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Eureka	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Wasco	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Corvallis State UNIV	United States	Record daily precipitation	68.8 mm (2.7 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Anatone	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.2 mm (1.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Rainier Paradise Rs	United States	Record daily precipitation	97.0 mm (3.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Dwaleni	Swaziland	Record daily precipitation	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Cochrane	Canada	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Cochrane	Canada	Record daily snowfall	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Santana Do Cariri	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	84.5 mm (3.3 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Fazenda Malhada da Areia	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Amatikulu(Mill)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Esperanza	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Bodocongo	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Nqadu Heights (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	67.0 mm (2.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Antelope 6 SSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Springfield 2W	United States	Record daily precipitation	79.8 mm (3.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Bay Saint Louis	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Rimrock Tieton Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.6 mm (2.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Meleiro	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	67.7 mm (2.7 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Milagres	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	57.0 mm (2.2 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Gumri	Armenia	Record low minimum temperature	-36.0 C (-32.8 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Tbilisi	Georgia	Record low maximum temperature	-5.7 C (21.7 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Corvallis	United States	Record daily precipitation	54.4 mm (2.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Tbilisi	Georgia	Record low minimum temperature	-14.6 C (5.7 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Mtunzini	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	72.6 mm (2.9 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Orick Prairie Creek Park	United States	Record daily precipitation	128.8 mm (5.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Crato	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	136.1 mm (5.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Annapolis US Naval Aca	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Sao Jose Do Belmonte	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	70.0 mm (2.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Bellrock	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.8 mm (1.6 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Leaburg 1 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	67.8 mm (2.7 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Sumidouro-Usina Sao Jorge	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	59.0 mm (2.3 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Benedito Novo	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Potengi	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	69.1 mm (2.7 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Missao Velha	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	68.6 mm (2.7 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Gingindlovu	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Klipspruit	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Brakpan	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	57.5 mm (2.3 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Welbekend	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.3 mm (2.4 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Payette	United States	Record high maximum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Hood Rvr Exp STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Gary	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.6 mm (2.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Jackson	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Vale	United States	Record high minimum temperature	6.7 C (44.1 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Aiuaba (Bebedouro)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	63.2 mm (2.5 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Santa Filomena (Munduri)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Amatikulu	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	57.5 mm (2.3 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Kwa-Mbonambi (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	75.6 mm (3.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

598 records

Records set or tied on 21 January 1972 by type: Highest daily maximum 67, Lowest daily maximum 28, Highest daily minimum 118, Lowest daily minimum 25, Heaviest daily rainfall 326, Heaviest daily snowfall 28, Deepest snow cover 6.

Records on 21 January 1972 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	67
Lowest daily maximum	28
Highest daily minimum	118
Lowest daily minimum	25
Heaviest daily rainfall	326
Heaviest daily snowfall	28
Deepest snow cover	6

Records on 21 January 1972 by timescale: all-time 4, monthly 18, daily 576.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

516 broken records

Margins by which the 516 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 407.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

21 January 1972

Top 20 records on 21 January 1972 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
21 January 1972	Beltana Station, AU	daily rain	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	93 years	64 of 100 (Major)
21 January 1972	Detroit, US	daily rain	114.8 mm (4.5 in)	54.9 mm (2.2 in)	57 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Arneiroz, BR	daily rain	68.2 mm (2.7 in)	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	46 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Araripe, BR	monthly rain	136.0 mm (5.4 in)	42.8 mm (1.7 in)	55 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Saboeiro, BR	daily rain	71.2 mm (2.8 in)	54.5 mm (2.1 in)	37 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Bencuti (Bos), ZA	daily rain	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	33 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Three Lynx, US	daily rain	103.9 mm (4.1 in)	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	33 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Tanhurst Est, Umzint, ZA	daily rain	93.0 mm (3.7 in)	77.3 mm (3.0 in)	33 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Moro, US	daily rain	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	20 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Fairview, ZA	daily rain	90.0 mm (3.5 in)	60.5 mm (2.4 in)	37 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Summit, US	daily rain	91.2 mm (3.6 in)	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	57 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Sawoti, ZA	daily rain	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	39.7 mm (1.6 in)	33 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Eureka, ZA	daily rain	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	34 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Wasco, US	daily rain	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	14.2 mm (0.6 in)	57 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Corvallis State UNIV, US	daily rain	68.8 mm (2.7 in)	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	57 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Anatone, US	daily rain	42.2 mm (1.7 in)	16.8 mm (0.7 in)	58 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Rainier Paradise Rs, US	daily rain	97.0 mm (3.8 in)	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	37 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Dwaleni, SZ	daily rain	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	25 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Cochrane, CA	daily rain	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	12.7 mm (0.5 in)	36 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 January 1972	Cochrane, CA	daily snowfall	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	36 years	45 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

1793 to 1972

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1972. 1972 had 598 records.

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

Records on 01-21 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1795	2
1796	1
1798	1
1800	2
1803	1
1804	2
1829	1
1838	3
1840	2
1845	2
1846	1
1850	2
1864	2
1866	4
1867	1
1869	1
1871	1
1873	2
1876	1
1878	4
1880	3
1881	4
1884	1
1885	1
1886	1
1888	3
1890	2
1891	3
1892	2
1893	1
1894	3
1895	2
1896	2
1897	3
1898	3
1899	15
1900	5
1901	4
1902	8
1903	18
1904	30
1905	3
1906	53
1907	10
1908	11
1909	25
1910	11
1911	8
1912	7
1913	23
1914	37
1915	47
1916	38
1917	83
1918	49
1919	14
1920	75
1921	54
1922	35
1923	62
1924	535
1925	103
1926	157
1927	447
1928	206
1929	132
1930	616
1931	112
1932	167
1933	572
1934	255
1935	771
1936	314
1937	852
1938	250
1939	305
1940	562
1941	205
1942	522
1943	1,168
1944	324
1945	290
1946	339
1947	205
1948	387
1949	452
1950	643
1951	367
1952	436
1953	325
1954	1,094
1955	399
1956	653
1957	527
1958	506
1959	936
1960	319
1961	746
1962	741
1963	761
1964	771
1965	251
1966	636
1967	511
1968	1,179
1969	927
1970	1,770
1971	672
1972	598
1973	573
1974	992
1975	496
1976	860
1977	549
1978	1,301
1979	1,675
1980	425
1981	972
1982	1,339
1983	1,179
1984	2,132
1985	2,457
1986	883
1987	934
1988	771
1989	511
1990	927
1991	559
1992	447
1993	1,763
1994	1,195
1995	1,276
1996	528
1997	950
1998	606
1999	1,387
2000	686
2001	736
2002	796
2003	690
2004	535
2005	1,111
2006	1,116
2007	1,955
2008	1,061
2009	788
2010	1,166
2011	836
2012	1,148
2013	455
2014	522
2015	426
2016	580
2017	1,248
2018	664
2019	526
2020	894
2021	626
2022	430
2023	517
2024	1,015
2025	1,386
2026	201

Download the Data

Data for records on 1972-01-21: 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 2026-10-14 (14 October 2026). Records are computed by this site and are not official.

Data as of 2026-10-12. Last revised 12 October 2026 (2026-10-12).

Margin	Records
0 to 100	513
100 to 200	2
200 to 300	0
300 to 400	0
400 to 500	1