Weather Records on 16 March 1972

817 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 16 March 1972. Highest significance: Harlingen, US.

Key Facts for 16 March 1972

On 16 March 1972, 817 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
643 were record highs and 18 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 22 monthly and 794 daily.
Harlingen set a daily record precipitation of 46.7 mm (1.8 in) on 16 March 1972.
Across 162 earlier years (1801 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 462 records.

Record Map

817 stations

817 station records on 16 March 1972 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 16 March 1972: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Harlingen	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Glen Eland	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	71.7 mm (2.8 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Shawinigan	Canada	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Nordby (Fano)	Denmark	Record high maximum temperature	15.9 C (60.6 F)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Crowley 2 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Hawkestone, Howick	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	122.7 mm (4.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Marydale (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	92.5 mm (3.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Iron Mtn-Kingsford Wwtp	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Vestervig	Denmark	Record high maximum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Milagres	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	99.0 mm (3.9 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Oxford	United Kingdom	Record high maximum temperature	18.8 C (65.8 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Harnosand	Sweden	Record high maximum temperature	13.0 C (55.4 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Husum	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	17.3 C (63.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Sacramento 5 ESE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.0 C (86.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Tomahawk Spirit Rsvr	United States	Record snow depth	101.6 cm (40.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
E Tawas	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Lake City Exp Farm	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Martinsdale 3 NNW	United States	Record high maximum temperature	17.8 C (64.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Virginia City	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Cle Elum	United States	Record snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Olga 2 SE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Carmichael (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Umari	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	96.2 mm (3.8 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Debrecen Airport	Hungary	Record high maximum temperature	20.1 C (68.2 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Jimenez (Smn)	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
De Sabla	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Electra P H	United States	Record high maximum temperature	29.4 C (84.9 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Elsinore	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Lake Spaulding	United States	Record high minimum temperature	6.1 C (43.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Washburn	United States	Record high minimum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Medicine Hat A	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	4.4 C (39.9 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Mayaguez City	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record low minimum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Orland	United States	Record high minimum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Grangeville	United States	Record high maximum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Porthill	United States	Record high maximum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Stephenson 5WSW	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Minsk	Belarus	Record high maximum temperature	11.5 C (52.7 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Quatsino	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Kranskop (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Bothithong"Bothitho(Pol)"	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Santa Clara UNIV	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.1 C (88.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Kalispell Glacier AP	United States	Record high maximum temperature	18.3 C (64.9 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Castle Dale	United States	Record high maximum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
De Wagendrift	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Lubny	Ukraine	Record high maximum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Colfax	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.0 C (86.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Colfax	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Davis 2 WSW Exp Farm	United States	Record high maximum temperature	28.9 C (84.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Benton	United States	Record high maximum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Virginia City	United States	Record high maximum temperature	18.9 C (66.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Bellingham 2 N	United States	Record high minimum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Forks 1 E	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Willapa Harbor	United States	Record high minimum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Buffalo Bill Dam	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Lubeck-Werft	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	17.0 C (62.6 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Velikie Luki	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	6.1 C (43.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Granite Reef Dam	United States	Record high minimum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Berkeley	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.9 C (57.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Los Gatos	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.6 C (87.1 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Mecca Fire STN	United States	Record high maximum temperature	36.7 C (98.1 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

817 records

Records set or tied on 16 March 1972 by type: Highest daily maximum 337, Lowest daily maximum 6, Highest daily minimum 306, Lowest daily minimum 12, Heaviest daily rainfall 125, Heaviest daily snowfall 20, Deepest snow cover 11.

Records on 16 March 1972 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	337
Lowest daily maximum	6
Highest daily minimum	306
Lowest daily minimum	12
Heaviest daily rainfall	125
Heaviest daily snowfall	20
Deepest snow cover	11

Records on 16 March 1972 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 22, daily 794.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

625 broken records

Margins by which the 625 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 229.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

16 March 1972

Top 20 records on 16 March 1972 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
16 March 1972	Harlingen, US	daily rain	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	46 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Glen Eland, ZA	daily rain	71.7 mm (2.8 in)	51.4 mm (2.0 in)	27 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Shawinigan, CA	daily rain	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	18.0 mm (0.7 in)	64 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Nordby (Fano), DK	daily high max	15.9 C (60.6 F)	4.4 C (7.9 F)	87 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Crowley 2 NE, US	daily rain	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	67.3 mm (2.6 in)	22 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Hawkestone, Howick, ZA	daily rain	122.7 mm (4.8 in)	109.5 mm (4.3 in)	4 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Marydale (Pol), ZA	all-time rain	92.5 mm (3.6 in)	4.9 mm (0.19 in)	47 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Iron Mtn-Kingsford Wwtp, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	10.1 cm (4.0 in)	55 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Vestervig, DK	daily high max	14.4 C (57.9 F)	1.2 C (2.2 F)	87 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Milagres, BR	daily rain	99.0 mm (3.9 in)	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	48 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Oxford, GB	daily high max	18.8 C (65.8 F)	0.5 C (0.9 F)	87 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Harnosand, SE	daily high max	13.0 C (55.4 F)	0.5 C (0.9 F)	87 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Husum, DE	daily high max	17.3 C (63.1 F)	4.7 C (8.5 F)	51 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Sacramento 5 ESE, US	daily high max	30.0 C (86.0 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	58 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 1972	Tomahawk Spirit Rsvr, US	daily snow depth	101.6 cm (40.0 in)	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	55 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
16 March 1972	E Tawas, US	daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	3.9 cm (1.5 in)	63 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
16 March 1972	Lake City Exp Farm, US	daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	2.6 cm (1.0 in)	72 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
16 March 1972	Martinsdale 3 NNW, US	daily high max	17.8 C (64.0 F)	3.4 C (6.1 F)	71 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
16 March 1972	Virginia City, US	daily high min	7.2 C (45.0 F)	6.1 C (11.0 F)	50 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
16 March 1972	Cle Elum, US	daily snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	10.1 cm (4.0 in)	68 years	33 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

1801 to 1972

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1801 to 1972. 1972 had 817 records.

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

Records on 03-16 in each year
Year	Records
1801	1
1822	1
1825	1
1828	1
1843	1
1845	4
1846	1
1849	1
1850	1
1853	1
1862	1
1864	1
1866	1
1867	1
1875	1
1877	2
1878	1
1879	1
1880	1
1881	1
1882	3
1883	2
1884	6
1885	2
1886	2
1887	4
1888	4
1889	7
1890	4
1891	2
1892	1
1893	5
1895	5
1896	8
1897	2
1898	3
1899	5
1900	6
1901	8
1902	17
1904	7
1905	6
1906	13
1907	14
1908	33
1909	11
1910	18
1911	23
1912	19
1913	47
1914	42
1915	16
1916	39
1917	22
1918	40
1919	64
1920	56
1921	272
1922	19
1923	105
1924	70
1925	55
1926	117
1927	468
1928	208
1929	150
1930	391
1931	98
1932	337
1933	101
1934	283
1935	533
1936	321
1937	758
1938	537
1939	326
1940	230
1941	228
1942	786
1943	692
1944	410
1945	1,481
1946	1,341
1947	355
1948	482
1949	352
1950	388
1951	283
1952	584
1953	245
1954	259
1955	419
1956	802
1957	341
1958	409
1959	269
1960	955
1961	367
1962	376
1963	521
1964	172
1965	273
1966	1,204
1967	761
1968	656
1969	842
1970	670
1971	338
1972	817
1973	736
1974	622
1975	526
1976	486
1977	595
1978	719
1979	845
1980	557
1981	707
1982	1,211
1983	858
1984	617
1985	725
1986	549
1987	886
1988	1,331
1989	992
1990	2,159
1991	823
1992	1,013
1993	1,661
1994	959
1995	1,074
1996	732
1997	1,327
1998	1,193
1999	828
2000	709
2001	884
2002	1,096
2003	1,093
2004	1,367
2005	1,292
2006	717
2007	1,293
2008	899
2009	681
2010	630
2011	856
2012	2,749
2013	1,096
2014	631
2015	1,537
2016	972
2017	1,302
2018	540
2019	762
2020	659
2021	647
2022	432
2023	897
2024	814
2025	936
2026	1,412

Download the Data

Data for records on 1972-03-16: 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 50	612
50 to 100	4
100 to 150	5
150 to 200	2
200 to 250	2