Weather Records on 15 May 1972

484 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 15 May 1972. Highest significance: Stave Falls, CA.

Key Facts for 15 May 1972

On 15 May 1972, 484 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
203 were record highs and 102 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 6 monthly and 478 daily.
Stave Falls set a monthly record daily precipitation of 62.5 mm (2.5 in) on 15 May 1972.
Across 162 earlier years (1820 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 430 records.

Record Map

484 stations

484 station records on 15 May 1972 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 15 May 1972: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Stave Falls	Canada	Record daily precipitation	62.5 mm (2.5 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Gaudan-In-Turkmen	Turkmenistan	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Kara-Tjurek	Russia	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Vanderbilt 11ENE	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Yerevan	Armenia	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
St Andrews	Canada	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Podor	Senegal	Record low maximum temperature	35.9 C (96.6 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Mansfield	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Huntingdon	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	13.9 C (57.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Blyde (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Gingindlovu	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	51.5 mm (2.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Tatlayoko Lake	Canada	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Otatitlan	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
La Rue	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Alpine	United States	Record low maximum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Svobodnyj	Russia	Record daily precipitation	32.2 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Southbridge 3 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Wibaux 2 E	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Grafton	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
South Pass City	United States	Record high minimum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Humboldt	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Chestnut Hill	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Franklin	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Milford	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Marathon	United States	Record low maximum temperature	17.2 C (63.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Bancroft	Canada	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Placerville	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Martinsville Fltr Plt	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Grenfell	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Lisboa Geofisica	Portugal	Record low minimum temperature	10.1 C (50.2 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Surprise Store	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Ware	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Urbana Wrf	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.1 mm (1.5 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Sarajevo	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Record high minimum temperature	17.3 C (63.1 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Mtunzini	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.8 mm (1.8 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Titusville	United States	Record daily precipitation	67.1 mm (2.6 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Moncton	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Zerbst	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	8.9 C (48.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Louwsburg (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Eastport	United States	Record high minimum temperature	8.9 C (48.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Ringwood	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Tihoreck	Russia	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Livermore	United States	Record high minimum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Porterville	United States	Record high minimum temperature	19.4 C (66.9 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Onaway 4N	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Waiahi Lower 1054	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.6 mm (2.1 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Vallecillo (Smn)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Amatikulu(Mill)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Camp Pardee	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Holter Dam	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Beowawe	United States	Record high minimum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Marion 2 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Yakutat AP	United States	Record low maximum temperature	3.3 C (37.9 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Aracati	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	82.3 mm (3.2 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Britannia Beach Furry Cr	Canada	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Kentville Cda	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Davis 2 WSW Exp Farm	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.8 C (100.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Merced	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.8 C (100.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Spot Pond	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Winthrop UNIV	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

484 records

Records set or tied on 15 May 1972 by type: Highest daily maximum 70, Lowest daily maximum 66, Highest daily minimum 133, Lowest daily minimum 36, Heaviest daily rainfall 176, Deepest snow cover 3.

Records on 15 May 1972 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	70
Lowest daily maximum	66
Highest daily minimum	133
Lowest daily minimum	36
Heaviest daily rainfall	176
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	3

Records on 15 May 1972 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 6, daily 478.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

400 broken records

Margins by which the 400 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

15 May 1972

Top 20 records on 15 May 1972 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
15 May 1972	Stave Falls, CA	monthly rain	62.5 mm (2.5 in)	17.3 mm (0.7 in)	61 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1972	Gaudan-In-Turkmen, TM	daily rain	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	20.0 mm (0.8 in)	64 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1972	Kara-Tjurek, RU	daily rain	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	16.4 mm (0.6 in)	11 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1972	Vanderbilt 11ENE, US	daily rain	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	15 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1972	Yerevan, AM	daily rain	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	11.9 mm (0.5 in)	43 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1972	St Andrews, CA	daily rain	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	7.9 mm (0.31 in)	88 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1972	Podor, SN	daily low max	35.9 C (96.6 F)	0.3 C (0.5 F)	114 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1972	Mansfield, US	daily rain	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	10.4 mm (0.4 in)	76 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1972	Huntingdon, CA	daily high min	13.9 C (57.0 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	92 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1972	Blyde (Bos), ZA	daily rain	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	21 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1972	Gingindlovu, ZA	daily rain	51.5 mm (2.0 in)	24.8 mm (1.0 in)	40 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1972	Tatlayoko Lake, CA	monthly rain	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	4.8 mm (0.19 in)	37 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
15 May 1972	Otatitlan, MX	daily rain	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	63.3 mm (2.5 in)	16 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
15 May 1972	La Rue, US	daily rain	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	13.5 mm (0.5 in)	49 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
15 May 1972	Alpine, US	daily low max	20.0 C (68.0 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	72 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
15 May 1972	Svobodnyj, RU	daily rain	32.2 mm (1.3 in)	21.5 mm (0.8 in)	4 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
15 May 1972	Southbridge 3 SW, US	daily rain	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	15.3 mm (0.6 in)	46 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
15 May 1972	Wibaux 2 E, US	daily high min	11.7 C (53.1 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	70 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
15 May 1972	Grafton, US	daily high min	11.1 C (52.0 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	67 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
15 May 1972	South Pass City, US	daily high min	5.6 C (42.1 F)	1.2 C (2.2 F)	71 years	31 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

1820 to 1972

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1820 to 1972. 1972 had 484 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 1972-05-15: 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 100	399
100 to 200	0
200 to 300	0
300 to 400	0
400 to 500	1