Weather Records on 16 May 1972

625 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 16 May 1972. Highest significance: Waldems-Reinborn, DE.

Key Facts for 16 May 1972

On 16 May 1972, 625 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
226 were record highs and 130 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 5 monthly and 620 daily.
Waldems-Reinborn set a daily record precipitation of 33.5 mm (1.3 in) on 16 May 1972.
Across 165 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 437 records.

Record Map

625 stations

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

Weather records on 16 May 1972: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Waldems-Reinborn	Germany	Record daily precipitation	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Salem AP (McNary Field)	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Schenectady	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Bogotol	Russia	Record daily precipitation	30.1 mm (1.2 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Ecum Secum	Canada	Record daily precipitation	78.5 mm (3.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Kemchug	Russia	Record daily precipitation	26.3 mm (1.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Kaca	Russia	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Driefontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Gajny	Russia	Record daily precipitation	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Tisul	Russia	Record daily precipitation	33.6 mm (1.3 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Tamiami Trail 40 Mi Bend	United States	Record daily precipitation	111.8 mm (4.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Mayen	Germany	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Harrington Harbour	Canada	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Magdeburg	Germany	Record daily precipitation	26.8 mm (1.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Halifax	Canada	Record daily precipitation	60.5 mm (2.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
St Margaret's Bay	Canada	Record daily precipitation	68.6 mm (2.7 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Broederstroom (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	54.5 mm (2.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Myponga	Australia	Record daily precipitation	42.2 mm (1.7 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Sao Jose de Mipibu	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	75.7 mm (3.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Kleiner Feldberg/Taunus	Germany	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Matiwa (B0S)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Objacevo	Russia	Record daily precipitation	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Holzhausen A.D. Haide	Germany	Record daily precipitation	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Norfolk 2 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Mount Uniacke	Canada	Record daily precipitation	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Bernkastel-Kues	Germany	Record daily precipitation	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Delhi Cda	Canada	Record daily precipitation	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Moncton	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Bernburg/Saale (Nord)	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	9.7 C (49.5 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Pioche	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Potsdam	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	9.9 C (49.8 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Freiburg	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	8.5 C (47.3 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Blankenrath	Germany	Record daily precipitation	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Truxton Canyon	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-0.6 C (30.9 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Eugene-Mahlon Sweet Fld	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.3 mm (1.9 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Liverpool Big Falls	Canada	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Duiwelskloof (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Meade	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.1 C (88.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Victor Harbor (Rivington Grang	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
De Hoek (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.5 mm (1.4 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Cream Hill	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Fort McPherson	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-14.4 C (6.1 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Hooker 12 NNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Kadoka	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Cairo 3 S	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Mount Compass	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Tartu-Toravere	Estonia	Record low maximum temperature	6.9 C (44.4 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Visby_Flygplats	Sweden	Record low minimum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Tg Jiu	Romania	Record high minimum temperature	15.1 C (59.2 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Zomerkomst (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Elkton 3 SW	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Vernal	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.6 C (87.1 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Cypress River	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Dalhousie L High Falls	Canada	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Cherdyn'	Russia	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Hansboro 4 NNE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Holdenville 2SSE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	33.9 C (93.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Fort Frances	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	29.4 C (84.9 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Collegeville	Canada	Record daily precipitation	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Baudette	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.6 C (87.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

625 records

Records set or tied on 16 May 1972 by type: Highest daily maximum 137, Lowest daily maximum 85, Highest daily minimum 89, Lowest daily minimum 45, Heaviest daily rainfall 266, Deepest snow cover 3.

Records on 16 May 1972 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	137
Lowest daily maximum	85
Highest daily minimum	89
Lowest daily minimum	45
Heaviest daily rainfall	266
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	3

Records on 16 May 1972 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 5, daily 620.

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 482.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

16 May 1972

Top 20 records on 16 May 1972 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
16 May 1972	Waldems-Reinborn, DE	daily rain	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	23.0 mm (0.9 in)	40 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Salem AP (McNary Field), US	daily rain	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	13.4 mm (0.5 in)	78 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Schenectady, US	daily rain	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	24 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Bogotol, RU	daily rain	30.1 mm (1.2 in)	22.6 mm (0.9 in)	29 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Ecum Secum, CA	daily rain	78.5 mm (3.1 in)	57.7 mm (2.3 in)	22 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Kemchug, RU	daily rain	26.3 mm (1.0 in)	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	31 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Kaca, RU	daily rain	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	17 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Driefontein, ZA	daily rain	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	48 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Gajny, RU	daily rain	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	17.3 mm (0.7 in)	18 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Tisul, RU	daily rain	33.6 mm (1.3 in)	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	3 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Tamiami Trail 40 Mi Bend, US	daily rain	111.8 mm (4.4 in)	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	30 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Mayen, DE	daily rain	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	18.2 mm (0.7 in)	14 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Harrington Harbour, CA	daily rain	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	17.6 mm (0.7 in)	34 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Magdeburg, DE	daily rain	26.8 mm (1.1 in)	12.0 mm (0.5 in)	28 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Halifax, CA	daily rain	60.5 mm (2.4 in)	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	18 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	St Margaret's Bay, CA	daily rain	68.6 mm (2.7 in)	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	19 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Broederstroom (Bos), ZA	daily rain	54.5 mm (2.1 in)	37.7 mm (1.5 in)	21 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Myponga, AU	daily rain	42.2 mm (1.7 in)	13.2 mm (0.5 in)	57 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Sao Jose de Mipibu, BR	daily rain	75.7 mm (3.0 in)	23.7 mm (0.9 in)	56 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
16 May 1972	Kleiner Feldberg/Taunus, DE	daily rain	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	15.9 mm (0.6 in)	14 years	36 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 1972

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1972. 1972 had 625 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 1972-05-16: 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 100	515
100 to 200	0
200 to 300	0
300 to 400	0
400 to 500	1