Weather Records on 16 October 1973

539 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 16 October 1973. Highest significance: Portland, US.

Key Facts for 16 October 1973

On 16 October 1973, 539 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
94 were record highs and 86 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 13 monthly and 526 daily.
Portland set a daily record precipitation of 97.8 mm (3.9 in) on 16 October 1973.
Across 163 earlier years (1796 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 438 records.

Record Map

539 stations

539 station records on 16 October 1973 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 16 October 1973: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Portland	United States	Record daily precipitation	97.8 mm (3.9 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Nooitgedacht	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	75.5 mm (3.0 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Entabeni (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	99.8 mm (3.9 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Swansea Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Enzelberg	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Duiwelskloof (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	54.0 mm (2.1 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Monticello Muni AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	119.6 mm (4.7 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Sao Pedro (Sao Pedro Do Acude)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	62.8 mm (2.5 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Francistown	Botswana	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Orly	France	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Groblersplaas	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	75.5 mm (3.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Hoopdal (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Deuselbach	Germany	Record daily precipitation	25.8 mm (1.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Middlekop (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	52.5 mm (2.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Zomerkomst (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Merensky (Skl)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Greenwood	United States	Record daily precipitation	73.4 mm (2.9 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Askham	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
De Hoek (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	71.0 mm (2.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Plain Dealing	United States	Record daily precipitation	81.3 mm (3.2 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Kellevie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Swansea (Kelvedon)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Zaaiplaats	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Sydney (Observatory Hill)	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	31.6 C (88.9 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Rokeby (the Mall)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Sandberg	Germany	Record daily precipitation	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Vastrap	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.5 mm (1.5 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Goedehoop (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	58.0 mm (2.3 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Villa Nora (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.5 mm (1.4 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Westfalia	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	62.5 mm (2.5 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Ravenshill	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	54.0 mm (2.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Itapicuru	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	56.2 mm (2.2 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Lenah Valley (Augusta Road)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Maun	Botswana	Record daily precipitation	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Botataboomen	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Driefontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Kotzebue AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	18.5 cm (7.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Bochum	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.5 mm (1.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Avalon Pleasure Pier	United States	Record low minimum temperature	4.4 C (39.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Dunmurray	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.5 mm (1.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Brinkworth (Anama Park)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Kingston	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Elim (Hosp)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	80.5 mm (3.2 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Bad Ems	Germany	Record daily precipitation	27.8 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Budapest	Hungary	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Sahty	Russia	Record daily precipitation	27.3 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Leeuwfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Blankenrath	Germany	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Olifantshoek (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Legkraal	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Palapye	Botswana	Record daily precipitation	56.5 mm (2.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Trier-Zewen	Germany	Record daily precipitation	29.8 mm (1.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Santa Rita de Cassia	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Barkestad	Norway	Record snow depth	20.0 cm (7.9 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Versamelhoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	65.5 mm (2.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Sheffield	United Kingdom	Record low maximum temperature	7.3 C (45.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Smythe	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.5 mm (1.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Letaba Estates	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Driefontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	75.0 mm (3.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Ulricehamn	Sweden	Record low maximum temperature	1.8 C (35.2 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

539 records

Records set or tied on 16 October 1973 by type: Highest daily maximum 56, Lowest daily maximum 52, Highest daily minimum 38, Lowest daily minimum 34, Heaviest daily rainfall 350, Heaviest daily snowfall 4, Deepest snow cover 5.

Records on 16 October 1973 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	56
Lowest daily maximum	52
Highest daily minimum	38
Lowest daily minimum	34
Heaviest daily rainfall	350
Heaviest daily snowfall	4
Deepest snow cover	5

Records on 16 October 1973 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 13, daily 526.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

481 broken records

Margins by which the 481 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 109.4. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

16 October 1973

Top 20 records on 16 October 1973 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
16 October 1973	Portland, US	daily rain	97.8 mm (3.9 in)	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	48 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Nooitgedacht, ZA	daily rain	75.5 mm (3.0 in)	52.6 mm (2.1 in)	39 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Entabeni (Bos), ZA	daily rain	99.8 mm (3.9 in)	66.3 mm (2.6 in)	40 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Swansea Post Office, AU	daily rain	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	22.3 mm (0.9 in)	36 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Enzelberg, ZA	daily rain	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	22.3 mm (0.9 in)	68 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Duiwelskloof (Mun), ZA	daily rain	54.0 mm (2.1 in)	28.6 mm (1.1 in)	67 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Monticello Muni AP, US	daily rain	119.6 mm (4.7 in)	109.4 mm (4.3 in)	16 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Sao Pedro (Sao Pedro Do Acude), BR	daily rain	62.8 mm (2.5 in)	62.8 mm (2.5 in)	31 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Francistown, BW	daily rain	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	31.9 mm (1.3 in)	20 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Orly, FR	daily rain	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	24 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Groblersplaas, ZA	daily rain	75.5 mm (3.0 in)	41.5 mm (1.6 in)	46 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Hoopdal (Pol), ZA	daily rain	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	36 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Deuselbach, DE	daily rain	25.8 mm (1.0 in)	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	28 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Middlekop (Bos), ZA	daily rain	52.5 mm (2.1 in)	34.7 mm (1.4 in)	46 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Zomerkomst (Bos), ZA	daily rain	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	46 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Merensky (Skl), ZA	daily rain	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	46 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Greenwood, US	daily rain	73.4 mm (2.9 in)	67.0 mm (2.6 in)	16 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Askham, ZA	daily rain	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	23.0 mm (0.9 in)	20 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	De Hoek (Bos), ZA	daily rain	71.0 mm (2.8 in)	43.3 mm (1.7 in)	40 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1973	Plain Dealing, US	daily rain	81.3 mm (3.2 in)	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	36 years	46 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

1796 to 1973

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1796 to 1973. 1973 had 539 records.

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

Records on 10-16 in each year
Year	Records
1796	1
1808	1
1810	1
1811	3
1817	1
1826	1
1830	1
1836	2
1838	1
1839	1
1856	1
1859	2
1862	2
1865	2
1870	3
1873	2
1876	2
1877	3
1878	2
1879	4
1880	1
1881	3
1882	1
1883	2
1884	2
1885	1
1886	4
1887	3
1889	1
1890	4
1891	5
1892	6
1893	12
1894	5
1895	2
1896	2
1897	9
1898	4
1899	8
1901	4
1902	7
1903	6
1904	7
1905	16
1906	3
1907	6
1908	49
1909	20
1910	10
1911	18
1912	16
1913	25
1914	52
1915	17
1916	28
1917	19
1918	25
1919	58
1920	44
1921	54
1922	57
1923	84
1924	81
1925	304
1926	180
1927	122
1928	543
1929	118
1930	312
1931	515
1932	379
1933	218
1934	712
1935	395
1936	244
1937	1,200
1938	606
1939	494
1940	531
1941	220
1942	426
1943	1,233
1944	609
1945	414
1946	398
1947	865
1948	279
1949	378
1950	344
1951	266
1952	698
1953	508
1954	1,068
1955	427
1956	620
1957	354
1958	494
1959	319
1960	540
1961	790
1962	504
1963	464
1964	513
1965	498
1966	669
1967	516
1968	987
1969	845
1970	789
1971	979
1972	464
1973	539
1974	1,061
1975	487
1976	1,053
1977	549
1978	822
1979	580
1980	1,383
1981	897
1982	430
1983	432
1984	1,507
1985	672
1986	450
1987	1,259
1988	703
1989	820
1990	890
1991	1,543
1992	1,646
1993	999
1994	1,176
1995	1,061
1996	585
1997	939
1998	934
1999	705
2000	519
2001	754
2002	1,079
2003	530
2004	687
2005	684
2006	1,330
2007	645
2008	778
2009	1,931
2010	1,049
2011	816
2012	728
2013	546
2014	695
2015	1,142
2016	1,063
2017	1,014
2018	1,558
2019	463
2020	484
2021	541
2022	676
2023	608
2024	721
2025	559

Download the Data

Data for records on 1973-10-16: 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 20	420
20 to 40	48
40 to 60	7
60 to 80	5
80 to 100	0
100 to 120	1