Weather Records on 18 August 1974

639 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 18 August 1974. Highest significance: Tarkastad (Pol), ZA.

Key Facts for 18 August 1974

On 18 August 1974, 639 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
105 were record highs and 81 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 2 were all-time records, 44 monthly and 593 daily.
Tarkastad (Pol) set a monthly record daily precipitation of 65.5 mm (2.6 in) on 18 August 1974.
Across 171 earlier years (1797 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 440 records.

Record Map

639 stations

639 station records on 18 August 1974 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 18 August 1974: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Tarkastad (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	65.5 mm (2.6 in)	77 of 100 (Major)
Britstown (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	74 of 100 (Major)
De Aar	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	73 of 100 (Major)
Noupoort	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Omsukchan	Russia	Record daily precipitation	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Venterstad	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Perdeberg (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
The Mills	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Wolmada	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	90.5 mm (3.6 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Goedemoed (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Garnett 1 E	United States	Record daily precipitation	139.7 mm (5.5 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Gordonville	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Jagersfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	64.5 mm (2.5 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Kafferrivier (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Mazelspoort Dam	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Florisbad	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Yardley Chase	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Ellesmere	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	59.0 mm (2.3 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Philipstown (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Lelie Shoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Springfontein (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	100.0 mm (3.9 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Middelplaats	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Scheurfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Blikana	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Ludiksdam	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.3 mm (1.6 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Phillipsburg	United States	Record daily precipitation	103.1 mm (4.1 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Hofmeyer (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	89.0 mm (3.5 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Lady Grey (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Barkly East	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Funnystone	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Sweetwater	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Leyden	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Rucker Canyon	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Ebenezer (Weltevrede)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.5 mm (1.6 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Tweefontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.5 mm (1.4 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Kranshoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.3 mm (1.6 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Rainier Paradise Rs	United States	Record snow depth	48.3 cm (19.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Hohenpeissenberg	Germany	Record daily precipitation	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Eenbult	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Dordrecht - Tnk 14	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Sterkspruit	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Wheatlands	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Quilimane	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Neustadt/Weinstrasse	Germany	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Zoetvlei	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Kalkfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Salopia	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Summersville 3 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	84.3 mm (3.3 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Oufontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Richmond C/K (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Hughenden	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	63.0 mm (2.5 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Leeuwfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.5 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Kareekloof	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Koegasbrug	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Bloemfontein Kings Park	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Milner	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Houston	United States	Record daily precipitation	94.7 mm (3.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Lekkervlei	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	42.5 mm (1.7 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Buffelsfontein 14	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Glen Agr. College,Bfn.	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

639 records

Records set or tied on 18 August 1974 by type: Highest daily maximum 55, Lowest daily maximum 35, Highest daily minimum 50, Lowest daily minimum 46, Heaviest daily rainfall 450, Heaviest daily snowfall 2, Deepest snow cover 1.

Records on 18 August 1974 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	55
Lowest daily maximum	35
Highest daily minimum	50
Lowest daily minimum	46
Heaviest daily rainfall	450
Heaviest daily snowfall	2
Deepest snow cover	1

Records on 18 August 1974 by timescale: all-time 2, monthly 44, daily 593.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

573 broken records

Margins by which the 573 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 483.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

18 August 1974

Top 20 records on 18 August 1974 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
18 August 1974	Tarkastad (Pol), ZA	monthly rain	65.5 mm (2.6 in)	22.6 mm (0.9 in)	81 years	77 of 100 (Major)
18 August 1974	Britstown (Pol), ZA	daily rain	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	86 years	74 of 100 (Major)
18 August 1974	De Aar, ZA	daily rain	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	85 years	73 of 100 (Major)
18 August 1974	Noupoort, ZA	daily rain	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	30.8 mm (1.2 in)	86 years	65 of 100 (Major)
18 August 1974	Omsukchan, RU	all-time rain	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	20.1 mm (0.8 in)	0 years	63 of 100 (Major)
18 August 1974	Venterstad, ZA	daily rain	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	22.8 mm (0.9 in)	86 years	62 of 100 (Major)
18 August 1974	Perdeberg (Sar), ZA	daily rain	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	65 years	62 of 100 (Major)
18 August 1974	The Mills, ZA	monthly rain	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	16.0 mm (0.6 in)	57 years	61 of 100 (Major)
18 August 1974	Wolmada, ZA	monthly rain	90.5 mm (3.6 in)	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	13 years	60 of 100 (Major)
18 August 1974	Goedemoed (Pol), ZA	daily rain	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	57 years	60 of 100 (Major)
18 August 1974	Garnett 1 E, US	daily rain	139.7 mm (5.5 in)	73.7 mm (2.9 in)	48 years	60 of 100 (Major)
18 August 1974	Gordonville, ZA	daily rain	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	60 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
18 August 1974	Jagersfontein, ZA	monthly rain	64.5 mm (2.5 in)	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	30 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
18 August 1974	Kafferrivier (Pol), ZA	daily rain	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	60 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
18 August 1974	Mazelspoort Dam, ZA	daily rain	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	24.0 mm (0.9 in)	60 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
18 August 1974	Florisbad, ZA	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	48 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
18 August 1974	Yardley Chase, ZA	daily rain	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	14.2 mm (0.6 in)	86 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
18 August 1974	Ellesmere, ZA	monthly rain	59.0 mm (2.3 in)	22.7 mm (0.9 in)	32 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
18 August 1974	Philipstown (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	15.0 mm (0.6 in)	86 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
18 August 1974	Lelie Shoek, ZA	daily rain	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	44 years	56 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

1797 to 1974

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1797 to 1974. 1974 had 639 records.

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

Records on 08-18 in each year
Year	Records
1797	2
1805	1
1816	1
1827	1
1829	1
1830	1
1833	1
1841	1
1844	1
1845	3
1846	1
1847	1
1849	1
1851	1
1852	1
1853	1
1854	2
1855	1
1856	1
1861	1
1864	2
1866	1
1868	2
1869	1
1870	2
1872	1
1873	1
1875	3
1876	1
1878	1
1879	2
1883	3
1885	3
1886	3
1887	3
1888	2
1889	1
1890	1
1891	2
1892	6
1893	4
1894	4
1895	1
1898	4
1899	6
1900	2
1901	10
1902	8
1903	6
1904	8
1905	10
1906	40
1907	7
1908	21
1909	24
1910	16
1911	11
1912	21
1913	43
1914	37
1915	60
1916	71
1917	70
1918	53
1919	34
1920	51
1921	39
1922	129
1923	90
1924	225
1925	300
1926	168
1927	269
1928	141
1929	181
1930	150
1931	241
1932	382
1933	431
1934	638
1935	424
1936	766
1937	308
1938	243
1939	381
1940	434
1941	467
1942	333
1943	738
1944	325
1945	400
1946	416
1947	958
1948	315
1949	393
1950	683
1951	355
1952	405
1953	323
1954	622
1955	795
1956	580
1957	380
1958	580
1959	537
1960	599
1961	415
1962	428
1963	760
1964	443
1965	525
1966	573
1967	623
1968	795
1969	530
1970	597
1971	381
1972	493
1973	734
1974	639
1975	844
1976	917
1977	1,112
1978	854
1979	1,309
1980	771
1981	1,386
1982	563
1983	1,420
1984	600
1985	765
1986	861
1987	1,609
1988	1,351
1989	952
1990	920
1991	533
1992	1,497
1993	706
1994	1,027
1995	1,882
1996	760
1997	1,191
1998	923
1999	888
2000	1,183
2001	1,036
2002	1,306
2003	860
2004	1,050
2005	865
2006	842
2007	1,116
2008	1,265
2009	839
2010	1,167
2011	1,239
2012	1,247
2013	752
2014	751
2015	880
2016	704
2017	565
2018	462
2019	615
2020	1,541
2021	1,118
2022	1,237
2023	1,094
2024	696
2025	455
2026	545

Download the Data

Data for records on 1974-08-18: 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	572
100 to 200	0
200 to 300	0
300 to 400	0
400 to 500	1