Weather Records on 5 May 1979

1,534 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 5 May 1979. Highest significance: Elliot, ZA.

Key Facts for 5 May 1979

On 5 May 1979, 1,534 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
146 were record highs and 602 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 51 monthly and 1,482 daily.
Elliot set an all-time record daily precipitation of 197.0 mm (7.8 in) on 5 May 1979.
Across 160 earlier years (1795 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 436 records.

Record Map

1,534 stations

1,534 station records on 5 May 1979 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 5 May 1979: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Elliot	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	197.0 mm (7.8 in)	81 of 100 (Exceptional)
Mirannie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	69.8 mm (2.7 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Moscow U of I	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Scone (Philip Street)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Murrurundi Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Merriwa (Gummun Place)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.8 mm (1.8 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Bingara (Derra Derra)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Denman (Palace Street)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Groenvlei	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Kainaliu 73.2	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Glenormiston	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Gundy (Miller St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Williams 1 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Rhinelander	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Tenterfield (Federation Park)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.2 mm (1.5 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Muswellbrook (Edderton)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Itapira	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	52.7 mm (2.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Wallabadah (Gaspard)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	80.2 mm (3.2 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Pinhalzinho	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	72.4 mm (2.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Prentice #2	United States	Record daily snowfall	9.7 cm (3.8 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Bollon Mary St	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Altamura	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Orleans	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Reston	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Powell Creek	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Iron Mtn-Kingsford Wwtp	United States	Record snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Reddersburg (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Fort Macleod	Canada	Record daily snowfall	6.6 cm (2.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Potlatch 3 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Cherry Grove 2 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Upper Rouchel School	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Wingen (Murrulla)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ficksburg;Kersieproe	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Crosby	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Bunnan (Milhaven)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Cassilis (Dalkeith)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Merriwa (Merry Vale)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Lagoinha	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Dordrecht - Tnk 14	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Iron Mtn-Kingsford Wwtp	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Illahe	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Goodooga (Mogila)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.6 mm (1.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Aberdeen (Rossgole)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.4 mm (1.7 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Usina Do Chicao	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Richmond	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-5.6 C (21.9 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Grootmodderfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Larimore 4SW	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Hayward Rs	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Mungindi (Burrenbah)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Blackville Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Merriwa (Bowglen)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Chichester Dam	Australia	Record daily precipitation	61.4 mm (2.4 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Powers Lake 1N	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Quirindi Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Glen Innes (Mt Mitchell Forest	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.4 mm (1.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Rouchel Brook (Albano)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.2 mm (1.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Jamestown	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Col du Grand St-Bernard	Switzerland	Record low minimum temperature	-11.5 C (11.3 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Butte Falls 1 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Corvallis Water Bureau	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,534 records

Records set or tied on 5 May 1979 by type: Highest daily maximum 27, Lowest daily maximum 280, Highest daily minimum 119, Lowest daily minimum 322, Heaviest daily rainfall 638, Heaviest daily snowfall 96, Deepest snow cover 52.

Records on 5 May 1979 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	27
Lowest daily maximum	280
Highest daily minimum	119
Lowest daily minimum	322
Heaviest daily rainfall	638
Heaviest daily snowfall	96
Deepest snow cover	52

Records on 5 May 1979 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 51, daily 1,482.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

1,327 broken records

Margins by which the 1,327 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 178.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

5 May 1979

Top 20 records on 5 May 1979 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
5 May 1979	Elliot, ZA	all-time rain	197.0 mm (7.8 in)	88.5 mm (3.5 in)	47 years	81 of 100 (Exceptional)
5 May 1979	Mirannie, AU	daily rain	69.8 mm (2.7 in)	57.6 mm (2.3 in)	64 years	67 of 100 (Major)
5 May 1979	Moscow U of I, US	daily rain	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	68 years	65 of 100 (Major)
5 May 1979	Scone (Philip Street), AU	daily rain	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	80 years	63 of 100 (Major)
5 May 1979	Murrurundi Post Office, AU	daily rain	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	80 years	60 of 100 (Major)
5 May 1979	Merriwa (Gummun Place), AU	daily rain	44.8 mm (1.8 in)	26.8 mm (1.1 in)	89 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Bingara (Derra Derra), AU	daily rain	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	39.2 mm (1.5 in)	64 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Denman (Palace Street), AU	daily rain	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	24.5 mm (1.0 in)	88 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Groenvlei, ZA	daily rain	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	36 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Kainaliu 73.2, US	daily rain	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	38 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Glenormiston, AU	daily rain	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	85 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Gundy (Miller St), AU	daily rain	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	23.3 mm (0.9 in)	80 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Williams 1 NW, US	daily rain	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	17 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Rhinelander, US	daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	69 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Tenterfield (Federation Park), AU	daily rain	37.2 mm (1.5 in)	22.0 mm (0.9 in)	64 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Muswellbrook (Edderton), AU	daily rain	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	32.2 mm (1.3 in)	64 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Itapira, BR	daily rain	52.7 mm (2.1 in)	44.3 mm (1.7 in)	29 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Wallabadah (Gaspard), AU	daily rain	80.2 mm (3.2 in)	72.1 mm (2.8 in)	8 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Pinhalzinho, BR	daily rain	72.4 mm (2.9 in)	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	22 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
5 May 1979	Prentice #2, US	daily snowfall	9.7 cm (3.8 in)	9.7 cm (3.8 in)	77 years	50 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

1795 to 1979

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1795 to 1979. 1979 had 1,534 records.

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

Records on 05-05 in each year
Year	Records
1795	2
1805	1
1836	1
1837	1
1840	1
1850	4
1852	1
1855	1
1856	2
1859	2
1861	5
1862	1
1864	2
1867	1
1875	2
1877	2
1878	1
1879	2
1880	1
1882	1
1884	2
1885	1
1886	3
1888	3
1889	5
1890	2
1891	3
1892	5
1894	3
1895	2
1896	1
1897	2
1898	6
1899	5
1900	3
1901	2
1902	5
1903	9
1904	14
1905	17
1906	4
1907	16
1908	14
1909	17
1910	19
1911	17
1912	17
1913	46
1914	39
1915	73
1916	98
1917	70
1918	24
1919	77
1920	41
1921	63
1922	98
1923	139
1924	132
1925	143
1926	220
1927	115
1928	149
1929	256
1930	469
1931	250
1932	166
1933	339
1934	448
1935	417
1936	377
1937	159
1938	362
1939	222
1940	446
1941	415
1942	529
1943	427
1944	1,237
1945	355
1946	306
1947	528
1948	671
1949	1,099
1950	893
1951	174
1952	723
1953	659
1954	607
1955	382
1956	363
1957	561
1958	404
1959	587
1960	773
1961	644
1962	261
1963	249
1964	643
1965	724
1966	1,413
1967	613
1968	434
1969	530
1970	386
1971	444
1972	292
1973	542
1974	716
1975	711
1976	402
1977	708
1978	1,033
1979	1,534
1980	562
1981	524
1982	659
1983	475
1984	767
1985	463
1986	968
1987	895
1988	820
1989	941
1990	1,511
1991	1,176
1992	1,004
1993	725
1994	743
1995	888
1996	1,368
1997	1,220
1998	1,707
1999	1,301
2000	1,442
2001	963
2002	883
2003	1,792
2004	1,401
2005	1,009
2006	657
2007	850
2008	453
2009	751
2010	1,053
2011	857
2012	1,281
2013	1,265
2014	680
2015	783
2016	554
2017	849
2018	481
2019	538
2020	403
2021	733
2022	514
2023	579
2024	961
2025	717
2026	538

Download the Data

Data for records on 1979-05-05: 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 25	1,195
25 to 50	87
50 to 75	32
75 to 100	5
100 to 125	3
125 to 150	4
150 to 175	0
175 to 200	1