Weather Records on 18 October 1979

555 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 18 October 1979. Highest significance: Avoca, ZA.

Key Facts for 18 October 1979

On 18 October 1979, 555 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
205 were record highs and 37 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 2 were all-time records, 15 monthly and 538 daily.
Avoca set a daily record precipitation of 60.5 mm (2.4 in) on 18 October 1979.
Across 167 earlier years (1794 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 433 records.

Record Map

555 stations

555 station records on 18 October 1979 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 18 October 1979: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Avoca	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.5 mm (2.4 in)	72 of 100 (Major)
Smithfield (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Batalha	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	99.6 mm (3.9 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Barkly East	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Gordonville	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	58.0 mm (2.3 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Richmond C/K (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	87.0 mm (3.4 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Cradock	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Engcobo (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Eugene-Mahlon Sweet Fld	United States	Record daily precipitation	73.9 mm (2.9 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Slurry	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Sterkstroom (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Douglas	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Palmyra	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Uniao	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Vergelegen	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Werk-Met-Lus	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Laurel	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ellesmere	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Salem AP (McNary Field)	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Zoetvlei	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Bethesdaweg (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Bolivar 1 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	87.6 mm (3.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Barras	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	51.6 mm (2.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Estacada 2 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.9 mm (1.7 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Norfolk Karl Stefan Mem AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Hofmeyer (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Rouxville (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Wolhaarkop	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Waialua 847	United States	Record high minimum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Ottumwa Ind AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Oufontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Jerseyville 2 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Topeka ASOS	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Steytlerville (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.6 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Middelplaats	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Luckhoff (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Portland Intl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Jequitinhonha (Pcd)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Kazalinsk	Kazakhstan	Record high minimum temperature	10.8 C (51.4 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Metapa de Dominguez	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Puerto Madero	Mexico	Record low minimum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Laborare	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.5 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Uman	Ukraine	Record high minimum temperature	11.0 C (51.8 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Cambridge	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Bogoroditskoye-Fenino	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	11.6 C (52.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Goedehoop	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Boscobel	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Zhizdra	Russia	Record daily precipitation	27.3 mm (1.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Kursk	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	9.8 C (49.6 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Plooysburg S.A.P.	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Verwoedburg-Mu"Lytteltn"	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Sulphur Springs	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Kailua 446	United States	Record high minimum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Krasnaja_Gora	Russia	Record daily precipitation	34.6 mm (1.4 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Groblershoop;Boegoeb	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Hollowaysrust	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Syferfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Haarlem	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.5 mm (1.4 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Onawa 3NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.9 mm (1.7 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Worland	United States	Record high minimum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

555 records

Records set or tied on 18 October 1979 by type: Highest daily maximum 83, Lowest daily maximum 18, Highest daily minimum 122, Lowest daily minimum 19, Heaviest daily rainfall 307, Heaviest daily snowfall 3, Deepest snow cover 3.

Records on 18 October 1979 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	83
Lowest daily maximum	18
Highest daily minimum	122
Lowest daily minimum	19
Heaviest daily rainfall	307
Heaviest daily snowfall	3
Deepest snow cover	3

Records on 18 October 1979 by timescale: all-time 2, monthly 15, daily 538.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

459 broken records

Margins by which the 459 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 150.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

18 October 1979

Top 20 records on 18 October 1979 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
18 October 1979	Avoca, ZA	daily rain	60.5 mm (2.4 in)	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	84 years	72 of 100 (Major)
18 October 1979	Smithfield (Mun), ZA	daily rain	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	84 years	64 of 100 (Major)
18 October 1979	Batalha, BR	monthly rain	99.6 mm (3.9 in)	33.4 mm (1.3 in)	66 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Barkly East, ZA	daily rain	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	32 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Gordonville, ZA	daily rain	58.0 mm (2.3 in)	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	32 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Richmond C/K (Tnk), ZA	all-time rain	87.0 mm (3.4 in)	4.2 mm (0.17 in)	73 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Cradock, ZA	daily rain	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	16.8 mm (0.7 in)	89 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Engcobo (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	13 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Eugene-Mahlon Sweet Fld, US	daily rain	73.9 mm (2.9 in)	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	25 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Slurry, ZA	daily rain	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	24.4 mm (1.0 in)	57 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Sterkstroom (Pol), ZA	daily rain	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	12.8 mm (0.5 in)	89 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Douglas, ZA	monthly rain	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	5.1 mm (0.20 in)	76 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Palmyra, ZA	daily rain	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	19.7 mm (0.8 in)	62 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Uniao, BR	daily rain	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	40 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Vergelegen, ZA	monthly rain	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	9.0 mm (0.35 in)	62 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Werk-Met-Lus, ZA	daily rain	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	24.1 mm (0.9 in)	34 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Laurel, US	daily rain	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	17 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Ellesmere, ZA	daily rain	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	8.9 mm (0.35 in)	84 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Salem AP (McNary Field), US	daily rain	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	11.0 mm (0.4 in)	79 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
18 October 1979	Zoetvlei, ZA	all-time rain	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	4.6 mm (0.18 in)	38 years	43 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

1794 to 1979

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1794 to 1979. 1979 had 555 records.

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

Records on 10-18 in each year
Year	Records
1794	1
1796	1
1799	1
1806	1
1807	1
1810	1
1811	2
1817	1
1832	1
1835	1
1836	1
1843	1
1846	2
1848	1
1849	1
1851	1
1852	1
1859	1
1863	1
1865	2
1866	2
1868	1
1869	1
1871	1
1872	1
1874	4
1876	2
1877	2
1879	3
1881	1
1882	1
1883	2
1887	1
1888	1
1890	4
1892	4
1893	1
1894	3
1895	2
1897	6
1898	5
1899	12
1900	5
1901	5
1902	6
1903	9
1904	12
1905	27
1906	17
1907	11
1908	44
1909	23
1910	50
1911	22
1912	12
1913	26
1914	52
1915	12
1916	64
1917	109
1918	24
1919	31
1920	87
1921	87
1922	59
1923	114
1924	151
1925	153
1926	149
1927	309
1928	316
1929	190
1930	507
1931	350
1932	446
1933	264
1934	222
1935	360
1936	483
1937	671
1938	536
1939	475
1940	532
1941	240
1942	332
1943	844
1944	264
1945	398
1946	355
1947	965
1948	1,128
1949	665
1950	996
1951	325
1952	394
1953	678
1954	621
1955	403
1956	578
1957	220
1958	407
1959	246
1960	612
1961	362
1962	252
1963	492
1964	311
1965	1,066
1966	613
1967	405
1968	737
1969	789
1970	501
1971	1,199
1972	1,581
1973	789
1974	746
1975	779
1976	1,326
1977	533
1978	545
1979	555
1980	1,024
1981	680
1982	654
1983	684
1984	1,331
1985	831
1986	344
1987	518
1988	733
1989	1,196
1990	1,043
1991	999
1992	1,295
1993	1,051
1994	1,296
1995	1,227
1996	795
1997	1,240
1998	1,323
1999	773
2000	823
2001	818
2002	878
2003	1,097
2004	1,156
2005	755
2006	1,328
2007	1,298
2008	531
2009	1,546
2010	634
2011	736
2012	741
2013	430
2014	690
2015	915
2016	1,511
2017	590
2018	759
2019	346
2020	957
2021	387
2022	1,334
2023	693
2024	1,142
2025	367

Download the Data

Data for records on 1979-10-18: 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 20	416
20 to 40	36
40 to 60	4
60 to 80	2
80 to 100	0
100 to 120	0
120 to 140	0
140 to 160	1