Weather Records on 17 January 1981

821 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 January 1981. Highest significance: Izeleni (Bos), ZA.

Key Facts for 17 January 1981

On 17 January 1981, 821 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
222 were record highs and 160 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 20 were all-time records, 29 monthly and 772 daily.
Izeleni (Bos) set a daily record precipitation of 85.6 mm (3.4 in) on 17 January 1981.
Across 168 earlier years (1795 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 473 records.

Record Map

821 stations

821 station records on 17 January 1981 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 January 1981: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Izeleni (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	85.6 mm (3.4 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Halifax Macrossan St	Australia	Record daily precipitation	240.8 mm (9.5 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Victoria Sugar Mill	Australia	Record daily precipitation	422.6 mm (16.6 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Mt Howitt	Australia	Record daily precipitation	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Zapotitlan	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	95.8 mm (3.8 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Cornudas Svc STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Macknade Sugar Mill	Australia	Record daily precipitation	492.8 mm (19.4 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Los Reyes	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	140.0 mm (5.5 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Lucinda Township	Australia	Record daily precipitation	229.0 mm (9.0 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Catumnal	Australia	Record daily precipitation	125.0 mm (4.9 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Trafalgar	Canada	Record daily snowfall	42.0 cm (16.5 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Caduao	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	42.9 mm (1.7 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Bambaroo	Australia	Record daily precipitation	241.8 mm (9.5 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
St Margaret's Bay	Canada	Record daily snowfall	38.0 cm (15.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Cardwell Marine Pde	Australia	Record daily precipitation	193.0 mm (7.6 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Upper Stewiacke	Canada	Record daily snowfall	43.0 cm (16.9 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Coalcoman (Smn)	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Allende (Smn)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Callejones	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	22.8 C (73.0 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Ajojucar	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Antonio Escobedo (Smn)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Huingo	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Yurecuaro	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Huajintlan	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Barkestad	Norway	Record snow depth	132.0 cm (52.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Mount Uniacke	Canada	Record daily snowfall	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Upper Stewiacke	Canada	Record daily precipitation	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Briksdal	Norway	Record snow depth	85.0 cm (33.5 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Biddenham	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.2 mm (1.7 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Plymouth-Kingston	United States	Record daily snowfall	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Kyabra	Australia	Record daily precipitation	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Yarmouth A	Canada	Record daily snowfall	44.4 cm (17.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Liverpool Big Falls	Canada	Record daily snowfall	34.0 cm (13.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Ciudad Hidalgo (Smn)	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Panuco (Smn)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Hughenden Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Homberg/Ohm	Germany	Record snow depth	38.0 cm (15.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Jocotepec	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Juchitlan	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Tilzapotla	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Santa Rosa	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Zwartrandjes	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
San Luis Potosi (Dge)	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	5.0 C (41.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Dividalen	Norway	Record snow depth	80.0 cm (31.5 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Blackburn	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Bowling Green Wwtp	United States	Record snow depth	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Glendower Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Trafalgar	Canada	Record daily precipitation	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Puente San Isidro	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
San Diego Curupatzeo	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Angola	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Schotten	Germany	Record snow depth	46.0 cm (18.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Lysebotn	Norway	Record snow depth	40.0 cm (15.7 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Bogoroditskoye-Fenino	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	-1.2 C (29.8 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Ashland	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Melrose	Australia	Record daily precipitation	86.6 mm (3.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Collegeville	Canada	Record daily snowfall	21.0 cm (8.3 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Shearwater A	Canada	Record daily snowfall	27.0 cm (10.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Cointzio	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Acaponeta	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

821 records

Records set or tied on 17 January 1981 by type: Highest daily maximum 103, Lowest daily maximum 146, Highest daily minimum 119, Lowest daily minimum 14, Heaviest daily rainfall 298, Heaviest daily snowfall 66, Deepest snow cover 75.

Records on 17 January 1981 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	103
Lowest daily maximum	146
Highest daily minimum	119
Lowest daily minimum	14
Heaviest daily rainfall	298
Heaviest daily snowfall	66
Deepest snow cover	75

Records on 17 January 1981 by timescale: all-time 20, monthly 29, daily 772.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

672 broken records

Margins by which the 672 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 358.7. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 January 1981

Top 20 records on 17 January 1981 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 January 1981	Izeleni (Bos), ZA	daily rain	85.6 mm (3.4 in)	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	66 years	66 of 100 (Major)
17 January 1981	Halifax Macrossan St, AU	daily rain	240.8 mm (9.5 in)	147.8 mm (5.8 in)	78 years	65 of 100 (Major)
17 January 1981	Victoria Sugar Mill, AU	daily rain	422.6 mm (16.6 in)	301.4 mm (11.9 in)	54 years	64 of 100 (Major)
17 January 1981	Mt Howitt, AU	daily rain	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	64 years	63 of 100 (Major)
17 January 1981	Zapotitlan, MX	monthly rain	95.8 mm (3.8 in)	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	28 years	61 of 100 (Major)
17 January 1981	Cornudas Svc STN, US	monthly rain	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	19.0 mm (0.7 in)	21 years	60 of 100 (Major)
17 January 1981	Macknade Sugar Mill, AU	daily rain	492.8 mm (19.4 in)	358.7 mm (14.1 in)	28 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	Los Reyes, MX	monthly rain	140.0 mm (5.5 in)	64.1 mm (2.5 in)	33 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	Lucinda Township, AU	daily rain	229.0 mm (9.0 in)	149.5 mm (5.9 in)	28 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	Catumnal, AU	daily rain	125.0 mm (4.9 in)	89.4 mm (3.5 in)	31 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	Trafalgar, CA	daily snowfall	42.0 cm (16.5 in)	19.1 cm (7.5 in)	46 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	Caduao, MX	daily rain	42.9 mm (1.7 in)	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	20 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	Bambaroo, AU	daily rain	241.8 mm (9.5 in)	102.6 mm (4.0 in)	61 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	St Margaret's Bay, CA	daily snowfall	38.0 cm (15.0 in)	22.8 cm (9.0 in)	26 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	Cardwell Marine Pde, AU	daily rain	193.0 mm (7.6 in)	49.7 mm (2.0 in)	86 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	Upper Stewiacke, CA	daily snowfall	43.0 cm (16.9 in)	31.6 cm (12.4 in)	4 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	Coalcoman (Smn), MX	all-time low max	15.0 C (59.0 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	43 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	Allende (Smn), MX	daily rain	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	16.5 mm (0.6 in)	25 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	Callejones, MX	daily low max	22.8 C (73.0 F)	6.6 C (11.9 F)	28 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1981	Ajojucar, MX	daily low max	10.6 C (51.1 F)	9.4 C (16.9 F)	33 years	44 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 1981

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1795 to 1981. 1981 had 821 records.

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

Records on 01-17 in each year
Year	Records
1795	1
1800	2
1802	1
1804	1
1805	2
1809	1
1812	1
1820	1
1826	2
1828	1
1838	2
1845	3
1854	1
1858	1
1861	1
1864	3
1865	1
1866	1
1869	1
1870	2
1871	1
1874	1
1875	1
1876	2
1877	1
1878	1
1880	1
1881	2
1883	3
1884	1
1885	2
1886	1
1888	1
1889	4
1890	2
1891	4
1893	5
1894	5
1895	3
1896	4
1897	6
1899	5
1900	5
1901	1
1902	4
1903	3
1904	9
1905	2
1906	19
1907	38
1908	10
1909	13
1910	21
1911	49
1912	8
1913	66
1914	13
1915	19
1916	47
1917	32
1918	37
1919	45
1920	148
1921	70
1922	25
1923	122
1924	278
1925	184
1926	118
1927	144
1928	309
1929	118
1930	942
1931	130
1932	489
1933	203
1934	120
1935	444
1936	377
1937	196
1938	323
1939	375
1940	566
1941	644
1942	601
1943	1,086
1944	333
1945	511
1946	1,089
1947	354
1948	613
1949	566
1950	731
1951	535
1952	773
1953	531
1954	632
1955	303
1956	431
1957	1,040
1958	555
1959	760
1960	657
1961	537
1962	625
1963	537
1964	450
1965	1,180
1966	275
1967	423
1968	400
1969	526
1970	931
1971	871
1972	884
1973	1,147
1974	1,327
1975	647
1976	717
1977	2,352
1978	1,458
1979	1,182
1980	601
1981	821
1982	1,899
1983	592
1984	888
1985	988
1986	848
1987	1,375
1988	751
1989	745
1990	1,986
1991	776
1992	958
1993	1,685
1994	1,805
1995	1,186
1996	1,353
1997	791
1998	832
1999	775
2000	1,060
2001	744
2002	505
2003	764
2004	1,245
2005	682
2006	1,055
2007	1,911
2008	1,114
2009	851
2010	876
2011	972
2012	847
2013	643
2014	548
2015	489
2016	458
2017	1,002
2018	1,273
2019	582
2020	828
2021	375
2022	1,022
2023	808
2024	1,585
2025	586
2026	370

Download the Data

Data for records on 1981-01-17: 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 2026-10-15 (15 October 2026). Records are computed by this site and are not official.

Data as of 2026-10-15. Last revised 15 October 2026 (2026-10-15).

Margin	Records
0 to 50	615
50 to 100	30
100 to 150	10
150 to 200	5
200 to 250	7
250 to 300	1
300 to 350	3
350 to 400	1