Weather Records on 16 October 1981

897 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 16 October 1981. Highest significance: Ardmore, US.

Key Facts for 16 October 1981

On 16 October 1981, 897 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
171 were record highs and 161 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 13 monthly and 884 daily.
Ardmore set a daily record precipitation of 109.2 mm (4.3 in) on 16 October 1981.
Across 163 earlier years (1796 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 436 records.

Record Map

897 stations

897 station records on 16 October 1981 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 16 October 1981: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Ardmore	United States	Record daily precipitation	109.2 mm (4.3 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Ely AP	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Harkerville (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	53.5 mm (2.1 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Khankandy	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	37.2 mm (1.5 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Britstown (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Agdam	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	36.9 mm (1.5 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Elandspoort	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Healdton 3 E	United States	Record daily precipitation	108.0 mm (4.3 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Eleuterio	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	92.1 mm (3.6 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Isilkul	Russia	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Spitshoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Coolabah Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Martim Francisco	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	58.1 mm (2.3 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Fazenda Acude	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Mooredale	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Salitre	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	83.2 mm (3.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Tapiratiba	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	68.8 mm (2.7 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Heilbron "Smoordrif"	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Astara	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	91.1 mm (3.6 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Oriente	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	83.9 mm (3.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Garrison	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Amvrosiivka	Ukraine	Record daily precipitation	37.9 mm (1.5 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Aiuruoca	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	71.8 mm (2.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Conceicao Do Rio Verde	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	70.4 mm (2.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Registro	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	40.7 mm (1.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Udskoe	Russia	Record daily precipitation	52.5 mm (2.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Marietta 5SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	157.5 mm (6.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Taloga	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Usina Congonhal	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	61.4 mm (2.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Usina Turvinho	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	63.0 mm (2.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Kareehoek"Kareefontein"	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Debaltseve	Ukraine	Record daily precipitation	36.4 mm (1.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Tapirai-Jusante	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	68.4 mm (2.7 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Pontal	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	52.2 mm (2.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Tarkastad (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Farris 3 WNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	98.3 mm (3.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Bonham 3NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	94.0 mm (3.7 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Ely AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	13.2 cm (5.2 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Juquia	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	56.6 mm (2.2 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Dublin Phoenix Park	Ireland	Record low minimum temperature	-1.6 C (29.1 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Naalehu 14	United States	Record low maximum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Caconde	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	95.7 mm (3.8 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Shusha	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Bom Jardim de Minas	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	73.0 mm (2.9 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Fazenda Santa Jacinta	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	62.1 mm (2.4 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Monte Azul Paulista	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	51.2 mm (2.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Aguas da Prata	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	76.6 mm (3.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Manati 2 E	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record high minimum temperature	26.1 C (79.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Grahamstown	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Adelaide (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Madill	United States	Record daily precipitation	94.7 mm (3.7 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Honey Grove	United States	Record daily precipitation	114.8 mm (4.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Lachin	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Bom Jardim	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	81.9 mm (3.2 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Nazare Paulista	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Carnegie 5 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Clarendon	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Usina Do Chicao	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	44.4 mm (1.7 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Jaborandi	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	62.5 mm (2.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Corumbatai	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	62.9 mm (2.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

897 records

Records set or tied on 16 October 1981 by type: Highest daily maximum 71, Lowest daily maximum 92, Highest daily minimum 100, Lowest daily minimum 69, Heaviest daily rainfall 551, Heaviest daily snowfall 7, Deepest snow cover 7.

Records on 16 October 1981 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	71
Lowest daily maximum	92
Highest daily minimum	100
Lowest daily minimum	69
Heaviest daily rainfall	551
Heaviest daily snowfall	7
Deepest snow cover	7

Records on 16 October 1981 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 13, daily 884.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

790 broken records

Margins by which the 790 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 190.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

16 October 1981

Top 20 records on 16 October 1981 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
16 October 1981	Ardmore, US	daily rain	109.2 mm (4.3 in)	88.9 mm (3.5 in)	66 years	67 of 100 (Major)
16 October 1981	Ely AP, US	daily snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	43 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Harkerville (Bos), ZA	daily rain	53.5 mm (2.1 in)	26.8 mm (1.1 in)	86 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Khankandy, AZ	daily rain	37.2 mm (1.5 in)	27.5 mm (1.1 in)	44 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Britstown (Pol), ZA	daily rain	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	93 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Agdam, AZ	daily rain	36.9 mm (1.5 in)	29.8 mm (1.2 in)	44 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Elandspoort, ZA	daily rain	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	32.4 mm (1.3 in)	34 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Healdton 3 E, US	daily rain	108.0 mm (4.3 in)	54.7 mm (2.2 in)	66 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Eleuterio, BR	daily rain	92.1 mm (3.6 in)	75.9 mm (3.0 in)	35 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Isilkul, RU	monthly rain	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	31.3 mm (1.2 in)	2 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Spitshoek, ZA	daily rain	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	44 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Coolabah Post Office, AU	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	56 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Martim Francisco, BR	daily rain	58.1 mm (2.3 in)	45.6 mm (1.8 in)	44 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Fazenda Acude, BR	daily rain	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	35 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Mooredale, ZA	daily rain	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	34.4 mm (1.4 in)	19 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Salitre, BR	daily rain	83.2 mm (3.3 in)	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	23 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Tapiratiba, BR	daily rain	68.8 mm (2.7 in)	48.2 mm (1.9 in)	28 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Heilbron "Smoordrif", ZA	daily rain	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	52 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Astara, AZ	daily rain	91.1 mm (3.6 in)	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	42 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
16 October 1981	Oriente, BR	daily rain	83.9 mm (3.3 in)	71.3 mm (2.8 in)	28 years	47 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 1981

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1796 to 1981. 1981 had 897 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 1981-10-16: 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 2026-10-15 (15 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	672
25 to 50	95
50 to 75	13
75 to 100	5
100 to 125	2
125 to 150	2
150 to 175	0
175 to 200	1