Weather Records on 17 January 1985

988 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 January 1985. Highest significance: Durban-Cowie Rd. Nursery, ZA.

Key Facts for 17 January 1985

On 17 January 1985, 988 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
90 were record highs and 199 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 6 were all-time records, 15 monthly and 967 daily.
Durban-Cowie Rd. Nursery set a daily record precipitation of 95.1 mm (3.7 in) on 17 January 1985.
Across 168 earlier years (1795 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 472 records.

Record Map

988 stations

988 station records on 17 January 1985 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 January 1985: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Durban-Cowie Rd. Nursery	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	95.1 mm (3.7 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Mapumulo (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	79.5 mm (3.1 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Potchefstroom;Braksp	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	71.5 mm (2.8 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Lugano	Switzerland	Record snow depth	70.0 cm (27.6 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Franklin	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Dungowan Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Durban-Botanical Gardens	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	85.1 mm (3.4 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Warren	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Arkona	Germany	Record snow depth	18.0 cm (7.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Johnstown	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Verona Villafranca	Italy	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Millington 3 SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	9.1 cm (3.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Doornkop	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	121.0 mm (4.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Palermo	Italy	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Plaisance (Mauritiu	Mauritius	Record daily precipitation	163.3 mm (6.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Bergville (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	57.0 mm (2.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Jhb-Norwood	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	82.7 mm (3.3 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Shirabad	Uzbekistan	Record daily precipitation	33.2 mm (1.3 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Palmyra	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Batatais	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	109.3 mm (4.3 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Experiment Station	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Bingara (Derra Derra)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Pontal	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	99.4 mm (3.9 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Owensboro 3ENE	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Owosso Wwtp	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Bremen-Seefahrtschule	Germany	Record snow depth	21.0 cm (8.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Cairns Aero	Australia	Record daily precipitation	217.6 mm (8.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Ingwavuma (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	99.0 mm (3.9 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Bogalusa	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Rockville 1 NE	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Setauket Strong	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Muenster	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-8.8 C (16.2 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Wangerooge	Germany	Record snow depth	24.0 cm (9.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Hambledon Mill Csr	Australia	Record daily precipitation	196.0 mm (7.7 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Denton 2 E	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Poplarville Exp STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.3 mm (2.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Rugby	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Eaton	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Franklin	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Chipinge	Zimbabwe	Record daily precipitation	70.3 mm (2.8 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Dushanbe	Tajikistan	Record daily precipitation	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Deols Chateauroux Aerodrome de	France	Record low minimum temperature	-21.0 C (-5.8 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
W Pt	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Marble Hill	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Cape May 2 NW	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.9 cm (2.7 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Bad-Ahrweiler Neuenahr	Germany	Record snow depth	35.0 cm (13.8 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Putbus	Germany	Record snow depth	46.0 cm (18.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Bridgeville 1 NW	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Saint Johns	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Cullowhee	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Ambrose 3 N	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Canfield 1 S	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Valentia Observatory	Ireland	Record low maximum temperature	0.5 C (32.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Arecibo 3 ESE	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record low minimum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Bulls Brg Dam	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Bowling Green Wwtp	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Babinda Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	207.0 mm (8.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Pte de la Hague	France	Record low minimum temperature	-7.6 C (18.3 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Ploumanac'h	France	Record low minimum temperature	-10.0 C (14.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Rostock-Warnemunde	Germany	Record snow depth	45.0 cm (17.7 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

988 records

Records set or tied on 17 January 1985 by type: Highest daily maximum 51, Lowest daily maximum 105, Highest daily minimum 39, Lowest daily minimum 94, Heaviest daily rainfall 346, Heaviest daily snowfall 261, Deepest snow cover 92.

Records on 17 January 1985 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	51
Lowest daily maximum	105
Highest daily minimum	39
Lowest daily minimum	94
Heaviest daily rainfall	346
Heaviest daily snowfall	261
Deepest snow cover	92

Records on 17 January 1985 by timescale: all-time 6, monthly 15, daily 967.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

806 broken records

Margins by which the 806 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 410.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 January 1985

Top 20 records on 17 January 1985 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 January 1985	Durban-Cowie Rd. Nursery, ZA	daily rain	95.1 mm (3.7 in)	60.8 mm (2.4 in)	57 years	62 of 100 (Major)
17 January 1985	Mapumulo (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	79.5 mm (3.1 in)	60.4 mm (2.4 in)	55 years	62 of 100 (Major)
17 January 1985	Potchefstroom;Braksp, ZA	daily rain	71.5 mm (2.8 in)	43.3 mm (1.7 in)	62 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Lugano, CH	daily snow depth	70.0 cm (27.6 in)	41.0 cm (16.1 in)	52 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Franklin, US	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	106 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Dungowan Station, AU	daily rain	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	80 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Durban-Botanical Gardens, ZA	daily rain	85.1 mm (3.4 in)	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	81 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Warren, US	daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	78 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Arkona, DE	daily snow depth	18.0 cm (7.1 in)	9.0 cm (3.5 in)	26 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Johnstown, US	daily rain	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	16.3 mm (0.6 in)	50 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Verona Villafranca, IT	daily rain	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	37.6 mm (1.5 in)	13 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Millington 3 SE, US	daily snowfall	9.1 cm (3.6 in)	4.0 cm (1.6 in)	92 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Doornkop, ZA	monthly rain	121.0 mm (4.8 in)	37.6 mm (1.5 in)	3 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Palermo, IT	daily rain	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	3.2 mm (0.13 in)	160 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Plaisance (Mauritiu, MU	daily rain	163.3 mm (6.4 in)	94.9 mm (3.7 in)	5 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Bergville (Mag), ZA	daily rain	57.0 mm (2.2 in)	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	10 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Jhb-Norwood, ZA	daily rain	82.7 mm (3.3 in)	44.2 mm (1.7 in)	13 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Shirabad, UZ	monthly rain	33.2 mm (1.3 in)	9.2 mm (0.36 in)	35 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Palmyra, US	daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	3.8 cm (1.5 in)	91 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 January 1985	Batatais, BR	daily rain	109.3 mm (4.3 in)	66.5 mm (2.6 in)	8 years	42 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 1985

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1795 to 1985. 1985 had 988 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 1985-01-17: 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 2026-10-17 (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).

Histogram of margins by which records were beaten on 17 January 1985
Margin	Records
0 to 100	791
100 to 200	14
200 to 300	0
300 to 400	0
400 to 500	1