Weather Records on 17 March 1986

551 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 March 1986. Highest significance: Nebo, ZA.

Key Facts for 17 March 1986

On 17 March 1986, 551 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
135 were record highs and 135 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 4 were all-time records, 12 monthly and 535 daily.
Nebo set an all-time record daily precipitation of 140.0 mm (5.5 in) on 17 March 1986.
Across 161 earlier years (1825 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 474 records.

Record Map

551 stations

551 station records on 17 March 1986 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 March 1986: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Nebo	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	140.0 mm (5.5 in)	84 of 100 (Exceptional)
Saint Paul	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.3 mm (1.9 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Valentine Miller Fld AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Northwood	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Cedar Butte	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Murdo	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Ferron	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Fazenda Juca Casimiro	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	76.4 mm (3.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Carroll	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.9 mm (1.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Cut Bank AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Salida	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Midland	United States	Record daily snowfall	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Dunedin	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	72.0 mm (2.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Barrage (Rwb)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Sedona	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Val (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	58.9 mm (2.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Bodie California St Historic P	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Reitz 36	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
San Manuel	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Heritage	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.5 mm (1.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
N Lazy H Rch	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Halsey 2 W	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Tombstone	United States	Record low maximum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Walnut Canyon Nm	United States	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Thoreau	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Villa Purificacion (Dge)	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	26.7 C (80.1 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Gisela	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Fullerton	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.6 mm (1.5 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
San Juan de Aragon	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	38.3 C (100.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
McNary 2N	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Columbus 3 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Waialua 847	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.1 C (88.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Santa Lucia	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	57.8 mm (2.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Bueno de Andrada	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Buckland Downs	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Broadus	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.6 cm (8.9 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Dinghai	China	Record daily precipitation	37.2 mm (1.5 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Oracle 2 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Placerville 3SE	United States	Record snow depth	58.4 cm (23.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Midland	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Murdo	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Onaka	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Shanghai/Hongqiao	China	Record daily precipitation	31.3 mm (1.2 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Anqing	China	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Betatakin	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Richfield	United States	Record high minimum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
El Morro Natl Mon	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Lnai Culture & Heritage Ctr	United States	Record high minimum temperature	19.4 C (66.9 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Huoshan	China	Record daily precipitation	32.2 mm (1.3 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Dolinsk	Russia	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Villiers (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Canelo 1 NW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Ignacio 1 N	United States	Record low maximum temperature	2.8 C (37.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
McGaffey 5 SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Cedar Butte	United States	Record daily snowfall	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Naalehu 14	United States	Record high maximum temperature	29.4 C (84.9 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Salvatierra	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	17.8 C (64.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Kanin Nos	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Moorside	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Jonkersdam	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

551 records

Records set or tied on 17 March 1986 by type: Highest daily maximum 77, Lowest daily maximum 86, Highest daily minimum 58, Lowest daily minimum 49, Heaviest daily rainfall 213, Heaviest daily snowfall 48, Deepest snow cover 20.

Records on 17 March 1986 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	77
Lowest daily maximum	86
Highest daily minimum	58
Lowest daily minimum	49
Heaviest daily rainfall	213
Heaviest daily snowfall	48
Deepest snow cover	20

Records on 17 March 1986 by timescale: all-time 4, monthly 12, daily 535.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

453 broken records

Margins by which the 453 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 251.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 March 1986

Top 20 records on 17 March 1986 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 March 1986	Nebo, ZA	all-time rain	140.0 mm (5.5 in)	39.7 mm (1.6 in)	79 years	84 of 100 (Exceptional)
17 March 1986	Saint Paul, US	daily rain	49.3 mm (1.9 in)	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	35 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Valentine Miller Fld AP, US	daily rain	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	21.5 mm (0.8 in)	28 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Northwood, US	daily rain	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	10.6 mm (0.4 in)	86 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Cedar Butte, US	monthly rain	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	8.4 mm (0.33 in)	64 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Murdo, US	daily rain	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	52 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Ferron, US	daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	87 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Fazenda Juca Casimiro, BR	daily rain	76.4 mm (3.0 in)	49.4 mm (1.9 in)	29 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Carroll, US	daily rain	39.9 mm (1.6 in)	17.3 mm (0.7 in)	56 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Cut Bank AP, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	8.8 cm (3.5 in)	36 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Salida, US	daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	7.7 cm (3.0 in)	80 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Midland, US	daily snowfall	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	19.1 cm (7.5 in)	15 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Dunedin, ZA	daily rain	72.0 mm (2.8 in)	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	13 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Barrage (Rwb), ZA	daily rain	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	24.0 mm (0.9 in)	32 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Sedona, US	daily rain	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	23 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Val (Sar), ZA	daily rain	58.9 mm (2.3 in)	32.4 mm (1.3 in)	28 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Bodie California St Historic P, US	daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	3.8 cm (1.5 in)	89 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Reitz 36, ZA	daily rain	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	12.5 mm (0.5 in)	64 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	San Manuel, US	daily rain	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	17.2 mm (0.7 in)	28 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1986	Heritage, ZA	daily rain	40.5 mm (1.6 in)	12.6 mm (0.5 in)	61 years	37 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

1825 to 1986

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1825 to 1986. 1986 had 551 records.

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

Records on 03-17 in each year
Year	Records
1825	2
1839	1
1845	1
1850	2
1852	1
1853	1
1856	1
1857	1
1863	1
1866	2
1867	1
1869	1
1870	1
1872	1
1874	3
1876	1
1877	2
1878	3
1879	1
1881	1
1882	4
1883	1
1884	3
1885	3
1886	1
1887	3
1888	2
1889	3
1890	2
1892	1
1895	5
1896	2
1897	9
1898	14
1899	5
1900	5
1901	4
1902	16
1903	10
1904	11
1905	10
1906	15
1907	14
1908	20
1909	20
1910	17
1911	7
1912	7
1913	31
1914	28
1915	22
1916	40
1917	52
1918	26
1919	86
1920	50
1921	96
1922	49
1923	130
1924	78
1925	143
1926	185
1927	369
1928	230
1929	85
1930	306
1931	124
1932	484
1933	198
1934	368
1935	259
1936	601
1937	455
1938	394
1939	583
1940	250
1941	689
1942	783
1943	500
1944	288
1945	1,345
1946	810
1947	332
1948	340
1949	178
1950	1,105
1951	489
1952	527
1953	236
1954	365
1955	385
1956	573
1957	327
1958	535
1959	471
1960	814
1961	679
1962	321
1963	738
1964	241
1965	1,115
1966	970
1967	856
1968	849
1969	651
1970	768
1971	361
1972	1,013
1973	943
1974	837
1975	475
1976	534
1977	479
1978	787
1979	507
1980	658
1981	679
1982	1,315
1983	912
1984	599
1985	662
1986	551
1987	1,362
1988	1,325
1989	1,082
1990	1,916
1991	756
1992	740
1993	1,608
1994	822
1995	989
1996	689
1997	895
1998	972
1999	688
2000	792
2001	1,349
2002	1,210
2003	1,244
2004	1,406
2005	1,475
2006	579
2007	1,470
2008	955
2009	717
2010	584
2011	926
2012	2,715
2013	723
2014	1,039
2015	1,145
2016	545
2017	847
2018	891
2019	738
2020	454
2021	502
2022	452
2023	875
2024	668
2025	722
2026	2,522

Download the Data

Data for records on 1986-03-17: 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).

Margin	Records
0 to 50	421
50 to 100	22
100 to 150	7
150 to 200	2
200 to 250	0
250 to 300	1