Weather Records on 21 March 1988

1,155 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 21 March 1988. Highest significance: Baku, AZ.

Key Facts for 21 March 1988

On 21 March 1988, 1,155 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
548 were record highs and 335 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 14 monthly and 1,140 daily.
Baku set a daily record precipitation of 36.8 mm (1.4 in) on 21 March 1988.
Across 157 earlier years (1797 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 478 records.

Record Map

1,155 stations

1,155 station records on 21 March 1988 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 21 March 1988: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Baku	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Cipo	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	102.4 mm (4.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Estancia	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	74.3 mm (2.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Zuerich/Fluntern	Switzerland	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Mashtaga	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	34.6 mm (1.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Owase	Japan	Record daily precipitation	137.0 mm (5.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Sumgait	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Noupoort	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Gulca	Kyrgyzstan	Record daily precipitation	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Cambridge	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Manati 2 E	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record high minimum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Susanville 2SW	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Martenshoop (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Lowell	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-12.8 C (9.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Oak City	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Canton 4 SE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-23.9 C (-11.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Perth Regional Office	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	41.7 C (107.1 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Saint Johnsbury	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.8 C (18.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Ashland	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Lagodehi	Georgia	Record daily precipitation	44.2 mm (1.7 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Payette	United States	Record high maximum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Wibaux 2 E	United States	Record high maximum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Ogdensburg 4 NE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.2 C (19.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Kaiserslautern	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	8.8 C (47.8 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Trinidad	United States	Record high maximum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
New Bedford Coop	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-4.4 C (24.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Grafton	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-8.9 C (16.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Laguna	United States	Record high maximum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Watertown	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-16.1 C (3.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Bowling Green Wwtp	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-3.9 C (25.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Hiram	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-4.4 C (24.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Tooele	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Mount Barker	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	38.6 C (101.5 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Leningori	Georgia	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Las Animas	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.6 C (87.1 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Mtn Home	United States	Record high minimum temperature	8.9 C (48.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Magdalena	United States	Record high maximum temperature	23.3 C (73.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Lake Placid 2 S	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-11.7 C (10.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Park City G.C.	United States	Record high minimum temperature	5.0 C (41.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Shaki	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Sigmarszell-Zeisertsweiler	Germany	Record daily precipitation	39.3 mm (1.5 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Grand View 4 NW	United States	Record high minimum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Lewiston	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.8 C (18.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Bethlehem	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-10.6 C (12.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Ogdensburg 4 NE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-18.3 C (-0.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Tupper Lake Sunmount	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-24.4 C (-11.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Enosburg Falls	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-9.4 C (15.1 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Katanning Comparison	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	37.7 C (99.9 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Tobolsk	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	6.2 C (43.2 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Mountainair	United States	Record high maximum temperature	22.8 C (73.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Lake Placid 2 S	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-25.0 C (-13.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Beaver Falls 1 NE	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Cornwall	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.8 C (18.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Lovell	United States	Record high minimum temperature	4.4 C (39.9 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Northam	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	40.1 C (104.2 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Wandering Comparison	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	38.0 C (100.4 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Kempten	Germany	Record daily precipitation	35.3 mm (1.4 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Flagler 1S	United States	Record high maximum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Bridger 2 N	United States	Record high minimum temperature	6.1 C (43.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Lockport 2SE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-6.1 C (21.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,155 records

Records set or tied on 21 March 1988 by type: Highest daily maximum 324, Lowest daily maximum 150, Highest daily minimum 224, Lowest daily minimum 185, Heaviest daily rainfall 211, Heaviest daily snowfall 16, Deepest snow cover 45.

Records on 21 March 1988 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	324
Lowest daily maximum	150
Highest daily minimum	224
Lowest daily minimum	185
Heaviest daily rainfall	211
Heaviest daily snowfall	16
Deepest snow cover	45

Records on 21 March 1988 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 14, daily 1,140.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

917 broken records

Margins by which the 917 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 290.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

21 March 1988

Top 20 records on 21 March 1988 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
21 March 1988	Baku, AZ	daily rain	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	12.7 mm (0.5 in)	79 years	62 of 100 (Major)
21 March 1988	Cipo, BR	daily rain	102.4 mm (4.0 in)	79.1 mm (3.1 in)	41 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Estancia, BR	daily rain	74.3 mm (2.9 in)	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	41 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Zuerich/Fluntern, CH	daily rain	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	11.7 mm (0.5 in)	75 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Mashtaga, AZ	daily rain	34.6 mm (1.4 in)	23.4 mm (0.9 in)	15 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Owase, JP	daily rain	137.0 mm (5.4 in)	101.0 mm (4.0 in)	7 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Sumgait, AZ	monthly rain	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	8.3 mm (0.33 in)	25 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Noupoort, ZA	daily rain	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	6.1 mm (0.24 in)	94 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Gulca, KG	daily rain	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	15.9 mm (0.6 in)	29 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Cambridge, US	daily high min	7.2 C (45.0 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	83 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Manati 2 E, PR	daily high min	21.7 C (71.1 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	86 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Susanville 2SW, US	daily high min	7.2 C (45.0 F)	1.6 C (2.9 F)	91 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Martenshoop (Pol), ZA	daily rain	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	63 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Lowell, US	daily low min	-12.8 C (9.0 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	88 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Oak City, US	daily high min	10.6 C (51.1 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	78 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Canton 4 SE, US	daily low min	-23.9 C (-11.0 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	88 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Perth Regional Office, AU	monthly high max	41.7 C (107.1 F)	0.4 C (0.7 F)	66 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Saint Johnsbury, US	daily low max	-7.8 C (18.0 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	88 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Ashland, US	daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	1.3 cm (0.5 in)	92 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
21 March 1988	Lagodehi, GE	daily rain	44.2 mm (1.7 in)	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	17 years	36 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

1797 to 1988

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1797 to 1988. 1988 had 1,155 records.

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

Records on 03-21 in each year
Year	Records
1797	2
1805	1
1806	1
1822	1
1830	1
1836	1
1837	1
1845	1
1846	1
1850	1
1852	2
1857	1
1865	7
1874	1
1877	1
1880	1
1881	1
1883	2
1884	1
1885	5
1886	2
1888	1
1890	3
1892	1
1893	1
1894	1
1895	1
1896	2
1897	2
1898	3
1899	4
1900	4
1901	9
1902	18
1903	23
1904	17
1905	6
1906	3
1907	14
1908	3
1909	11
1910	10
1911	10
1912	36
1913	97
1914	71
1915	27
1916	44
1917	43
1918	43
1919	29
1920	90
1921	96
1922	50
1923	72
1924	96
1925	141
1926	282
1927	179
1928	293
1929	104
1930	99
1931	638
1932	305
1933	235
1934	114
1935	675
1936	225
1937	172
1938	783
1939	280
1940	366
1941	311
1942	330
1943	217
1944	556
1945	294
1946	570
1947	192
1948	948
1949	330
1950	398
1951	779
1952	689
1953	342
1954	211
1955	1,124
1956	686
1957	373
1958	619
1959	230
1960	892
1961	268
1962	548
1963	298
1964	333
1965	1,961
1966	464
1967	487
1968	798
1969	219
1970	612
1971	358
1972	519
1973	385
1974	1,097
1975	751
1976	710
1977	376
1978	838
1979	656
1980	775
1981	676
1982	850
1983	1,673
1984	835
1985	503
1986	1,170
1987	948
1988	1,155
1989	1,396
1990	1,380
1991	1,446
1992	877
1993	687
1994	684
1995	1,141
1996	1,119
1997	1,670
1998	935
1999	1,044
2000	802
2001	1,342
2002	1,593
2003	1,073
2004	1,511
2005	649
2006	1,417
2007	1,220
2008	734
2009	558
2010	1,134
2011	1,451
2012	2,854
2013	727
2014	639
2015	568
2016	553
2017	1,117
2018	809
2019	649
2020	445
2021	489
2022	615
2023	815
2024	432
2025	845
2026	2,614

Download the Data

Data for records on 1988-03-21: 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 2026-10-14 (14 October 2026). Records are computed by this site and are not official.

Data as of 2026-10-12. Last revised 12 October 2026 (2026-10-12).

Margin	Records
0 to 50	893
50 to 100	14
100 to 150	4
150 to 200	2
200 to 250	2
250 to 300	2