Weather Records on 17 August 1988

1,608 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 August 1988. Highest significance: Oconomowoc Wwtp, US.

Key Facts for 17 August 1988

On 17 August 1988, 1,608 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
1,263 were record highs and 153 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 43 were all-time records, 112 monthly and 1,453 daily.
Oconomowoc Wwtp set an all-time record high maximum temperature of 38.3 C (100.9 F) on 17 August 1988.
Across 162 earlier years (1797 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 467 records.

Record Map

1,608 stations

1,608 station records on 17 August 1988 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 August 1988: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Oconomowoc Wwtp	United States	Record high maximum temperature	38.3 C (100.9 F)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Crystal Falls 6 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.9 mm (1.7 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Grand Marais	United States	Record daily precipitation	67.1 mm (2.6 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Actopan	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Chilton	United States	Record high minimum temperature	26.1 C (79.0 F)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Mondovi	United States	Record high minimum temperature	28.3 C (82.9 F)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Benxi	China	Record daily precipitation	166.9 mm (6.6 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Charles City	United States	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Cernigov	Ukraine	Record daily precipitation	52.3 mm (2.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Newton	United States	Record high maximum temperature	40.6 C (105.1 F)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Kenton	United States	Record daily precipitation	69.9 mm (2.8 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Caledonia	United States	Record high minimum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Deming	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Encinal	United States	Record high minimum temperature	28.3 C (82.9 F)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Monterey	United States	Record high maximum temperature	34.4 C (93.9 F)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Santo Tomas (Cfe)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	102.4 mm (4.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Mattoon	United States	Record high maximum temperature	38.9 C (102.0 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Vevay	United States	Record high maximum temperature	38.9 C (102.0 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Osceola	United States	Record high maximum temperature	38.9 C (102.0 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Alberta Ford For Ctr	United States	Record daily precipitation	58.9 mm (2.3 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Medford	United States	Record high minimum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Stratton	United States	Record high minimum temperature	30.0 C (86.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Madison	United States	Record high minimum temperature	26.7 C (80.1 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Lisbon	United States	Record high maximum temperature	40.6 C (105.1 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Rinconada	Mexico	Record low minimum temperature	13.9 C (57.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Chaska	United States	Record high minimum temperature	27.2 C (81.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Winton Pwr Plt	United States	Record daily precipitation	74.7 mm (2.9 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Big Rapids Wtp	United States	Record high maximum temperature	38.3 C (100.9 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Kalamazoo State Hospital	United States	Record high minimum temperature	25.6 C (78.1 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Dulce	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Canton	United States	Record high minimum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Rogersville 1 NE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.2 C (99.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Stanley Wwtp	United States	Record high minimum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Juarez	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Cihuatlan (Dge)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	147.3 mm (5.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Mkambati	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.3 mm (2.4 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Hoopeston	United States	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Champaign 3S	United States	Record high maximum temperature	38.9 C (102.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Anderson 1 N	United States	Record high maximum temperature	38.3 C (100.9 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Auburn 2 SSE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	36.7 C (98.1 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Valparaiso Wtr Wks	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.2 C (99.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Osceola	United States	Record high minimum temperature	23.3 C (73.9 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Holland Wtp	United States	Record high minimum temperature	27.8 C (82.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
St Peter	United States	Record high minimum temperature	26.1 C (79.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Sisseton	United States	Record high minimum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
West Bend	United States	Record high minimum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Saint Johns	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Tuscola	United States	Record high maximum temperature	39.4 C (102.9 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Ashland	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.2 C (99.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Carrollton Lock 1	United States	Record high maximum temperature	38.3 C (100.9 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Jefferson 2 E	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.6 C (96.1 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Warsaw 2 NW	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.8 C (100.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Marquette	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Karasul	Kazakhstan	Record daily precipitation	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Belle Plaine	United States	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Lake Park 3SSE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Detour Village	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Winnebago	United States	Record high minimum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Ashland	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.8 C (100.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Aurora Water	United States	Record high maximum temperature	36.7 C (98.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,608 records

Records set or tied on 17 August 1988 by type: Highest daily maximum 720, Lowest daily maximum 108, Highest daily minimum 543, Lowest daily minimum 45, Heaviest daily rainfall 192.

Records on 17 August 1988 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	720
Lowest daily maximum	108
Highest daily minimum	543
Lowest daily minimum	45
Heaviest daily rainfall	192
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	0

Records on 17 August 1988 by timescale: all-time 43, monthly 112, daily 1,453.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

1,193 broken records

Margins by which the 1,193 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 142.9. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 August 1988

Top 20 records on 17 August 1988 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 August 1988	Oconomowoc Wwtp, US	all-time high max	38.3 C (100.9 F)	0.5 C (0.9 F)	94 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Crystal Falls 6 NE, US	daily rain	43.9 mm (1.7 in)	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	94 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Grand Marais, US	daily rain	67.1 mm (2.6 in)	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	21 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Actopan, MX	daily rain	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	33 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Chilton, US	daily high min	26.1 C (79.0 F)	7.2 C (13.0 F)	82 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Mondovi, US	all-time high min	28.3 C (82.9 F)	0.5 C (0.9 F)	72 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Benxi, CN	daily rain	166.9 mm (6.6 in)	142.9 mm (5.6 in)	22 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Charles City, US	monthly high max	40.0 C (104.0 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	94 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Cernigov, UA	daily rain	52.3 mm (2.1 in)	24.7 mm (1.0 in)	43 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Newton, US	monthly high max	40.6 C (105.1 F)	0.6 C (1.1 F)	94 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Kenton, US	daily rain	69.9 mm (2.8 in)	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	2 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Caledonia, US	monthly high min	25.0 C (77.0 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	92 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Deming, US	daily rain	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	72 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Encinal, US	daily high min	28.3 C (82.9 F)	2.7 C (4.9 F)	79 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Monterey, US	monthly high max	34.4 C (93.9 F)	0.5 C (0.9 F)	92 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Santo Tomas (Cfe), MX	daily rain	102.4 mm (4.0 in)	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	10 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Mattoon, US	daily high max	38.9 C (102.0 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	92 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Vevay, US	daily high max	38.9 C (102.0 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	92 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Osceola, US	daily high max	38.9 C (102.0 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	93 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 August 1988	Alberta Ford For Ctr, US	daily rain	58.9 mm (2.3 in)	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	21 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

1797 to 1988

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1797 to 1988. 1988 had 1,608 records.

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

Records on 08-17 in each year
Year	Records
1797	2
1802	2
1820	2
1837	1
1838	2
1841	2
1842	1
1845	2
1853	1
1854	1
1856	1
1857	1
1861	3
1862	1
1867	1
1868	3
1869	1
1872	1
1875	2
1876	5
1879	1
1881	1
1882	1
1883	2
1885	3
1886	1
1888	5
1891	1
1892	3
1893	2
1894	3
1895	2
1896	3
1897	1
1898	5
1899	8
1900	3
1901	14
1902	7
1903	6
1904	2
1905	11
1906	28
1907	9
1908	26
1909	24
1910	17
1911	18
1912	31
1913	79
1914	41
1915	28
1916	33
1917	35
1918	112
1919	37
1920	110
1921	37
1922	169
1923	161
1924	171
1925	130
1926	182
1927	228
1928	131
1929	243
1930	138
1931	302
1932	360
1933	260
1934	377
1935	437
1936	670
1937	726
1938	466
1939	364
1940	341
1941	378
1942	461
1943	743
1944	531
1945	387
1946	433
1947	682
1948	475
1949	371
1950	522
1951	413
1952	470
1953	345
1954	685
1955	465
1956	407
1957	504
1958	519
1959	543
1960	533
1961	998
1962	445
1963	650
1964	410
1965	641
1966	496
1967	679
1968	953
1969	593
1970	467
1971	447
1972	1,044
1973	750
1974	582
1975	612
1976	797
1977	1,216
1978	814
1979	1,464
1980	895
1981	1,112
1982	554
1983	1,574
1984	726
1985	948
1986	916
1987	1,150
1988	1,608
1989	687
1990	949
1991	560
1992	1,813
1993	803
1994	1,038
1995	1,724
1996	752
1997	1,544
1998	1,003
1999	697
2000	994
2001	1,101
2002	1,266
2003	948
2004	1,046
2005	722
2006	814
2007	1,646
2008	1,301
2009	922
2010	1,105
2011	956
2012	1,215
2013	802
2014	997
2015	890
2016	748
2017	544
2018	518
2019	467
2020	1,529
2021	800
2022	1,428
2023	1,032
2024	740
2025	538
2026	535

Download the Data

Data for records on 1988-08-17: 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 20	1,166
20 to 40	20
40 to 60	5
60 to 80	1
80 to 100	0
100 to 120	0
120 to 140	0
140 to 160	1