Weather Records on 17 October 1988

827 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 October 1988. Highest significance: Goshen 3SW, US.

Key Facts for 17 October 1988

On 17 October 1988, 827 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
510 were record highs and 75 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 25 monthly and 801 daily.
Goshen 3SW set a daily record precipitation of 61.0 mm (2.4 in) on 17 October 1988.
Across 162 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 437 records.

Record Map

827 stations

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

Weather records on 17 October 1988: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Goshen 3SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Sheridan Fld STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Elk City 1NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Rapid City 4NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Niles	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Laporte	United States	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Sattahip	Thailand	Record daily precipitation	175.0 mm (6.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Weston 1 E	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Hamakuapoko 485	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Biskra	Algeria	Record high minimum temperature	27.0 C (80.6 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Huesca	Spain	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Fenn Rs	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Lowell	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Xichang	China	Record daily precipitation	37.8 mm (1.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Sutherland	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Coldwater St School	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Mud Mtn Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Kanalohuluhulu 1075	United States	Record low maximum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Challis	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Laketown	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Rapelje	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Mankayane	Swaziland	Record daily precipitation	76.5 mm (3.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Mackay Lost Rvr Rs	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Payette	United States	Record high minimum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Plattsburgh AFB	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Paia 406	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
S Bend AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	88.1 mm (3.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Dores Do Rio Preto	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	101.2 mm (4.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Saentis	Switzerland	Record high minimum temperature	7.9 C (46.2 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Lincoln Rs	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Manzini/Matsapa Air	Swaziland	Record daily precipitation	72.5 mm (2.9 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Ouse (Millbrook)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.8 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Izucar de Matamoros (Dge)	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Cape St. Lucia	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Barcelona/Aeropuerto	Spain	Record high minimum temperature	20.4 C (68.7 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Deer Flat Dam	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Warren	United States	Record high minimum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Hobart 2 WNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.8 mm (1.4 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Clover Valley	United States	Record high minimum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Hillsboro	United States	Record high maximum temperature	28.3 C (82.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Mtunzini	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.3 mm (1.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
De Sabla	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.7 C (89.1 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Olathe 3E	United States	Record high minimum temperature	17.2 C (63.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Perryville Wtp	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Gage	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.6 C (87.1 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Austin 3 S	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Sheaville 1 SE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Randle 1 E	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Lnai Culture & Heritage Ctr	United States	Record high minimum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Gulkana AP	United States	Record snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Fishtail	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Vinita 2 N	United States	Record high minimum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Wallowa	United States	Record high minimum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Lucin	United States	Record high maximum temperature	26.7 C (80.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Maydena	Australia	Record daily precipitation	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Nooitgedacht	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	30.4 mm (1.2 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Ft Collins	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
New Meadows Rs	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Paul 1ENE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Red Lodge	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

827 records

Records set or tied on 17 October 1988 by type: Highest daily maximum 227, Lowest daily maximum 26, Highest daily minimum 283, Lowest daily minimum 49, Heaviest daily rainfall 233, Heaviest daily snowfall 4, Deepest snow cover 5.

Records on 17 October 1988 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	227
Lowest daily maximum	26
Highest daily minimum	283
Lowest daily minimum	49
Heaviest daily rainfall	233
Heaviest daily snowfall	4
Deepest snow cover	5

Records on 17 October 1988 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 25, daily 801.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

650 broken records

Margins by which the 650 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 127.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 October 1988

Top 20 records on 17 October 1988 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 October 1988	Goshen 3SW, US	daily rain	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	71 years	64 of 100 (Major)
17 October 1988	Sheridan Fld STN, US	daily rain	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	55 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Elk City 1NE, US	daily rain	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	18.1 mm (0.7 in)	68 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Rapid City 4NW, US	daily rain	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	37 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Niles, US	daily rain	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	34 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Laporte, US	daily rain	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	24.1 mm (0.9 in)	88 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Sattahip, TH	daily rain	175.0 mm (6.9 in)	120.1 mm (4.7 in)	26 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Weston 1 E, US	daily rain	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	24 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Hamakuapoko 485, US	daily rain	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	35.5 mm (1.4 in)	22 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Biskra, DZ	daily high min	27.0 C (80.6 F)	4.0 C (7.2 F)	77 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Huesca, ES	daily rain	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	43.5 mm (1.7 in)	8 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Fenn Rs, US	daily rain	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	43 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Lowell, US	daily rain	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	14.0 mm (0.6 in)	65 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Xichang, CN	daily rain	37.8 mm (1.5 in)	22.3 mm (0.9 in)	31 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Sutherland, ZA	daily rain	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	22.0 mm (0.9 in)	50 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Coldwater St School, US	daily rain	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	5.5 mm (0.22 in)	88 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Mud Mtn Dam, US	daily rain	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	21.1 mm (0.8 in)	41 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Kanalohuluhulu 1075, US	daily low max	12.8 C (55.0 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	51 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Challis, US	daily high min	10.6 C (51.1 F)	5.0 C (9.0 F)	60 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
17 October 1988	Laketown, US	daily high min	10.6 C (51.1 F)	5.0 C (9.0 F)	60 years	39 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

1793 to 1988

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1988. 1988 had 827 records.

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

Records on 10-17 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1796	2
1808	2
1810	1
1811	1
1817	1
1820	1
1830	1
1836	1
1844	1
1845	1
1868	1
1869	2
1870	1
1872	1
1874	1
1875	1
1876	3
1877	1
1878	1
1879	7
1881	1
1882	1
1883	1
1884	2
1885	2
1886	1
1889	1
1890	3
1891	2
1892	6
1893	5
1894	2
1895	1
1897	3
1898	6
1899	3
1900	3
1901	3
1902	4
1903	9
1904	17
1905	12
1906	3
1907	16
1908	46
1909	18
1910	13
1911	24
1912	12
1913	26
1914	72
1915	7
1916	81
1917	29
1918	20
1919	34
1920	82
1921	64
1922	60
1923	149
1924	81
1925	324
1926	153
1927	163
1928	530
1929	119
1930	441
1931	431
1932	345
1933	190
1934	262
1935	337
1936	338
1937	865
1938	710
1939	424
1940	580
1941	194
1942	349
1943	1,173
1944	415
1945	289
1946	437
1947	744
1948	724
1949	442
1950	809
1951	274
1952	474
1953	463
1954	579
1955	562
1956	353
1957	245
1958	415
1959	403
1960	432
1961	525
1962	350
1963	513
1964	492
1965	920
1966	551
1967	576
1968	929
1969	714
1970	815
1971	1,053
1972	866
1973	542
1974	1,055
1975	605
1976	1,381
1977	1,060
1978	583
1979	468
1980	1,366
1981	555
1982	575
1983	526
1984	1,551
1985	585
1986	354
1987	828
1988	827
1989	1,163
1990	1,109
1991	1,352
1992	1,384
1993	1,001
1994	1,306
1995	1,076
1996	987
1997	1,114
1998	1,455
1999	815
2000	461
2001	878
2002	992
2003	764
2004	935
2005	643
2006	1,506
2007	690
2008	467
2009	1,606
2010	625
2011	734
2012	550
2013	516
2014	530
2015	843
2016	1,559
2017	743
2018	1,163
2019	504
2020	889
2021	294
2022	964
2023	544
2024	994
2025	363

Download the Data

Data for records on 1988-10-17: 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	618
20 to 40	25
40 to 60	3
60 to 80	1
80 to 100	0
100 to 120	1
120 to 140	2