Weather Records on 17 May 1996

1,706 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 May 1996. Highest significance: Grafton, US.

Key Facts for 17 May 1996

On 17 May 1996, 1,706 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
978 were record highs and 387 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 96 monthly and 1,610 daily.
Grafton set a daily record precipitation of 73.7 mm (2.9 in) on 17 May 1996.
Across 167 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 427 records.

Record Map

1,706 stations

1,706 station records on 17 May 1996 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 May 1996: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Grafton	United States	Record daily precipitation	73.7 mm (2.9 in)	77 of 100 (Major)
Ashley	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	74 of 100 (Major)
Edmore 4NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	100.3 mm (3.9 in)	72 of 100 (Major)
Angola	United States	Record daily precipitation	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	70 of 100 (Major)
Martenshoop (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	68 of 100 (Major)
Canyon Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Belington	United States	Record daily precipitation	96.5 mm (3.8 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
A Coruna	Spain	Record daily precipitation	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Twin Lakes	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.3 mm (2.1 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Grand Forks Intl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Adams 7 SSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	105.2 mm (4.1 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Bandon 2 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Towner 2 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	66.3 mm (2.6 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Diredawa	Ethiopia	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Kota Kinabalu Intl	Malaysia	Record daily precipitation	182.1 mm (7.2 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Langdon Exp Farm	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Buckhannon	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.8 mm (1.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Columbia City	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Philippi	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.3 mm (2.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
San Juan Bautista Cuicatlan (	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Sonora	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.9 mm (1.7 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Manassa	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Stryker	United States	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Conceicao Do Castelo (Dnos)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Galva	United States	Record high minimum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Warroad	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.9 mm (1.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Santa Cruz	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.9 C (57.0 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Burlington	United States	Record high minimum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Beloit	United States	Record high minimum temperature	23.3 C (73.9 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ness City	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.8 C (100.0 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Agassiz Refuge	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Canadian	United States	Record high maximum temperature	40.6 C (105.1 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Argyle	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Amersfoort (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Mineral	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.6 mm (2.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Quinter	United States	Record high minimum temperature	18.3 C (64.9 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Superior	United States	Record high maximum temperature	36.7 C (98.1 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Taos	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Dailey 1 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Fargo Hector Intl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Coraki Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Ross	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Monte Vista 2W	United States	Record high maximum temperature	27.8 C (82.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Steamboat Springs	United States	Record high maximum temperature	27.8 C (82.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Hays 1 S	United States	Record high minimum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Meade	United States	Record high minimum temperature	18.9 C (66.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Ness City	United States	Record high minimum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Olathe 3E	United States	Record high minimum temperature	22.8 C (73.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Paola	United States	Record high minimum temperature	23.3 C (73.9 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Wakeeney	United States	Record high minimum temperature	19.4 C (66.9 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Cherokee 4W	United States	Record high minimum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Millerovo	Russia	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Angwin Pacific Union College	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Willits 1 NE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Delta	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Atchison	United States	Record high minimum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Hurdsfield 8 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Linkoeping-Malmslaett	Sweden	Record low maximum temperature	5.2 C (41.4 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
McCloud	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Manhattan	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.6 C (96.1 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,706 records

Records set or tied on 17 May 1996 by type: Highest daily maximum 452, Lowest daily maximum 266, Highest daily minimum 526, Lowest daily minimum 121, Heaviest daily rainfall 335, Deepest snow cover 6.

Records on 17 May 1996 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	452
Lowest daily maximum	266
Highest daily minimum	526
Lowest daily minimum	121
Heaviest daily rainfall	335
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	6

Records on 17 May 1996 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 96, daily 1,610.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

1,347 broken records

Margins by which the 1,347 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 May 1996

Top 20 records on 17 May 1996 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 May 1996	Grafton, US	daily rain	73.7 mm (2.9 in)	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	90 years	77 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1996	Ashley, US	daily rain	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	94 years	74 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1996	Edmore 4NW, US	monthly rain	100.3 mm (3.9 in)	64.5 mm (2.5 in)	46 years	72 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1996	Angola, US	monthly rain	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	35.5 mm (1.4 in)	53 years	70 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1996	Martenshoop (Pol), ZA	daily rain	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	85 years	68 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1996	Canyon Dam, US	daily rain	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	79 years	66 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1996	Belington, US	monthly rain	96.5 mm (3.8 in)	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	27 years	63 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1996	A Coruna, ES	daily rain	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	29.3 mm (1.2 in)	50 years	61 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1996	Twin Lakes, US	daily rain	52.3 mm (2.1 in)	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	47 years	61 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1996	Grand Forks Intl AP, US	daily rain	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	54 years	61 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1996	Adams 7 SSW, US	monthly rain	105.2 mm (4.1 in)	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	21 years	60 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1996	Bandon 2 NNE, US	daily rain	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	15.3 mm (0.6 in)	88 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1996	Towner 2 NE, US	daily rain	66.3 mm (2.6 in)	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	34 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1996	Diredawa, ET	daily rain	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	41 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1996	Kota Kinabalu Intl, MY	daily rain	182.1 mm (7.2 in)	127.0 mm (5.0 in)	32 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1996	Langdon Exp Farm, US	daily rain	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	11.1 mm (0.4 in)	90 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1996	Buckhannon, US	daily rain	48.8 mm (1.9 in)	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	55 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1996	Columbia City, US	daily rain	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	34.6 mm (1.4 in)	32 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1996	Philippi, US	daily rain	51.3 mm (2.0 in)	9.4 mm (0.37 in)	96 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1996	San Juan Bautista Cuicatlan (, MX	daily low max	21.7 C (71.1 F)	7.2 C (13.0 F)	72 years	47 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

1802 to 1996

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1996. 1996 had 1,706 records.

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

Records on 05-17 in each year
Year	Records
1802	2
1803	1
1808	1
1816	1
1834	1
1837	1
1839	1
1847	2
1848	1
1851	1
1853	1
1855	1
1858	1
1859	1
1861	2
1862	2
1863	2
1864	1
1871	2
1872	2
1873	2
1874	4
1877	1
1878	1
1879	2
1880	1
1881	1
1882	2
1883	3
1885	1
1887	1
1888	2
1889	3
1891	8
1892	4
1893	3
1895	8
1896	2
1897	3
1898	6
1899	7
1900	12
1901	2
1902	3
1903	9
1904	12
1905	10
1906	22
1907	10
1908	5
1909	33
1910	16
1911	30
1912	16
1913	24
1914	24
1915	53
1916	49
1917	18
1918	56
1919	35
1920	46
1921	50
1922	30
1923	95
1924	80
1925	326
1926	133
1927	264
1928	127
1929	168
1930	421
1931	201
1932	288
1933	365
1934	373
1935	341
1936	270
1937	183
1938	340
1939	285
1940	338
1941	408
1942	589
1943	855
1944	521
1945	799
1946	586
1947	249
1948	412
1949	544
1950	371
1951	373
1952	777
1953	441
1954	298
1955	570
1956	1,166
1957	469
1958	331
1959	488
1960	402
1961	291
1962	1,325
1963	368
1964	417
1965	462
1966	489
1967	644
1968	564
1969	638
1970	711
1971	723
1972	610
1973	1,016
1974	1,302
1975	365
1976	426
1977	1,078
1978	872
1979	459
1980	768
1981	940
1982	476
1983	1,326
1984	925
1985	561
1986	921
1987	1,054
1988	1,096
1989	1,307
1990	1,135
1991	1,237
1992	1,025
1993	495
1994	858
1995	1,734
1996	1,706
1997	1,619
1998	1,080
1999	795
2000	825
2001	960
2002	964
2003	1,127
2004	769
2005	784
2006	1,522
2007	742
2008	1,309
2009	1,050
2010	880
2011	1,483
2012	711
2013	739
2014	1,062
2015	824
2016	741
2017	1,302
2018	726
2019	686
2020	496
2021	443
2022	479
2023	385
2024	566
2025	928
2026	745

Download the Data

Data for records on 1996-05-17: 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	1,301
20 to 40	34
40 to 60	7
60 to 80	2
80 to 100	0
100 to 120	1
120 to 140	2