Weather Records on 17 March 1997

895 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 March 1997. Highest significance: Fergus Falls, US.

Key Facts for 17 March 1997

On 17 March 1997, 895 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
445 were record highs and 83 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 2 were all-time records, 22 monthly and 871 daily.
Fergus Falls set a daily record snow depth of 167.6 cm (66.0 in) on 17 March 1997.
Across 161 earlier years (1825 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 472 records.

Record Map

895 stations

895 station records on 17 March 1997 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 March 1997: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Fergus Falls	United States	Record snow depth	167.6 cm (66.0 in)	79 of 100 (Major)
Oorlogshoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	62.5 mm (2.5 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Cuero	United States	Record daily precipitation	73.9 mm (2.9 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Philippolis (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Kalispell Glacier AP	United States	Record snow depth	116.8 cm (46.0 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Mc Intosh 6 SE	United States	Record snow depth	94.0 cm (37.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Mier Y Noriega (Smn)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Philipstown (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Pt Comfort	United States	Record daily precipitation	174.2 mm (6.9 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Victoria Rgnl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	101.9 mm (4.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Klipplaat	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Taung	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Coronel Murta	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	56.6 mm (2.2 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Alpena Wwtp	United States	Record snow depth	127.0 cm (50.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
The Meadows	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Medina	United States	Record snow depth	71.1 cm (28.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Columbia 8 N	United States	Record snow depth	101.6 cm (40.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Yoakum	United States	Record daily precipitation	114.3 mm (4.5 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Loxton (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
La Moure	United States	Record snow depth	111.8 cm (44.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Rothsay	United States	Record snow depth	96.5 cm (38.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Rockport	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.4 mm (2.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Tabou	Cote D'Ivoire	Record high maximum temperature	39.0 C (102.2 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Itaobim	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	98.9 mm (3.9 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Jequitinhonha (Pcd)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	81.3 mm (3.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Irene	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Bonners Ferry	United States	Record snow depth	73.7 cm (29.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Wadena 3 S	United States	Record snow depth	86.4 cm (34.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Roy	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Fargo Hector Intl AP	United States	Record snow depth	68.6 cm (27.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Oranje	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	73.0 mm (2.9 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Krakmo	Norway	Record snow depth	134.0 cm (52.8 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Oktjabrskij-Gorodok	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	1.8 C (35.2 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Heilbron (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Mayaguez City	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record low maximum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Durham	United Kingdom	Record high minimum temperature	9.0 C (48.2 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Litchville 2NW	United States	Record snow depth	71.1 cm (28.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Victoria Cp&L	United States	Record daily precipitation	93.5 mm (3.7 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Las Adjuntas	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Kareedoorn	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Grootmodderfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Potomac	United States	Record snow depth	68.6 cm (27.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
W Glacier	United States	Record snow depth	139.7 cm (55.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Gonzales 2S	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.8 mm (2.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Sonnblick	Austria	Record daily precipitation	54.5 mm (2.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Dorado 2 WNW	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record low maximum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Chimacum 4 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Oakley	United States	Record high minimum temperature	6.7 C (44.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Saint Maries	United States	Record snow depth	45.7 cm (18.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Crookston NW Exp STN	United States	Record snow depth	76.2 cm (30.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Trenton Falls	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Napoopoo 28	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Missoula 2 NE	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Thompsons 3 WSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Vosburg	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Anaconda	United States	Record high maximum temperature	18.9 C (66.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Seeley Lake Rs	United States	Record snow depth	119.4 cm (47.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Mtn Park	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Wahpeton 3 N	United States	Record snow depth	61.0 cm (24.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Snake Rvr	United States	Record high minimum temperature	0.6 C (33.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

895 records

Records set or tied on 17 March 1997 by type: Highest daily maximum 178, Lowest daily maximum 25, Highest daily minimum 267, Lowest daily minimum 58, Heaviest daily rainfall 251, Heaviest daily snowfall 14, Deepest snow cover 102.

Records on 17 March 1997 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	178
Lowest daily maximum	25
Highest daily minimum	267
Lowest daily minimum	58
Heaviest daily rainfall	251
Heaviest daily snowfall	14
Deepest snow cover	102

Records on 17 March 1997 by timescale: all-time 2, monthly 22, daily 871.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

705 broken records

Margins by which the 705 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 1092.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 March 1997

Top 20 records on 17 March 1997 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 March 1997	Fergus Falls, US	daily snow depth	167.6 cm (66.0 in)	109.2 cm (43.0 in)	99 years	79 of 100 (Major)
17 March 1997	Oorlogshoek, ZA	daily rain	62.5 mm (2.5 in)	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	54 years	64 of 100 (Major)
17 March 1997	Cuero, US	daily rain	73.9 mm (2.9 in)	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	71 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Philippolis (Pol), ZA	daily rain	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	30.9 mm (1.2 in)	78 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Kalispell Glacier AP, US	daily snow depth	116.8 cm (46.0 in)	78.7 cm (31.0 in)	28 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Mc Intosh 6 SE, US	daily snow depth	94.0 cm (37.0 in)	61.0 cm (24.0 in)	28 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Mier Y Noriega (Smn), MX	monthly rain	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	16.0 mm (0.6 in)	47 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Philipstown (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	18.2 mm (0.7 in)	109 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Pt Comfort, US	monthly rain	174.2 mm (6.9 in)	81.7 mm (3.2 in)	0 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Victoria Rgnl AP, US	daily rain	101.9 mm (4.0 in)	84.6 mm (3.3 in)	27 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Klipplaat, ZA	daily rain	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	36.5 mm (1.4 in)	22 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Taung, ZA	daily rain	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	19.4 mm (0.8 in)	91 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Coronel Murta, BR	daily rain	56.6 mm (2.2 in)	46.4 mm (1.8 in)	38 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Alpena Wwtp, US	daily snow depth	127.0 cm (50.0 in)	83.8 cm (33.0 in)	19 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	The Meadows, ZA	daily rain	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	18.5 mm (0.7 in)	76 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Medina, US	daily snow depth	71.1 cm (28.0 in)	55.9 cm (22.0 in)	4 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Columbia 8 N, US	daily snow depth	101.6 cm (40.0 in)	66.0 cm (26.0 in)	18 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Yoakum, US	monthly rain	114.3 mm (4.5 in)	11.7 mm (0.5 in)	73 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	Loxton (Pol), ZA	daily rain	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	36 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 March 1997	La Moure, US	daily snow depth	111.8 cm (44.0 in)	76.2 cm (30.0 in)	8 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

1825 to 1997

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1825 to 1997. 1997 had 895 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 1997-03-17: 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 200	677
200 to 400	18
400 to 600	4
600 to 800	4
800 to 1000	1
1000 to 1200	1