Weather Records on 17 May 1997

1,619 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 May 1997. Highest significance: Bendemeer (Caroline St), AU.

Key Facts for 17 May 1997

On 17 May 1997, 1,619 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
779 were record highs and 399 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 2 were all-time records, 36 monthly and 1,581 daily.
Bendemeer (Caroline St) set a daily record precipitation of 58.0 mm (2.3 in) on 17 May 1997.
Across 167 earlier years (1802 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 427 records.

Record Map

1,619 stations

1,619 station records on 17 May 1997 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 May 1997: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Bendemeer (Caroline St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	58.0 mm (2.3 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Condobolin Retirement Village	Australia	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Koigorodok	Russia	Record daily precipitation	60.6 mm (2.4 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Armidale (Radio Station 2Ad)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	42.8 mm (1.7 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Coolatai (Orana)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Kookabookra	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Lisboa Geofisica	Portugal	Record daily precipitation	53.2 mm (2.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Gronbaek-Allingskovgard	Denmark	Record daily precipitation	27.1 mm (1.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Westkapelle	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
High Mowthorpe	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	27.5 mm (1.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Eslohe	Germany	Record daily precipitation	49.3 mm (1.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Gabes	Tunisia	Record low minimum temperature	6.4 C (43.5 F)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Ashford (Sunhaven Hostel)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Wandsworth (Strabanne)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Cherry Tree Hill (Kulki)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Oparino	Russia	Record daily precipitation	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Minocqua	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Wondalli	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.5 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Oakwood (Lochiel)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	57.8 mm (2.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Wellingrove (Wangalea)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Bybera	Australia	Record daily precipitation	54.0 mm (2.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Wallangra (Wallangra Station)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Russellville	United States	Record low minimum temperature	1.7 C (35.1 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Kent	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Shawano 2SSW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Clausthal-Zellerfeld	Germany	Record daily precipitation	35.7 mm (1.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Los Gatos	United States	Record high minimum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Frankfort Downtown	United States	Record low minimum temperature	0.6 C (33.1 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Marion	United States	Record low minimum temperature	0.6 C (33.1 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Bendemeer (Glenclair)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	54.0 mm (2.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Uralla (Mihi)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Praha-Klementinum	Czech Republic	Record high minimum temperature	18.1 C (64.6 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Sisal	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Waverly	United States	Record low maximum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Tropic	United States	Record high maximum temperature	29.4 C (84.9 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Saltville 1N	United States	Record low minimum temperature	0.6 C (33.1 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Elkhorn	United States	Record low minimum temperature	0.6 C (33.1 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Coolatai (Willunga)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Usina Avanhandava (Cpfl)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	57.0 mm (2.2 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Brackettville	United States	Record low minimum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Capanema	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	74.2 mm (2.9 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Sontra	Germany	Record daily precipitation	81.7 mm (3.2 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Clausthal-Zellerfeld	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	26.5 C (79.7 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Feodosiia	Ukraine	Record high maximum temperature	31.3 C (88.3 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Houston	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Manly Railway Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	79.6 mm (3.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Western Creek	Australia	Record daily precipitation	49.2 mm (1.9 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Jerome	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Gravette	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.6 C (87.1 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Nevada City	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Tamworth (Bahreenah)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	49.4 mm (1.9 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Armidale (Belhaven)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Kremsmuenster	Austria	Record high maximum temperature	28.8 C (83.8 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Quitupan	Mexico	Record low minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Eelde	Netherlands	Record high minimum temperature	15.1 C (59.2 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Union 3 SSE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Carnarvon Airport	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.6 mm (1.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Calliope Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Walcha (Emu Creek)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.2 mm (1.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Astrahanka	Russia	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,619 records

Records set or tied on 17 May 1997 by type: Highest daily maximum 315, Lowest daily maximum 176, Highest daily minimum 464, Lowest daily minimum 223, Heaviest daily rainfall 419, Heaviest daily snowfall 10, Deepest snow cover 12.

Records on 17 May 1997 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	315
Lowest daily maximum	176
Highest daily minimum	464
Lowest daily minimum	223
Heaviest daily rainfall	419
Heaviest daily snowfall	10
Deepest snow cover	12

Records on 17 May 1997 by timescale: all-time 2, monthly 36, daily 1,581.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

1,292 broken records

Margins by which the 1,292 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 390.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 May 1997

Top 20 records on 17 May 1997 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 May 1997	Bendemeer (Caroline St), AU	daily rain	58.0 mm (2.3 in)	30.1 mm (1.2 in)	88 years	67 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1997	Condobolin Retirement Village, AU	daily rain	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	96 years	65 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1997	Koigorodok, RU	monthly rain	60.6 mm (2.4 in)	28.9 mm (1.1 in)	31 years	62 of 100 (Major)
17 May 1997	Armidale (Radio Station 2Ad), AU	daily rain	42.8 mm (1.7 in)	12.8 mm (0.5 in)	96 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Coolatai (Orana), AU	daily rain	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	51.4 mm (2.0 in)	12 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Kookabookra, AU	daily rain	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	16.5 mm (0.6 in)	96 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Lisboa Geofisica, PT	daily rain	53.2 mm (2.1 in)	42.3 mm (1.7 in)	24 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Gronbaek-Allingskovgard, DK	daily rain	27.1 mm (1.1 in)	5.4 mm (0.21 in)	105 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Westkapelle, NL	daily rain	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	17.4 mm (0.7 in)	24 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	High Mowthorpe, GB	daily rain	27.5 mm (1.1 in)	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	32 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Eslohe, DE	daily rain	49.3 mm (1.9 in)	33.2 mm (1.3 in)	14 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Gabes, TN	monthly low min	6.4 C (43.5 F)	0.2 C (0.4 F)	109 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Ashford (Sunhaven Hostel), AU	daily rain	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	44 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Wandsworth (Strabanne), AU	daily rain	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	10.9 mm (0.4 in)	96 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Cherry Tree Hill (Kulki), AU	daily rain	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	57.0 mm (2.2 in)	12 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Oparino, RU	all-time rain	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	10.1 mm (0.4 in)	19 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Minocqua, US	daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	92 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Wondalli, AU	daily rain	36.5 mm (1.4 in)	17.4 mm (0.7 in)	83 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Oakwood (Lochiel), AU	daily rain	57.8 mm (2.3 in)	43.8 mm (1.7 in)	23 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 May 1997	Wellingrove (Wangalea), AU	daily rain	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	8.4 mm (0.33 in)	96 years	46 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 1997

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1802 to 1997. 1997 had 1,619 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 1997-05-17: 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 50	1,279
50 to 100	8
100 to 150	0
150 to 200	0
200 to 250	2
250 to 300	1
300 to 350	1
350 to 400	1