Weather Records on 18 May 1997

1,115 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 18 May 1997. Highest significance: Gottingen, DE.

Key Facts for 18 May 1997

On 18 May 1997, 1,115 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
581 were record highs and 226 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 40 monthly and 1,075 daily.
Gottingen set a monthly record daily precipitation of 62.8 mm (2.5 in) on 18 May 1997.
Across 164 earlier years (1796 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 438 records.

Record Map

1,115 stations

1,115 station records on 18 May 1997 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 18 May 1997: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Gottingen	Germany	Record daily precipitation	62.8 mm (2.5 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Hildesheim	Germany	Record daily precipitation	66.1 mm (2.6 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Schmalkalden	Germany	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Meerbeck	Germany	Record daily precipitation	69.3 mm (2.7 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Ai-Petri	Ukraine	Record daily precipitation	48.4 mm (1.9 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Twolganup	Australia	Record daily precipitation	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Dunedoo Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.4 mm (1.4 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Sacramento 5 ESE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Mareeba Qwrc	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.5 mm (1.1 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Tajga	Russia	Record daily precipitation	42.6 mm (1.7 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Normanville	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.2 mm (1.6 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Eschwege	Germany	Record daily precipitation	43.3 mm (1.7 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Marknesse_1	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Yladgee	Australia	Record daily precipitation	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Waldhauser (National Park)	Germany	Record daily precipitation	47.9 mm (1.9 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Ibate	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	62.3 mm (2.5 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Diepholz	Germany	Record daily precipitation	44.8 mm (1.8 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Seesen	Germany	Record daily precipitation	39.2 mm (1.5 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Worpswede-Huttenbusch	Germany	Record daily precipitation	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Rooijantjiesfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Walkamin Research Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Alfred	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.6 mm (2.2 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Cape Leeuwin	Australia	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Passau-Maierhof	Germany	Record daily precipitation	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Cranbrook	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Kilburnie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Magdeburg	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	16.8 C (62.2 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Faskally	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	33.6 mm (1.3 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Benalla	Australia	Record daily precipitation	45.6 mm (1.8 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Chillinup	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Lichtentanne	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Bolotnoe	Russia	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Kenosha Wwtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Dutch Harbor	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
San Jose	United States	Record high maximum temperature	37.8 C (100.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Mt Sterling	United States	Record low minimum temperature	1.7 C (35.1 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Wonnenup	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Uccle	Belgium	Record high minimum temperature	15.3 C (59.5 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Bernburg/Saale (Nord)	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	15.8 C (60.4 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Chemnitz	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	15.8 C (60.4 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Willow Sprg Radio Kuku	United States	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Chirelillup	Australia	Record daily precipitation	47.4 mm (1.9 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Neptune Island	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Santiago Yeche	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	34.8 mm (1.4 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Santa Catarina Juquila (Cfe)	Mexico	Record low minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Cet Central England	United Kingdom	Record high minimum temperature	13.0 C (55.4 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Berkeley	United States	Record high maximum temperature	35.0 C (95.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Santa Barbara	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Northfield	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Salzburg	Austria	Record high minimum temperature	17.1 C (62.8 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Santa Paula	United States	Record high minimum temperature	17.2 C (63.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Santa Rosa	United States	Record high minimum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Sacramento 5 ESE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Leipzig-Holzhausen	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	15.9 C (60.6 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Clausthal-Zellerfeld	Germany	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Tomsk	Russia	Record daily precipitation	27.3 mm (1.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Saint Helena	United States	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Pemberton	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.3 mm (1.7 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Condinup	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Aurich	Germany	Record daily precipitation	38.7 mm (1.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,115 records

Records set or tied on 18 May 1997 by type: Highest daily maximum 199, Lowest daily maximum 96, Highest daily minimum 382, Lowest daily minimum 130, Heaviest daily rainfall 292, Heaviest daily snowfall 5, Deepest snow cover 11.

Records on 18 May 1997 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	199
Lowest daily maximum	96
Highest daily minimum	382
Lowest daily minimum	130
Heaviest daily rainfall	292
Heaviest daily snowfall	5
Deepest snow cover	11

Records on 18 May 1997 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 40, daily 1,075.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

886 broken records

Margins by which the 886 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 380.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

18 May 1997

Top 20 records on 18 May 1997 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
18 May 1997	Gottingen, DE	monthly rain	62.8 mm (2.5 in)	24.6 mm (1.0 in)	29 years	65 of 100 (Major)
18 May 1997	Hildesheim, DE	daily rain	66.1 mm (2.6 in)	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	47 years	60 of 100 (Major)
18 May 1997	Schmalkalden, DE	monthly rain	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	18.6 mm (0.7 in)	36 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Meerbeck, DE	monthly rain	69.3 mm (2.7 in)	35.3 mm (1.4 in)	18 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Ai-Petri, UA	daily rain	48.4 mm (1.9 in)	32.6 mm (1.3 in)	31 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Twolganup, AU	monthly rain	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	21.1 mm (0.8 in)	23 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Dunedoo Post Office, AU	daily rain	36.4 mm (1.4 in)	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	72 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Sacramento 5 ESE, US	daily high min	21.7 C (71.1 F)	4.5 C (8.1 F)	115 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Mareeba Qwrc, AU	daily rain	27.5 mm (1.1 in)	22.7 mm (0.9 in)	35 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Tajga, RU	monthly rain	42.6 mm (1.7 in)	11.4 mm (0.4 in)	37 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Normanville, AU	daily rain	41.2 mm (1.6 in)	8.4 mm (0.33 in)	102 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Eschwege, DE	daily rain	43.3 mm (1.7 in)	30.6 mm (1.2 in)	26 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Marknesse_1, NL	monthly rain	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	10.2 mm (0.4 in)	45 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Yladgee, AU	monthly rain	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	12.8 mm (0.5 in)	38 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Waldhauser (National Park), DE	daily rain	47.9 mm (1.9 in)	26.3 mm (1.0 in)	30 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Ibate, BR	daily rain	62.3 mm (2.5 in)	41.3 mm (1.6 in)	48 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Diepholz, DE	monthly rain	44.8 mm (1.8 in)	13.9 mm (0.5 in)	22 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Seesen, DE	daily rain	39.2 mm (1.5 in)	16.0 mm (0.6 in)	60 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Worpswede-Huttenbusch, DE	daily rain	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	25.3 mm (1.0 in)	15 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
18 May 1997	Rooijantjiesfontein, ZA	daily rain	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	24.0 mm (0.9 in)	40 years	48 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

1796 to 1997

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1796 to 1997. 1997 had 1,115 records.

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

Records on 05-18 in each year
Year	Records
1796	1
1798	1
1802	2
1832	1
1833	1
1845	1
1847	1
1848	1
1855	1
1859	1
1861	2
1863	3
1864	1
1866	2
1868	2
1869	1
1870	1
1871	2
1872	1
1874	2
1877	4
1878	1
1879	1
1881	1
1883	2
1884	2
1885	1
1887	1
1888	4
1889	2
1891	1
1893	2
1894	4
1895	5
1896	2
1897	2
1898	1
1899	1
1900	13
1901	6
1902	9
1903	7
1904	11
1905	2
1906	24
1907	18
1908	5
1909	12
1910	50
1911	64
1912	5
1913	11
1914	45
1915	55
1916	74
1917	30
1918	42
1919	30
1920	26
1921	41
1922	33
1923	61
1924	92
1925	220
1926	133
1927	180
1928	160
1929	193
1930	475
1931	191
1932	460
1933	380
1934	390
1935	400
1936	282
1937	348
1938	382
1939	169
1940	315
1941	334
1942	421
1943	744
1944	496
1945	706
1946	651
1947	231
1948	426
1949	597
1950	473
1951	279
1952	493
1953	393
1954	498
1955	848
1956	795
1957	595
1958	334
1959	435
1960	404
1961	187
1962	1,199
1963	477
1964	329
1965	345
1966	438
1967	410
1968	817
1969	865
1970	703
1971	666
1972	499
1973	1,233
1974	1,097
1975	383
1976	733
1977	1,126
1978	1,090
1979	399
1980	614
1981	1,218
1982	452
1983	1,093
1984	717
1985	498
1986	1,131
1987	823
1988	1,154
1989	721
1990	753
1991	1,218
1992	921
1993	707
1994	1,015
1995	1,849
1996	1,767
1997	1,115
1998	1,060
1999	584
2000	922
2001	898
2002	1,833
2003	1,270
2004	847
2005	630
2006	1,493
2007	1,133
2008	999
2009	1,368
2010	894
2011	1,406
2012	523
2013	816
2014	609
2015	785
2016	597
2017	1,855
2018	557
2019	810
2020	706
2021	418
2022	711
2023	554
2024	551
2025	619
2026	1,131

Download the Data

Data for records on 1997-05-18: 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	877
50 to 100	3
100 to 150	2
150 to 200	0
200 to 250	2
250 to 300	1
300 to 350	0
350 to 400	1