Weather Records on 16 March 2003

1,093 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 16 March 2003. Highest significance: Zakatala, AZ.

Key Facts for 16 March 2003

On 16 March 2003, 1,093 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
779 were record highs and 80 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 16 monthly and 1,077 daily.
Zakatala set a monthly record daily precipitation of 99.3 mm (3.9 in) on 16 March 2003.
Across 162 earlier years (1801 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 460 records.

Record Map

1,093 stations

1,093 station records on 16 March 2003 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 16 March 2003: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Zakatala	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	99.3 mm (3.9 in)	72 of 100 (Major)
Poway Valley	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.8 mm (1.9 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Abu Hamed	Sudan	Record daily precipitation	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Cedar City AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Valley Falls	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
San Gabriel Canyon Ph	United States	Record daily precipitation	103.6 mm (4.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Sun City	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Searchlight	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Cheyenne Wells 2NE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Hatteras	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Elsinore	United States	Record daily precipitation	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Hebron	United States	Record high maximum temperature	30.6 C (87.1 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Graham 2 ENE	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Ottawa	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Kern River Ph 3	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Crete 4ESE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	27.2 C (81.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Springview 2NW	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Milbank 4 NW	United States	Record high maximum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Kristianstad	Sweden	Record high maximum temperature	12.6 C (54.7 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Rifle	United States	Record high minimum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Norman 3SSE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.9 C (57.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Flagstaff AP	United States	Record high minimum temperature	0.6 C (33.1 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Sharon Springs	United States	Record high minimum temperature	6.1 C (43.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Tamos	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
El Mirage	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Greenfield	United States	Record high minimum temperature	8.9 C (48.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Maryville 2E	United States	Record high maximum temperature	27.8 C (82.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Hansboro 4 NNE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	17.8 C (64.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Hereford	United States	Record high minimum temperature	6.7 C (44.1 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Ellsworth	United States	Record high maximum temperature	28.9 C (84.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Cloquet	United States	Record high maximum temperature	17.2 C (63.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Harrison	United States	Record high maximum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Lexington	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-11.7 C (10.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
San Jose de Raices	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Gordon 6N	United States	Record high maximum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Hooker	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Colville	United States	Record high minimum temperature	6.7 C (44.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Rhinelander	United States	Record high maximum temperature	19.4 C (66.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Santa Rosa	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Palomar Mtn Obsy	United States	Record daily precipitation	118.9 mm (4.7 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Abilene	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Red Lake Indian Agcy	United States	Record high maximum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Fairmont	United States	Record high maximum temperature	28.9 C (84.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Concordia ASOS	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Cordova AP	United States	Record high maximum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Aibonito 1 S	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record low maximum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Charles City	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Farmington 3NW	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Mercedes 6 SSE	United States	Record daily precipitation	85.6 mm (3.4 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Mondovi	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Wisconsin Rapids	United States	Record high minimum temperature	3.9 C (39.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Cape Hatteras - Billy Mitchell	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Montelimar	France	Record low minimum temperature	-3.1 C (26.4 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Kvikkjokk-Arrenjarka	Sweden	Record high minimum temperature	1.2 C (34.2 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Fairbury 7S	United States	Record high maximum temperature	28.9 C (84.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Seward	United States	Record high maximum temperature	28.3 C (82.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Syracuse	United States	Record high maximum temperature	29.4 C (84.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Rimini 2 SSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	60.2 mm (2.4 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Victorville	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Cimarron	United States	Record high maximum temperature	29.4 C (84.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,093 records

Records set or tied on 16 March 2003 by type: Highest daily maximum 344, Lowest daily maximum 34, Highest daily minimum 435, Lowest daily minimum 46, Heaviest daily rainfall 226, Heaviest daily snowfall 6, Deepest snow cover 2.

Records on 16 March 2003 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	344
Lowest daily maximum	34
Highest daily minimum	435
Lowest daily minimum	46
Heaviest daily rainfall	226
Heaviest daily snowfall	6
Deepest snow cover	2

Records on 16 March 2003 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 16, daily 1,077.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

827 broken records

Margins by which the 827 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 178.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

16 March 2003

Top 20 records on 16 March 2003 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
16 March 2003	Zakatala, AZ	monthly rain	99.3 mm (3.9 in)	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	56 years	72 of 100 (Major)
16 March 2003	Poway Valley, US	daily rain	48.8 mm (1.9 in)	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	97 years	61 of 100 (Major)
16 March 2003	Abu Hamed, SD	daily rain	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	44 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Cedar City AP, US	daily rain	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	17.5 mm (0.7 in)	44 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Valley Falls, US	daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	90 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	San Gabriel Canyon Ph, US	daily rain	103.6 mm (4.1 in)	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	44 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Sun City, US	daily rain	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	44.2 mm (1.7 in)	16 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Searchlight, US	daily rain	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	18.5 mm (0.7 in)	50 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Cheyenne Wells 2NE, US	daily high min	5.6 C (42.1 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	100 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Hatteras, US	daily rain	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	26 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Elsinore, US	daily rain	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	50 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Hebron, US	daily high max	30.6 C (87.1 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	108 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Graham 2 ENE, US	daily rain	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	8.9 mm (0.35 in)	90 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Ottawa, US	daily high min	12.2 C (54.0 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	100 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Kern River Ph 3, US	daily rain	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	40 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Crete 4ESE, US	daily high max	27.2 C (81.0 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	108 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Springview 2NW, US	daily high min	7.2 C (45.0 F)	1.6 C (2.9 F)	108 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Milbank 4 NW, US	daily high max	21.7 C (71.1 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	108 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Kristianstad, SE	daily high max	12.6 C (54.7 F)	0.6 C (1.1 F)	118 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
16 March 2003	Rifle, US	daily high min	5.6 C (42.1 F)	3.4 C (6.1 F)	80 years	41 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

1801 to 2003

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1801 to 2003. 2003 had 1,093 records.

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

Records on 03-16 in each year
Year	Records
1801	1
1822	1
1825	1
1828	1
1843	1
1845	4
1846	1
1849	1
1850	1
1853	1
1862	1
1864	1
1866	1
1867	1
1875	1
1877	2
1878	1
1879	1
1880	1
1881	1
1882	3
1883	2
1884	6
1885	2
1886	2
1887	4
1888	4
1889	7
1890	4
1891	2
1892	1
1893	5
1895	5
1896	8
1897	2
1898	3
1899	5
1900	6
1901	8
1902	17
1904	7
1905	6
1906	13
1907	14
1908	33
1909	11
1910	18
1911	23
1912	19
1913	47
1914	42
1915	16
1916	39
1917	22
1918	40
1919	64
1920	56
1921	272
1922	19
1923	105
1924	70
1925	55
1926	117
1927	468
1928	208
1929	150
1930	391
1931	98
1932	337
1933	101
1934	283
1935	533
1936	321
1937	758
1938	537
1939	326
1940	230
1941	228
1942	786
1943	692
1944	410
1945	1,481
1946	1,341
1947	355
1948	482
1949	352
1950	388
1951	283
1952	584
1953	245
1954	259
1955	419
1956	802
1957	341
1958	409
1959	269
1960	955
1961	367
1962	376
1963	521
1964	172
1965	273
1966	1,204
1967	761
1968	656
1969	842
1970	670
1971	338
1972	817
1973	736
1974	622
1975	526
1976	486
1977	595
1978	719
1979	845
1980	557
1981	707
1982	1,211
1983	858
1984	617
1985	725
1986	549
1987	886
1988	1,331
1989	992
1990	2,159
1991	823
1992	1,013
1993	1,661
1994	959
1995	1,074
1996	732
1997	1,327
1998	1,193
1999	828
2000	709
2001	884
2002	1,096
2003	1,093
2004	1,367
2005	1,292
2006	717
2007	1,293
2008	899
2009	681
2010	630
2011	856
2012	2,749
2013	1,096
2014	631
2015	1,537
2016	972
2017	1,302
2018	540
2019	762
2020	659
2021	647
2022	432
2023	897
2024	814
2025	936
2026	1,412

Download the Data

Data for records on 2003-03-16: 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 2026-10-16 (16 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 25	812
25 to 50	10
50 to 75	3
75 to 100	1
100 to 125	0
125 to 150	0
150 to 175	0
175 to 200	1