17 April, 1948, Tauranga, New Zealand: Ten-minute deluge dumps 34 mm of rain on Tauranga, the wettest 10 minutes ever recorded on New Zealand.

17 April, 2006, Beijing, China: A severe sandstorm, the eighth sandstorm and reportedly the worst so far in 2006 to hit the Chinese capital, travels from the China/Mongolia border to Beijing.

18 April, 1970, Canterbury, New Zealand: Wind gust recorded on Mt John in the South Island reaches 250 km/hr.

18 April, 1983, Chuping, Malaysia: Malaysia’s ties its hottest day on record when the temperature reaches 38.4°C.