Weather Records on 15 December 1940

464 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 15 December 1940. Highest significance: Minneapolis, US.

Key Facts for 15 December 1940

On 15 December 1940, 464 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
33 were record highs and 92 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 7 monthly and 457 daily.
Minneapolis set a daily record snowfall of 12.7 cm (5.0 in) on 15 December 1940.
Across 168 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 456 records.

Record Map

464 stations

464 station records on 15 December 1940 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 15 December 1940: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Minneapolis	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Keokuk L&D 19	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Guthrie 5S	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Lawrence	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Concordia ASOS	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.5 cm (6.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Burr Oak 4S	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Dubuque River	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Nilambur	India	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Fairbury 7S	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Concordia ASOS	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Davenport L&D 15	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
St Joseph Wbo	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Thurman	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Heinersreuth-Vollhof	Germany	Record snow depth	29.0 cm (11.4 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Burlington Muni AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Hornindal	Norway	Record daily precipitation	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Oakdale	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Lincoln UNIV Pwr Plt	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Cumberland	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Burlington	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Horton	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Hartington	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Madison	United States	Record daily snowfall	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Hannibal	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Audubon	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Tipton	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Larned	United States	Record snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Syracuse	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Columbia Wb City	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.8 mm (1.4 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Pattanamphitta	India	Record daily precipitation	71.6 mm (2.8 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Gothenburg	United States	Record snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Pearsall	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Sabinal	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Horton	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Penrose (Panorama)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Adur	India	Record daily precipitation	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Belle Plaine	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Alton 1 W	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Larned	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.4 cm (4.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Pawnee City	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Coleman	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Minneapolis	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Amite	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.9 mm (2.4 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Magnolia	United States	Record daily precipitation	90.4 mm (3.6 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Manhattan	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Covington 8 WNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	83.1 mm (3.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Pawnee City	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Alton	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Sigourney	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Emporia 1 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
San Marcos	United States	Record daily precipitation	68.1 mm (2.7 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
St Louis Eads Brg	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Exeter	Australia	Record daily precipitation	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Glenwood 3SW	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Pocahontas	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Bethany	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Warsaw 1	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Perry	United States	Record daily snowfall	9.7 cm (3.8 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Hays 1 S	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Clinton	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

464 records

Records set or tied on 15 December 1940 by type: Highest daily maximum 21, Lowest daily maximum 44, Highest daily minimum 12, Lowest daily minimum 48, Heaviest daily rainfall 264, Heaviest daily snowfall 56, Deepest snow cover 19.

Records on 15 December 1940 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	21
Lowest daily maximum	44
Highest daily minimum	12
Lowest daily minimum	48
Heaviest daily rainfall	264
Heaviest daily snowfall	56
Deepest snow cover	19

Records on 15 December 1940 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 7, daily 457.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

413 broken records

Margins by which the 413 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 200.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

15 December 1940

Top 20 records on 15 December 1940 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
15 December 1940	Minneapolis, US	daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	46 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Keokuk L&D 19, US	daily rain	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	22.8 mm (0.9 in)	38 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Guthrie 5S, US	daily rain	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	38.3 mm (1.5 in)	45 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Lawrence, US	daily rain	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	24.4 mm (1.0 in)	45 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Concordia ASOS, US	daily snowfall	15.5 cm (6.1 in)	14.2 cm (5.6 in)	10 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Burr Oak 4S, US	daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	16.8 cm (6.6 in)	10 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Dubuque River, US	daily rain	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	15.5 mm (0.6 in)	46 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Nilambur, IN	daily rain	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	52.3 mm (2.1 in)	26 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Fairbury 7S, US	daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	10.1 cm (4.0 in)	36 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Concordia ASOS, US	monthly snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	28 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Davenport L&D 15, US	daily rain	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	38 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	St Joseph Wbo, US	daily rain	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	11 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Thurman, US	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	42 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Heinersreuth-Vollhof, DE	daily snow depth	29.0 cm (11.4 in)	15.0 cm (5.9 in)	34 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Burlington Muni AP, US	daily rain	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	21.9 mm (0.9 in)	15 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Hornindal, NO	daily rain	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	33.1 mm (1.3 in)	9 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Oakdale, US	daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	36 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Lincoln UNIV Pwr Plt, US	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	7.9 cm (3.1 in)	38 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Cumberland, US	daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	38 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1940	Burlington, US	daily rain	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	20.1 mm (0.8 in)	45 years	37 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

1793 to 1940

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1940. 1940 had 464 records.

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

Records on 12-15 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1796	1
1798	1
1800	1
1808	3
1810	1
1814	3
1815	1
1825	1
1831	1
1840	2
1844	2
1846	3
1847	1
1854	3
1859	2
1863	1
1864	1
1866	1
1867	2
1868	1
1869	1
1870	1
1873	1
1874	1
1878	4
1879	2
1880	2
1881	3
1882	2
1883	1
1885	1
1886	1
1889	3
1890	1
1891	2
1892	4
1893	1
1894	4
1895	1
1896	5
1897	2
1899	12
1900	5
1901	21
1902	3
1903	7
1904	9
1905	6
1906	9
1907	10
1908	5
1909	5
1910	4
1911	23
1912	42
1913	13
1914	239
1915	180
1916	40
1917	40
1918	54
1919	28
1920	35
1921	26
1922	65
1923	132
1924	358
1925	187
1926	226
1927	235
1928	388
1929	500
1930	160
1931	284
1932	385
1933	796
1934	199
1935	140
1936	286
1937	310
1938	100
1939	637
1940	464
1941	373
1942	385
1943	486
1944	281
1945	420
1946	521
1947	634
1948	1,239
1949	135
1950	292
1951	962
1952	367
1953	270
1954	413
1955	371
1956	531
1957	304
1958	531
1959	560
1960	313
1961	883
1962	979
1963	670
1964	371
1965	759
1966	275
1967	948
1968	510
1969	352
1970	215
1971	1,739
1972	1,159
1973	615
1974	511
1975	1,230
1976	349
1977	963
1978	499
1979	560
1980	1,085
1981	1,243
1982	831
1983	1,229
1984	1,397
1985	1,077
1986	502
1987	1,740
1988	519
1989	2,753
1990	846
1991	636
1992	1,263
1993	734
1994	676
1995	848
1996	727
1997	1,521
1998	1,216
1999	621
2000	1,154
2001	1,026
2002	831
2003	846
2004	795
2005	953
2006	1,491
2007	973
2008	1,789
2009	930
2010	1,705
2011	780
2012	1,058
2013	701
2014	1,045
2015	1,398
2016	1,024
2017	332
2018	539
2019	547
2020	400
2021	1,182
2022	1,057
2023	794
2024	369
2025	2,115

Download the Data

Data for records on 1940-12-15: 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 2026-10-15. Last revised 15 October 2026 (2026-10-15).

Margin	Records
0 to 25	344
25 to 50	33
50 to 75	8
75 to 100	15
100 to 125	6
125 to 150	2
150 to 175	3
175 to 200	2