Weather Records on 4 January 1949

1,261 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 4 January 1949. Highest significance: Colony, US.

Key Facts for 4 January 1949

On 4 January 1949, 1,261 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
180 were record highs and 566 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 24 were all-time records, 72 monthly and 1,165 daily.
Colony set an all-time record daily snowfall of 76.2 cm (30.0 in) on 4 January 1949.
Across 162 earlier years (1795 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 501 records.

Record Map

1,261 stations

1,261 station records on 4 January 1949 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 4 January 1949: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Colony	United States	Record daily snowfall	76.2 cm (30.0 in)	71 of 100 (Major)
Ardmore 1 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Spearfish 9 WNW	United States	Record daily snowfall	85.1 cm (33.5 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Douglas 1 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Mora	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Purdum	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Halsey 2 W	United States	Record snow depth	61.0 cm (24.0 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Beardsley	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Eureka	United States	Record daily snowfall	23.1 cm (9.1 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Washington 1 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	85.6 mm (3.4 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Moorhead St Teachers C	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Hamilton Fairfield	United States	Record daily precipitation	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Albert Lea 3SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Douglas 1 SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Dumont 2 ENE	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
1 WSW Princeton	United States	Record daily precipitation	84.6 mm (3.3 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Hardy Rs	United States	Record daily snowfall	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
St Albans	Canada	Record daily snowfall	15.5 cm (6.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Wahpeton 3 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Kalamia Estate	Australia	Record daily precipitation	169.7 mm (6.7 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Mc Farland	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Louisville	United States	Record daily precipitation	90.9 mm (3.6 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Greenville Wtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Dumont 2 ENE	United States	Record daily snowfall	71.1 cm (28.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Indian Bay	Canada	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Collegeville St John's	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Robinson	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Xenia 6 SSE	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Decatur	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Oolitic Purdue Ex Fm	United States	Record daily precipitation	81.8 mm (3.2 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Faribault	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Aberdeen	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Beaver City	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Lead	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Spearfish 9 WNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Greenfield	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.4 mm (2.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Paoli	United States	Record daily precipitation	68.8 mm (2.7 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Sedgwick	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Wahpeton 3 N	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Campbell	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Kimball 2NE	United States	Record snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Yuma	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Onawa 3NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Cypress River	Canada	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
O'Neill	United States	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Farmington 3NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Columbus 4 ESE	United States	Record daily precipitation	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Purdum	United States	Record daily snowfall	48.3 cm (19.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Lakeview 2 NNW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-12.8 C (9.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Vale	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Madison	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Elliston	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Paola	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Minnedosa	Canada	Record daily snowfall	19.1 cm (7.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Stornoway Airport	United Kingdom	Record low minimum temperature	-7.2 C (19.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Emmett	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Horton	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
St Peter	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.5 mm (1.9 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Mayville	United States	Record daily snowfall	13.7 cm (5.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Whiteriver 1 SW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-8.3 C (17.1 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,261 records

Records set or tied on 4 January 1949 by type: Highest daily maximum 63, Lowest daily maximum 300, Highest daily minimum 117, Lowest daily minimum 266, Heaviest daily rainfall 384, Heaviest daily snowfall 96, Deepest snow cover 35.

Records on 4 January 1949 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	63
Lowest daily maximum	300
Highest daily minimum	117
Lowest daily minimum	266
Heaviest daily rainfall	384
Heaviest daily snowfall	96
Deepest snow cover	35

Records on 4 January 1949 by timescale: all-time 24, monthly 72, daily 1,165.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

1,071 broken records

Margins by which the 1,071 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 559.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

4 January 1949

Top 20 records on 4 January 1949 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
4 January 1949	Colony, US	all-time snowfall	76.2 cm (30.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	29 years	71 of 100 (Major)
4 January 1949	Ardmore 1 NW, US	monthly rain	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	12.7 mm (0.5 in)	39 years	65 of 100 (Major)
4 January 1949	Spearfish 9 WNW, US	all-time snowfall	85.1 cm (33.5 in)	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	4 years	65 of 100 (Major)
4 January 1949	Douglas 1 SE, US	monthly rain	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	18.0 mm (0.7 in)	37 years	65 of 100 (Major)
4 January 1949	Mora, US	monthly rain	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	15.3 mm (0.6 in)	32 years	63 of 100 (Major)
4 January 1949	Purdum, US	monthly rain	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	31 years	63 of 100 (Major)
4 January 1949	Halsey 2 W, US	all-time snow depth	61.0 cm (24.0 in)	15.3 cm (6.0 in)	12 years	62 of 100 (Major)
4 January 1949	Beardsley, US	daily rain	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	22.6 mm (0.9 in)	51 years	60 of 100 (Major)
4 January 1949	Eureka, US	daily snowfall	23.1 cm (9.1 in)	15.5 cm (6.1 in)	39 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
4 January 1949	Washington 1 W, US	daily rain	85.6 mm (3.4 in)	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	49 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
4 January 1949	Moorhead St Teachers C, US	daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	15.3 cm (6.0 in)	38 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
4 January 1949	Hamilton Fairfield, US	monthly rain	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	11 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
4 January 1949	Albert Lea 3SE, US	monthly rain	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	12.7 mm (0.5 in)	51 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
4 January 1949	Douglas 1 SE, US	monthly snowfall	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	4 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
4 January 1949	Dumont 2 ENE, US	daily rain	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	27.1 mm (1.1 in)	36 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
4 January 1949	1 WSW Princeton, US	daily rain	84.6 mm (3.3 in)	58.2 mm (2.3 in)	27 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
4 January 1949	Hardy Rs, US	daily snowfall	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	38 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
4 January 1949	St Albans, CA	daily snowfall	15.5 cm (6.1 in)	8.4 cm (3.3 in)	44 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
4 January 1949	Wahpeton 3 N, US	monthly rain	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	9.9 mm (0.39 in)	9 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
4 January 1949	Kalamia Estate, AU	daily rain	169.7 mm (6.7 in)	109.5 mm (4.3 in)	32 years	51 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

1795 to 1949

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1795 to 1949. 1949 had 1,261 records.

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

Records on 01-04 in each year
Year	Records
1795	2
1803	2
1824	1
1845	1
1855	1
1860	2
1864	4
1866	1
1867	2
1869	2
1871	2
1872	1
1873	2
1874	3
1876	1
1877	3
1878	3
1879	1
1880	1
1881	3
1882	2
1884	2
1886	5
1887	2
1888	4
1889	4
1890	2
1891	4
1892	1
1893	2
1894	9
1895	8
1896	2
1897	1
1898	2
1899	4
1900	6
1901	9
1902	7
1903	16
1904	51
1905	21
1906	15
1907	13
1908	8
1909	23
1910	20
1911	17
1912	30
1913	27
1914	45
1915	21
1916	59
1917	59
1918	78
1919	34
1920	113
1921	121
1922	56
1923	54
1924	184
1925	128
1926	310
1927	185
1928	150
1929	96
1930	134
1931	94
1932	200
1933	231
1934	319
1935	207
1936	394
1937	251
1938	136
1939	647
1940	332
1941	1,010
1942	1,191
1943	453
1944	300
1945	194
1946	371
1947	858
1948	391
1949	1,261
1950	2,015
1951	394
1952	349
1953	267
1954	249
1955	659
1956	462
1957	262
1958	448
1959	1,124
1960	358
1961	378
1962	359
1963	559
1964	349
1965	403
1966	798
1967	319
1968	661
1969	645
1970	497
1971	1,191
1972	728
1973	667
1974	957
1975	394
1976	534
1977	524
1978	656
1979	1,606
1980	643
1981	1,430
1982	2,261
1983	953
1984	996
1985	1,049
1986	705
1987	1,172
1988	903
1989	1,205
1990	509
1991	1,016
1992	1,201
1993	1,538
1994	1,418
1995	922
1996	1,389
1997	3,256
1998	1,246
1999	1,842
2000	1,486
2001	1,350
2002	1,151
2003	1,229
2004	1,611
2005	1,581
2006	1,167
2007	2,045
2008	845
2009	824
2010	1,183
2011	586
2012	1,357
2013	797
2014	770
2015	715
2016	618
2017	997
2018	1,096
2019	616
2020	497
2021	427
2022	698
2023	1,236
2024	562
2025	477
2026	1,013

Download the Data

Data for records on 1949-01-04: 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 100	1,043
100 to 200	22
200 to 300	4
300 to 400	1
400 to 500	0
500 to 600	1