Weather Records on 17 December 1953

283 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 December 1953. Highest significance: Premier Mine-Cullinan, ZA.

Key Facts for 17 December 1953

On 17 December 1953, 283 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
70 were record highs and 134 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 2 were all-time records, 3 monthly and 278 daily.
Premier Mine-Cullinan set a daily record precipitation of 88.0 mm (3.5 in) on 17 December 1953.
Across 160 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 464 records.

Record Map

283 stations

283 station records on 17 December 1953 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 December 1953: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Premier Mine-Cullinan	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Kriel (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Strehla	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	67.3 mm (2.6 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Simplicio Mendes	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	45.9 mm (1.8 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Milan	Italy	Record high minimum temperature	8.8 C (47.8 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Oran-Hopital Militaire	Algeria	Record high maximum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Greenwood	Canada	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Lexington Bluegrass AP	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-17.8 C (0.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Macaubas	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	117.8 mm (4.6 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Ipueiras	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Pretoria-Burgerspark	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	47.3 mm (1.9 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Isabela Substn	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record daily precipitation	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Casa Nova	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	73.6 mm (2.9 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Rio de Contas	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	66.5 mm (2.6 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
S Haven	United States	Record snow depth	58.4 cm (23.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Wahpeton 3 N	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Santa Luzia	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	70.0 mm (2.8 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Altastenberg	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	11.9 C (53.4 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Hiram	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Entabeni (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	73.4 mm (2.9 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Winkelman 6 S	United States	Record high maximum temperature	25.6 C (78.1 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Ketchikan AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	67.1 mm (2.6 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Perpignan	France	Record high minimum temperature	13.4 C (56.1 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Roodepoort	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Maquoketa	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-28.3 C (-18.9 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Burketown Post Office	Australia	Record low minimum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Remanso	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	97.0 mm (3.8 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Bom Jesus da Lapa	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	94.4 mm (3.7 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Paramirim	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	53.7 mm (2.1 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Haliburton A	Canada	Record daily snowfall	15.5 cm (6.1 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Riva	Italy	Record high maximum temperature	12.0 C (53.6 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Morris W Cntrl Rsch & Outreach	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-31.7 C (-25.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Burketown Post Office	Australia	Record low maximum temperature	28.3 C (82.9 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Washington 1 W	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.8 C (18.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Clinton #1	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-13.3 C (8.1 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Bowling Green Warren Co AP	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-5.0 C (23.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Park Rapids Muni AP	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-31.7 C (-25.1 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Broederstroom (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	101.0 mm (4.0 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Rocklin	United States	Record high maximum temperature	19.4 C (66.9 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Palestine	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-6.7 C (19.9 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Campbell	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-33.9 C (-29.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Waynesville 1 E	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-2.2 C (28.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Circleville	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.2 C (19.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Bluefield 2 NW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-6.7 C (19.9 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Chardzhev	Turkmenistan	Record daily precipitation	13.2 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Greenwood	Canada	Record daily precipitation	15.2 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Port Said	Egypt	Record daily precipitation	13.0 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Driefontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	23.7 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Haliburton A	Canada	Record daily precipitation	15.5 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Palmyra	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	24.0 mm (0.9 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Salekhard	Russia	Record daily precipitation	6.3 mm (0.25 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Gaudan-In-Turkmen	Turkmenistan	Record daily precipitation	11.9 mm (0.5 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Jacare	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	35.4 mm (1.4 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Mtunzini	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Chula Vista	United States	Record high maximum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Marysville	United States	Record high maximum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Asheville	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-5.0 C (23.0 F)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Lagarto	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	60.4 mm (2.4 in)	19 of 100 (Routine)
Lemon Cove	United States	Record high maximum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)
N Fk Rs	United States	Record high maximum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	19 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

283 records

Records set or tied on 17 December 1953 by type: Highest daily maximum 48, Lowest daily maximum 65, Highest daily minimum 22, Lowest daily minimum 69, Heaviest daily rainfall 66, Heaviest daily snowfall 7, Deepest snow cover 6.

Records on 17 December 1953 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	48
Lowest daily maximum	65
Highest daily minimum	22
Lowest daily minimum	69
Heaviest daily rainfall	66
Heaviest daily snowfall	7
Deepest snow cover	6

Records on 17 December 1953 by timescale: all-time 2, monthly 3, daily 278.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

210 broken records

Margins by which the 210 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 152.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 December 1953

Top 20 records on 17 December 1953 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 December 1953	Premier Mine-Cullinan, ZA	daily rain	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	44 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1953	Kriel (Pol), ZA	daily rain	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	43 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1953	Strehla, ZA	daily rain	67.3 mm (2.6 in)	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	30 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1953	Simplicio Mendes, BR	daily rain	45.9 mm (1.8 in)	41.5 mm (1.6 in)	38 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1953	Milan, IT	daily high min	8.8 C (47.8 F)	0.7 C (1.3 F)	159 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1953	Oran-Hopital Militaire, DZ	daily high max	25.0 C (77.0 F)	4.0 C (7.2 F)	43 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1953	Greenwood, CA	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	10.1 cm (4.0 in)	32 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1953	Lexington Bluegrass AP, US	daily low min	-17.8 C (0.0 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	77 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1953	Macaubas, BR	all-time rain	117.8 mm (4.6 in)	6.8 mm (0.27 in)	26 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1953	Ipueiras, BR	daily rain	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	28.3 mm (1.1 in)	38 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1953	Pretoria-Burgerspark, ZA	daily rain	47.3 mm (1.9 in)	20.6 mm (0.8 in)	39 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1953	Isabela Substn, PR	daily rain	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	18.0 mm (0.7 in)	43 years	30 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1953	Casa Nova, BR	daily rain	73.6 mm (2.9 in)	37.2 mm (1.5 in)	28 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1953	Rio de Contas, BR	daily rain	66.5 mm (2.6 in)	30.3 mm (1.2 in)	20 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1953	S Haven, US	monthly snow depth	58.4 cm (23.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	1 year	29 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1953	Wahpeton 3 N, US	daily snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	3 years	29 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1953	Santa Luzia, BR	monthly rain	70.0 mm (2.8 in)	16.0 mm (0.6 in)	2 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1953	Altastenberg, DE	daily high max	11.9 C (53.4 F)	2.9 C (5.2 F)	52 years	28 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1953	Hiram, US	daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	6.9 cm (2.7 in)	11 years	27 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1953	Entabeni (Bos), ZA	daily rain	73.4 mm (2.9 in)	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	16 years	26 of 100 (Routine)

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 1953

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1953. 1953 had 283 records.

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

Records on 12-17 in each year
Year	Records
1793	2
1796	1
1806	2
1808	2
1814	1
1815	1
1839	1
1845	1
1846	4
1847	1
1848	1
1859	3
1866	1
1867	1
1868	1
1869	2
1873	2
1876	3
1877	2
1878	1
1879	2
1881	2
1885	1
1886	1
1888	2
1889	2
1890	4
1892	4
1893	2
1894	4
1895	3
1896	4
1897	4
1898	2
1899	1
1900	6
1901	5
1902	47
1903	2
1904	14
1905	2
1906	17
1907	9
1908	13
1909	5
1910	37
1911	12
1912	15
1913	21
1914	17
1915	31
1916	21
1917	21
1918	21
1919	109
1920	97
1921	94
1922	120
1923	170
1924	505
1925	79
1926	172
1927	143
1928	359
1929	221
1930	362
1931	217
1932	684
1933	710
1934	200
1935	87
1936	504
1937	379
1938	118
1939	1,126
1940	248
1941	261
1942	507
1943	444
1944	189
1945	621
1946	207
1947	258
1948	316
1949	296
1950	294
1951	773
1952	277
1953	283
1954	409
1955	419
1956	448
1957	686
1958	540
1959	548
1960	492
1961	911
1962	676
1963	531
1964	1,239
1965	482
1966	516
1967	1,121
1968	338
1969	238
1970	820
1971	781
1972	601
1973	1,016
1974	390
1975	474
1976	507
1977	1,024
1978	710
1979	951
1980	1,116
1981	1,354
1982	569
1983	1,264
1984	1,618
1985	1,210
1986	743
1987	1,191
1988	481
1989	2,905
1990	866
1991	577
1992	1,461
1993	761
1994	685
1995	956
1996	1,212
1997	1,279
1998	695
1999	901
2000	1,566
2001	1,262
2002	858
2003	751
2004	554
2005	806
2006	1,307
2007	1,100
2008	1,354
2009	926
2010	1,405
2011	430
2012	942
2013	718
2014	370
2015	1,378
2016	1,521
2017	408
2018	498
2019	917
2020	768
2021	908
2022	595
2023	931
2024	560
2025	1,198

Download the Data

Data for records on 1953-12-17: 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 20	185
20 to 40	11
40 to 60	9
60 to 80	2
80 to 100	0
100 to 120	1
120 to 140	1
140 to 160	1