Weather Records on 17 December 1956

448 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 December 1956. Highest significance: Waneta, CA.

Key Facts for 17 December 1956

On 17 December 1956, 448 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
283 were record highs and 54 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 5 monthly and 443 daily.
Waneta set a daily record precipitation of 41.7 mm (1.6 in) on 17 December 1956.
Across 160 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 463 records.

Record Map

448 stations

448 station records on 17 December 1956 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 December 1956: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Waneta	Canada	Record daily precipitation	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Virden	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	-6.1 C (21.0 F)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Annex Creek	United States	Record daily snowfall	53.3 cm (21.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Jena Sternwarte	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	13.6 C (56.5 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Newark Liberty Intl AP	United States	Record high maximum temperature	13.9 C (57.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Daly Waters	Australia	Record daily precipitation	66.8 mm (2.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
De Brug (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Valley of Lagoons	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Bloemfontein Airpor	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Mapumulo (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Rockford	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	52.0 mm (2.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Nurnberg	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	14.2 C (57.6 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
St. Petersburg	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	6.5 C (43.7 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Malanda Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	73.2 mm (2.9 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Beech Forest	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Oakland	United States	Record high maximum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Lorraine	Australia	Record daily precipitation	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Millungera Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Wando Vale Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Plauen	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	12.4 C (54.3 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Putbus	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	11.5 C (52.7 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Chemnitz	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	14.3 C (57.7 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Petrusberg (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.5 mm (1.4 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Wargundy	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Karlshamn	Sweden	Record high maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Stuttgart-Stadt	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	14.6 C (58.3 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Leipzig-Holzhausen	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	13.5 C (56.3 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Lubeck-Werft	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	13.5 C (56.3 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Putbus	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	7.4 C (45.3 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Weissenburg	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	12.7 C (54.9 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Kristianstad	Sweden	Record high maximum temperature	11.2 C (52.2 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Vastervik	Sweden	Record high maximum temperature	12.0 C (53.6 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Petford	Australia	Record daily precipitation	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Eton Police Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	83.3 mm (3.3 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Piripiri	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	62.4 mm (2.5 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Nordby (Fano)	Denmark	Record high minimum temperature	8.1 C (46.6 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Bamberg	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	11.2 C (52.2 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Husum	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	11.2 C (52.2 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Waren	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Doornplaat	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Bloemfontein Kings Park	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Vanersborg	Sweden	Record high maximum temperature	9.5 C (49.1 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Freehold-Marlboro	United States	Record high maximum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Southern Pines 2 W	United States	Record high minimum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Uccle	Belgium	Record high minimum temperature	9.2 C (48.6 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Emerson	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-33.3 C (-27.9 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Berlin-Dahlem	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	12.3 C (54.1 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Potsdam	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	13.2 C (55.8 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Deland 1 SSE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	29.4 C (84.9 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Hubbard	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-42.2 C (-44.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Moosomin	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-35.6 C (-32.1 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
St Albans	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-36.1 C (-33.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Virden	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-36.7 C (-34.1 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Kaiserslautern	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Hamburg Fuhlsbuettel	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	9.8 C (49.6 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Lindenberg	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	12.9 C (55.2 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Lubeck-Werft	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Orland	United States	Record high maximum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Yerevan	Armenia	Record low minimum temperature	-20.1 C (-4.2 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Fort Good Hope 2	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	-47.2 C (-53.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

448 records

Records set or tied on 17 December 1956 by type: Highest daily maximum 166, Lowest daily maximum 13, Highest daily minimum 117, Lowest daily minimum 41, Heaviest daily rainfall 97, Heaviest daily snowfall 12, Deepest snow cover 2.

Records on 17 December 1956 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	166
Lowest daily maximum	13
Highest daily minimum	117
Lowest daily minimum	41
Heaviest daily rainfall	97
Heaviest daily snowfall	12
Deepest snow cover	2

Records on 17 December 1956 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 5, daily 443.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

369 broken records

Margins by which the 369 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 330.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 December 1956

Top 20 records on 17 December 1956 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 December 1956	Waneta, CA	daily rain	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	25 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1956	Virden, CA	daily low max	-6.1 C (21.0 F)	17.8 C (32.0 F)	65 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1956	Annex Creek, US	daily snowfall	53.3 cm (21.0 in)	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	33 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1956	Jena Sternwarte, DE	daily high max	13.6 C (56.5 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	130 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1956	Newark Liberty Intl AP, US	daily high max	13.9 C (57.0 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	107 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1956	Daly Waters, AU	daily rain	66.8 mm (2.6 in)	31.7 mm (1.2 in)	49 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1956	De Brug (Pol), ZA	daily rain	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	32.4 mm (1.3 in)	48 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1956	Valley of Lagoons, AU	daily rain	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	30 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1956	Bloemfontein Airpor, ZA	daily rain	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	34 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1956	Mapumulo (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	3 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1956	Rockford, ZA	daily rain	52.0 mm (2.0 in)	23.8 mm (0.9 in)	34 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1956	Nurnberg, DE	daily high max	14.2 C (57.6 F)	4.5 C (8.1 F)	54 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1956	St. Petersburg, RU	daily high max	6.5 C (43.7 F)	3.5 C (6.3 F)	69 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1956	Malanda Post Office, AU	daily rain	73.2 mm (2.9 in)	44.8 mm (1.8 in)	14 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1956	Beech Forest, AU	daily rain	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	7.4 mm (0.29 in)	60 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1956	Oakland, US	daily high max	20.0 C (68.0 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	47 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1956	Lorraine, AU	daily rain	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	1 year	31 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1956	Millungera Station, AU	daily rain	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	17.0 mm (0.7 in)	49 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1956	Wando Vale Station, AU	daily rain	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	2 years	30 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1956	Plauen, DE	daily high max	12.4 C (54.3 F)	3.4 C (6.1 F)	52 years	30 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 1956

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1956. 1956 had 448 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 1956-12-17: 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 2026-10-16. Last revised 16 October 2026 (2026-10-16).

Margin	Records
0 to 50	368
50 to 100	0
100 to 150	0
150 to 200	0
200 to 250	0
250 to 300	0
300 to 350	1