Weather Records on 31 December 1961

309 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 31 December 1961. Highest significance: Dublin Phoenix Park, IE.

Key Facts for 31 December 1961

On 31 December 1961, 309 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
74 were record highs and 125 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 10 monthly and 298 daily.
Dublin Phoenix Park set an all-time record low minimum temperature of -13.8 C (7.2 F) on 31 December 1961.
Across 157 earlier years (1797 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 488 records.

Record Map

309 stations

309 station records on 31 December 1961 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 31 December 1961: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Dublin Phoenix Park	Ireland	Record low minimum temperature	-13.8 C (7.2 F)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Krielsfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	57.1 mm (2.2 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Buzau	Romania	Record low minimum temperature	-0.5 C (31.1 F)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Copmanhurst Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	140.5 mm (5.5 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Suldalsvatn	Norway	Record snow depth	92.0 cm (36.2 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Calarasi	Romania	Record low minimum temperature	-0.6 C (30.9 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Huelva	Spain	Record daily precipitation	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Stornoway Airport	United Kingdom	Record low minimum temperature	-10.9 C (12.4 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Arad	Romania	Record low minimum temperature	-3.2 C (26.2 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Atlantic 1 NE	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Guthrie Ctr	United States	Record snow depth	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Tarkio	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Sion 2	Switzerland	Record daily precipitation	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Walnut	United States	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Bethany	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Dublin Phoenix Park	Ireland	Record low maximum temperature	0.0 C (32.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Hovlandsdal	Norway	Record snow depth	58.0 cm (22.8 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Cluj Napoca	Romania	Record low minimum temperature	-2.7 C (27.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Durham	United Kingdom	Record low maximum temperature	0.0 C (32.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Sunnyside Farm	Australia	Record daily precipitation	57.9 mm (2.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Virden	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	-2.2 C (28.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Lysebotn	Norway	Record snow depth	25.0 cm (9.8 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Girona (Antic Institut)	Spain	Record high maximum temperature	21.5 C (70.7 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Cet Central England	United Kingdom	Record low maximum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Buxton	United Kingdom	Record low maximum temperature	-1.7 C (28.9 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Perpignan	France	Record high maximum temperature	22.7 C (72.9 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Izana	Spain	Record daily precipitation	68.4 mm (2.7 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
La Plata 1 W	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-12.8 C (9.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Maryville 2E	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-25.6 C (-14.1 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Scottsboro	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-10.0 C (14.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Chickamauga 2 SW	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-11.7 C (10.9 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Cairo 3 S	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-20.0 C (-4.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Chillicothe Radio Kchi	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Clausthal-Zellerfeld	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	7.3 C (45.1 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Soyland I Gjesdal	Norway	Record snow depth	59.0 cm (23.2 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Malvern	United Kingdom	Record low maximum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Valentia Observatory	Ireland	Record low minimum temperature	-4.2 C (24.4 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Armagh	United Kingdom	Record low minimum temperature	-8.7 C (16.3 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Wick	United Kingdom	Record low minimum temperature	-11.2 C (11.8 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Auburn	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-8.3 C (17.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Saint Bernard	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-10.0 C (14.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Galva	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Haugan 1 W	United States	Record snow depth	91.4 cm (36.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Sidney 2 N	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-19.4 C (-2.9 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Knoxville AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Lac Onatchiway	Canada	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Valley	United Kingdom	Record low maximum temperature	1.8 C (35.2 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Valley	United Kingdom	Record low minimum temperature	-4.4 C (24.1 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Unionville	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Dillon	United States	Record low maximum temperature	4.4 C (39.9 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Oberstdorf	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	15.5 C (59.9 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Ovre Sirdal	Norway	Record snow depth	131.0 cm (51.6 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Ciudad Real (Instituto)	Spain	Record high minimum temperature	9.6 C (49.3 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Marseille Obs. Palais-Lonchamp	France	Record high minimum temperature	13.5 C (56.3 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Castellon de la Plana	Spain	Record high minimum temperature	12.3 C (54.1 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Rochester	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-22.2 C (-8.0 F)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Hoofddorp	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	21.4 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Tranebjerg	Denmark	Record daily precipitation	16.3 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Wangerooge	Germany	Record daily precipitation	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Turgaj	Kazakhstan	Record daily precipitation	5.3 mm (0.21 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

309 records

Records set or tied on 31 December 1961 by type: Highest daily maximum 43, Lowest daily maximum 47, Highest daily minimum 31, Lowest daily minimum 78, Heaviest daily rainfall 69, Heaviest daily snowfall 8, Deepest snow cover 33.

Records on 31 December 1961 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	43
Lowest daily maximum	47
Highest daily minimum	31
Lowest daily minimum	78
Heaviest daily rainfall	69
Heaviest daily snowfall	8
Deepest snow cover	33

Records on 31 December 1961 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 10, daily 298.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

237 broken records

Margins by which the 237 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 360.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

31 December 1961

Top 20 records on 31 December 1961 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
31 December 1961	Dublin Phoenix Park, IE	all-time low min	-13.8 C (7.2 F)	7.8 C (14.0 F)	0 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Krielsfontein, ZA	daily rain	57.1 mm (2.2 in)	44.4 mm (1.7 in)	26 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Buzau, RO	daily low min	-0.5 C (31.1 F)	15.5 C (27.9 F)	44 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Copmanhurst Post Office, AU	monthly rain	140.5 mm (5.5 in)	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	18 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Suldalsvatn, NO	daily snow depth	92.0 cm (36.2 in)	36.0 cm (14.2 in)	40 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Calarasi, RO	daily low min	-0.6 C (30.9 F)	16.6 C (29.9 F)	23 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Huelva, ES	daily rain	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	33.2 mm (1.3 in)	32 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Stornoway Airport, GB	daily low min	-10.9 C (12.4 F)	6.5 C (11.7 F)	55 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Arad, RO	daily low min	-3.2 C (26.2 F)	16.2 C (29.2 F)	28 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Atlantic 1 NE, US	daily snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	50 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Guthrie Ctr, US	daily snow depth	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	61 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Tarkio, US	daily snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	16 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Sion 2, CH	daily rain	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	17.5 mm (0.7 in)	31 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Walnut, US	daily snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	27 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1961	Bethany, US	daily snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	52 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
31 December 1961	Dublin Phoenix Park, IE	daily low max	0.0 C (32.0 F)	1.3 C (2.3 F)	66 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
31 December 1961	Hovlandsdal, NO	daily snow depth	58.0 cm (22.8 in)	18.0 cm (7.1 in)	44 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
31 December 1961	Cluj Napoca, RO	daily low min	-2.7 C (27.1 F)	14.3 C (25.7 F)	16 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
31 December 1961	Durham, GB	daily low max	0.0 C (32.0 F)	0.4 C (0.7 F)	74 years	31 of 100 (Routine)
31 December 1961	Sunnyside Farm, AU	monthly rain	57.9 mm (2.3 in)	0.2 mm (0.01 in)	49 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

1797 to 1961

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1797 to 1961. 1961 had 309 records.

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

Records on 12-31 in each year
Year	Records
1797	1
1799	2
1826	1
1836	1
1842	2
1850	3
1853	1
1854	1
1859	1
1860	1
1867	1
1870	2
1872	2
1874	4
1875	2
1876	2
1878	2
1879	2
1880	2
1882	1
1884	2
1885	1
1886	3
1887	1
1888	2
1890	2
1891	8
1892	4
1895	4
1897	6
1898	5
1899	4
1900	3
1901	16
1902	3
1903	3
1904	11
1905	9
1906	31
1907	11
1908	7
1909	5
1910	25
1911	14
1912	17
1913	46
1914	34
1915	32
1916	25
1917	239
1918	24
1919	38
1920	64
1921	130
1922	83
1923	280
1924	113
1925	183
1926	77
1927	491
1928	53
1929	224
1930	58
1931	543
1932	394
1933	409
1934	181
1935	309
1936	567
1937	500
1938	247
1939	298
1940	467
1941	159
1942	352
1943	159
1944	259
1945	210
1946	707
1947	461
1948	591
1949	384
1950	310
1951	1,421
1952	377
1953	410
1954	286
1955	429
1956	216
1957	724
1958	584
1959	414
1960	389
1961	309
1962	810
1963	1,015
1964	388
1965	1,371
1966	326
1967	1,023
1968	1,371
1969	825
1970	579
1971	568
1972	836
1973	1,370
1974	590
1975	791
1976	1,306
1977	641
1978	2,791
1979	448
1980	1,448
1981	786
1982	639
1983	2,220
1984	942
1985	593
1986	616
1987	845
1988	600
1989	506
1990	1,379
1991	703
1992	1,062
1993	718
1994	878
1995	1,151
1996	2,202
1997	988
1998	739
1999	524
2000	1,575
2001	748
2002	1,232
2003	523
2004	1,278
2005	959
2006	2,089
2007	652
2008	656
2009	867
2010	1,544
2011	739
2012	803
2013	606
2014	903
2015	748
2016	678
2017	1,589
2018	620
2019	593
2020	489
2021	1,739
2022	1,497
2023	474
2024	460
2025	760

Download the Data

Data for records on 1961-12-31: 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	219
50 to 100	10
100 to 150	3
150 to 200	3
200 to 250	0
250 to 300	0
300 to 350	1
350 to 400	1