Weather Records on 17 December 1971

781 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 December 1971. Highest significance: Iliamna AP, US.

Key Facts for 17 December 1971

On 17 December 1971, 781 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
437 were record highs and 115 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 35 monthly and 745 daily.
Iliamna AP set an all-time record daily snowfall of 50.8 cm (20.0 in) on 17 December 1971.
Across 160 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 461 records.

Record Map

781 stations

781 station records on 17 December 1971 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 December 1971: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Iliamna AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Cengcane (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Fairbanks Intl AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	29.0 cm (11.4 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Oenpelli	Australia	Record daily precipitation	119.1 mm (4.7 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Fort Macleod	Canada	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Matias Romero (Smn)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Nelson Bay (Nelson Head)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Stornoway Airport	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Teziutlan	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	39.9 mm (1.6 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Atzalan	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Baker Kbkr	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Carway	Canada	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Belvidere	United States	Record high maximum temperature	17.2 C (63.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Nicosia	Cyprus	Record low maximum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Coleman	Canada	Record daily snowfall	24.9 cm (9.8 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Waynesboro 2 S	United States	Record high maximum temperature	27.8 C (82.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Arrowrock Dam	United States	Record snow depth	71.1 cm (28.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Calhoun 2 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	95.5 mm (3.8 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Petoskey	United States	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Espanola	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-23.3 C (-9.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Burrundie Railway Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Col du Grand St-Bernard	Switzerland	Record high minimum temperature	0.2 C (32.4 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Weldon	United States	Record high minimum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Enosburg Falls	United States	Record high maximum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Newark Ag Farm	United States	Record high minimum temperature	6.1 C (43.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Blue Hill Coop	United States	Record high maximum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Manchester	United States	Record high maximum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Bernalillo	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-17.8 C (0.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Westfield 2 SSE	United States	Record daily snowfall	18.8 cm (7.4 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Mahalapye	Botswana	Record daily precipitation	52.2 mm (2.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Conway	United States	Record high minimum temperature	18.9 C (66.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Bellingham 2 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Moorestown 4 E	United States	Record high maximum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Southport 5 N	United States	Record high maximum temperature	23.3 C (73.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Prospect 2 SW	United States	Record snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Big Bend(Wissel Rode)	Swaziland	Record daily precipitation	57.0 mm (2.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Ksara	Lebanon	Record low maximum temperature	1.8 C (35.2 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Milledgeville	United States	Record high maximum temperature	27.8 C (82.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Tifton	United States	Record high maximum temperature	28.3 C (82.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Lake Providence	United States	Record daily precipitation	79.2 mm (3.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Adams	United States	Record high maximum temperature	11.7 C (53.1 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Hyannis	United States	Record high maximum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Te Kowai Exp STN	Australia	Record low minimum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Raymond	Canada	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Summit	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Hawthorne AP	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-11.7 C (10.9 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Somerville 4 NW	United States	Record high maximum temperature	17.8 C (64.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Middletown 2 NW	United States	Record high minimum temperature	2.8 C (37.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Iliamna AP	United States	Record snow depth	101.6 cm (40.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Port Keats Police	Australia	Record daily precipitation	106.7 mm (4.2 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Framingham	United States	Record high minimum temperature	4.4 C (39.9 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Hickory	United States	Record high maximum temperature	25.6 C (78.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Raleigh State UNIV	United States	Record high maximum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Olds	Canada	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Rockville 1 NE	United States	Record high maximum temperature	17.8 C (64.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Pemberton	United States	Record high maximum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Moncure 3 SE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Kingston	United States	Record high maximum temperature	13.3 C (55.9 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Woodstock	United States	Record high maximum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Spokane Intl AP	United States	Record snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

781 records

Records set or tied on 17 December 1971 by type: Highest daily maximum 238, Lowest daily maximum 35, Highest daily minimum 199, Lowest daily minimum 80, Heaviest daily rainfall 149, Heaviest daily snowfall 39, Deepest snow cover 41.

Records on 17 December 1971 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	238
Lowest daily maximum	35
Highest daily minimum	199
Lowest daily minimum	80
Heaviest daily rainfall	149
Heaviest daily snowfall	39
Deepest snow cover	41

Records on 17 December 1971 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 35, daily 745.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

610 broken records

Margins by which the 610 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 305.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 December 1971

Top 20 records on 17 December 1971 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 December 1971	Iliamna AP, US	all-time snowfall	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	3 years	60 of 100 (Major)
17 December 1971	Cengcane (Bos), ZA	daily rain	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	42.2 mm (1.7 in)	52 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Fairbanks Intl AP, US	daily snowfall	29.0 cm (11.4 in)	24.7 cm (9.7 in)	34 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Oenpelli, AU	daily rain	119.1 mm (4.7 in)	65.8 mm (2.6 in)	20 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Fort Macleod, CA	daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	41 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Matias Romero (Smn), MX	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	17 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Nelson Bay (Nelson Head), AU	daily rain	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	35.3 mm (1.4 in)	56 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Stornoway Airport, GB	daily rain	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	14.0 mm (0.6 in)	38 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Teziutlan, MX	daily rain	39.9 mm (1.6 in)	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	28 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Atzalan, MX	daily rain	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	28 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Baker Kbkr, US	daily snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	40 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Carway, CA	daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	49 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Belvidere, US	daily high max	17.2 C (63.0 F)	5.0 C (9.0 F)	76 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Nicosia, CY	daily low max	8.3 C (46.9 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	82 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Coleman, CA	daily snowfall	24.9 cm (9.8 in)	12.2 cm (4.8 in)	53 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Waynesboro 2 S, US	monthly high max	27.8 C (82.0 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	65 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Arrowrock Dam, US	daily snow depth	71.1 cm (28.0 in)	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	22 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Calhoun 2 N, US	daily rain	95.5 mm (3.8 in)	37.6 mm (1.5 in)	40 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Petoskey, US	daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	16 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1971	Espanola, US	daily low min	-23.3 C (-9.9 F)	4.4 C (7.9 F)	73 years	38 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 1971

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1971. 1971 had 781 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 1971-12-17: 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	567
50 to 100	25
100 to 150	10
150 to 200	5
200 to 250	2
250 to 300	0
300 to 350	1