Weather Records on 15 December 1972

1,159 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 15 December 1972. Highest significance: Anderson, US.

Key Facts for 15 December 1972

On 15 December 1972, 1,159 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
240 were record highs and 366 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 13 were all-time records, 50 monthly and 1,096 daily.
Anderson set a monthly record daily precipitation of 110.2 mm (4.3 in) on 15 December 1972.
Across 168 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 452 records.

Record Map

1,159 stations

1,159 station records on 15 December 1972 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 15 December 1972: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Anderson	United States	Record daily precipitation	110.2 mm (4.3 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Aracaju	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	61.1 mm (2.4 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Bolsoy Santar	Russia	Record daily precipitation	42.3 mm (1.7 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Pinehurst Sthrn Pines	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Catawba	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Gaston Shoals	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Shelby 2 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	82.6 mm (3.3 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Chester 1 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	78.5 mm (3.1 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Stillwater Power House	Canada	Record daily precipitation	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Pelee Island	Canada	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Tenosique (Smn)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	109.0 mm (4.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Albemarle	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Claremore 2 ENE	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Barreiras	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	111.9 mm (4.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Cartersville #2	United States	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Milford	United States	Record snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Cumberland	Canada	Record daily snowfall	27.7 cm (10.9 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Grimsby	Canada	Record daily snowfall	21.6 cm (8.5 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Wellington	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
High Pt	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Willows 6 W	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-0.6 C (30.9 F)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Concord	United States	Record daily precipitation	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Gastonia	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.2 mm (2.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Embry	United States	Record daily precipitation	78.2 mm (3.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
N Vernon 2 ESE	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.9 cm (4.3 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Monroe 2 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	92.7 mm (3.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
St Catharines	Canada	Record daily snowfall	17.5 cm (6.9 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Nominingue	Canada	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Elberton 2 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	90.9 mm (3.6 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Patterson	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Cartersville	United States	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Greensboro AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Chelsea	Canada	Record daily snowfall	26.9 cm (10.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Karlshamn	Sweden	Record high minimum temperature	8.5 C (47.3 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Mammoth Spring	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Woodland 1 WNW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
McMillin Rsvr	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Anniston Metro AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Cambridge Galt Moe	Canada	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Beauceville	Canada	Record daily snowfall	31.5 cm (12.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Orland	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Tallapoosa 2 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Eldon	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Kenton	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Vale	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Mill 4 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.2 mm (1.8 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Winnemucca AP	United States	Record snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Port Dover	Canada	Record daily snowfall	13.2 cm (5.2 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Ocala	United States	Record high minimum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Greensburg	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Beulah	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.8 C (18.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Grants Pass	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Graton	United States	Record low maximum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Lenoir	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Clemson UNIV	United States	Record daily precipitation	84.3 mm (3.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Rainbow Lake	United States	Record daily precipitation	69.6 mm (2.7 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Campestre	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	68.3 mm (2.7 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Belleville	Canada	Record daily snowfall	20.1 cm (7.9 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Orono	Canada	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Toronto	Canada	Record daily snowfall	18.3 cm (7.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,159 records

Records set or tied on 15 December 1972 by type: Highest daily maximum 95, Lowest daily maximum 223, Highest daily minimum 145, Lowest daily minimum 143, Heaviest daily rainfall 295, Heaviest daily snowfall 160, Deepest snow cover 98.

Records on 15 December 1972 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	95
Lowest daily maximum	223
Highest daily minimum	145
Lowest daily minimum	143
Heaviest daily rainfall	295
Heaviest daily snowfall	160
Deepest snow cover	98

Records on 15 December 1972 by timescale: all-time 13, monthly 50, daily 1,096.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

977 broken records

Margins by which the 977 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 229.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

15 December 1972

Top 20 records on 15 December 1972 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
15 December 1972	Anderson, US	monthly rain	110.2 mm (4.3 in)	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	67 years	60 of 100 (Major)
15 December 1972	Aracaju, BR	daily rain	61.1 mm (2.4 in)	37.9 mm (1.5 in)	57 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Bolsoy Santar, RU	daily rain	42.3 mm (1.7 in)	28.1 mm (1.1 in)	46 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Pinehurst Sthrn Pines, US	daily rain	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	34.6 mm (1.4 in)	68 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Catawba, US	daily rain	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	39.3 mm (1.5 in)	54 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Gaston Shoals, US	daily rain	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	54 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Shelby 2 NW, US	daily rain	82.6 mm (3.3 in)	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	45 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Chester 1 SE, US	daily rain	78.5 mm (3.1 in)	65.3 mm (2.6 in)	27 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Stillwater Power House, CA	daily rain	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	31 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Pelee Island, CA	daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	50 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Tenosique (Smn), MX	daily rain	109.0 mm (4.3 in)	73.7 mm (2.9 in)	14 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Albemarle, US	daily rain	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	54 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Claremore 2 ENE, US	daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	70 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Barreiras, BR	daily rain	111.9 mm (4.4 in)	56.1 mm (2.2 in)	28 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Cartersville #2, US	daily rain	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	21 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Milford, US	daily snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	32 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Cumberland, CA	daily snowfall	27.7 cm (10.9 in)	16.3 cm (6.4 in)	77 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Grimsby, CA	daily snowfall	21.6 cm (8.5 in)	20.1 cm (7.9 in)	5 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	Wellington, US	daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	77 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1972	High Pt, US	daily rain	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	50 years	47 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 1972

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1972. 1972 had 1,159 records.

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

Records on 12-15 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1796	1
1798	1
1800	1
1808	3
1810	1
1814	3
1815	1
1825	1
1831	1
1840	2
1844	2
1846	3
1847	1
1854	3
1859	2
1863	1
1864	1
1866	1
1867	2
1868	1
1869	1
1870	1
1873	1
1874	1
1878	4
1879	2
1880	2
1881	3
1882	2
1883	1
1885	1
1886	1
1889	3
1890	1
1891	2
1892	4
1893	1
1894	4
1895	1
1896	5
1897	2
1899	12
1900	5
1901	21
1902	3
1903	7
1904	9
1905	6
1906	9
1907	10
1908	5
1909	5
1910	4
1911	23
1912	42
1913	13
1914	239
1915	180
1916	40
1917	40
1918	54
1919	28
1920	35
1921	26
1922	65
1923	132
1924	358
1925	187
1926	226
1927	235
1928	388
1929	500
1930	160
1931	284
1932	385
1933	796
1934	199
1935	140
1936	286
1937	310
1938	100
1939	637
1940	464
1941	373
1942	385
1943	486
1944	281
1945	420
1946	521
1947	634
1948	1,239
1949	135
1950	292
1951	962
1952	367
1953	270
1954	413
1955	371
1956	531
1957	304
1958	531
1959	560
1960	313
1961	883
1962	979
1963	670
1964	371
1965	759
1966	275
1967	948
1968	510
1969	352
1970	215
1971	1,739
1972	1,159
1973	615
1974	511
1975	1,230
1976	349
1977	963
1978	499
1979	560
1980	1,085
1981	1,243
1982	831
1983	1,229
1984	1,397
1985	1,077
1986	502
1987	1,740
1988	519
1989	2,753
1990	846
1991	636
1992	1,263
1993	734
1994	676
1995	848
1996	727
1997	1,521
1998	1,216
1999	621
2000	1,154
2001	1,026
2002	831
2003	846
2004	795
2005	953
2006	1,491
2007	973
2008	1,789
2009	930
2010	1,705
2011	780
2012	1,058
2013	701
2014	1,045
2015	1,398
2016	1,024
2017	332
2018	539
2019	547
2020	400
2021	1,182
2022	1,057
2023	794
2024	369
2025	2,115

Download the Data

Data for records on 1972-12-15: 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).

Histogram of margins by which records were beaten on 15 December 1972
Margin	Records
0 to 50	878
50 to 100	66
100 to 150	27
150 to 200	4
200 to 250	2