Weather Records on 17 December 1973

1,016 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 December 1973. Highest significance: Hanover, US.

Key Facts for 17 December 1973

On 17 December 1973, 1,016 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
244 were record highs and 138 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 2 were all-time records, 27 monthly and 987 daily.
Hanover set a daily record precipitation of 50.3 mm (2.0 in) on 17 December 1973.
Across 160 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 460 records.

Record Map

1,016 stations

1,016 station records on 17 December 1973 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 December 1973: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Hanover	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	72 of 100 (Major)
Mocksville 5SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	19.1 cm (7.5 in)	69 of 100 (Major)
Saint Johnsbury	United States	Record daily precipitation	44.2 mm (1.7 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Springvale	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Fall River	United States	Record daily precipitation	86.1 mm (3.4 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Plymouth-Kingston	United States	Record daily precipitation	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
New Bedford Coop	United States	Record daily precipitation	134.9 mm (5.3 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Manildra (George St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	42.9 mm (1.7 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Clifton Forge 2 NW	United States	Record daily snowfall	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
White Sulphur Springs	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Riverton	United States	Record daily snowfall	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Bunda Bunda	Australia	Record daily precipitation	79.2 mm (3.1 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Diamantina Lakes	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Alexandria	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Meruoca	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	68.6 mm (2.7 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Rietvallei	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	84.4 mm (3.3 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Middleboro	United States	Record daily precipitation	121.4 mm (4.8 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Kuridala Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Brockton	United States	Record daily precipitation	84.3 mm (3.3 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Ashland	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Orange (McLaughlin St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	48.8 mm (1.9 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Craigie (Bondi Forest Lodge)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	103.0 mm (4.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Monkira	Australia	Record daily precipitation	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Usina Santa Fe	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	103.0 mm (4.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Brome	Canada	Record daily snowfall	24.6 cm (9.7 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Millungera Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	108.0 mm (4.3 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Middle Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Newport	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Warsaw 2 NW	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Aroostook	Canada	Record daily precipitation	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Catawba Hospital	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Narromine (Alagalah St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Lancaster	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Bogan Gate Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Mansfield (Post Office)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Cap Chat	Canada	Record daily precipitation	26.7 mm (1.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Port Jervis	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
York Haven	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Kingston	United States	Record daily precipitation	75.4 mm (3.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Rutland	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Hill End Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Newport River	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Longford	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Cudal Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Cambridge Galt Moe	Canada	Record low maximum temperature	-9.4 C (15.1 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Vectis, Winterton	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
W Otis	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Everett	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Syracuse Hancock Intl AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	31.0 cm (12.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Lakes Entrance Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Krakmo	Norway	Record snow depth	72.0 cm (28.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Buchanan	United States	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Timberville 3 E	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Vienna	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Cartwright	Canada	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Devon (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Bar Harbor 3 NW	United States	Record high maximum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Amherst	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Brockton	United States	Record high maximum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Taunton	United States	Record daily precipitation	83.6 mm (3.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,016 records

Records set or tied on 17 December 1973 by type: Highest daily maximum 116, Lowest daily maximum 89, Highest daily minimum 128, Lowest daily minimum 49, Heaviest daily rainfall 399, Heaviest daily snowfall 181, Deepest snow cover 54.

Records on 17 December 1973 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	116
Lowest daily maximum	89
Highest daily minimum	128
Lowest daily minimum	49
Heaviest daily rainfall	399
Heaviest daily snowfall	181
Deepest snow cover	54

Records on 17 December 1973 by timescale: all-time 2, monthly 27, daily 987.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

855 broken records

Margins by which the 855 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 230.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 December 1973

Top 20 records on 17 December 1973 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 December 1973	Hanover, US	daily rain	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	84 years	72 of 100 (Major)
17 December 1973	Mocksville 5SE, US	daily snowfall	19.1 cm (7.5 in)	19.1 cm (7.5 in)	78 years	69 of 100 (Major)
17 December 1973	Saint Johnsbury, US	daily rain	44.2 mm (1.7 in)	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	62 years	66 of 100 (Major)
17 December 1973	Springvale, AU	daily rain	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	81 years	61 of 100 (Major)
17 December 1973	Fall River, US	daily rain	86.1 mm (3.4 in)	35.3 mm (1.4 in)	79 years	61 of 100 (Major)
17 December 1973	Plymouth-Kingston, US	daily rain	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	45.8 mm (1.8 in)	62 years	61 of 100 (Major)
17 December 1973	New Bedford Coop, US	monthly rain	134.9 mm (5.3 in)	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	3 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	Manildra (George St), AU	daily rain	42.9 mm (1.7 in)	32.7 mm (1.3 in)	77 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	Clifton Forge 2 NW, US	daily snowfall	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	75 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	White Sulphur Springs, US	daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	52 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	Riverton, US	daily snowfall	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	16.2 cm (6.4 in)	54 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	Bunda Bunda, AU	daily rain	79.2 mm (3.1 in)	47.4 mm (1.9 in)	52 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	Diamantina Lakes, AU	daily rain	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	82 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	Alexandria, AU	daily rain	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	40.7 mm (1.6 in)	60 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	Meruoca, BR	daily rain	68.6 mm (2.7 in)	44.1 mm (1.7 in)	56 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	Rietvallei, ZA	daily rain	84.4 mm (3.3 in)	62.3 mm (2.5 in)	20 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	Middleboro, US	monthly rain	121.4 mm (4.8 in)	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	28 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	Kuridala Post Office, AU	daily rain	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	46.3 mm (1.8 in)	60 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	Brockton, US	daily rain	84.3 mm (3.3 in)	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	3 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1973	Ashland, US	daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	68 years	48 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 1973

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1973. 1973 had 1,016 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 1973-12-17: 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	752
50 to 100	67
100 to 150	24
150 to 200	9
200 to 250	3