Weather Records on 17 December 1974

390 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 December 1974. Highest significance: Lady Frere (Tnk), ZA.

Key Facts for 17 December 1974

On 17 December 1974, 390 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
62 were record highs and 34 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 7 monthly and 383 daily.
Lady Frere (Tnk) set a daily record precipitation of 82.0 mm (3.2 in) on 17 December 1974.
Across 160 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 464 records.

Record Map

390 stations

390 station records on 17 December 1974 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 December 1974: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Lady Frere (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	82.0 mm (3.2 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Gannapan	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Groblershoop;Boegoeb	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Franshammar	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	36.2 mm (1.4 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Hammonton 1 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Irene	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.2 mm (1.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Lock Haven	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Waneta	Canada	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Wildeperdehoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Sidsjo	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Kearney 4 NE	United States	Record snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Clarke City	Canada	Record daily snowfall	21.8 cm (8.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Norfolk	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Jansenville	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Toms River	United States	Record daily precipitation	84.3 mm (3.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Dontsa	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Nelia Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.2 mm (1.3 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Plainfield	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Itaporanga (Misericordia)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	53.4 mm (2.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Neumunster	Germany	Record daily precipitation	25.3 mm (1.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Waaipoort	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Ironwood	United States	Record daily snowfall	24.1 cm (9.5 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Oderen	France	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Dullstroom (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Drain	United States	Record high maximum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Lensahn	Germany	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Plainfield	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Corvallis State UNIV	United States	Record high maximum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Ipswich	United States	Record daily precipitation	65.3 mm (2.6 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Shelburne Falls	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Elizabethtown	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Macucos	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	40.5 mm (1.6 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Groenvlei (Skl)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Sterling	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.5 cm (5.7 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Port Daniel	Canada	Record daily snowfall	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Presque Isle	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
George School	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Vernon	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Ste Rose du Degelis	Canada	Record daily snowfall	16.3 cm (6.4 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Zugspitze	Germany	Record snow depth	400.0 cm (157.5 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Apatzingan (Smn)	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Woodstock	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.1 cm (8.7 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Jackson	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Japaratuba	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Dudinka	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	-7.8 C (18.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Mina	United States	Record high minimum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Flemington 5 NNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.5 mm (1.9 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Mays Mill	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Newfane	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Readsboro 1 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.3 mm (1.4 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Camargo (Smn)	Mexico	Record low minimum temperature	-7.2 C (19.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Rondawel	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.7 mm (1.3 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Rockport 1 ESE	United States	Record high minimum temperature	3.9 C (39.0 F)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Pinkham Notch	United States	Record daily snowfall	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	22 of 100 (Routine)
Pedro Do Rio	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	52.2 mm (2.1 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Buffelsklip	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Burlington	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.1 mm (1.6 in)	21 of 100 (Routine)
Goyders Lagoon (Clifton Hills)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	15.2 mm (0.6 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Magiwirup	Australia	Record daily precipitation	20.0 mm (0.8 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)
Eutin	Germany	Record daily precipitation	24.5 mm (1.0 in)	20 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

390 records

Records set or tied on 17 December 1974 by type: Highest daily maximum 35, Lowest daily maximum 13, Highest daily minimum 27, Lowest daily minimum 21, Heaviest daily rainfall 238, Heaviest daily snowfall 50, Deepest snow cover 6.

Records on 17 December 1974 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	35
Lowest daily maximum	13
Highest daily minimum	27
Lowest daily minimum	21
Heaviest daily rainfall	238
Heaviest daily snowfall	50
Deepest snow cover	6

Records on 17 December 1974 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 7, daily 383.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

338 broken records

Margins by which the 338 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 1974

Top 20 records on 17 December 1974 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 December 1974	Lady Frere (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	82.0 mm (3.2 in)	55.3 mm (2.2 in)	25 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Gannapan, ZA	daily rain	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	93 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Groblershoop;Boegoeb, ZA	daily rain	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	36 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Franshammar, SE	monthly rain	36.2 mm (1.4 in)	9.2 mm (0.36 in)	39 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Hammonton 1 NE, US	daily rain	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	52 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Irene, ZA	daily rain	36.2 mm (1.4 in)	27.8 mm (1.1 in)	36 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Lock Haven, US	daily rain	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	13.5 mm (0.5 in)	65 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Waneta, CA	daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	43 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Wildeperdehoek, ZA	daily rain	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	30.8 mm (1.2 in)	19 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Sidsjo, SE	daily rain	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	17.6 mm (0.7 in)	16 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Kearney 4 NE, US	daily snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	41 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Clarke City, CA	daily snowfall	21.8 cm (8.6 in)	11.6 cm (4.6 in)	60 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Norfolk, US	daily rain	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	17.0 mm (0.7 in)	32 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Jansenville, ZA	daily rain	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	19.5 mm (0.8 in)	36 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Toms River, US	daily rain	84.3 mm (3.3 in)	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	4 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1974	Dontsa, ZA	daily rain	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	13.5 mm (0.5 in)	51 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1974	Nelia Post Office, AU	daily rain	34.2 mm (1.3 in)	23.3 mm (0.9 in)	55 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1974	Plainfield, US	daily rain	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	22.3 mm (0.9 in)	36 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1974	Itaporanga (Misericordia), BR	daily rain	53.4 mm (2.1 in)	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	12 years	32 of 100 (Routine)
17 December 1974	Neumunster, DE	daily rain	25.3 mm (1.0 in)	9.9 mm (0.39 in)	24 years	32 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 1974

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1974. 1974 had 390 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 1974-12-17: 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	315
50 to 100	14
100 to 150	5
150 to 200	2
200 to 250	1
250 to 300	0
300 to 350	1