Weather Records on 2 January 1978

689 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 2 January 1978. Highest significance: Mountain View Birdseye, CA.

Key Facts for 2 January 1978

On 2 January 1978, 689 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
72 were record highs and 205 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 18 monthly and 670 daily.
Mountain View Birdseye set a daily record precipitation of 45.7 mm (1.8 in) on 2 January 1978.
Across 166 earlier years (1794 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 477 records.

Record Map

689 stations

689 station records on 2 January 1978 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 2 January 1978: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Mountain View Birdseye	Canada	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Dwarsfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	75.0 mm (3.0 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Mountain View Birdseye	Canada	Record daily snowfall	45.7 cm (18.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Brakpan (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	131.0 mm (5.2 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Zamenkomst	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	97.0 mm (3.8 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Klerkskraal (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Kanye	Botswana	Record daily precipitation	102.0 mm (4.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Oliphantspoort	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Waterkloof	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	88.7 mm (3.5 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Bruce Rock	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.4 mm (1.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Warden (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	113.0 mm (4.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Kalamare	Botswana	Record daily precipitation	120.0 mm (4.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Greylingstad (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Kalgan River	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.6 mm (1.3 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Vredefort (Skl)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	85.0 mm (3.3 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Yellanup	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Bastos	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	104.0 mm (4.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Steynsrus (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	77.5 mm (3.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Escarcega (Smn)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Fredrikstad (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Bayard	United States	Record daily snowfall	21.6 cm (8.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Buffelshoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	96.0 mm (3.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Clark	United States	Record snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Hatton 9 SE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-28.3 C (-18.9 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Mamagalieskraal Suid(Irr)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	67.5 mm (2.7 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Auburn 2 SSE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-23.3 C (-9.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Hebgen Dam	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-22.2 C (-8.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Sulphur Springs	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-0.6 C (30.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Wooleen	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Mulji Vale	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Hastings	United States	Record daily snowfall	13.0 cm (5.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Hico	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Gabbin	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.4 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Kununoppin	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Trayning	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.4 mm (1.2 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Galveston	United States	Record low minimum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Francistown	Botswana	Record daily precipitation	54.3 mm (2.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Leeuspruit Wes	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	47.5 mm (1.9 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Elkader 6 SSW	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-29.4 C (-20.9 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Hightstown 2 W	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
P-Ranch South Place	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Johnstown	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.4 cm (3.3 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Philippi	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Bencubbin	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.6 mm (1.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Louwsburg (Mag)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	54.0 mm (2.1 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Pontiac Wwtp	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Cornwall	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Bradford	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Gilavin	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.6 mm (1.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Parapua	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	117.2 mm (4.6 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Potchefstroom Agr.	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Pretoria-Waterkloof-Cntry	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	80.4 mm (3.2 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Grangeville	United States	Record snow depth	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Saint Maries	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-23.9 C (-11.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Weltevrede	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Hex Krantz	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	82.5 mm (3.2 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Klipfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Frederick	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-5.0 C (23.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Mellette 4 W	United States	Record snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Hatton 9 SE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-12.8 C (9.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

689 records

Records set or tied on 2 January 1978 by type: Highest daily maximum 38, Lowest daily maximum 92, Highest daily minimum 34, Lowest daily minimum 113, Heaviest daily rainfall 279, Heaviest daily snowfall 79, Deepest snow cover 54.

Records on 2 January 1978 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	38
Lowest daily maximum	92
Highest daily minimum	34
Lowest daily minimum	113
Heaviest daily rainfall	279
Heaviest daily snowfall	79
Deepest snow cover	54

Records on 2 January 1978 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 18, daily 670.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

555 broken records

Margins by which the 555 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 355.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

2 January 1978

Top 20 records on 2 January 1978 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
2 January 1978	Mountain View Birdseye, CA	daily rain	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	31.7 mm (1.2 in)	51 years	61 of 100 (Major)
2 January 1978	Dwarsfontein, ZA	daily rain	75.0 mm (3.0 in)	46.6 mm (1.8 in)	44 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Mountain View Birdseye, CA	daily snowfall	45.7 cm (18.0 in)	35.5 cm (14.0 in)	34 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Brakpan (Mun), ZA	daily rain	131.0 mm (5.2 in)	67.5 mm (2.7 in)	32 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Zamenkomst, ZA	daily rain	97.0 mm (3.8 in)	58.0 mm (2.3 in)	24 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Klerkskraal (Pol), ZA	daily rain	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	72 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Kanye, BW	monthly rain	102.0 mm (4.0 in)	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	20 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Oliphantspoort, ZA	monthly rain	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	33.1 mm (1.3 in)	22 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Waterkloof, ZA	daily rain	88.7 mm (3.5 in)	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	23 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Bruce Rock, AU	daily rain	33.4 mm (1.3 in)	23.7 mm (0.9 in)	58 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Warden (Mag), ZA	daily rain	113.0 mm (4.4 in)	71.0 mm (2.8 in)	4 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Kalamare, BW	monthly rain	120.0 mm (4.7 in)	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	46 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Greylingstad (Sar), ZA	daily rain	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	33.7 mm (1.3 in)	48 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Kalgan River, AU	daily rain	32.6 mm (1.3 in)	22.2 mm (0.9 in)	44 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Vredefort (Skl), ZA	daily rain	85.0 mm (3.3 in)	31.7 mm (1.2 in)	44 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Yellanup, AU	daily rain	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	27 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Bastos, BR	daily rain	104.0 mm (4.1 in)	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	16 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Steynsrus (Mun), ZA	daily rain	77.5 mm (3.1 in)	36.9 mm (1.5 in)	36 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Escarcega (Smn), MX	daily rain	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	30.4 mm (1.2 in)	10 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
2 January 1978	Fredrikstad (Sar), ZA	daily rain	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	25.6 mm (1.0 in)	43 years	39 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

1794 to 1978

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1794 to 1978. 1978 had 689 records.

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

Records on 01-02 in each year
Year	Records
1794	2
1797	1
1800	1
1810	1
1823	1
1825	2
1830	2
1834	1
1840	1
1854	1
1855	1
1860	4
1861	4
1868	1
1869	1
1870	1
1871	4
1873	3
1874	1
1875	3
1876	4
1877	1
1879	3
1880	1
1882	1
1883	4
1886	1
1887	2
1888	1
1889	4
1890	2
1891	2
1892	1
1893	3
1894	2
1895	1
1896	7
1897	1
1898	2
1899	8
1900	7
1901	9
1902	5
1903	6
1904	22
1905	14
1906	8
1907	18
1908	6
1909	26
1910	17
1911	22
1912	53
1913	19
1914	27
1915	22
1916	43
1917	86
1918	114
1919	49
1920	48
1921	265
1922	77
1923	46
1924	165
1925	146
1926	190
1927	241
1928	744
1929	42
1930	264
1931	296
1932	148
1933	107
1934	242
1935	283
1936	460
1937	634
1938	111
1939	633
1940	403
1941	518
1942	619
1943	440
1944	355
1945	327
1946	157
1947	776
1948	967
1949	338
1950	1,253
1951	622
1952	823
1953	281
1954	309
1955	407
1956	179
1957	199
1958	240
1959	391
1960	630
1961	638
1962	582
1963	508
1964	955
1965	638
1966	964
1967	265
1968	807
1969	623
1970	947
1971	624
1972	407
1973	524
1974	1,495
1975	622
1976	653
1977	664
1978	689
1979	3,391
1980	360
1981	989
1982	1,102
1983	690
1984	1,221
1985	860
1986	641
1987	1,083
1988	1,279
1989	584
1990	425
1991	689
1992	947
1993	893
1994	576
1995	570
1996	1,425
1997	3,370
1998	1,108
1999	1,607
2000	1,340
2001	1,410
2002	1,021
2003	1,363
2004	1,212
2005	1,205
2006	1,658
2007	941
2008	843
2009	826
2010	1,304
2011	866
2012	805
2013	548
2014	684
2015	778
2016	603
2017	771
2018	2,183
2019	481
2020	645
2021	495
2022	1,905
2023	1,497
2024	635
2025	566
2026	770

Download the Data

Data for records on 1978-01-02: 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	519
50 to 100	26
100 to 150	8
150 to 200	1
200 to 250	0
250 to 300	0
300 to 350	0
350 to 400	1