Weather Records on 3 January 1978

745 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 3 January 1978. Highest significance: Nakusp, CA.

Key Facts for 3 January 1978

On 3 January 1978, 745 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
100 were record highs and 207 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 15 monthly and 729 daily.
Nakusp set a monthly record daily snowfall of 49.4 cm (19.4 in) on 3 January 1978.
Across 163 earlier years (1794 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 489 records.

Record Map

745 stations

745 station records on 3 January 1978 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 3 January 1978: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Nakusp	Canada	Record daily snowfall	49.4 cm (19.4 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Mount Barker	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Stillwater Power House	Canada	Record daily snowfall	45.7 cm (18.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Stave Falls	Canada	Record daily snowfall	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Nakusp	Canada	Record daily precipitation	49.4 mm (1.9 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Daniels Harbour	Canada	Record daily snowfall	30.6 cm (12.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Beaver Mines	Canada	Record daily snowfall	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Middlekop (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	155.0 mm (6.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Agassiz Cda	Canada	Record daily snowfall	24.4 cm (9.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Beaver Mines	Canada	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
De Hoek (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	194.0 mm (7.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Welverdiend (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	71.2 mm (2.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Fernie	Canada	Record daily snowfall	34.0 cm (13.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Monticello Muni AP	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-11.1 C (12.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Boogardie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Lewiston	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Mt Adams Rs	United States	Record daily snowfall	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Alouette Lake	Canada	Record daily snowfall	26.4 cm (10.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Creston	Canada	Record daily snowfall	21.3 cm (8.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Gaylord	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Tapirai-Jusante	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	93.0 mm (3.7 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Cameron Lake	Canada	Record daily snowfall	42.5 cm (16.7 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Elko	Canada	Record daily snowfall	23.4 cm (9.2 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Caldwell	Canada	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Caldwell	Canada	Record daily snowfall	34.0 cm (13.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Broederstroom (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	200.2 mm (7.9 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Yalwal	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Westwold	Canada	Record daily snowfall	18.3 cm (7.2 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Convamore	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.5 mm (1.6 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Una (Agr)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	64.1 mm (2.5 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
N Fk Rs	United States	Record high minimum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Clark	United States	Record snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Allegan 5NE	United States	Record daily snowfall	16.8 cm (6.6 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Harrismith (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Davenport	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Palmerville	Australia	Record low minimum temperature	18.5 C (65.3 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Kaslo	Canada	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Kaslo	Canada	Record daily snowfall	29.0 cm (11.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Puerto Madero	Mexico	Record low minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Farmerville	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-9.4 C (15.1 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Seeley Lake Rs	United States	Record daily snowfall	32.5 cm (12.8 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Hooker 12 NNW	United States	Record daily snowfall	51.8 cm (20.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Hermiston 1 SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	9.9 cm (3.9 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Morgan 3 NE	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Blaine	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
San Nicolas Is	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Chilliwack	Canada	Record daily snowfall	32.0 cm (12.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Vancouver City Hall	Canada	Record daily snowfall	15.0 cm (5.9 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Zomerkomst (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	191.6 mm (7.5 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Watseka Public Works	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-20.6 C (-5.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Stillwater Power House	Canada	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Baldwin	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-8.9 C (16.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Kalamazoo State Hospital	United States	Record snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Monte Alegre de Minas	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	70.0 mm (2.8 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Ferros	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	78.6 mm (3.1 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
New Denver	Canada	Record daily snowfall	28.4 cm (11.2 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Foremost	Canada	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Stockport (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Hartline	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Ioco Refinery	Canada	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

745 records

Records set or tied on 3 January 1978 by type: Highest daily maximum 27, Lowest daily maximum 89, Highest daily minimum 73, Lowest daily minimum 118, Heaviest daily rainfall 277, Heaviest daily snowfall 101, Deepest snow cover 60.

Records on 3 January 1978 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	27
Lowest daily maximum	89
Highest daily minimum	73
Lowest daily minimum	118
Heaviest daily rainfall	277
Heaviest daily snowfall	101
Deepest snow cover	60

Records on 3 January 1978 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 15, daily 729.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

620 broken records

Margins by which the 620 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 406.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

3 January 1978

Top 20 records on 3 January 1978 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
3 January 1978	Nakusp, CA	monthly snowfall	49.4 cm (19.4 in)	17.6 cm (6.9 in)	42 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Mount Barker, AU	daily rain	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	22.9 mm (0.9 in)	60 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Stillwater Power House, CA	daily snowfall	45.7 cm (18.0 in)	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	28 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Stave Falls, CA	daily snowfall	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	17.7 cm (7.0 in)	67 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Nakusp, CA	monthly rain	49.4 mm (1.9 in)	11.3 mm (0.4 in)	49 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Daniels Harbour, CA	daily snowfall	30.6 cm (12.0 in)	21.7 cm (8.5 in)	19 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Beaver Mines, CA	daily snowfall	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	64 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Middlekop (Bos), ZA	daily rain	155.0 mm (6.1 in)	92.8 mm (3.7 in)	26 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Agassiz Cda, CA	daily snowfall	24.4 cm (9.6 in)	9.2 cm (3.6 in)	81 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Beaver Mines, CA	daily rain	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	64 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	De Hoek (Bos), ZA	daily rain	194.0 mm (7.6 in)	115.0 mm (4.5 in)	6 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Welverdiend (Pol), ZA	daily rain	71.2 mm (2.8 in)	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	60 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Fernie, CA	daily snowfall	34.0 cm (13.4 in)	20.0 cm (7.9 in)	30 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Monticello Muni AP, US	daily low min	-11.1 C (12.0 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	100 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Boogardie, AU	daily rain	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	24.4 mm (1.0 in)	60 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Lewiston, US	daily snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	44 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Mt Adams Rs, US	daily snowfall	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	20.4 cm (8.0 in)	48 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Alouette Lake, CA	daily snowfall	26.4 cm (10.4 in)	18.8 cm (7.4 in)	28 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Creston, CA	daily snowfall	21.3 cm (8.4 in)	8.6 cm (3.4 in)	55 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1978	Gaylord, US	daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	9.7 cm (3.8 in)	31 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 745 records.

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

Records on 01-03 in each year
Year	Records
1794	1
1798	1
1800	1
1823	2
1825	1
1830	2
1839	1
1848	1
1853	1
1860	2
1861	1
1864	1
1867	2
1868	2
1871	2
1873	1
1874	2
1876	2
1877	3
1878	1
1879	2
1882	2
1883	3
1884	1
1886	4
1887	5
1888	3
1889	4
1890	3
1891	4
1892	1
1893	1
1894	1
1895	3
1896	1
1897	3
1899	2
1900	15
1901	4
1902	15
1903	17
1904	51
1905	12
1906	13
1907	26
1908	8
1909	11
1910	23
1911	40
1912	26
1913	83
1914	33
1915	29
1916	60
1917	52
1918	80
1919	54
1920	31
1921	139
1922	80
1923	46
1924	222
1925	139
1926	268
1927	235
1928	412
1929	58
1930	160
1931	100
1932	167
1933	160
1934	208
1935	249
1936	404
1937	291
1938	139
1939	498
1940	312
1941	595
1942	505
1943	508
1944	361
1945	148
1946	171
1947	662
1948	462
1949	910
1950	2,025
1951	459
1952	587
1953	241
1954	370
1955	443
1956	188
1957	177
1958	326
1959	861
1960	431
1961	543
1962	802
1963	494
1964	513
1965	492
1966	885
1967	247
1968	582
1969	516
1970	749
1971	1,280
1972	313
1973	623
1974	1,010
1975	710
1976	524
1977	790
1978	745
1979	2,417
1980	470
1981	1,401
1982	1,380
1983	921
1984	983
1985	739
1986	676
1987	843
1988	1,034
1989	740
1990	467
1991	1,077
1992	1,200
1993	910
1994	902
1995	726
1996	2,085
1997	3,676
1998	1,434
1999	1,568
2000	2,063
2001	1,385
2002	1,307
2003	981
2004	1,406
2005	1,157
2006	1,472
2007	1,396
2008	948
2009	682
2010	1,337
2011	681
2012	956
2013	496
2014	1,029
2015	869
2016	605
2017	1,053
2018	1,444
2019	474
2020	772
2021	476
2022	989
2023	1,318
2024	734
2025	653
2026	902

Download the Data

Data for records on 1978-01-03: 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 3 January 1978
Margin	Records
0 to 100	587
100 to 200	26
200 to 300	6
300 to 400	0
400 to 500	1