Weather Records on 21 October 1978

616 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 21 October 1978. Highest significance: Mount Ryde, AU.

Key Facts for 21 October 1978

On 21 October 1978, 616 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
301 were record highs and 62 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 28 monthly and 588 daily.
Mount Ryde set a monthly record daily precipitation of 112.0 mm (4.4 in) on 21 October 1978.
Across 167 earlier years (1795 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 419 records.

Record Map

616 stations

616 station records on 21 October 1978 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 21 October 1978: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Mount Ryde	Australia	Record daily precipitation	112.0 mm (4.4 in)	70 of 100 (Major)
Maneroo	Australia	Record daily precipitation	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	68 of 100 (Major)
Fermoy	Australia	Record daily precipitation	111.2 mm (4.4 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Warrnambool Downs	Australia	Record daily precipitation	115.0 mm (4.5 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Niland	United States	Record daily precipitation	60.2 mm (2.4 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Baratria	Australia	Record daily precipitation	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Katandra	Australia	Record daily precipitation	89.0 mm (3.5 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Parker Rsvr	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Wellshot	Australia	Record daily precipitation	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Fort Huachuca	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Catumnal	Australia	Record daily precipitation	50.4 mm (2.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Bladensburg	Australia	Record daily precipitation	84.0 mm (3.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Melrose	Australia	Record daily precipitation	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Tucson WFO	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Camoola Park	Australia	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Innamincka Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.8 mm (1.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Tucson Magnetic Obsy	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Clutha Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.2 mm (1.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Cotswold Hills	Australia	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Parker	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Tumacacori Nm	United States	Record daily precipitation	57.9 mm (2.3 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Navojoa	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	81.3 mm (3.2 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Canelo 1 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Ilfracombe Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Winton Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Banff	Canada	Record daily snowfall	24.9 cm (9.8 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Briksdal	Norway	Record snow depth	20.0 cm (7.9 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Chiricahua Nm	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Barron Upper 1	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.4 mm (1.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Anvil Rch	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
N Lazy H Rch	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Sabino Canyon	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.8 mm (1.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Hayfield Pumping Plt	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Hambledon Mill Csr	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.4 mm (2.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Eagle Mtn	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Tucson Intl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Wilburra Downs Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	59.0 mm (2.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Summer Hill	Australia	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Winkelman 6 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Ferron	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Moselle Downs Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Ayrshire Downs	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Apache Powder Company	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Albion	United States	Record high maximum temperature	33.3 C (91.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Richmond Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.9 mm (1.6 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Rio de Contas	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	48.6 mm (1.9 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Siquirichi (Smn)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	89.9 mm (3.5 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Augustine 2E	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Port Washington	United States	Record high maximum temperature	27.2 C (81.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Beaconsfield	Australia	Record daily precipitation	55.5 mm (2.2 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Redington	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Red Rvr	United States	Record high minimum temperature	2.8 C (37.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Clifton	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Anadarko 3 E	United States	Record high maximum temperature	33.9 C (93.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Escalante	United States	Record high minimum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Tropic	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.2 C (45.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Malboona	Australia	Record daily precipitation	70.8 mm (2.8 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Castle Rock	United States	Record high minimum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Neosho	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.1 C (88.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Creighton	United States	Record high maximum temperature	27.8 C (82.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

616 records

Records set or tied on 21 October 1978 by type: Highest daily maximum 153, Lowest daily maximum 32, Highest daily minimum 148, Lowest daily minimum 30, Heaviest daily rainfall 245, Heaviest daily snowfall 4, Deepest snow cover 4.

Records on 21 October 1978 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	153
Lowest daily maximum	32
Highest daily minimum	148
Lowest daily minimum	30
Heaviest daily rainfall	245
Heaviest daily snowfall	4
Deepest snow cover	4

Records on 21 October 1978 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 28, daily 588.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

496 broken records

Margins by which the 496 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 80.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

21 October 1978

Top 20 records on 21 October 1978 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
21 October 1978	Mount Ryde, AU	monthly rain	112.0 mm (4.4 in)	65.8 mm (2.6 in)	48 years	70 of 100 (Major)
21 October 1978	Maneroo, AU	monthly rain	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	74 years	68 of 100 (Major)
21 October 1978	Fermoy, AU	monthly rain	111.2 mm (4.4 in)	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	48 years	67 of 100 (Major)
21 October 1978	Warrnambool Downs, AU	monthly rain	115.0 mm (4.5 in)	63.7 mm (2.5 in)	28 years	67 of 100 (Major)
21 October 1978	Niland, US	monthly rain	60.2 mm (2.4 in)	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	30 years	65 of 100 (Major)
21 October 1978	Baratria, AU	daily rain	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	78.3 mm (3.1 in)	57 years	63 of 100 (Major)
21 October 1978	Katandra, AU	daily rain	89.0 mm (3.5 in)	43.3 mm (1.7 in)	57 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Parker Rsvr, US	monthly rain	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	19 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Wellshot, AU	daily rain	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	47.7 mm (1.9 in)	43 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Fort Huachuca, US	daily rain	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	24.1 mm (0.9 in)	76 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Catumnal, AU	daily rain	50.4 mm (2.0 in)	43.3 mm (1.7 in)	31 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Bladensburg, AU	monthly rain	84.0 mm (3.3 in)	20.0 mm (0.8 in)	57 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Melrose, AU	monthly rain	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	17.6 mm (0.7 in)	48 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Tucson WFO, US	daily rain	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	1 year	48 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Camoola Park, AU	daily rain	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	47.9 mm (1.9 in)	3 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Innamincka Station, AU	monthly rain	46.8 mm (1.8 in)	2.6 mm (0.10 in)	80 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Tucson Magnetic Obsy, US	daily rain	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	3 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Clutha Station, AU	daily rain	40.2 mm (1.6 in)	36.4 mm (1.4 in)	24 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Cotswold Hills, AU	daily rain	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	52.0 mm (2.0 in)	3 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
21 October 1978	Parker, US	monthly rain	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	8.8 mm (0.35 in)	53 years	44 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

1795 to 1978

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1795 to 1978. 1978 had 616 records.

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

Records on 10-21 in each year
Year	Records
1795	1
1802	2
1805	1
1808	1
1810	1
1834	1
1835	1
1840	1
1845	1
1847	1
1850	1
1851	2
1854	1
1859	1
1863	1
1864	1
1866	3
1867	1
1868	3
1869	2
1871	1
1872	1
1873	1
1874	1
1876	4
1877	2
1878	1
1880	3
1881	1
1883	1
1886	1
1888	2
1889	2
1890	3
1891	6
1892	6
1893	1
1894	1
1895	2
1896	5
1898	6
1899	3
1900	2
1901	9
1902	2
1903	3
1904	30
1905	15
1906	11
1907	35
1908	35
1909	19
1910	21
1911	10
1912	18
1913	59
1914	35
1915	43
1916	70
1917	208
1918	18
1919	102
1920	149
1921	58
1922	78
1923	81
1924	389
1925	150
1926	77
1927	187
1928	78
1929	200
1930	492
1931	217
1932	165
1933	733
1934	407
1935	707
1936	407
1937	132
1938	121
1939	491
1940	537
1941	644
1942	258
1943	421
1944	367
1945	538
1946	297
1947	977
1948	266
1949	1,015
1950	438
1951	382
1952	848
1953	1,579
1954	279
1955	481
1956	276
1957	511
1958	322
1959	410
1960	408
1961	553
1962	359
1963	725
1964	457
1965	465
1966	425
1967	472
1968	174
1969	881
1970	548
1971	498
1972	813
1973	464
1974	866
1975	509
1976	1,467
1977	451
1978	616
1979	1,958
1980	378
1981	667
1982	870
1983	786
1984	1,872
1985	776
1986	814
1987	852
1988	696
1989	1,668
1990	807
1991	877
1992	1,095
1993	845
1994	670
1995	1,120
1996	1,581
1997	915
1998	711
1999	688
2000	771
2001	610
2002	1,241
2003	2,066
2004	1,674
2005	949
2006	1,057
2007	916
2008	610
2009	713
2010	710
2011	662
2012	703
2013	440
2014	716
2015	493
2016	734
2017	750
2018	440
2019	757
2020	1,135
2021	574
2022	629
2023	890
2024	1,138
2025	364

Download the Data

Data for records on 1978-10-21: 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 2026-10-14 (14 October 2026). Records are computed by this site and are not official.

Data as of 2026-10-12. Last revised 12 October 2026 (2026-10-12).

Margin	Records
0 to 10	389
10 to 20	56
20 to 30	25
30 to 40	9
40 to 50	6
50 to 60	4
60 to 70	4
70 to 80	3