Weather Records on 4 December 1978

1,582 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 4 December 1978. Highest significance: Marion Downs, AU.

Key Facts for 4 December 1978

On 4 December 1978, 1,582 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
357 were record highs and 347 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 118 monthly and 1,464 daily.
Marion Downs set a daily record precipitation of 50.8 mm (2.0 in) on 4 December 1978.
Across 166 earlier years (1796 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 457 records.

Record Map

1,582 stations

1,582 station records on 4 December 1978 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 4 December 1978: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Marion Downs	Australia	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Williamson	United States	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Middlesboro Fire Dept	United States	Record daily precipitation	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Emmaville Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	118.4 mm (4.7 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
W Manchester 3 WSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
New Orleans Audubon	United States	Record daily precipitation	75.7 mm (3.0 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Hopkinsville	United States	Record daily precipitation	105.7 mm (4.2 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Alexandria 4 WSW	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Bens Run 1 SSE	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Weston	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.6 mm (2.2 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Mansfield 5 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Livingston 5 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	101.6 mm (4.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Clarksburg 1	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Thomas	United States	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Jackson	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Lafayette Springs	United States	Record daily precipitation	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Ironton	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Celina	United States	Record daily precipitation	103.6 mm (4.1 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Franklin Sewage Plt	United States	Record daily precipitation	132.8 mm (5.2 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Yandaburra	Australia	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Warren	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.4 mm (1.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
New Orleans Algiers	United States	Record daily precipitation	94.5 mm (3.7 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Moorhead	United States	Record daily precipitation	81.8 mm (3.2 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Alpha Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	73.3 mm (2.9 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Clarendon	Australia	Record daily precipitation	56.6 mm (2.2 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Surat	Australia	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Onawa 3NW	United States	Record snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
New Orleans Wtp	United States	Record daily precipitation	68.6 mm (2.7 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Carrollton 3 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Kingston Springs	United States	Record daily precipitation	104.6 mm (4.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Ripley	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Baku	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	26.3 mm (1.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Tambo Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Wharton Creek Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	96.0 mm (3.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Saltern Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	122.0 mm (4.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Outtrim	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
New Castle 1 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Lebanon	United States	Record daily precipitation	93.5 mm (3.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Yalleroi	Australia	Record daily precipitation	63.0 mm (2.5 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Barcaldine Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	83.5 mm (3.3 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
New Orleans WSO City	United States	Record daily precipitation	88.1 mm (3.5 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Stoneville Exp STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	74.7 mm (2.9 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Kings Mills	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Louisville	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Newark Liberty Intl AP	United States	Record high maximum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Kahului AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	59.4 mm (2.3 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Lewistown AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	18.3 cm (7.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Surbiton Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Blackall Township	Australia	Record daily precipitation	63.2 mm (2.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Bimerah	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Taipu	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
New Orleans D P S 5	United States	Record daily precipitation	94.7 mm (3.7 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Charleston	United States	Record daily precipitation	94.0 mm (3.7 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Merriman	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Stanton	United States	Record snow depth	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Brandonville	United States	Record daily precipitation	52.3 mm (2.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Manchester 4 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	67.3 mm (2.6 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Winnsboro 5 SSE	United States	Record daily precipitation	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Senatobia	United States	Record daily precipitation	96.0 mm (3.8 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Prospect	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,582 records

Records set or tied on 4 December 1978 by type: Highest daily maximum 226, Lowest daily maximum 114, Highest daily minimum 131, Lowest daily minimum 233, Heaviest daily rainfall 700, Heaviest daily snowfall 51, Deepest snow cover 127.

Records on 4 December 1978 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	226
Lowest daily maximum	114
Highest daily minimum	131
Lowest daily minimum	233
Heaviest daily rainfall	700
Heaviest daily snowfall	51
Deepest snow cover	127

Records on 4 December 1978 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 118, daily 1,464.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

1,317 broken records

Margins by which the 1,317 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 381.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

4 December 1978

Top 20 records on 4 December 1978 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
4 December 1978	Marion Downs, AU	daily rain	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	64 years	65 of 100 (Major)
4 December 1978	Williamson, US	daily rain	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	77 years	65 of 100 (Major)
4 December 1978	Middlesboro Fire Dept, US	daily rain	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	65 years	60 of 100 (Major)
4 December 1978	Emmaville Post Office, AU	monthly rain	118.4 mm (4.7 in)	18.8 mm (0.7 in)	80 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	W Manchester 3 WSW, US	daily rain	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	61 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	New Orleans Audubon, US	daily rain	75.7 mm (3.0 in)	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	76 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Hopkinsville, US	daily rain	105.7 mm (4.2 in)	52.4 mm (2.1 in)	27 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Alexandria 4 WSW, US	monthly rain	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	14.2 mm (0.6 in)	56 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Bens Run 1 SSE, US	daily rain	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	64 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Weston, US	daily rain	56.6 mm (2.2 in)	31.7 mm (1.2 in)	20 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Mansfield 5 W, US	daily rain	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	21.3 mm (0.8 in)	47 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Livingston 5 NE, US	daily rain	101.6 mm (4.0 in)	66.8 mm (2.6 in)	23 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Clarksburg 1, US	daily rain	50.3 mm (2.0 in)	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	20 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Thomas, US	daily rain	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	28 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Jackson, US	monthly rain	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	11.5 mm (0.5 in)	73 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Lafayette Springs, US	daily rain	99.1 mm (3.9 in)	63.0 mm (2.5 in)	24 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Ironton, US	daily rain	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	20.5 mm (0.8 in)	64 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Celina, US	monthly rain	103.6 mm (4.1 in)	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	53 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Franklin Sewage Plt, US	monthly rain	132.8 mm (5.2 in)	24.3 mm (1.0 in)	53 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
4 December 1978	Yandaburra, AU	daily rain	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	21 years	49 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

1796 to 1978

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1796 to 1978. 1978 had 1,582 records.

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

Records on 12-04 in each year
Year	Records
1796	2
1797	1
1810	2
1823	1
1829	2
1846	1
1847	1
1849	1
1850	1
1852	3
1854	1
1855	5
1856	2
1858	1
1859	1
1860	1
1861	1
1865	1
1866	1
1867	1
1868	2
1870	3
1872	1
1873	1
1875	2
1876	1
1878	1
1879	7
1882	3
1883	2
1885	1
1886	4
1887	1
1888	1
1889	1
1891	4
1892	9
1896	2
1897	5
1898	9
1899	3
1900	13
1901	7
1902	15
1903	7
1904	6
1905	16
1906	25
1907	5
1908	8
1909	45
1910	7
1911	27
1912	46
1913	59
1914	61
1915	61
1916	95
1917	31
1918	27
1919	94
1920	54
1921	60
1922	72
1923	142
1924	129
1925	266
1926	174
1927	184
1928	143
1929	432
1930	221
1931	411
1932	265
1933	524
1934	149
1935	330
1936	637
1937	148
1938	275
1939	443
1940	600
1941	1,326
1942	450
1943	259
1944	377
1945	332
1946	515
1947	577
1948	504
1949	120
1950	852
1951	583
1952	269
1953	738
1954	689
1955	811
1956	692
1957	350
1958	529
1959	212
1960	628
1961	570
1962	574
1963	285
1964	1,195
1965	590
1966	1,047
1967	428
1968	775
1969	366
1970	933
1971	768
1972	1,973
1973	1,124
1974	651
1975	757
1976	669
1977	654
1978	1,582
1979	943
1980	976
1981	638
1982	2,138
1983	1,284
1984	796
1985	1,239
1986	549
1987	624
1988	764
1989	1,541
1990	1,164
1991	1,178
1992	1,075
1993	708
1994	1,029
1995	972
1996	684
1997	654
1998	2,549
1999	930
2000	895
2001	974
2002	1,478
2003	595
2004	721
2005	1,075
2006	1,510
2007	1,005
2008	652
2009	1,114
2010	1,874
2011	1,252
2012	1,482
2013	1,227
2014	629
2015	428
2016	533
2017	607
2018	563
2019	522
2020	424
2021	942
2022	437
2023	736
2024	590
2025	535

Download the Data

Data for records on 1978-12-04: 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	1,219
50 to 100	70
100 to 150	17
150 to 200	6
200 to 250	4
250 to 300	0
300 to 350	0
350 to 400	1