Weather Records on 18 December 1978

946 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 18 December 1978. Highest significance: Blanding, US.

Key Facts for 18 December 1978

On 18 December 1978, 946 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
214 were record highs and 155 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 2 were all-time records, 35 monthly and 909 daily.
Blanding set a daily record precipitation of 55.6 mm (2.2 in) on 18 December 1978.
Across 156 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 477 records.

Record Map

946 stations

946 station records on 18 December 1978 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 18 December 1978: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Blanding	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Whitewood	Canada	Record daily snowfall	19.6 cm (7.7 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Port Hastings	Canada	Record daily precipitation	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Jackson	United States	Record daily snowfall	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Ballidu East	Australia	Record daily precipitation	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Mormon Flat	United States	Record daily precipitation	81.3 mm (3.2 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Horseshoe Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	88.1 mm (3.5 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Monticello 2E	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Superior	United States	Record daily precipitation	70.9 mm (2.8 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Mesa Verde Np	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Flagstaff AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	67.3 mm (2.6 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Greer	United States	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Mesa	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Tacoma	United States	Record daily snowfall	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
San Carlos Rsvr	United States	Record daily precipitation	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Tempe	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.6 mm (1.5 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Tucson WFO	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Bailey	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Jangier	Tajikistan	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Alpine	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Roosevelt 1 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	98.6 mm (3.9 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Ignacio 1 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Rifle	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Tacoma	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Red Lodge	United States	Record snow depth	104.1 cm (41.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Kanab	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
McNary 2N	United States	Record daily precipitation	71.1 mm (2.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Truxton Canyon	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Vallecito Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Buenavista de Loreto	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ajo	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Bright Angel Rs	United States	Record daily precipitation	75.7 mm (3.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Faywood	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Cooran Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	67.8 mm (2.7 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Oeiras	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	145.4 mm (5.7 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Walnut Grove	United States	Record daily precipitation	58.9 mm (2.3 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Whiteriver 1 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Tropic	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Miami	United States	Record daily precipitation	88.4 mm (3.5 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Sabino Canyon	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Hyde Park	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Keams Canyon	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Minden	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Rye Patch Dam	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Chama	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Kirkalocka	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.6 mm (1.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Guanambi	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Halmstad	Sweden	Record low minimum temperature	-14.5 C (5.9 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Vanersborg	Sweden	Record low minimum temperature	-16.0 C (3.2 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Grangeville	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Kooskia	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Austin #2	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Maroondah Weir (Melbourne Wate	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.4 mm (1.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Usina Rio Dos Campos	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	126.0 mm (5.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Atil	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Pendleton Branch Exp STN	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Assiniboia	Canada	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Pointe Au Pere	Canada	Record daily snowfall	24.9 cm (9.8 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Stillwater Rsvr	United States	Record daily snowfall	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Enterprise Rs	United States	Record daily snowfall	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

946 records

Records set or tied on 18 December 1978 by type: Highest daily maximum 70, Lowest daily maximum 51, Highest daily minimum 144, Lowest daily minimum 104, Heaviest daily rainfall 416, Heaviest daily snowfall 110, Deepest snow cover 51.

Records on 18 December 1978 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	70
Lowest daily maximum	51
Highest daily minimum	144
Lowest daily minimum	104
Heaviest daily rainfall	416
Heaviest daily snowfall	110
Deepest snow cover	51

Records on 18 December 1978 by timescale: all-time 2, monthly 35, daily 909.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

819 broken records

Margins by which the 819 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 508.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

18 December 1978

Top 20 records on 18 December 1978 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
18 December 1978	Blanding, US	daily rain	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	64 years	65 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1978	Whitewood, CA	daily snowfall	19.6 cm (7.7 in)	14.5 cm (5.7 in)	59 years	64 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1978	Port Hastings, CA	daily rain	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	36.3 mm (1.4 in)	87 years	64 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1978	Jackson, US	daily snowfall	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	56 years	64 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1978	Ballidu East, AU	monthly rain	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	29 years	62 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1978	Mormon Flat, US	monthly rain	81.3 mm (3.2 in)	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	51 years	61 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1978	Horseshoe Dam, US	monthly rain	88.1 mm (3.5 in)	37.8 mm (1.5 in)	29 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	Monticello 2E, US	monthly rain	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	26 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	Superior, US	daily rain	70.9 mm (2.8 in)	56.2 mm (2.2 in)	25 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	Mesa Verde Np, US	daily rain	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	28 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	Flagstaff AP, US	daily rain	67.3 mm (2.6 in)	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	13 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	Greer, US	daily rain	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	16 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	Mesa, US	daily rain	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	31.7 mm (1.2 in)	16 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	Tacoma, US	daily snowfall	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	64 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	San Carlos Rsvr, US	monthly rain	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	54 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	Tempe, US	daily rain	37.6 mm (1.5 in)	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	25 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	Tucson WFO, US	daily rain	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	16.8 mm (0.7 in)	64 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	Bailey, US	daily snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	17 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	Jangier, TJ	daily rain	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	17.7 mm (0.7 in)	20 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1978	Alpine, US	daily rain	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	13 years	47 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

1793 to 1978

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1978. 1978 had 946 records.

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

Records on 12-18 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1796	1
1805	1
1814	1
1825	1
1846	1
1849	1
1852	2
1858	1
1859	4
1862	2
1864	1
1868	1
1873	1
1875	1
1876	2
1878	1
1881	2
1882	1
1884	2
1886	1
1887	1
1888	1
1889	4
1890	5
1892	4
1894	8
1895	1
1897	4
1898	9
1899	3
1900	2
1901	6
1902	33
1903	11
1904	25
1905	3
1906	21
1907	15
1908	16
1909	18
1910	19
1911	9
1912	33
1913	38
1914	20
1915	28
1916	57
1917	62
1918	21
1919	117
1920	77
1921	123
1922	108
1923	378
1924	480
1925	74
1926	173
1927	151
1928	165
1929	366
1930	230
1931	360
1932	353
1933	506
1934	209
1935	138
1936	466
1937	459
1938	185
1939	900
1940	242
1941	213
1942	281
1943	419
1944	191
1945	598
1946	199
1947	266
1948	354
1949	561
1950	289
1951	867
1952	450
1953	373
1954	507
1955	611
1956	333
1957	901
1958	524
1959	477
1960	477
1961	885
1962	759
1963	571
1964	840
1965	402
1966	644
1967	1,105
1968	488
1969	376
1970	502
1971	387
1972	375
1973	1,008
1974	229
1975	625
1976	459
1977	992
1978	946
1979	1,087
1980	772
1981	1,362
1982	537
1983	2,014
1984	1,439
1985	1,384
1986	875
1987	1,505
1988	1,061
1989	1,818
1990	1,367
1991	756
1992	1,045
1993	697
1994	643
1995	1,065
1996	1,833
1997	1,195
1998	863
1999	923
2000	1,572
2001	906
2002	1,437
2003	987
2004	506
2005	987
2006	1,167
2007	746
2008	1,014
2009	1,253
2010	1,322
2011	697
2012	729
2013	513
2014	556
2015	1,254
2016	1,821
2017	516
2018	464
2019	679
2020	326
2021	762
2022	536
2023	1,293
2024	780
2025	994

Download the Data

Data for records on 1978-12-18: 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 100	792
100 to 200	21
200 to 300	4
300 to 400	1
400 to 500	0
500 to 600	1