Weather Records on 23 December 1978

351 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 23 December 1978. Highest significance: Red Lodge, US.

Key Facts for 23 December 1978

On 23 December 1978, 351 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
46 were record highs and 79 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 6 monthly and 345 daily.
Red Lodge set a daily record snow depth of 114.3 cm (45.0 in) on 23 December 1978.
Across 150 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 547 records.

Record Map

351 stations

351 station records on 23 December 1978 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 23 December 1978: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Red Lodge	United States	Record snow depth	114.3 cm (45.0 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Peppermint Grove	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Somerton (Clermont Park)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	57.6 mm (2.3 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Elliotdale (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	180.0 mm (7.1 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Deaver	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Dublin Phoenix Park	Ireland	Record daily precipitation	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Somerton (Girraweena)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	49.2 mm (1.9 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Kelvin (Kahana)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Jam Vale	Australia	Record daily precipitation	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Westgrove	Australia	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Gaborone	Botswana	Record daily precipitation	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Kojaneerup	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Glenelg	Australia	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Porto	Portugal	Record daily precipitation	84.4 mm (3.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Cargo Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Bailey	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Crescent Lake Nwr	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Powell	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Glen Innes Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Neilrex (Caigan)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Orenburg	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-36.0 C (-32.8 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Hankey (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Weston College, Mooi	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.4 mm (2.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Lima	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Sheridan AP	United States	Record snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Kelvin (Carellan)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.4 mm (1.5 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Ross	United States	Record high maximum temperature	19.4 C (66.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Bridger 2 N	United States	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Adelaide West Terrace	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	26.4 C (79.5 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Willow Tree (Parraweena)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	54.0 mm (2.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Rocky Glen (Rayak)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Maandagshoek	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Kaycee	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Rouchel Brook (Albano)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.8 mm (1.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Harrison	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Willow Tree (Valais)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.2 mm (1.4 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Stanton	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Tanana AP	United States	Record snow depth	88.9 cm (35.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Merriman	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Emblem	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Alcozauca (Smn)	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Orenburg	Russia	Record low maximum temperature	-26.5 C (-15.7 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Uil	Kazakhstan	Record low maximum temperature	-20.7 C (-5.3 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Santiago de Compostela/Labacol	Spain	Record daily precipitation	72.6 mm (2.9 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Burbank Valley Pump Plt	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-3.9 C (25.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Tiksi	Russia	Record daily precipitation	28.8 mm (1.1 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Hawkestone, Howick	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Attunga (Garthowen)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Pjatigorsk	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-25.1 C (-13.2 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Turtle Lake	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Kasilof 3 NW	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Limbri Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Carroll (the Ranch)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.4 mm (1.2 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Glen Innes Ag Research STN	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Thomasville 7 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Carson	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Butte Bert Mooney AP	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Tuzantla (Smn)	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Midwest	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Boggabri (Mayfield)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	23 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

351 records

Records set or tied on 23 December 1978 by type: Highest daily maximum 18, Lowest daily maximum 42, Highest daily minimum 28, Lowest daily minimum 37, Heaviest daily rainfall 157, Heaviest daily snowfall 32, Deepest snow cover 37.

Records on 23 December 1978 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	18
Lowest daily maximum	42
Highest daily minimum	28
Lowest daily minimum	37
Heaviest daily rainfall	157
Heaviest daily snowfall	32
Deepest snow cover	37

Records on 23 December 1978 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 6, daily 345.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

292 broken records

Margins by which the 292 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 737.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

23 December 1978

Top 20 records on 23 December 1978 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
23 December 1978	Red Lodge, US	daily snow depth	114.3 cm (45.0 in)	73.7 cm (29.0 in)	52 years	63 of 100 (Major)
23 December 1978	Peppermint Grove, AU	daily rain	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	20.6 mm (0.8 in)	56 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Somerton (Clermont Park), AU	daily rain	57.6 mm (2.3 in)	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	41 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Elliotdale (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	180.0 mm (7.1 in)	152.6 mm (6.0 in)	31 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Deaver, US	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	8.2 cm (3.2 in)	40 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Dublin Phoenix Park, IE	daily rain	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	18.5 mm (0.7 in)	4 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Somerton (Girraweena), AU	daily rain	49.2 mm (1.9 in)	34.7 mm (1.4 in)	41 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Kelvin (Kahana), AU	daily rain	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	68 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Jam Vale, AU	daily rain	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	0 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Westgrove, AU	daily rain	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	49 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Gaborone, BW	daily rain	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	26.8 mm (1.1 in)	51 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Kojaneerup, AU	daily rain	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	22.8 mm (0.9 in)	0 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Glenelg, AU	daily rain	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	3 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Porto, PT	monthly rain	84.4 mm (3.3 in)	22.9 mm (0.9 in)	21 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Cargo Post Office, AU	daily rain	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	36.5 mm (1.4 in)	9 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Bailey, US	daily snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	29 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Crescent Lake Nwr, US	daily snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	29 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Powell, US	daily snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	15 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Glen Innes Post Office, AU	daily rain	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	2.5 mm (0.10 in)	87 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
23 December 1978	Neilrex (Caigan), AU	daily rain	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	8.9 mm (0.35 in)	68 years	37 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 351 records.

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

Records on 12-23 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1825	1
1829	1
1840	1
1852	1
1855	1
1860	3
1864	1
1868	1
1870	6
1871	2
1875	2
1877	1
1878	1
1880	1
1881	1
1883	2
1887	2
1888	2
1889	2
1891	3
1893	2
1894	5
1896	4
1897	1
1898	4
1899	6
1901	2
1903	5
1904	11
1905	3
1906	16
1907	35
1908	8
1909	59
1910	41
1911	29
1912	36
1913	87
1914	57
1915	59
1916	34
1917	26
1918	51
1919	39
1920	33
1921	219
1922	28
1923	146
1924	257
1925	205
1926	146
1927	100
1928	137
1929	393
1930	141
1931	987
1932	329
1933	734
1934	92
1935	360
1936	370
1937	232
1938	183
1939	264
1940	365
1941	750
1942	534
1943	745
1944	484
1945	752
1946	234
1947	517
1948	528
1949	618
1950	521
1951	405
1952	242
1953	605
1954	348
1955	1,162
1956	496
1957	485
1958	209
1959	352
1960	1,442
1961	320
1962	439
1963	1,391
1964	1,457
1965	653
1966	436
1967	885
1968	891
1969	852
1970	940
1971	695
1972	376
1973	479
1974	611
1975	628
1976	514
1977	663
1978	351
1979	813
1980	516
1981	1,127
1982	1,140
1983	4,533
1984	668
1985	629
1986	571
1987	804
1988	878
1989	3,791
1990	3,241
1991	1,196
1992	504
1993	991
1994	1,091
1995	1,212
1996	1,184
1997	1,016
1998	688
1999	936
2000	746
2001	663
2002	778
2003	766
2004	1,231
2005	903
2006	1,194
2007	873
2008	771
2009	1,073
2010	1,298
2011	735
2012	817
2013	1,235
2014	1,070
2015	1,972
2016	432
2017	621
2018	373
2019	699
2020	916
2021	702
2022	1,426
2023	856
2024	637
2025	1,678

Download the Data

Data for records on 1978-12-23: 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	280
100 to 200	11
200 to 300	0
300 to 400	0
400 to 500	0
500 to 600	0
600 to 700	0
700 to 800	1