Weather Records on 12 February 1979

1,719 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 12 February 1979. Highest significance: Ottawa 4SW, US.

Key Facts for 12 February 1979

On 12 February 1979, 1,719 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
160 were record highs and 554 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 41 were all-time records, 63 monthly and 1,615 daily.
Ottawa 4SW set a daily record snow depth of 66.0 cm (26.0 in) on 12 February 1979.
Across 161 earlier years (1794 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 476 records.

Record Map

1,719 stations

1,719 station records on 12 February 1979 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 12 February 1979: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Ottawa 4SW	United States	Record snow depth	66.0 cm (26.0 in)	73 of 100 (Major)
Walnut	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	70 of 100 (Major)
Pana	United States	Record snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	69 of 100 (Major)
Decatur Wtp	United States	Record snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Galesburg	United States	Record snow depth	58.4 cm (23.0 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Muscatine 2	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Rantoul	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Shelbina	United States	Record snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Gibson City	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Engcobo (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	110.0 mm (4.3 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Williamsburg 1E	United States	Record snow depth	86.4 cm (34.0 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Xenia 6 SSE	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Paola	United States	Record snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Gull Lake Biological STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Mackinaw 3WSW	United States	Record snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Morris River	United States	Record snow depth	71.1 cm (28.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Centralia	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Chillicothe	United States	Record snow depth	61.0 cm (24.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Griggsville	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Salisbury	United States	Record snow depth	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Waverly	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Bellefontaine	United States	Record snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
St Albans	Australia	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Schleswig	Germany	Record snow depth	54.0 cm (21.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Lysebotn	Norway	Record snow depth	39.0 cm (15.4 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Bentley	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Charleston	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Galva	United States	Record snow depth	58.4 cm (23.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Quincy Mem Brg	United States	Record snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Windsor	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Marion 2 N	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Fairmont	United States	Record snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Nanyanine	Australia	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Bull Harbour	Canada	Record daily snowfall	18.4 cm (7.2 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Coscomatepec (Smn)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Illinois City Dam 16	United States	Record snow depth	61.0 cm (24.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Decatur 1 N	United States	Record snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Macon	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Wrixum/Fohr	Germany	Record snow depth	16.0 cm (6.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Effingham 3SW	United States	Record snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Lincoln	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Morgantown Muni AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	21.3 cm (8.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Gladstone L/D 18	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Cambridge City 3 N	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Olathe 3E	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Edina	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Hickman	United States	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Ontario Ksrv	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Kellerberrin	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.0 mm (2.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
New Boston Dam 17	United States	Record snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Harveyville	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
John Glenn Intl AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	16.8 cm (6.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Laverton	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Keda	Georgia	Record daily precipitation	71.9 mm (2.8 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Cortez	United States	Record snow depth	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Dixon Wwtp	United States	Record snow depth	73.7 cm (29.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Jacksonville 2E	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Plymouth Pwr Substn	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Millington 1 SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Troy	United States	Record snow depth	55.9 cm (22.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,719 records

Records set or tied on 12 February 1979 by type: Highest daily maximum 49, Lowest daily maximum 276, Highest daily minimum 111, Lowest daily minimum 278, Heaviest daily rainfall 266, Heaviest daily snowfall 163, Deepest snow cover 576.

Records on 12 February 1979 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	49
Lowest daily maximum	276
Highest daily minimum	111
Lowest daily minimum	278
Heaviest daily rainfall	266
Heaviest daily snowfall	163
Deepest snow cover	576

Records on 12 February 1979 by timescale: all-time 41, monthly 63, daily 1,615.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

1,412 broken records

Margins by which the 1,412 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 559.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

12 February 1979

Top 20 records on 12 February 1979 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
12 February 1979	Ottawa 4SW, US	daily snow depth	66.0 cm (26.0 in)	48.2 cm (19.0 in)	83 years	73 of 100 (Major)
12 February 1979	Walnut, US	daily snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	73 years	70 of 100 (Major)
12 February 1979	Pana, US	daily snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	73 years	69 of 100 (Major)
12 February 1979	Decatur Wtp, US	daily snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	73 years	62 of 100 (Major)
12 February 1979	Galesburg, US	daily snow depth	58.4 cm (23.0 in)	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	45 years	61 of 100 (Major)
12 February 1979	Muscatine 2, US	daily snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	43 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Rantoul, US	daily snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	35 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Shelbina, US	daily snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	35 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Gibson City, US	daily snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	43 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Engcobo (Tnk), ZA	monthly rain	110.0 mm (4.3 in)	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	5 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Williamsburg 1E, US	daily snow depth	86.4 cm (34.0 in)	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	43 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Xenia 6 SSE, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	12.2 cm (4.8 in)	52 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Paola, US	daily snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	23 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Gull Lake Biological STN, US	daily rain	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	21.8 mm (0.9 in)	48 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Mackinaw 3WSW, US	daily snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	22.8 cm (9.0 in)	35 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Morris River, US	daily snow depth	71.1 cm (28.0 in)	55.9 cm (22.0 in)	23 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Centralia, US	daily snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	22.8 cm (9.0 in)	35 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Chillicothe, US	daily snow depth	61.0 cm (24.0 in)	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	24 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Griggsville, US	daily snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	7 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
12 February 1979	Salisbury, US	daily snow depth	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	28.0 cm (11.0 in)	24 years	50 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 1979

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1794 to 1979. 1979 had 1,719 records.

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

Records on 02-12 in each year
Year	Records
1794	1
1798	2
1803	1
1811	1
1816	2
1829	4
1845	1
1847	2
1855	1
1856	2
1864	3
1865	3
1866	1
1867	1
1869	3
1870	2
1871	5
1873	2
1875	1
1877	1
1879	1
1880	2
1881	2
1885	2
1887	1
1888	1
1890	1
1891	1
1893	3
1894	15
1895	5
1896	8
1897	1
1898	7
1899	15
1900	1
1901	5
1902	7
1903	7
1904	12
1905	22
1906	3
1907	15
1908	16
1909	9
1910	30
1911	16
1912	22
1913	12
1914	96
1915	16
1916	29
1917	25
1918	55
1919	37
1920	19
1921	32
1922	82
1923	103
1924	105
1925	248
1926	118
1927	71
1928	377
1929	283
1930	229
1931	275
1932	641
1933	195
1934	263
1935	162
1936	803
1937	729
1938	853
1939	253
1940	217
1941	275
1942	263
1943	404
1944	461
1945	310
1946	391
1947	710
1948	862
1949	618
1950	537
1951	505
1952	281
1953	232
1954	581
1955	1,099
1956	402
1957	375
1958	700
1959	492
1960	240
1961	683
1962	1,054
1963	752
1964	500
1965	946
1966	532
1967	555
1968	456
1969	554
1970	519
1971	579
1972	481
1973	841
1974	520
1975	878
1976	787
1977	857
1978	1,203
1979	1,719
1980	685
1981	1,655
1982	905
1983	1,444
1984	1,329
1985	1,428
1986	950
1987	660
1988	1,278
1989	511
1990	1,042
1991	636
1992	992
1993	728
1994	1,230
1995	1,272
1996	1,110
1997	940
1998	1,437
1999	1,772
2000	929
2001	859
2002	1,478
2003	613
2004	1,055
2005	966
2006	848
2007	709
2008	924
2009	1,088
2010	1,326
2011	959
2012	852
2013	527
2014	1,168
2015	709
2016	912
2017	1,494
2018	810
2019	1,053
2020	754
2021	1,634
2022	509
2023	469
2024	694
2025	1,802
2026	422

Download the Data

Data for records on 1979-02-12: 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	1,212
100 to 200	130
200 to 300	48
300 to 400	16
400 to 500	4
500 to 600	2