Weather Records on 17 December 1979

951 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 17 December 1979. Highest significance: Sappho 8 E, US.

Key Facts for 17 December 1979

On 17 December 1979, 951 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
323 were record highs and 340 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 18 monthly and 933 daily.
Sappho 8 E set a daily record precipitation of 145.5 mm (5.7 in) on 17 December 1979.
Across 160 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 460 records.

Record Map

951 stations

951 station records on 17 December 1979 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 17 December 1979: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Sappho 8 E	United States	Record daily precipitation	145.5 mm (5.7 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Blaine	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Vancouver Int'l A	Canada	Record daily precipitation	87.5 mm (3.4 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Casa Grande	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	114.0 mm (4.5 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Bad-Neunkirchen Mergentheim	Germany	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Jasper	Canada	Record daily snowfall	20.2 cm (8.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Miltenberg	Germany	Record daily precipitation	36.2 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Lussanvira	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	81.7 mm (3.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Lauda-Konigshofen-Gerlachsheim	Germany	Record daily precipitation	33.7 mm (1.3 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Lussanvira	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	80.7 mm (3.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Ohringen	Germany	Record daily precipitation	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Macuspana (Dge)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	100.6 mm (4.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Villahermosa (Dge)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	113.8 mm (4.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Ubaira (Areia)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	72.4 mm (2.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Midland Water Pollution Contro	Canada	Record daily snowfall	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Neudenau	Germany	Record daily precipitation	33.6 mm (1.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Elma	United States	Record daily precipitation	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Tewantin Post Office	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	37.7 C (99.9 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Comercio	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	75.8 mm (3.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Samaria	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	88.6 mm (3.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Westgrove	Australia	Record daily precipitation	75.0 mm (3.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Midland Water Pollution Contro	Canada	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Kr. Neckar-Odenwald Buchen	Germany	Record daily precipitation	31.1 mm (1.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Charlottetown Cda	Canada	Record daily precipitation	37.4 mm (1.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Crosbyton	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-4.4 C (24.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Pilao Arcado	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Fall Rvr Lake	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-19.4 C (-2.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Wagoner	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-15.0 C (5.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
N Bend SW Oregon Rgnl AP	United States	Record high maximum temperature	19.4 C (66.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Brisbane Regional Office	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	38.8 C (101.8 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Buntzen Lake	Canada	Record daily precipitation	142.2 mm (5.6 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Heinersreuth-Vollhof	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	9.8 C (49.6 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Schwabisch Hall-Bibersfeld	Germany	Record daily precipitation	30.3 mm (1.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Pueblo Nuevo	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	90.2 mm (3.6 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Houston	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-17.8 C (0.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Sedalia Wtp	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-17.2 C (1.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Munchen-Nymphenburg	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	11.2 C (52.2 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Pocahontas 1	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-13.3 C (8.1 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Independence	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-17.8 C (0.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Winfield 3NE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-17.2 C (1.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Versailles	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-5.0 C (23.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Beulah	United States	Record high maximum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Brisbane Regional Office	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Ponta da Praia	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	91.9 mm (3.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Port Hardy A	Canada	Record daily precipitation	54.8 mm (2.2 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Goose A	Canada	Record daily snowfall	31.8 cm (12.5 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Penjamo	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Windsor	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-18.9 C (-2.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Healdton 3 E	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-13.3 C (8.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Haskell	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Clearwater	United States	Record daily precipitation	156.0 mm (6.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Victoria Gonzales Hts	Canada	Record daily precipitation	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Beerfelden	Germany	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Gravette	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-17.2 C (1.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Cottonwood Falls	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-19.4 C (-2.9 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Sedan	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-17.2 C (1.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Warrensburg 4NW	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-18.9 C (-2.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Willow Sprg Radio Kuku	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-18.3 C (-0.9 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Hereford	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-3.9 C (25.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Beaver	United States	Record high maximum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

951 records

Records set or tied on 17 December 1979 by type: Highest daily maximum 221, Lowest daily maximum 157, Highest daily minimum 102, Lowest daily minimum 183, Heaviest daily rainfall 267, Heaviest daily snowfall 15, Deepest snow cover 6.

Records on 17 December 1979 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	221
Lowest daily maximum	157
Highest daily minimum	102
Lowest daily minimum	183
Heaviest daily rainfall	267
Heaviest daily snowfall	15
Deepest snow cover	6

Records on 17 December 1979 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 18, daily 933.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

766 broken records

Margins by which the 766 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 204.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

17 December 1979

Top 20 records on 17 December 1979 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
17 December 1979	Sappho 8 E, US	daily rain	145.5 mm (5.7 in)	102.3 mm (4.0 in)	42 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Blaine, US	daily rain	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	26.1 mm (1.0 in)	60 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Vancouver Int'l A, CA	daily rain	87.5 mm (3.4 in)	43.0 mm (1.7 in)	28 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Casa Grande, BR	daily rain	114.0 mm (4.5 in)	65.4 mm (2.6 in)	28 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Bad-Neunkirchen Mergentheim, DE	daily rain	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	11.4 mm (0.4 in)	56 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Jasper, CA	daily snowfall	20.2 cm (8.0 in)	14.1 cm (5.6 in)	20 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Miltenberg, DE	daily rain	36.2 mm (1.4 in)	19.0 mm (0.7 in)	24 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Lussanvira, BR	daily rain	81.7 mm (3.2 in)	51.4 mm (2.0 in)	33 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Lauda-Konigshofen-Gerlachsheim, DE	daily rain	33.7 mm (1.3 in)	21.3 mm (0.8 in)	4 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Lussanvira, BR	daily rain	80.7 mm (3.2 in)	48.9 mm (1.9 in)	24 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Ohringen, DE	daily rain	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	9.3 mm (0.37 in)	56 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Macuspana (Dge), MX	daily rain	100.6 mm (4.0 in)	84.6 mm (3.3 in)	24 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Villahermosa (Dge), MX	daily rain	113.8 mm (4.5 in)	110.8 mm (4.4 in)	4 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Ubaira (Areia), BR	daily rain	72.4 mm (2.9 in)	52.1 mm (2.1 in)	25 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Midland Water Pollution Contro, CA	daily snowfall	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	18 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Neudenau, DE	daily rain	33.6 mm (1.3 in)	16.9 mm (0.7 in)	13 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Elma, US	daily rain	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	35.3 mm (1.4 in)	17 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Tewantin Post Office, AU	daily high max	37.7 C (99.9 F)	2.1 C (3.8 F)	77 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Comercio, BR	daily rain	75.8 mm (3.0 in)	37.2 mm (1.5 in)	21 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
17 December 1979	Samaria, MX	daily rain	88.6 mm (3.5 in)	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	12 years	39 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 1979

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1979. 1979 had 951 records.

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

Records on 12-17 in each year
Year	Records
1793	2
1796	1
1806	2
1808	2
1814	1
1815	1
1839	1
1845	1
1846	4
1847	1
1848	1
1859	3
1866	1
1867	1
1868	1
1869	2
1873	2
1876	3
1877	2
1878	1
1879	2
1881	2
1885	1
1886	1
1888	2
1889	2
1890	4
1892	4
1893	2
1894	4
1895	3
1896	4
1897	4
1898	2
1899	1
1900	6
1901	5
1902	47
1903	2
1904	14
1905	2
1906	17
1907	9
1908	13
1909	5
1910	37
1911	12
1912	15
1913	21
1914	17
1915	31
1916	21
1917	21
1918	21
1919	109
1920	97
1921	94
1922	120
1923	170
1924	505
1925	79
1926	172
1927	143
1928	359
1929	221
1930	362
1931	217
1932	684
1933	710
1934	200
1935	87
1936	504
1937	379
1938	118
1939	1,126
1940	248
1941	261
1942	507
1943	444
1944	189
1945	621
1946	207
1947	258
1948	316
1949	296
1950	294
1951	773
1952	277
1953	283
1954	409
1955	419
1956	448
1957	686
1958	540
1959	548
1960	492
1961	911
1962	676
1963	531
1964	1,239
1965	482
1966	516
1967	1,121
1968	338
1969	238
1970	820
1971	781
1972	601
1973	1,016
1974	390
1975	474
1976	507
1977	1,024
1978	710
1979	951
1980	1,116
1981	1,354
1982	569
1983	1,264
1984	1,618
1985	1,210
1986	743
1987	1,191
1988	481
1989	2,905
1990	866
1991	577
1992	1,461
1993	761
1994	685
1995	956
1996	1,212
1997	1,279
1998	695
1999	901
2000	1,566
2001	1,262
2002	858
2003	751
2004	554
2005	806
2006	1,307
2007	1,100
2008	1,354
2009	926
2010	1,405
2011	430
2012	942
2013	718
2014	370
2015	1,378
2016	1,521
2017	408
2018	498
2019	917
2020	768
2021	908
2022	595
2023	931
2024	560
2025	1,198

Download the Data

Data for records on 1979-12-17: 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	752
50 to 100	8
100 to 150	3
150 to 200	2
200 to 250	1