Weather Records on 20 December 1979

600 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 December 1979. Highest significance: Barkestad, NO.

Key Facts for 20 December 1979

On 20 December 1979, 600 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
369 were record highs and 52 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 33 monthly and 567 daily.
Barkestad set a monthly record daily precipitation of 111.0 mm (4.4 in) on 20 December 1979.
Across 163 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 466 records.

Record Map

600 stations

600 station records on 20 December 1979 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 December 1979: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Barkestad	Norway	Record daily precipitation	111.0 mm (4.4 in)	79 of 100 (Major)
Oorsprong-Oos	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	67.0 mm (2.6 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Corozal Substn	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record daily precipitation	83.3 mm (3.3 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Cordova AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	30.2 cm (11.9 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Bira	Russia	Record daily precipitation	27.3 mm (1.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Ida	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Avai	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	85.6 mm (3.4 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Moosomin	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	0.5 C (32.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Urmi	Russia	Record daily precipitation	29.1 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Campbell	United States	Record high minimum temperature	0.0 C (32.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Crookston NW Exp STN	United States	Record high minimum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Creighton	United States	Record high maximum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Fargo Hector Intl AP	United States	Record high minimum temperature	-1.7 C (28.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Indian Head Cda	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	-1.5 C (29.3 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Hammonton 1 NE	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Gann Valley 4NW	United States	Record high maximum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Webster	United States	Record high minimum temperature	0.0 C (32.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Zuerich/Fluntern	Switzerland	Record snow depth	26.0 cm (10.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Long Prairie	United States	Record high minimum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Wentworth 2.5 WNW	United States	Record high minimum temperature	0.0 C (32.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Chaplin	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	0.0 C (32.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Swan River	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	4.5 C (40.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Cidra 1 E	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Ploegfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Bemidji	United States	Record high minimum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Sedro-Woolley	United States	Record high minimum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Enderby	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	1.0 C (33.8 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Warroad	United States	Record high maximum temperature	8.9 C (48.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Crow Agency	United States	Record high maximum temperature	16.1 C (61.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Kenai AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.6 cm (2.2 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Fazenda Boa Vista de Jacare	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	65.2 mm (2.6 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Waialua 847	United States	Record high maximum temperature	29.4 C (84.9 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Kern River Ph 1	United States	Record high maximum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Belem de Sao Francisco	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Rio Casca	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	81.6 mm (3.2 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Russell	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	-3.0 C (26.6 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Red Lake Falls	United States	Record high minimum temperature	-2.2 C (28.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Liberty 1 NE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-9.4 C (15.1 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
UNIV of Utah	United States	Record high maximum temperature	13.9 C (57.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Chorrocho	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	70.0 mm (2.8 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Mazanovo	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	-1.7 C (28.9 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Ajo	United States	Record high minimum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Russell	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	4.5 C (40.1 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Boissevain	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	2.0 C (35.6 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Sutur	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	-0.4 C (31.3 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Ada	United States	Record high maximum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Fosston 1 E	United States	Record high minimum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Warroad	United States	Record high minimum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Palpan	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Panuco (Smn)	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Roseau	United States	Record high maximum temperature	4.4 C (39.9 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Charlotteburg Rsvr	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.2 cm (4.8 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Lake Yellowstone	United States	Record high maximum temperature	7.8 C (46.0 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Morden Cda	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	-1.0 C (30.2 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Quinter	United States	Record high minimum temperature	0.6 C (33.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Britton	United States	Record high minimum temperature	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Francis	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	5.5 C (41.9 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Weyburn	Canada	Record high minimum temperature	1.5 C (34.7 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Great Falls	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	4.0 C (39.2 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Ekimchan	Russia	Record high maximum temperature	-3.7 C (25.3 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

600 records

Records set or tied on 20 December 1979 by type: Highest daily maximum 201, Lowest daily maximum 32, Highest daily minimum 168, Lowest daily minimum 20, Heaviest daily rainfall 157, Heaviest daily snowfall 17, Deepest snow cover 5.

Records on 20 December 1979 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	201
Lowest daily maximum	32
Highest daily minimum	168
Lowest daily minimum	20
Heaviest daily rainfall	157
Heaviest daily snowfall	17
Deepest snow cover	5

Records on 20 December 1979 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 33, daily 567.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

485 broken records

Margins by which the 485 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 175.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 December 1979

Top 20 records on 20 December 1979 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 December 1979	Barkestad, NO	monthly rain	111.0 mm (4.4 in)	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	71 years	79 of 100 (Major)
20 December 1979	Oorsprong-Oos, ZA	daily rain	67.0 mm (2.6 in)	44.1 mm (1.7 in)	40 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1979	Corozal Substn, PR	daily rain	83.3 mm (3.3 in)	57.4 mm (2.3 in)	25 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1979	Cordova AP, US	daily snowfall	30.2 cm (11.9 in)	17.5 cm (6.9 in)	60 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1979	Bira, RU	monthly rain	27.3 mm (1.1 in)	8.3 mm (0.33 in)	1 year	47 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1979	Ida, ZA	daily rain	46.5 mm (1.8 in)	10.9 mm (0.4 in)	87 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1979	Avai, BR	daily rain	85.6 mm (3.4 in)	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	17 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1979	Moosomin, CA	daily high min	0.5 C (32.9 F)	5.5 C (9.9 F)	78 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1979	Urmi, RU	monthly rain	29.1 mm (1.1 in)	3.6 mm (0.14 in)	30 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1979	Campbell, US	daily high min	0.0 C (32.0 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	84 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1979	Crookston NW Exp STN, US	daily high min	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	87 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1979	Creighton, US	daily high max	15.0 C (59.0 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	84 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1979	Fargo Hector Intl AP, US	daily high min	-1.7 C (28.9 F)	1.4 C (2.5 F)	87 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1979	Indian Head Cda, CA	daily high min	-1.5 C (29.3 F)	1.8 C (3.2 F)	79 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
20 December 1979	Hammonton 1 NE, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	7.1 cm (2.8 in)	60 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
20 December 1979	Gann Valley 4NW, US	daily high max	15.0 C (59.0 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	78 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
20 December 1979	Webster, US	daily high min	0.0 C (32.0 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	84 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
20 December 1979	Zuerich/Fluntern, CH	monthly snow depth	26.0 cm (10.2 in)	3.0 cm (1.2 in)	43 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
20 December 1979	Long Prairie, US	daily high min	-1.1 C (30.0 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	76 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
20 December 1979	Wentworth 2.5 WNW, US	daily high min	0.0 C (32.0 F)	0.6 C (1.1 F)	84 years	33 of 100 (Routine)

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 600 records.

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

Records on 12-20 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1795	1
1804	1
1805	2
1808	1
1815	1
1828	1
1837	1
1846	1
1855	8
1858	1
1860	1
1866	1
1867	1
1868	1
1869	1
1871	2
1874	3
1875	1
1877	2
1878	1
1879	1
1880	1
1881	1
1882	1
1884	4
1885	1
1886	4
1889	4
1890	2
1891	2
1892	1
1894	2
1895	8
1896	1
1897	4
1898	2
1899	1
1900	7
1901	8
1902	14
1903	17
1904	9
1905	5
1906	5
1907	11
1908	5
1909	22
1910	17
1911	24
1912	27
1913	7
1914	43
1915	18
1916	45
1917	33
1918	18
1919	25
1920	22
1921	101
1922	88
1923	215
1924	332
1925	96
1926	163
1927	200
1928	93
1929	256
1930	67
1931	536
1932	170
1933	492
1934	265
1935	152
1936	416
1937	181
1938	240
1939	308
1940	965
1941	633
1942	817
1943	193
1944	340
1945	430
1946	327
1947	385
1948	345
1949	1,141
1950	758
1951	926
1952	394
1953	385
1954	416
1955	726
1956	471
1957	1,354
1958	382
1959	142
1960	354
1961	369
1962	475
1963	875
1964	499
1965	353
1966	555
1967	1,370
1968	482
1969	514
1970	518
1971	441
1972	448
1973	1,184
1974	328
1975	610
1976	382
1977	484
1978	910
1979	600
1980	667
1981	1,681
1982	712
1983	2,995
1984	1,411
1985	1,035
1986	321
1987	1,179
1988	760
1989	1,812
1990	1,885
1991	1,172
1992	1,134
1993	1,266
1994	813
1995	1,128
1996	1,448
1997	651
1998	1,110
1999	938
2000	1,150
2001	523
2002	943
2003	1,315
2004	836
2005	515
2006	1,387
2007	986
2008	1,356
2009	1,502
2010	2,055
2011	846
2012	1,131
2013	584
2014	524
2015	1,238
2016	603
2017	688
2018	592
2019	731
2020	554
2021	442
2022	567
2023	1,242
2024	897
2025	1,166

Download the Data

Data for records on 1979-12-20: 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 25	465
25 to 50	11
50 to 75	6
75 to 100	1
100 to 125	0
125 to 150	1
150 to 175	1