Weather Records on 12 January 1981

1,508 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 12 January 1981. Highest significance: Cape Tribulation Store, AU.

Key Facts for 12 January 1981

On 12 January 1981, 1,508 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
297 were record highs and 828 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 9 were all-time records, 21 monthly and 1,478 daily.
Cape Tribulation Store set a daily record precipitation of 352.0 mm (13.9 in) on 12 January 1981.
Across 156 earlier years (1794 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 512 records.

Record Map

1,508 stations

1,508 station records on 12 January 1981 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 12 January 1981: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Cape Tribulation Store	Australia	Record daily precipitation	352.0 mm (13.9 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Astara	Azerbaijan	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Low Isles Lighthouse	Australia	Record daily precipitation	470.2 mm (18.5 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Ronneby-Bredakra	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
St Albans	Australia	Record daily precipitation	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Clube de Regatas	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	97.6 mm (3.8 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Barkestad	Norway	Record daily precipitation	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Machadodorp	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Laveen 3 SSE	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Bowling Green Wwtp	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Jesmond	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Port Douglas - Warner St	Australia	Record daily precipitation	213.0 mm (8.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Duiwelskloof (Mun)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	130.0 mm (5.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Chippewa Lake	United States	Record snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Baandee North	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Middletown 2 NW	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-23.9 C (-11.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Itapeuna	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	90.8 mm (3.6 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Alkmaar	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	78.5 mm (3.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Hamburg	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-23.3 C (-9.9 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Cooktown Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	130.0 mm (5.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Mossman South Alchera Drive	Australia	Record daily precipitation	225.0 mm (8.9 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Southampton	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-28.5 C (-19.3 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Mount Uniacke	Canada	Record daily snowfall	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Tucson Camp Ave Exp	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Nashua 2 NNW	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-27.8 C (-18.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Myers Page Fld AP	United States	Record low maximum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Cambridge Galt Moe	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-28.0 C (-18.4 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Minden	Canada	Record low minimum temperature	-39.0 C (-38.2 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Pierce	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-0.6 C (30.9 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Brockton	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-25.6 C (-14.1 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Plainfield	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-10.0 C (14.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Setauket Strong	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-17.8 C (0.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Jefferson 2 E	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-11.7 C (10.9 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Newark Liberty Intl AP	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-10.6 C (12.9 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Hillside Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	93.5 mm (3.7 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Storrs	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-22.8 C (-9.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Chestertown	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-10.0 C (14.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Peterboro 2 S	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-27.2 C (-17.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Woodstock	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-16.7 C (1.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Hatteras	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-6.7 C (19.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Ardath	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Hyannis	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-10.6 C (12.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Cape May 2 NW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-8.9 C (16.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Neshaminy Falls	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-8.9 C (16.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Snoqualmie Falls	United States	Record high maximum temperature	16.7 C (62.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Whyanbeel Valley	Australia	Record daily precipitation	238.0 mm (9.4 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Calgary Int'l A	Canada	Record high maximum temperature	11.9 C (53.4 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Barkestad	Norway	Record snow depth	100.0 cm (39.4 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Storrs	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-12.2 C (10.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Rio Claro	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	58.6 mm (2.3 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Santa Gertrudes	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	73.4 mm (2.9 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Anvil Rch	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Tuckerton 2 NE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-9.4 C (15.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
W Chester 2 NW	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-20.0 C (-4.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Mossman Central Mill	Australia	Record daily precipitation	221.8 mm (8.7 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Dividalen	Norway	Record snow depth	72.0 cm (28.3 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Woodstock	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-8.9 C (16.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
W Branch 3SE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-12.2 C (10.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Essex Fells Svc Bldg	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-22.8 C (-9.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Rogersville 1 NE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-5.0 C (23.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,508 records

Records set or tied on 12 January 1981 by type: Highest daily maximum 143, Lowest daily maximum 396, Highest daily minimum 154, Lowest daily minimum 432, Heaviest daily rainfall 316, Heaviest daily snowfall 22, Deepest snow cover 45.

Records on 12 January 1981 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	143
Lowest daily maximum	396
Highest daily minimum	154
Lowest daily minimum	432
Heaviest daily rainfall	316
Heaviest daily snowfall	22
Deepest snow cover	45

Records on 12 January 1981 by timescale: all-time 9, monthly 21, daily 1,478.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

1,251 broken records

Margins by which the 1,251 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 303.2. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

12 January 1981

Top 20 records on 12 January 1981 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
12 January 1981	Cape Tribulation Store, AU	daily rain	352.0 mm (13.9 in)	303.2 mm (11.9 in)	40 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Astara, AZ	daily rain	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	31.6 mm (1.2 in)	37 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Low Isles Lighthouse, AU	all-time rain	470.2 mm (18.5 in)	77.2 mm (3.0 in)	0 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Ronneby-Bredakra, SE	daily rain	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	20.1 mm (0.8 in)	25 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	St Albans, AU	monthly rain	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	11.9 mm (0.5 in)	57 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Clube de Regatas, BR	daily rain	97.6 mm (3.8 in)	70.1 mm (2.8 in)	22 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Barkestad, NO	daily rain	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	18.2 mm (0.7 in)	64 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Machadodorp, ZA	daily rain	52.8 mm (2.1 in)	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	57 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Laveen 3 SSE, US	daily rain	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	30 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Bowling Green Wwtp, US	daily snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	78 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Jesmond, AU	daily rain	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	34.2 mm (1.3 in)	16 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Port Douglas - Warner St, AU	daily rain	213.0 mm (8.4 in)	123.3 mm (4.9 in)	28 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Duiwelskloof (Mun), ZA	daily rain	130.0 mm (5.1 in)	83.0 mm (3.3 in)	24 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Chippewa Lake, US	daily snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	79 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Baandee North, AU	daily rain	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	1 year	42 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Middletown 2 NW, US	daily low min	-23.9 C (-11.0 F)	6.1 C (11.0 F)	81 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Itapeuna, BR	daily rain	90.8 mm (3.6 in)	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	21 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Alkmaar, ZA	daily rain	78.5 mm (3.1 in)	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	70 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Hamburg, US	daily low min	-23.3 C (-9.9 F)	5.5 C (9.9 F)	81 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
12 January 1981	Cooktown Post Office, AU	daily rain	130.0 mm (5.1 in)	50.2 mm (2.0 in)	52 years	40 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 1981

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1794 to 1981. 1981 had 1,508 records.

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

Records on 01-12 in each year
Year	Records
1794	2
1812	1
1830	2
1840	1
1849	1
1851	1
1856	2
1863	2
1867	1
1871	3
1873	2
1874	1
1875	2
1876	2
1877	3
1879	1
1881	1
1882	1
1884	1
1885	1
1886	3
1889	1
1890	1
1893	4
1894	1
1895	4
1896	3
1897	4
1898	7
1899	9
1900	3
1901	8
1902	6
1903	13
1904	3
1905	15
1906	4
1907	12
1908	29
1909	19
1910	43
1911	70
1912	55
1913	19
1914	67
1915	39
1916	47
1917	118
1918	148
1919	24
1920	73
1921	31
1922	71
1923	65
1924	87
1925	141
1926	65
1927	144
1928	629
1929	103
1930	185
1931	142
1932	475
1933	91
1934	222
1935	299
1936	334
1937	260
1938	179
1939	296
1940	315
1941	246
1942	327
1943	440
1944	119
1945	490
1946	288
1947	258
1948	330
1949	510
1950	399
1951	368
1952	268
1953	1,207
1954	427
1955	302
1956	503
1957	376
1958	410
1959	568
1960	1,365
1961	291
1962	1,397
1963	2,005
1964	635
1965	346
1966	485
1967	436
1968	1,207
1969	514
1970	525
1971	763
1972	1,289
1973	564
1974	1,057
1975	1,205
1976	986
1977	1,078
1978	711
1979	1,295
1980	1,442
1981	1,508
1982	1,614
1983	1,115
1984	596
1985	896
1986	690
1987	2,007
1988	841
1989	1,019
1990	637
1991	1,324
1992	774
1993	1,923
1994	942
1995	1,688
1996	1,596
1997	1,957
1998	1,077
1999	871
2000	1,061
2001	575
2002	1,011
2003	737
2004	651
2005	1,918
2006	1,117
2007	1,410
2008	715
2009	839
2010	1,044
2011	1,714
2012	810
2013	1,481
2014	515
2015	743
2016	400
2017	1,358
2018	1,199
2019	919
2020	1,310
2021	618
2022	570
2023	830
2024	1,068
2025	543
2026	630

Download the Data

Data for records on 1981-01-12: 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 2026-10-14 (14 October 2026). Records are computed by this site and are not official.

Data as of 2026-10-12. Last revised 12 October 2026 (2026-10-12).

Margin	Records
0 to 50	1,216
50 to 100	21
100 to 150	9
150 to 200	4
200 to 250	0
250 to 300	0
300 to 350	1