Weather Records on 18 December 1981

1,362 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 18 December 1981. Highest significance: Ishpeming, US.

Key Facts for 18 December 1981

On 18 December 1981, 1,362 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
224 were record highs and 570 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 67 monthly and 1,294 daily.
Ishpeming set a monthly record daily snowfall of 50.8 cm (20.0 in) on 18 December 1981.
Across 156 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 474 records.

Record Map

1,362 stations

1,362 station records on 18 December 1981 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 18 December 1981: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Ishpeming	United States	Record daily snowfall	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Gospic	Croatia	Record daily precipitation	87.1 mm (3.4 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Nordby (Fano)	Denmark	Record low maximum temperature	-9.5 C (14.9 F)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Utsira Fyr	Norway	Record snow depth	45.0 cm (17.7 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Milan	Italy	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Jacksonville 2E	United States	Record snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Wrixum/Fohr	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-6.4 C (20.5 F)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Nebraska City 2NW	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Tewantin Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	114.0 mm (4.5 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Sonneberg-Neufang	Germany	Record snow depth	114.0 cm (44.9 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Vastervik	Sweden	Record low minimum temperature	-25.8 C (-14.4 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Boggabilla Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.8 mm (1.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Hof (Stadt)	Germany	Record snow depth	37.0 cm (14.6 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Sheffield	United Kingdom	Record low minimum temperature	-9.1 C (15.6 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Conception	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Wasserkuppe	Germany	Record snow depth	101.0 cm (39.8 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Waldeck	Germany	Record snow depth	34.0 cm (13.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Orebro	Sweden	Record low maximum temperature	-12.0 C (10.4 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Chippewa Lake	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Cet Central England	United Kingdom	Record low minimum temperature	-7.2 C (19.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Rushville	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Athens Ou	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
La Rue	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Valparaiso	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	71.3 mm (2.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Bad Bergzabern	Germany	Record snow depth	18.0 cm (7.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Greensburg	United States	Record snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Carrollton	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-13.9 C (7.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Spencer	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.1 cm (2.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Hof	Germany	Record snow depth	43.0 cm (16.9 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Sterling	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Tlell	Canada	Record daily precipitation	41.2 mm (1.6 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Kaltennordheim	Germany	Record snow depth	51.0 cm (20.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Philippsburg	Germany	Record snow depth	16.0 cm (6.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Aralskoe More	Kazakhstan	Record high maximum temperature	10.3 C (50.5 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Haparanda	Sweden	Record low minimum temperature	-32.8 C (-27.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Halmstad	Sweden	Record low minimum temperature	-23.2 C (-9.8 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Corning	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-28.3 C (-18.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Louisiana	United States	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Hickman	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Yamburgan	Australia	Record daily precipitation	45.6 mm (1.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Nordby (Fano)	Denmark	Record low minimum temperature	-13.3 C (8.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Tranebjerg	Denmark	Record low minimum temperature	-13.0 C (8.6 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Lyon - St Exupery	France	Record daily precipitation	28.8 mm (1.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Teuschnitz	Germany	Record snow depth	67.0 cm (26.4 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Isit	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	-8.5 C (16.7 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Tegjultja	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	-10.9 C (12.4 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Palestine	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-11.1 C (12.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Auburn 5 ESE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-30.6 C (-23.1 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Cadiz	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Beckley Va Hospital	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Yandina Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Conceicao Do Rio Verde	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	79.1 mm (3.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Reit Im Winkl	Germany	Record snow depth	124.0 cm (48.8 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Selagoncy	Russia	Record high minimum temperature	-14.2 C (6.4 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Malvern	United Kingdom	Record low minimum temperature	-6.1 C (21.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Sidney 1SSE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-26.1 C (-15.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Brunswick	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-23.3 C (-9.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Windsor	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-9.4 C (15.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Mt Morris 2W	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Vermillion 2 SE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-30.0 C (-22.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,362 records

Records set or tied on 18 December 1981 by type: Highest daily maximum 117, Lowest daily maximum 252, Highest daily minimum 107, Lowest daily minimum 318, Heaviest daily rainfall 218, Heaviest daily snowfall 105, Deepest snow cover 245.

Records on 18 December 1981 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	117
Lowest daily maximum	252
Highest daily minimum	107
Lowest daily minimum	318
Heaviest daily rainfall	218
Heaviest daily snowfall	105
Deepest snow cover	245

Records on 18 December 1981 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 67, daily 1,294.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

1,128 broken records

Margins by which the 1,128 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 700.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

18 December 1981

Top 20 records on 18 December 1981 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
18 December 1981	Ishpeming, US	monthly snowfall	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	54 years	63 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1981	Gospic, HR	daily rain	87.1 mm (3.4 in)	30.9 mm (1.2 in)	104 years	61 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1981	Nordby (Fano), DK	monthly low max	-9.5 C (14.9 F)	1.5 C (2.7 F)	102 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Utsira Fyr, NO	daily snow depth	45.0 cm (17.7 in)	40.0 cm (15.7 in)	26 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Milan, IT	daily rain	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	14.5 mm (0.6 in)	78 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Jacksonville 2E, US	daily snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	70 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Wrixum/Fohr, DE	daily low max	-6.4 C (20.5 F)	3.6 C (6.5 F)	90 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Nebraska City 2NW, US	daily snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	17.7 cm (7.0 in)	8 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Tewantin Post Office, AU	daily rain	114.0 mm (4.5 in)	32.7 mm (1.3 in)	76 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Sonneberg-Neufang, DE	daily snow depth	114.0 cm (44.9 in)	62.0 cm (24.4 in)	8 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Vastervik, SE	monthly low min	-25.8 C (-14.4 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	65 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Boggabilla Post Office, AU	daily rain	37.8 mm (1.5 in)	20.0 mm (0.8 in)	74 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Hof (Stadt), DE	daily snow depth	37.0 cm (14.6 in)	20.0 cm (7.9 in)	8 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Sheffield, GB	daily low min	-9.1 C (15.6 F)	2.5 C (4.5 F)	94 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Conception, US	daily snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	7.7 cm (3.0 in)	67 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Wasserkuppe, DE	daily snow depth	101.0 cm (39.8 in)	54.0 cm (21.3 in)	8 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Waldeck, DE	daily snow depth	34.0 cm (13.4 in)	22.0 cm (8.7 in)	12 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Orebro, SE	daily low max	-12.0 C (10.4 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	98 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Chippewa Lake, US	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	80 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
18 December 1981	Cet Central England, GB	daily low min	-7.2 C (19.0 F)	1.5 C (2.7 F)	94 years	42 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 1981

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1981. 1981 had 1,362 records.

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

Records on 12-18 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1796	1
1805	1
1814	1
1825	1
1846	1
1849	1
1852	2
1858	1
1859	4
1862	2
1864	1
1868	1
1873	1
1875	1
1876	2
1878	1
1881	2
1882	1
1884	2
1886	1
1887	1
1888	1
1889	4
1890	5
1892	4
1894	8
1895	1
1897	4
1898	9
1899	3
1900	2
1901	6
1902	33
1903	11
1904	25
1905	3
1906	21
1907	15
1908	16
1909	18
1910	19
1911	9
1912	33
1913	38
1914	20
1915	28
1916	57
1917	62
1918	21
1919	117
1920	77
1921	123
1922	108
1923	378
1924	480
1925	74
1926	173
1927	151
1928	165
1929	366
1930	230
1931	360
1932	353
1933	506
1934	209
1935	138
1936	466
1937	459
1938	185
1939	900
1940	242
1941	213
1942	281
1943	419
1944	191
1945	598
1946	199
1947	266
1948	354
1949	561
1950	289
1951	867
1952	450
1953	373
1954	507
1955	611
1956	333
1957	901
1958	524
1959	477
1960	477
1961	885
1962	759
1963	571
1964	840
1965	402
1966	644
1967	1,105
1968	488
1969	376
1970	502
1971	387
1972	375
1973	1,008
1974	229
1975	625
1976	459
1977	992
1978	946
1979	1,087
1980	772
1981	1,362
1982	537
1983	2,014
1984	1,439
1985	1,384
1986	875
1987	1,505
1988	1,061
1989	1,818
1990	1,367
1991	756
1992	1,045
1993	697
1994	643
1995	1,065
1996	1,833
1997	1,195
1998	863
1999	923
2000	1,572
2001	906
2002	1,437
2003	987
2004	506
2005	987
2006	1,167
2007	746
2008	1,014
2009	1,253
2010	1,322
2011	697
2012	729
2013	513
2014	556
2015	1,254
2016	1,821
2017	516
2018	464
2019	679
2020	326
2021	762
2022	536
2023	1,293
2024	780
2025	994

Download the Data

Data for records on 1981-12-18: 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 2026-10-16 (16 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	1,079
100 to 200	37
200 to 300	7
300 to 400	1
400 to 500	1
500 to 600	1
600 to 700	2