Weather Records on 16 December 1986

485 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 16 December 1986. Highest significance: Springs (Rwb), ZA.

Key Facts for 16 December 1986

On 16 December 1986, 485 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
162 were record highs and 88 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 16 monthly and 469 daily.
Springs (Rwb) set a daily record precipitation of 70.2 mm (2.8 in) on 16 December 1986.
Across 160 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 482 records.

Record Map

485 stations

485 station records on 16 December 1986 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 16 December 1986: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Springs (Rwb)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	70.2 mm (2.8 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Samalayuca	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Apache Powder Company	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Douglas (Bisbee) Intl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
La Purisima	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Pilliga Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.8 mm (1.2 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Knapp 2 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Biser	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-41.2 C (-42.2 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Troicko-Pecherskoe	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-50.5 C (-58.9 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
P-Ranch South Place	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-3.3 C (26.1 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Palmerville	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Sapporo	Japan	Record daily precipitation	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Rottweil	Germany	Record daily precipitation	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Ojo de Agua	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	63.0 mm (2.5 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
New Caney 2 E	United States	Record daily precipitation	114.8 mm (4.5 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Troicko-Pecherskoe	Russia	Record low maximum temperature	-46.3 C (-51.3 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Bulwer (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Beaumont City	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Cherdyn'	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-46.0 C (-50.8 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Biser	Russia	Record low maximum temperature	-33.2 C (-27.8 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Madera	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Perm	Russia	Record low maximum temperature	-35.6 C (-32.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Y Lightning Rch	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.2 mm (1.2 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Santo Domingo	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Ufa	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-36.9 C (-34.4 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Houma	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.5 mm (1.4 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Cherdyn'	Russia	Record low maximum temperature	-41.5 C (-42.7 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Ivdel	Russia	Record low maximum temperature	-42.6 C (-44.7 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Kirov	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-33.8 C (-28.8 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Abbeville	United States	Record daily precipitation	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Corfu	Greece	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Sahuaripa	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Humacao 2 SSE	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record high maximum temperature	32.2 C (90.0 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Humacao 2 SSE	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record high minimum temperature	23.3 C (73.9 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Morgan City	United States	Record daily precipitation	70.6 mm (2.8 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Larimore 4SW	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Lajas Substn	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Ventnor	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	30.8 mm (1.2 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Mtunzini	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Jhb-Zoological Garden	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Rankins Pass	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Backefors	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Eagle	United States	Record high minimum temperature	-5.0 C (23.0 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Naco	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Saran-Paul	Russia	Record low maximum temperature	-42.5 C (-44.5 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Ivdel	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-47.0 C (-52.6 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Sarapul	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-36.7 C (-34.1 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Janaul	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-37.6 C (-35.7 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Insikeni (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.9 mm (1.3 in)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Trang	Thailand	Record low minimum temperature	17.5 C (63.5 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Springerville	United States	Record high minimum temperature	1.7 C (35.1 F)	25 of 100 (Routine)
Temilpa	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Joskar-Ola	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-36.4 C (-33.5 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Elatma	Russia	Record low maximum temperature	-22.5 C (-8.5 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Inza	Russia	Record low minimum temperature	-32.4 C (-26.3 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Hawkestone, Howick	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Phuket Airport	Thailand	Record high maximum temperature	34.4 C (93.9 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Kansas City Dwtn AP	United States	Record high minimum temperature	6.7 C (44.1 F)	24 of 100 (Routine)
Huejotzingo	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	32.8 C (91.0 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)
Njaksimvol	Russia	Record low maximum temperature	-43.7 C (-46.7 F)	23 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

485 records

Records set or tied on 16 December 1986 by type: Highest daily maximum 55, Lowest daily maximum 36, Highest daily minimum 107, Lowest daily minimum 52, Heaviest daily rainfall 232, Deepest snow cover 3.

Records on 16 December 1986 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	55
Lowest daily maximum	36
Highest daily minimum	107
Lowest daily minimum	52
Heaviest daily rainfall	232
Heaviest daily snowfall	0
Deepest snow cover	3

Records on 16 December 1986 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 16, daily 469.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

393 broken records

Margins by which the 393 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 46.2. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

16 December 1986

Top 20 records on 16 December 1986 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
16 December 1986	Springs (Rwb), ZA	daily rain	70.2 mm (2.8 in)	46.2 mm (1.8 in)	12 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	Samalayuca, MX	daily rain	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	19 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	Apache Powder Company, US	daily rain	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	1 year	46 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	Douglas (Bisbee) Intl AP, US	daily rain	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	22.6 mm (0.9 in)	19 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	La Purisima, MX	daily rain	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	20 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	Pilliga Post Office, AU	daily rain	29.8 mm (1.2 in)	7.7 mm (0.30 in)	91 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	Knapp 2 SW, US	daily rain	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	55 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	Biser, RU	daily low min	-41.2 C (-42.2 F)	5.1 C (9.2 F)	89 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	Troicko-Pecherskoe, RU	daily low min	-50.5 C (-58.9 F)	6.9 C (12.4 F)	84 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	P-Ranch South Place, US	daily low max	-3.3 C (26.1 F)	2.7 C (4.9 F)	88 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	Palmerville, AU	daily high max	40.0 C (104.0 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	84 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	Sapporo, JP	daily rain	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	20.5 mm (0.8 in)	7 years	38 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	Rottweil, DE	monthly rain	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	5.1 mm (0.20 in)	42 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	Ojo de Agua, MX	daily rain	63.0 mm (2.5 in)	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	33 years	36 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	New Caney 2 E, US	monthly rain	114.8 mm (4.5 in)	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	3 years	35 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1986	Troicko-Pecherskoe, RU	daily low max	-46.3 C (-51.3 F)	11.9 C (21.4 F)	48 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
16 December 1986	Bulwer (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	11.9 mm (0.5 in)	56 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
16 December 1986	Beaumont City, US	daily rain	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	27 years	34 of 100 (Routine)
16 December 1986	Cherdyn', RU	daily low min	-46.0 C (-50.8 F)	9.4 C (16.9 F)	48 years	33 of 100 (Routine)
16 December 1986	Biser, RU	daily low max	-33.2 C (-27.8 F)	7.8 C (14.0 F)	40 years	32 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 1986

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1986. 1986 had 485 records.

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

Records on 12-16 in each year
Year	Records
1793	2
1798	2
1808	1
1810	1
1814	2
1815	2
1835	1
1839	1
1840	1
1846	3
1852	1
1853	1
1859	3
1864	1
1869	1
1870	1
1872	1
1876	1
1877	1
1878	2
1879	1
1885	2
1886	2
1888	2
1889	1
1890	4
1891	2
1892	3
1893	1
1894	1
1895	1
1896	7
1897	4
1898	1
1899	2
1900	2
1901	4
1902	17
1903	6
1904	8
1905	4
1906	5
1907	30
1908	11
1909	5
1910	38
1911	26
1912	31
1913	12
1914	26
1915	55
1916	31
1917	60
1918	33
1919	52
1920	61
1921	35
1922	62
1923	205
1924	347
1925	93
1926	130
1927	218
1928	338
1929	383
1930	398
1931	168
1932	880
1933	716
1934	163
1935	71
1936	429
1937	351
1938	142
1939	1,014
1940	633
1941	348
1942	550
1943	491
1944	189
1945	478
1946	357
1947	506
1948	775
1949	132
1950	272
1951	987
1952	349
1953	265
1954	305
1955	325
1956	650
1957	478
1958	497
1959	605
1960	393
1961	858
1962	859
1963	484
1964	639
1965	576
1966	417
1967	886
1968	557
1969	205
1970	726
1971	1,540
1972	1,020
1973	823
1974	546
1975	493
1976	526
1977	950
1978	532
1979	528
1980	1,322
1981	1,498
1982	1,208
1983	1,156
1984	1,944
1985	983
1986	485
1987	1,377
1988	605
1989	3,181
1990	753
1991	659
1992	1,408
1993	676
1994	698
1995	714
1996	797
1997	1,260
1998	698
1999	821
2000	1,160
2001	1,197
2002	990
2003	679
2004	510
2005	1,073
2006	1,020
2007	1,301
2008	2,049
2009	1,032
2010	1,585
2011	777
2012	912
2013	762
2014	465
2015	925
2016	1,588
2017	349
2018	624
2019	786
2020	415
2021	1,485
2022	836
2023	841
2024	755
2025	1,820

Download the Data

Data for records on 1986-12-16: 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).

Histogram of margins by which records were beaten on 16 December 1986
Margin	Records
0 to 10	345
10 to 20	31
20 to 30	10
30 to 40	3
40 to 50	4