Weather Records on 21 December 1987

775 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 21 December 1987. Highest significance: Rooipoort, ZA.

Key Facts for 21 December 1987

On 21 December 1987, 775 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
398 were record highs and 43 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 21 monthly and 753 daily.
Rooipoort set a daily record precipitation of 33.5 mm (1.3 in) on 21 December 1987.
Across 158 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 488 records.

Record Map

775 stations

775 station records on 21 December 1987 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 21 December 1987: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Rooipoort	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Black Springs (Swatchfield)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	54.8 mm (2.2 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Kestell (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Noongall	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.6 mm (1.2 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Mount Weld	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Berowra (Goodwyn Road)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	42.2 mm (1.7 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Woodhouselee (Leeston)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Wellington (Agrowplow)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Calitzdorp (Dam)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Ethel Creek	Australia	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Nunkeri	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Geurie Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	45.6 mm (1.8 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Wollar (Barrigan St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	57.8 mm (2.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Kerrabee (Murrumbo)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	72.6 mm (2.9 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Mumbil (Burrendong Dam)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.8 mm (1.8 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Goedehoop	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Katherine Council	Australia	Record daily precipitation	69.0 mm (2.7 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Westmead Austral Avenue	Australia	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Fowlerton	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Marra Creek (Womboin)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Bilpin (Fern Grove)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.8 mm (1.5 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Durant	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Oberon (Gingkin)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Tashkent	Uzbekistan	Record high maximum temperature	23.4 C (74.1 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Praha-Klementinum	Czech Republic	Record high minimum temperature	8.7 C (47.7 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Tashkent	Uzbekistan	Record high minimum temperature	11.3 C (52.3 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Lithgow (Birdwood St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	54.8 mm (2.2 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Yeoval Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	30.8 mm (1.2 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Nqamakwe (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Snoqualmie Falls	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Aberdeen (Rossgole)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.0 mm (2.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Richmond Raaf	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Robertson (Caalong Street)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Newport	United States	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Roy Hill	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.4 mm (1.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Gulgong Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	49.5 mm (1.9 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Hill End Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Katoomba (Murri St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	62.6 mm (2.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Milesovka	Czech Republic	Record high minimum temperature	4.5 C (40.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Schierke	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	5.9 C (42.6 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Keble	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Halle	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	9.4 C (48.9 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Magdeburg	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	8.9 C (48.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Gorlitz	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	7.0 C (44.6 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Cottbus	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	8.6 C (47.5 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Leipzig-Holzhausen	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	8.8 C (47.8 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Bernburg/Saale (Nord)	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	9.0 C (48.2 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Mount Victoria (Mt Victoria (S	Australia	Record daily precipitation	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Lithgow (Newnes Forest Centre)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Graz	Austria	Record high maximum temperature	15.9 C (60.6 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Chemnitz	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	6.8 C (44.2 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Groot-Arendskraal	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Cuero	United States	Record daily precipitation	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Elderslie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Hargraves (the Elders)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.2 mm (1.7 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
O'Connell (Stratford)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.2 mm (1.3 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Dunedoo Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Seven Hills (Collins St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.2 mm (1.5 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Wallacia Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
West Pennant Hills (Oratava A	Australia	Record daily precipitation	33.8 mm (1.3 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

775 records

Records set or tied on 21 December 1987 by type: Highest daily maximum 111, Lowest daily maximum 26, Highest daily minimum 287, Lowest daily minimum 17, Heaviest daily rainfall 279, Heaviest daily snowfall 31, Deepest snow cover 24.

Records on 21 December 1987 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	111
Lowest daily maximum	26
Highest daily minimum	287
Lowest daily minimum	17
Heaviest daily rainfall	279
Heaviest daily snowfall	31
Deepest snow cover	24

Records on 21 December 1987 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 21, daily 753.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

632 broken records

Margins by which the 632 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 152.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

21 December 1987

Top 20 records on 21 December 1987 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
21 December 1987	Rooipoort, ZA	daily rain	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	72 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Black Springs (Swatchfield), AU	daily rain	54.8 mm (2.2 in)	45.1 mm (1.8 in)	40 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Kestell (Pol), ZA	daily rain	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	38.2 mm (1.5 in)	56 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Noongall, AU	daily rain	30.6 mm (1.2 in)	23.2 mm (0.9 in)	44 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Mount Weld, AU	daily rain	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	28.4 mm (1.1 in)	50 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Berowra (Goodwyn Road), AU	daily rain	42.2 mm (1.7 in)	36.4 mm (1.4 in)	72 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Woodhouselee (Leeston), AU	daily rain	51.0 mm (2.0 in)	19.2 mm (0.8 in)	84 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Wellington (Agrowplow), AU	daily rain	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	32 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Calitzdorp (Dam), ZA	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	58 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Ethel Creek, AU	daily rain	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	49 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Nunkeri, AU	daily rain	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	23.4 mm (0.9 in)	21 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Geurie Post Office, AU	daily rain	45.6 mm (1.8 in)	22.7 mm (0.9 in)	72 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Wollar (Barrigan St), AU	daily rain	57.8 mm (2.3 in)	17.2 mm (0.7 in)	84 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Kerrabee (Murrumbo), AU	daily rain	72.6 mm (2.9 in)	63.2 mm (2.5 in)	13 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Mumbil (Burrendong Dam), AU	daily rain	44.8 mm (1.8 in)	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	28 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Goedehoop, ZA	monthly rain	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	14.2 mm (0.6 in)	52 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Katherine Council, AU	daily rain	69.0 mm (2.7 in)	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	72 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Westmead Austral Avenue, AU	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	40 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Fowlerton, US	daily rain	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	24.2 mm (1.0 in)	64 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
21 December 1987	Marra Creek (Womboin), AU	daily rain	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	14.9 mm (0.6 in)	72 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 1987

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1987. 1987 had 775 records.

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

Records on 12-21 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1794	1
1799	1
1801	2
1808	3
1825	1
1828	1
1839	1
1846	1
1850	1
1855	7
1859	1
1860	1
1868	1
1870	1
1871	2
1874	2
1875	3
1876	1
1877	1
1878	1
1879	1
1880	1
1884	1
1886	3
1889	1
1890	4
1893	4
1894	1
1895	5
1896	3
1897	3
1898	1
1900	8
1901	15
1902	5
1903	25
1904	3
1905	15
1906	15
1907	17
1908	19
1909	20
1910	29
1911	36
1912	23
1913	11
1914	107
1915	43
1916	40
1917	18
1918	41
1919	57
1920	30
1921	104
1922	34
1923	323
1924	377
1925	120
1926	178
1927	147
1928	70
1929	156
1930	66
1931	556
1932	150
1933	581
1934	230
1935	398
1936	323
1937	189
1938	145
1939	140
1940	622
1941	651
1942	968
1943	148
1944	762
1945	396
1946	495
1947	700
1948	297
1949	1,281
1950	504
1951	1,061
1952	197
1953	256
1954	444
1955	888
1956	672
1957	846
1958	516
1959	272
1960	585
1961	254
1962	563
1963	1,137
1964	613
1965	247
1966	400
1967	1,923
1968	818
1969	828
1970	547
1971	680
1972	651
1973	1,292
1974	374
1975	548
1976	446
1977	470
1978	517
1979	558
1980	726
1981	1,476
1982	702
1983	3,324
1984	1,012
1985	979
1986	404
1987	775
1988	717
1989	3,203
1990	2,701
1991	1,125
1992	751
1993	967
1994	793
1995	878
1996	1,114
1997	810
1998	1,142
1999	851
2000	944
2001	650
2002	579
2003	1,103
2004	675
2005	606
2006	1,443
2007	946
2008	1,062
2009	1,097
2010	2,039
2011	653
2012	759
2013	1,029
2014	878
2015	1,173
2016	543
2017	459
2018	742
2019	755
2020	965
2021	323
2022	528
2023	1,170
2024	778
2025	1,099

Download the Data

Data for records on 1987-12-21: 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 20	568
20 to 40	51
40 to 60	5
60 to 80	5
80 to 100	1
100 to 120	1
120 to 140	0
140 to 160	1