Weather Records on 31 December 1987

845 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 31 December 1987. Highest significance: Lusk 2 SW, US.

Key Facts for 31 December 1987

On 31 December 1987, 845 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
399 were record highs and 176 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 2 were all-time records, 27 monthly and 816 daily.
Lusk 2 SW set a monthly record daily snowfall of 43.2 cm (17.0 in) on 31 December 1987.
Across 157 earlier years (1797 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 484 records.

Record Map

845 stations

845 station records on 31 December 1987 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 31 December 1987: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Lusk 2 SW	United States	Record daily snowfall	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	71 of 100 (Major)
Moyston	Australia	Record daily precipitation	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	70 of 100 (Major)
Kalihi Rsch Site 777	United States	Record daily precipitation	332.7 mm (13.1 in)	68 of 100 (Major)
Darwin Botanic Gardens	Australia	Record daily precipitation	138.2 mm (5.4 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Landsborough	Australia	Record daily precipitation	59.0 mm (2.3 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Lusk 2 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Burdekin Shire Council	Australia	Record daily precipitation	167.0 mm (6.6 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Prentice #2	United States	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Darwin Airport	Australia	Record daily precipitation	151.6 mm (6.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Mikkalo 6 W	United States	Record snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Manoa Tun 2 716	United States	Record daily precipitation	327.7 mm (12.9 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Pauoa Flats 784	United States	Record daily precipitation	312.4 mm (12.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Palolo Vly 718	United States	Record daily precipitation	348.0 mm (13.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Vardo	Norway	Record daily precipitation	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Chugwater	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Manoa 712.1	United States	Record daily precipitation	100.1 mm (3.9 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Wishek	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Tranebjerg	Denmark	Record high maximum temperature	8.2 C (46.8 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Oak City	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Casino Airport	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.6 mm (1.8 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Muenster	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Wrixum/Fohr	Germany	Record high minimum temperature	5.8 C (42.4 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Lodi	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-5.6 C (21.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Three Lynx	United States	Record daily snowfall	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Valentine Miller Fld AP	United States	Record snow depth	45.7 cm (18.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Inkerman Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	96.4 mm (3.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Ballina (Crowley Village)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	90.0 mm (3.5 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Oakes	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Gettysburg	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
California	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Woodburn Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Richfield Radio Ksvc	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-23.9 C (-11.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Kotzebue AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Sonnblick	Austria	Record high maximum temperature	-0.4 C (31.3 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Boulder	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Manassa	United States	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Postville	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-26.7 C (-16.1 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Gann Valley 4NW	United States	Record snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Newark	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Long Creek	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Edgartown	United States	Record snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Plymouth-Kingston	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-24.4 C (-11.9 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Florida	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-20.0 C (-4.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Fossil	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Nueva Esperanza	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	24.4 C (75.9 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Malvern	United Kingdom	Record high maximum temperature	13.8 C (56.8 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Bridgeport	United States	Record snow depth	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Scipio	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.2 C (19.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Lethebrook	Australia	Record daily precipitation	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Lowood Don St	Australia	Record daily precipitation	42.8 mm (1.7 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Skegness	United Kingdom	Record high maximum temperature	12.4 C (54.3 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Tehachapi	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-12.8 C (9.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Medicine Bow	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Schierke	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	8.2 C (46.8 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Palisades	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Barcombe	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Whian Whian (Rummery Park)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	108.0 mm (4.3 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Cocobeach	Gabon	Record high minimum temperature	25.5 C (77.9 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Lowestoft	United Kingdom	Record high minimum temperature	7.3 C (45.1 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Wheatland 4N	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

845 records

Records set or tied on 31 December 1987 by type: Highest daily maximum 215, Lowest daily maximum 87, Highest daily minimum 184, Lowest daily minimum 89, Heaviest daily rainfall 168, Heaviest daily snowfall 44, Deepest snow cover 58.

Records on 31 December 1987 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	215
Lowest daily maximum	87
Highest daily minimum	184
Lowest daily minimum	89
Heaviest daily rainfall	168
Heaviest daily snowfall	44
Deepest snow cover	58

Records on 31 December 1987 by timescale: all-time 2, monthly 27, daily 816.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

697 broken records

Margins by which the 697 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 254.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

31 December 1987

Top 20 records on 31 December 1987 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
31 December 1987	Lusk 2 SW, US	monthly snowfall	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	42 years	71 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1987	Moyston, AU	daily rain	53.0 mm (2.1 in)	34.2 mm (1.3 in)	69 years	70 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1987	Kalihi Rsch Site 777, US	monthly rain	332.7 mm (13.1 in)	113.8 mm (4.5 in)	37 years	68 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1987	Darwin Botanic Gardens, AU	daily rain	138.2 mm (5.4 in)	87.9 mm (3.5 in)	68 years	67 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1987	Landsborough, AU	daily rain	59.0 mm (2.3 in)	39.2 mm (1.5 in)	69 years	64 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1987	Lusk 2 SW, US	monthly rain	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	11.0 mm (0.4 in)	42 years	64 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1987	Burdekin Shire Council, AU	daily rain	167.0 mm (6.6 in)	80.6 mm (3.2 in)	70 years	63 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1987	Prentice #2, US	daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	68 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1987	Darwin Airport, AU	daily rain	151.6 mm (6.0 in)	103.6 mm (4.1 in)	22 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1987	Mikkalo 6 W, US	daily snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	18 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1987	Manoa Tun 2 716, US	monthly rain	327.7 mm (12.9 in)	77.8 mm (3.1 in)	20 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1987	Pauoa Flats 784, US	monthly rain	312.4 mm (12.3 in)	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	22 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1987	Palolo Vly 718, US	monthly rain	348.0 mm (13.7 in)	78.8 mm (3.1 in)	20 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1987	Vardo, NO	daily rain	25.0 mm (1.0 in)	15.0 mm (0.6 in)	8 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1987	Chugwater, US	daily snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	13 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1987	Manoa 712.1, US	daily rain	100.1 mm (3.9 in)	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	36 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1987	Wishek, US	daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	3.4 cm (1.3 in)	81 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1987	Tranebjerg, DK	daily high max	8.2 C (46.8 F)	0.3 C (0.5 F)	108 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1987	Oak City, US	daily snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	64 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1987	Casino Airport, AU	daily rain	46.6 mm (1.8 in)	4.9 mm (0.19 in)	87 years	39 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

1797 to 1987

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1797 to 1987. 1987 had 845 records.

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

Records on 12-31 in each year
Year	Records
1797	1
1799	2
1826	1
1836	1
1842	2
1850	3
1853	1
1854	1
1859	1
1860	1
1867	1
1870	2
1872	2
1874	4
1875	2
1876	2
1878	2
1879	2
1880	2
1882	1
1884	2
1885	1
1886	3
1887	1
1888	2
1890	2
1891	8
1892	4
1895	4
1897	6
1898	5
1899	4
1900	3
1901	16
1902	3
1903	3
1904	11
1905	9
1906	31
1907	11
1908	7
1909	5
1910	25
1911	14
1912	17
1913	46
1914	34
1915	32
1916	25
1917	239
1918	24
1919	38
1920	64
1921	130
1922	83
1923	280
1924	113
1925	183
1926	77
1927	491
1928	53
1929	224
1930	58
1931	543
1932	394
1933	409
1934	181
1935	309
1936	567
1937	500
1938	247
1939	298
1940	467
1941	159
1942	352
1943	159
1944	259
1945	210
1946	707
1947	461
1948	591
1949	384
1950	310
1951	1,421
1952	377
1953	410
1954	286
1955	429
1956	216
1957	724
1958	584
1959	414
1960	389
1961	309
1962	810
1963	1,015
1964	388
1965	1,371
1966	326
1967	1,023
1968	1,371
1969	825
1970	579
1971	568
1972	836
1973	1,370
1974	590
1975	791
1976	1,306
1977	641
1978	2,791
1979	448
1980	1,448
1981	786
1982	639
1983	2,220
1984	942
1985	593
1986	616
1987	845
1988	600
1989	506
1990	1,379
1991	703
1992	1,062
1993	718
1994	878
1995	1,151
1996	2,202
1997	988
1998	739
1999	524
2000	1,575
2001	748
2002	1,232
2003	523
2004	1,278
2005	959
2006	2,089
2007	652
2008	656
2009	867
2010	1,544
2011	739
2012	803
2013	606
2014	903
2015	748
2016	678
2017	1,589
2018	620
2019	593
2020	489
2021	1,739
2022	1,497
2023	474
2024	460
2025	760

Download the Data

Data for records on 1987-12-31: 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 50	652
50 to 100	29
100 to 150	7
150 to 200	4
200 to 250	4
250 to 300	1