Weather Records on 12 December 1988

1,030 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 12 December 1988. Highest significance: Kalpowar Forestry, AU.

Key Facts for 12 December 1988

On 12 December 1988, 1,030 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
296 were record highs and 438 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 0 were all-time records, 9 monthly and 1,021 daily.
Kalpowar Forestry set a daily record precipitation of 76.0 mm (3.0 in) on 12 December 1988.
Across 153 earlier years (1796 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 465 records.

Record Map

1,030 stations

1,030 station records on 12 December 1988 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 12 December 1988: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Kalpowar Forestry	Australia	Record daily precipitation	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Curlewis Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Vergelegen	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Mt Perry the Pines	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Uralla (Lana)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Koolatah Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	135.0 mm (5.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Wilburra Downs Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	61.2 mm (2.4 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
The Hirsel	Australia	Record daily precipitation	52.4 mm (2.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Dululu Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Moonan Flat (High St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Okemah	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.3 cm (2.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Darwin Botanic Gardens	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.4 mm (1.8 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Binnaway (Hawthorne)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Foster (Post Office)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.6 mm (1.8 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Newark Liberty Intl AP	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-14.4 C (6.1 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Avon	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-11.1 C (12.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Fredonia	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-21.1 C (-6.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Lowville	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-16.7 C (1.9 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Griffiss AFB	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-23.3 C (-9.9 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Riverside Fire STN 3	United States	Record high maximum temperature	31.1 C (88.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Detour Village	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-20.0 C (-4.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Vanderbilt 11ENE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-15.6 C (3.9 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Calliope Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Glen Alice (Watervale)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Grangeville	United States	Record high maximum temperature	12.2 C (54.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Watertown	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-16.7 C (1.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Gonyelinka	Australia	Record daily precipitation	84.0 mm (3.3 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Kenilworth Township	Australia	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Tabulam Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.8 mm (1.6 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
L F Wade Intl AP Kindley Fld	Bermuda [United Kingdom]	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Morrilton	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Cresco 1 NE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-25.0 C (-13.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Detour Village	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-8.9 C (16.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Cape May 2 NW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-5.0 C (23.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Middletown 2 NW	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-8.9 C (16.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Setauket Strong	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-6.1 C (21.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Hrazdan	Armenia	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Stanwell Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.6 mm (1.8 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Turrawan (Wallah)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Chestertown	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-12.2 C (10.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Mio Hydro Plt	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-25.0 C (-13.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Moorestown 4 E	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-16.1 C (3.0 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Dunbar Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	70.5 mm (2.8 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Uralla (Mihi)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Wollar (Barrigan St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Middletown 4 W	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-17.2 C (1.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Franklinville	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-31.1 C (-24.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Gowanda Correctional	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-27.2 C (-17.0 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Tashkent	Uzbekistan	Record high minimum temperature	9.2 C (48.6 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Pentland Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Biloela Dpi	Australia	Record daily precipitation	50.6 mm (2.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Yautepec	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	34.4 C (93.9 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Angelica	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-28.9 C (-20.0 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Mt Garnet Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Weabonga (Stoneleigh)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Nqamakwe (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
E Tawas	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-10.0 C (14.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Hamburg	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-7.2 C (19.0 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Cold Bay AP	United States	Record snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Blenheim Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.8 mm (1.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,030 records

Records set or tied on 12 December 1988 by type: Highest daily maximum 175, Lowest daily maximum 182, Highest daily minimum 121, Lowest daily minimum 256, Heaviest daily rainfall 233, Heaviest daily snowfall 52, Deepest snow cover 11.

Records on 12 December 1988 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	175
Lowest daily maximum	182
Highest daily minimum	121
Lowest daily minimum	256
Heaviest daily rainfall	233
Heaviest daily snowfall	52
Deepest snow cover	11

Records on 12 December 1988 by timescale: all-time 0, monthly 9, daily 1,021.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

825 broken records

Margins by which the 825 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 153.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

12 December 1988

Top 20 records on 12 December 1988 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
12 December 1988	Kalpowar Forestry, AU	daily rain	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	56.9 mm (2.2 in)	51 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Curlewis Post Office, AU	daily rain	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	25.6 mm (1.0 in)	72 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Vergelegen, ZA	daily rain	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	8 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Mt Perry the Pines, AU	daily rain	36.8 mm (1.4 in)	19.5 mm (0.8 in)	93 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Uralla (Lana), AU	daily rain	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	49.3 mm (1.9 in)	19 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Koolatah Station, AU	daily rain	135.0 mm (5.3 in)	70.2 mm (2.8 in)	38 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Wilburra Downs Station, AU	daily rain	61.2 mm (2.4 in)	58.2 mm (2.3 in)	14 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	The Hirsel, AU	daily rain	52.4 mm (2.1 in)	35.9 mm (1.4 in)	51 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Dululu Post Office, AU	daily rain	61.0 mm (2.4 in)	41.4 mm (1.6 in)	50 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Moonan Flat (High St), AU	daily rain	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	16.6 mm (0.7 in)	72 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Okemah, US	daily snowfall	5.3 cm (2.1 in)	5.3 cm (2.1 in)	76 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Darwin Botanic Gardens, AU	daily rain	46.4 mm (1.8 in)	9.3 mm (0.37 in)	98 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Binnaway (Hawthorne), AU	daily rain	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	9.6 mm (0.38 in)	85 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Foster (Post Office), AU	daily rain	44.6 mm (1.8 in)	23.3 mm (0.9 in)	30 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Newark Liberty Intl AP, US	daily low min	-14.4 C (6.1 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	123 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Avon, US	daily low max	-11.1 C (12.0 F)	4.4 C (7.9 F)	86 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Fredonia, US	daily low min	-21.1 C (-6.0 F)	6.7 C (12.1 F)	71 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Lowville, US	daily low max	-16.7 C (1.9 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	92 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Griffiss AFB, US	daily low min	-23.3 C (-9.9 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	92 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
12 December 1988	Riverside Fire STN 3, US	daily high max	31.1 C (88.0 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	92 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

1796 to 1988

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1796 to 1988. 1988 had 1,030 records.

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

Records on 12-12 in each year
Year	Records
1796	2
1798	1
1802	1
1808	2
1814	1
1825	2
1831	1
1835	2
1846	1
1855	2
1861	1
1863	3
1870	2
1871	5
1873	2
1879	2
1882	3
1887	1
1889	1
1891	2
1892	2
1893	8
1894	3
1895	1
1896	4
1897	3
1898	20
1899	11
1900	5
1901	4
1902	7
1903	18
1904	20
1905	10
1906	14
1907	8
1908	25
1909	20
1910	39
1911	104
1912	53
1913	20
1914	19
1915	46
1916	115
1917	246
1918	33
1919	23
1920	41
1921	63
1922	61
1923	91
1924	130
1925	75
1926	143
1927	335
1928	234
1929	405
1930	45
1931	522
1932	813
1933	358
1934	430
1935	266
1936	142
1937	468
1938	103
1939	418
1940	621
1941	260
1942	257
1943	165
1944	688
1945	212
1946	761
1947	295
1948	282
1949	789
1950	364
1951	175
1952	501
1953	288
1954	696
1955	381
1956	441
1957	1,118
1958	884
1959	464
1960	710
1961	1,481
1962	1,495
1963	439
1964	459
1965	1,045
1966	369
1967	565
1968	727
1969	499
1970	366
1971	585
1972	1,669
1973	397
1974	191
1975	492
1976	319
1977	907
1978	382
1979	1,016
1980	583
1981	734
1982	867
1983	816
1984	808
1985	1,384
1986	408
1987	468
1988	1,030
1989	930
1990	676
1991	1,980
1992	818
1993	887
1994	1,172
1995	2,030
1996	1,391
1997	869
1998	1,103
1999	952
2000	2,510
2001	700
2002	683
2003	537
2004	727
2005	769
2006	886
2007	1,315
2008	1,424
2009	818
2010	1,501
2011	621
2012	684
2013	646
2014	1,040
2015	1,496
2016	530
2017	808
2018	256
2019	418
2020	507
2021	441
2022	767
2023	544
2024	328
2025	1,485

Download the Data

Data for records on 1988-12-12: 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 2026-10-17 (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 20	762
20 to 40	48
40 to 60	12
60 to 80	1
80 to 100	0
100 to 120	0
120 to 140	1
140 to 160	1