Weather Records on 15 December 1988

519 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 15 December 1988. Highest significance: Byers 5 ENE, US.

Key Facts for 15 December 1988

On 15 December 1988, 519 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
179 were record highs and 64 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 3 were all-time records, 11 monthly and 505 daily.
Byers 5 ENE set a daily record snowfall of 15.2 cm (6.0 in) on 15 December 1988.
Across 168 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 455 records.

Record Map

519 stations

519 station records on 15 December 1988 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 15 December 1988: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Byers 5 ENE	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Yakutat AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	259.6 mm (10.2 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Paso Robles Muni AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Kassler	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Morgan	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Dolinsk	Russia	Record daily precipitation	53.4 mm (2.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Kologha (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Karval	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Fort Fordyce (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.1 mm (2.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Black Rock	United States	Record daily snowfall	13.0 cm (5.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Mkambati	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	86.0 mm (3.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Oakley	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Yarrowitch (Benditi)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	84.0 mm (3.3 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Carandai	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	86.2 mm (3.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Kanalohuluhulu 1075	United States	Record low maximum temperature	8.9 C (48.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Castle Rock	United States	Record daily snowfall	19.1 cm (7.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Maxwell 3 NW	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Uloa	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	84.0 mm (3.3 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Boulder	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.4 cm (8.8 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Cheesman	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Wolwekraal (Irr)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	52.0 mm (2.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Rush 1N	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Archer	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Bairro Dos Lemes	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	75.8 mm (3.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Walsenburg 1 NW	United States	Record daily snowfall	29.2 cm (11.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Windsor	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Collins	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Red Feather Lakes 2 SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.9 cm (4.7 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Gulkana AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.5 cm (6.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Port Lincoln	Australia	Record high maximum temperature	40.2 C (104.4 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Longmont 2 ESE	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Kanosh	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Conconully	United States	Record high maximum temperature	8.3 C (46.9 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Tacambaro	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	36.7 C (98.1 F)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Krakmo	Norway	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Trinidad	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Cherry Creek Dam	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Fazenda Do Cume	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	73.8 mm (2.9 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Umzonia (Rsv)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.5 mm (1.6 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Parker 6 E	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Sao Jose Do Barreiro	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	69.3 mm (2.7 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Juzhno-Sahalinsk	Russia	Record daily precipitation	26.1 mm (1.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Strehla	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.5 mm (1.8 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Huntington Lake	United States	Record high maximum temperature	20.6 C (69.1 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Inverness 3 SE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-1.7 C (28.9 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Cordova AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.5 mm (1.9 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Aniak AP	United States	Record snow depth	73.7 cm (29.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Ntywenka (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	56.9 mm (2.2 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Boulder	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Mt Pulaski	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Karoi	Zimbabwe	Record high minimum temperature	20.2 C (68.4 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Lavras da Mangabeira (Dnocs)	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	57.6 mm (2.3 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Oxnard	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Bailey	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Canon City	United States	Record daily snowfall	13.7 cm (5.4 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Scipio	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Sao Goncalo	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Jambeiro	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Bezenchuk	Russia	Record low maximum temperature	-21.8 C (-7.2 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Otis 11 NE	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

519 records

Records set or tied on 15 December 1988 by type: Highest daily maximum 109, Lowest daily maximum 28, Highest daily minimum 70, Lowest daily minimum 36, Heaviest daily rainfall 185, Heaviest daily snowfall 75, Deepest snow cover 16.

Records on 15 December 1988 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	109
Lowest daily maximum	28
Highest daily minimum	70
Lowest daily minimum	36
Heaviest daily rainfall	185
Heaviest daily snowfall	75
Deepest snow cover	16

Records on 15 December 1988 by timescale: all-time 3, monthly 11, daily 505.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

410 broken records

Margins by which the 410 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 204.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

15 December 1988

Top 20 records on 15 December 1988 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
15 December 1988	Byers 5 ENE, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	94 years	67 of 100 (Major)
15 December 1988	Yakutat AP, US	all-time rain	259.6 mm (10.2 in)	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	9 years	63 of 100 (Major)
15 December 1988	Paso Robles Muni AP, US	all-time snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	40 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Kassler, US	daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	70 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Ft Morgan, US	daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	90 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Dolinsk, RU	daily rain	53.4 mm (2.1 in)	36.2 mm (1.4 in)	23 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Kologha (Bos), ZA	daily rain	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	17.1 mm (0.7 in)	82 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Karval, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	47 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Fort Fordyce (Bos), ZA	daily rain	60.1 mm (2.4 in)	22.0 mm (0.9 in)	72 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Black Rock, US	daily snowfall	13.0 cm (5.1 in)	10.5 cm (4.1 in)	60 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Mkambati, ZA	daily rain	86.0 mm (3.4 in)	54.0 mm (2.1 in)	22 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Oakley, US	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	76 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Yarrowitch (Benditi), AU	daily rain	84.0 mm (3.3 in)	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	1 year	43 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Carandai, BR	daily rain	86.2 mm (3.4 in)	42.8 mm (1.7 in)	40 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Kanalohuluhulu 1075, US	daily low max	8.9 C (48.0 F)	5.0 C (9.0 F)	52 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Castle Rock, US	daily snowfall	19.1 cm (7.5 in)	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	86 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Maxwell 3 NW, US	daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	83 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Uloa, ZA	daily rain	84.0 mm (3.3 in)	59.0 mm (2.3 in)	12 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Boulder, US	daily snowfall	22.4 cm (8.8 in)	11.0 cm (4.3 in)	50 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
15 December 1988	Cheesman, US	daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	7.4 cm (2.9 in)	73 years	40 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 1988

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1988. 1988 had 519 records.

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

Records on 12-15 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1796	1
1798	1
1800	1
1808	3
1810	1
1814	3
1815	1
1825	1
1831	1
1840	2
1844	2
1846	3
1847	1
1854	3
1859	2
1863	1
1864	1
1866	1
1867	2
1868	1
1869	1
1870	1
1873	1
1874	1
1878	4
1879	2
1880	2
1881	3
1882	2
1883	1
1885	1
1886	1
1889	3
1890	1
1891	2
1892	4
1893	1
1894	4
1895	1
1896	5
1897	2
1899	12
1900	5
1901	21
1902	3
1903	7
1904	9
1905	6
1906	9
1907	10
1908	5
1909	5
1910	4
1911	23
1912	42
1913	13
1914	239
1915	180
1916	40
1917	40
1918	54
1919	28
1920	35
1921	26
1922	65
1923	132
1924	358
1925	187
1926	226
1927	235
1928	388
1929	500
1930	160
1931	284
1932	385
1933	796
1934	199
1935	140
1936	286
1937	310
1938	100
1939	637
1940	464
1941	373
1942	385
1943	486
1944	281
1945	420
1946	521
1947	634
1948	1,239
1949	135
1950	292
1951	962
1952	367
1953	270
1954	413
1955	371
1956	531
1957	304
1958	531
1959	560
1960	313
1961	883
1962	979
1963	670
1964	371
1965	759
1966	275
1967	948
1968	510
1969	352
1970	215
1971	1,739
1972	1,159
1973	615
1974	511
1975	1,230
1976	349
1977	963
1978	499
1979	560
1980	1,085
1981	1,243
1982	831
1983	1,229
1984	1,397
1985	1,077
1986	502
1987	1,740
1988	519
1989	2,753
1990	846
1991	636
1992	1,263
1993	734
1994	676
1995	848
1996	727
1997	1,521
1998	1,216
1999	621
2000	1,154
2001	1,026
2002	831
2003	846
2004	795
2005	953
2006	1,491
2007	973
2008	1,789
2009	930
2010	1,705
2011	780
2012	1,058
2013	701
2014	1,045
2015	1,398
2016	1,024
2017	332
2018	539
2019	547
2020	400
2021	1,182
2022	1,057
2023	794
2024	369
2025	2,115

Download the Data

Data for records on 1988-12-15: 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 2026-10-18. Last revised 18 October 2026 (2026-10-18).

Margin	Records
0 to 50	370
50 to 100	25
100 to 150	7
150 to 200	7
200 to 250	1