Weather Records on 18 December 1988

1,061 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 18 December 1988. Highest significance: Yarraloola, AU.

Key Facts for 18 December 1988

On 18 December 1988, 1,061 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
142 were record highs and 191 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 47 monthly and 1,013 daily.
Yarraloola set a monthly record daily precipitation of 130.0 mm (5.1 in) on 18 December 1988.
Across 156 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 476 records.

Record Map

1,061 stations

1,061 station records on 18 December 1988 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 18 December 1988: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Yarraloola	Australia	Record daily precipitation	130.0 mm (5.1 in)	83 of 100 (Exceptional)
Mooloolah Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	188.0 mm (7.4 in)	79 of 100 (Major)
Mt Perry the Pines	Australia	Record daily precipitation	141.4 mm (5.6 in)	77 of 100 (Major)
Onslow	Australia	Record daily precipitation	77.7 mm (3.1 in)	76 of 100 (Major)
Mardie	Australia	Record daily precipitation	168.6 mm (6.6 in)	72 of 100 (Major)
Gin Gin Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	151.0 mm (5.9 in)	72 of 100 (Major)
Tomewin (Border Gate)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	132.0 mm (5.2 in)	68 of 100 (Major)
Millstream	Australia	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Bauple	Australia	Record daily precipitation	162.6 mm (6.4 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Gold Creek Reservoir	Australia	Record daily precipitation	126.0 mm (5.0 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Kenilworth Township	Australia	Record daily precipitation	135.0 mm (5.3 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Mapleton Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	259.4 mm (10.2 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Mount Cotton West	Australia	Record daily precipitation	136.6 mm (5.4 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Springbrook Forestry	Australia	Record daily precipitation	209.0 mm (8.2 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Landor	Australia	Record daily precipitation	58.2 mm (2.3 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Calliope Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	195.5 mm (7.7 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Fairymead Sugar Mill	Australia	Record daily precipitation	231.6 mm (9.1 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Red Hill	Australia	Record daily precipitation	152.0 mm (6.0 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Mount Stuart	Australia	Record daily precipitation	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Wanna	Australia	Record daily precipitation	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Cobra Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Burnett Heads Niell St	Australia	Record daily precipitation	152.0 mm (6.0 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Euleilah Creek	Australia	Record daily precipitation	181.4 mm (7.1 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Maleny Tamarind St	Australia	Record daily precipitation	315.0 mm (12.4 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
The Cedars	Australia	Record daily precipitation	113.4 mm (4.5 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Newstead	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.2 mm (1.8 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Mallina	Australia	Record daily precipitation	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Samford Csiro	Australia	Record daily precipitation	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Watalgan Winfield Rd	Australia	Record daily precipitation	132.0 mm (5.2 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Goomboorian	Australia	Record daily precipitation	112.8 mm (4.4 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Mount Clere	Australia	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Kilkivan Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Traveston	Australia	Record daily precipitation	138.0 mm (5.4 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Vergelegen	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Mt Mee	Australia	Record daily precipitation	201.4 mm (7.9 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Beales Reservoir	Australia	Record daily precipitation	43.6 mm (1.7 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Maryborough	Australia	Record daily precipitation	158.6 mm (6.2 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Southport Ridgeway Ave	Australia	Record daily precipitation	69.6 mm (2.7 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Karratha Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	58.0 mm (2.3 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Wanna	Australia	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Jeedamya	Australia	Record daily precipitation	40.8 mm (1.6 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Booyal Central State School	Australia	Record daily precipitation	134.0 mm (5.3 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Conondale Township	Australia	Record daily precipitation	124.0 mm (4.9 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Gerang Gerung	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Richland	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Mount Florance	Australia	Record daily precipitation	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Calliope Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	123.2 mm (4.9 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Howard Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	176.4 mm (6.9 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Somerset Dam	Australia	Record daily precipitation	87.0 mm (3.4 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Little Nerang Dam	Australia	Record daily precipitation	105.4 mm (4.1 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
De Grey	Australia	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Koonmarra	Australia	Record daily precipitation	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Cooroy Composite	Australia	Record daily precipitation	240.6 mm (9.5 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Indee	Australia	Record daily precipitation	73.0 mm (2.9 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Abydos Woodstock	Australia	Record daily precipitation	54.0 mm (2.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Wyloo	Australia	Record daily precipitation	70.0 mm (2.8 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Nambour Bowling Club	Australia	Record daily precipitation	205.0 mm (8.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Numinbah State Farm	Australia	Record daily precipitation	87.8 mm (3.5 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Palmwoods	Australia	Record daily precipitation	190.0 mm (7.5 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Stiege	Germany	Record daily precipitation	38.2 mm (1.5 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,061 records

Records set or tied on 18 December 1988 by type: Highest daily maximum 80, Lowest daily maximum 92, Highest daily minimum 62, Lowest daily minimum 99, Heaviest daily rainfall 658, Heaviest daily snowfall 43, Deepest snow cover 27.

Records on 18 December 1988 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	80
Lowest daily maximum	92
Highest daily minimum	62
Lowest daily minimum	99
Heaviest daily rainfall	658
Heaviest daily snowfall	43
Deepest snow cover	27

Records on 18 December 1988 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 47, daily 1,013.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

913 broken records

Margins by which the 913 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

18 December 1988

Top 20 records on 18 December 1988 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
18 December 1988	Yarraloola, AU	monthly rain	130.0 mm (5.1 in)	76.7 mm (3.0 in)	80 years	83 of 100 (Exceptional)
18 December 1988	Mooloolah Post Office, AU	daily rain	188.0 mm (7.4 in)	109.0 mm (4.3 in)	98 years	79 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Mt Perry the Pines, AU	daily rain	141.4 mm (5.6 in)	105.3 mm (4.1 in)	91 years	77 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Onslow, AU	monthly rain	77.7 mm (3.1 in)	39.6 mm (1.6 in)	58 years	76 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Mardie, AU	monthly rain	168.6 mm (6.6 in)	106.4 mm (4.2 in)	42 years	72 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Gin Gin Post Office, AU	daily rain	151.0 mm (5.9 in)	111.1 mm (4.4 in)	79 years	72 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Tomewin (Border Gate), AU	daily rain	132.0 mm (5.2 in)	93.1 mm (3.7 in)	70 years	68 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Millstream, AU	daily rain	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	61 years	67 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Bauple, AU	daily rain	162.6 mm (6.4 in)	110.3 mm (4.3 in)	62 years	67 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Gold Creek Reservoir, AU	daily rain	126.0 mm (5.0 in)	86.9 mm (3.4 in)	58 years	67 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Kenilworth Township, AU	daily rain	135.0 mm (5.3 in)	93.6 mm (3.7 in)	62 years	66 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Mapleton Post Office, AU	daily rain	259.4 mm (10.2 in)	206.1 mm (8.1 in)	62 years	66 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Mount Cotton West, AU	daily rain	136.6 mm (5.4 in)	93.4 mm (3.7 in)	62 years	65 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Springbrook Forestry, AU	daily rain	209.0 mm (8.2 in)	116.5 mm (4.6 in)	62 years	65 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Landor, AU	monthly rain	58.2 mm (2.3 in)	20.1 mm (0.8 in)	56 years	64 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Calliope Post Office, AU	daily rain	195.5 mm (7.7 in)	152.8 mm (6.0 in)	57 years	64 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Fairymead Sugar Mill, AU	daily rain	231.6 mm (9.1 in)	156.2 mm (6.1 in)	49 years	64 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Red Hill, AU	monthly rain	152.0 mm (6.0 in)	80.6 mm (3.2 in)	14 years	63 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Mount Stuart, AU	monthly rain	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	49.4 mm (1.9 in)	15 years	63 of 100 (Major)
18 December 1988	Wanna, AU	monthly rain	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	19.4 mm (0.8 in)	56 years	63 of 100 (Major)

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 1,061 records.

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

Records on 12-18 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1796	1
1805	1
1814	1
1825	1
1846	1
1849	1
1852	2
1858	1
1859	4
1862	2
1864	1
1868	1
1873	1
1875	1
1876	2
1878	1
1881	2
1882	1
1884	2
1886	1
1887	1
1888	1
1889	4
1890	5
1892	4
1894	8
1895	1
1897	4
1898	9
1899	3
1900	2
1901	6
1902	33
1903	11
1904	25
1905	3
1906	21
1907	15
1908	16
1909	18
1910	19
1911	9
1912	33
1913	38
1914	20
1915	28
1916	57
1917	62
1918	21
1919	117
1920	77
1921	123
1922	108
1923	378
1924	480
1925	74
1926	173
1927	151
1928	165
1929	366
1930	230
1931	360
1932	353
1933	506
1934	209
1935	138
1936	466
1937	459
1938	185
1939	900
1940	242
1941	213
1942	281
1943	419
1944	191
1945	598
1946	199
1947	266
1948	354
1949	561
1950	289
1951	867
1952	450
1953	373
1954	507
1955	611
1956	333
1957	901
1958	524
1959	477
1960	477
1961	885
1962	759
1963	571
1964	840
1965	402
1966	644
1967	1,105
1968	488
1969	376
1970	502
1971	387
1972	375
1973	1,008
1974	229
1975	625
1976	459
1977	992
1978	946
1979	1,087
1980	772
1981	1,362
1982	537
1983	2,014
1984	1,439
1985	1,384
1986	875
1987	1,505
1988	1,061
1989	1,818
1990	1,367
1991	756
1992	1,045
1993	697
1994	643
1995	1,065
1996	1,833
1997	1,195
1998	863
1999	923
2000	1,572
2001	906
2002	1,437
2003	987
2004	506
2005	987
2006	1,167
2007	746
2008	1,014
2009	1,253
2010	1,322
2011	697
2012	729
2013	513
2014	556
2015	1,254
2016	1,821
2017	516
2018	464
2019	679
2020	326
2021	762
2022	536
2023	1,293
2024	780
2025	994

Download the Data

Data for records on 1988-12-18: 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	830
50 to 100	58
100 to 150	17
150 to 200	6
200 to 250	1
250 to 300	1