Weather Records on 24 December 1988

712 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 24 December 1988. Highest significance: Durban-Botanical Gardens, ZA.

Key Facts for 24 December 1988

On 24 December 1988, 712 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
254 were record highs and 65 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 14 monthly and 697 daily.
Durban-Botanical Gardens set a daily record precipitation of 131.9 mm (5.2 in) on 24 December 1988.
Across 152 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 532 records.

Record Map

712 stations

712 station records on 24 December 1988 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 24 December 1988: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Durban-Botanical Gardens	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	131.9 mm (5.2 in)	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
Dynevor Downs	Australia	Record daily precipitation	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Intake	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	78.5 mm (3.1 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Palmyra	Syria	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Curlewis (Pine Cliff)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	86.4 mm (3.4 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Umlaas Waterworks	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	91.0 mm (3.6 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Nevada City	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Springvalley	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Funnystone	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	66.5 mm (2.6 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Boschkloof	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	75.4 mm (3.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Telluride 4WNW	United States	Record daily snowfall	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Brumado	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	175.5 mm (6.9 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Taquarituba	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	73.9 mm (2.9 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Natal Est, Mount Edg	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Durban-Cowie Rd. Nursery	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	107.5 mm (4.2 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Experiment Station	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Fort Beaufort	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Mtn Dell Dam	United States	Record snow depth	86.4 cm (34.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Brays Creek (Misty Mountain)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	110.0 mm (4.3 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Alicedale	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	39.5 mm (1.6 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Barkly East	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.3 mm (1.7 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Little Harmony, Rich	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	70.0 mm (2.8 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Downieville	United States	Record daily snowfall	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Nevada City	United States	Record daily snowfall	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Tiger Creek Ph	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Rogersville 1 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	39.4 mm (1.6 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Red Bluff Muni AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Kalkaringi Police	Australia	Record daily precipitation	73.2 mm (2.9 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Currawilla Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Independence	United States	Record snow depth	45.7 cm (18.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Polis	Cyprus	Record daily precipitation	52.0 mm (2.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Cata (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	42.5 mm (1.7 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Bloemhof	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Zastron (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.5 mm (2.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Abingdon Downs Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	121.0 mm (4.8 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Pretoria-New Cemetry	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Downieville	United States	Record snow depth	53.3 cm (21.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Somerset 2 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	78.5 mm (3.1 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Nazare Paulista	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	89.2 mm (3.5 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Sawoti	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	70.0 mm (2.8 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Glasgow	United States	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Cobar (Tambua)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	27.9 mm (1.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Shasta Dam	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Kelvin (Kahana)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Mittagong (Beatrice Street)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	41.0 mm (1.6 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Westminter Estate	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Ontario Ksrv	United States	Record daily snowfall	21.6 cm (8.5 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Moroni	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Toolebuc	Australia	Record daily precipitation	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Gunnedah Pool	Australia	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Avoca	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	67.5 mm (2.7 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Franklin	United States	Record daily precipitation	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Mocambo	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	65.0 mm (2.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Ashwood	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Chelan	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Kenai AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.2 cm (5.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Fazenda Tres Marias	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	131.4 mm (5.2 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Milan Exp STN	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.7 mm (2.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Thomas River (Sar)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	35.5 mm (1.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Brevard	United States	Record high minimum temperature	10.6 C (51.1 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

712 records

Records set or tied on 24 December 1988 by type: Highest daily maximum 112, Lowest daily maximum 45, Highest daily minimum 142, Lowest daily minimum 20, Heaviest daily rainfall 307, Heaviest daily snowfall 51, Deepest snow cover 35.

Records on 24 December 1988 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	112
Lowest daily maximum	45
Highest daily minimum	142
Lowest daily minimum	20
Heaviest daily rainfall	307
Heaviest daily snowfall	51
Deepest snow cover	35

Records on 24 December 1988 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 14, daily 697.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

584 broken records

Margins by which the 584 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 407.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

24 December 1988

Top 20 records on 24 December 1988 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
24 December 1988	Durban-Botanical Gardens, ZA	daily rain	131.9 mm (5.2 in)	80.6 mm (3.2 in)	114 years	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
24 December 1988	Dynevor Downs, AU	daily rain	51.1 mm (2.0 in)	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	76 years	66 of 100 (Major)
24 December 1988	Intake, ZA	daily rain	78.5 mm (3.1 in)	66.3 mm (2.6 in)	60 years	64 of 100 (Major)
24 December 1988	Palmyra, SY	daily rain	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	55 years	62 of 100 (Major)
24 December 1988	Curlewis (Pine Cliff), AU	monthly rain	86.4 mm (3.4 in)	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	79 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Umlaas Waterworks, ZA	daily rain	91.0 mm (3.6 in)	54.9 mm (2.2 in)	42 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Nevada City, US	daily snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	72 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Springvalley, ZA	daily rain	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	34.1 mm (1.3 in)	67 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Funnystone, ZA	daily rain	66.5 mm (2.6 in)	48.7 mm (1.9 in)	38 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Boschkloof, ZA	daily rain	75.4 mm (3.0 in)	57.6 mm (2.3 in)	36 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Telluride 4WNW, US	daily snowfall	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	15.3 cm (6.0 in)	87 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Brumado, BR	monthly rain	175.5 mm (6.9 in)	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	3 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Taquarituba, BR	daily rain	73.9 mm (2.9 in)	48.9 mm (1.9 in)	45 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Natal Est, Mount Edg, ZA	daily rain	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	60.7 mm (2.4 in)	26 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Durban-Cowie Rd. Nursery, ZA	daily rain	107.5 mm (4.2 in)	83.5 mm (3.3 in)	26 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Experiment Station, ZA	daily rain	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	19 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Fort Beaufort, ZA	daily rain	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	11.9 mm (0.5 in)	101 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Mtn Dell Dam, US	daily snow depth	86.4 cm (34.0 in)	40.7 cm (16.0 in)	56 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Brays Creek (Misty Mountain), AU	daily rain	110.0 mm (4.3 in)	78.2 mm (3.1 in)	19 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
24 December 1988	Alicedale, ZA	daily rain	39.5 mm (1.6 in)	9.8 mm (0.39 in)	101 years	48 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 712 records.

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

Records on 12-24 in each year
Year	Records
1793	2
1806	2
1825	2
1835	1
1836	1
1852	1
1857	1
1864	2
1870	4
1871	1
1872	1
1874	1
1876	1
1877	1
1878	4
1880	1
1881	1
1883	1
1884	2
1889	2
1892	1
1893	2
1894	3
1895	2
1896	3
1898	9
1899	1
1900	2
1901	9
1902	3
1903	5
1904	9
1905	7
1906	26
1907	12
1908	2
1909	68
1910	38
1911	13
1912	33
1913	29
1914	59
1915	51
1916	24
1917	25
1918	95
1919	200
1920	43
1921	142
1922	82
1923	118
1924	369
1925	100
1926	126
1927	81
1928	167
1929	237
1930	95
1931	1,045
1932	849
1933	478
1934	178
1935	225
1936	420
1937	202
1938	157
1939	178
1940	575
1941	589
1942	519
1943	637
1944	300
1945	546
1946	245
1947	370
1948	756
1949	220
1950	633
1951	525
1952	277
1953	512
1954	231
1955	1,334
1956	295
1957	469
1958	205
1959	339
1960	638
1961	415
1962	741
1963	1,191
1964	1,725
1965	766
1966	662
1967	663
1968	946
1969	865
1970	741
1971	543
1972	282
1973	641
1974	793
1975	695
1976	581
1977	952
1978	532
1979	1,100
1980	856
1981	770
1982	1,699
1983	5,032
1984	568
1985	685
1986	736
1987	1,329
1988	712
1989	2,589
1990	2,228
1991	663
1992	464
1993	577
1994	959
1995	1,285
1996	1,287
1997	1,152
1998	916
1999	1,134
2000	707
2001	744
2002	1,056
2003	779
2004	1,099
2005	1,158
2006	925
2007	533
2008	727
2009	1,663
2010	1,316
2011	504
2012	818
2013	866
2014	910
2015	2,438
2016	593
2017	510
2018	208
2019	565
2020	395
2021	1,012
2022	1,334
2023	1,347
2024	467
2025	2,206

Download the Data

Data for records on 1988-12-24: 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 100	564
100 to 200	16
200 to 300	3
300 to 400	0
400 to 500	1