Weather Records on 16 December 1989

3,181 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 16 December 1989. Highest significance: Shirbourne Park, AU.

Key Facts for 16 December 1989

On 16 December 1989, 3,181 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
621 were record highs and 1,699 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 5 were all-time records, 200 monthly and 2,976 daily.
Shirbourne Park set a daily record precipitation of 176.0 mm (6.9 in) on 16 December 1989.
Across 160 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 465 records.

Record Map

2,000 stations, highest significance shown

2,000 station records on 16 December 1989 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 16 December 1989: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Shirbourne Park	Australia	Record daily precipitation	176.0 mm (6.9 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Chilo Meldahl Locks & Dam	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	65 of 100 (Major)
Giru Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	192.8 mm (7.6 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Portsmouth-Sciotoville	United States	Record snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Springfield 2W	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Linesville 1 S	United States	Record daily snowfall	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Valley of Lagoons	Australia	Record daily precipitation	112.0 mm (4.4 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Ponte Alta 1	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	123.0 mm (4.8 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Salamanca Aeropuerto	Spain	Record daily precipitation	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Bajramaly	Turkmenistan	Record daily precipitation	28.8 mm (1.1 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Eads	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Franklin	United States	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Louisville Intl AP	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Dotswood Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	85.0 mm (3.3 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Zagreb-Gric	Croatia	Record high maximum temperature	18.2 C (64.8 F)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Frankfort Downtown	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Mt Vernon 3 NE	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Abilene	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-26.7 C (-16.1 F)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Keene 1 WSW	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Middleboro	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Salzburg	Austria	Record high maximum temperature	14.8 C (58.6 F)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Weissenburg	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	18.2 C (64.8 F)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Lysebotn	Norway	Record snow depth	38.0 cm (15.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Mt Sterling	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Williamstown	United States	Record snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Clinton	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-31.7 C (-25.1 F)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Lebanon 2W	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-14.4 C (6.1 F)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Providence	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.8 cm (8.2 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Rutland Plains Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	102.0 mm (4.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Abingdon Downs Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	148.0 mm (5.8 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Cynthiana	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
High Brg Lock 7	United States	Record daily snowfall	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Athens Ou	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Mc Arthur	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Marshall	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-17.8 C (0.0 F)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Cincinnati Muni AP Lunken Fld	United States	Record snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Hillgrove Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	87.0 mm (3.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Praha-Klementinum	Czech Republic	Record high maximum temperature	15.2 C (59.4 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Freiburg	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Zagreb-Gric	Croatia	Record high minimum temperature	14.8 C (58.6 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Paisley	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ness City	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-13.9 C (7.0 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Sedan	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-13.9 C (7.0 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Wellington	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-14.4 C (6.1 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Warrenton 1 N	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-27.8 C (-18.0 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Roundup	United States	Record snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Nashville 1 E	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-13.3 C (8.1 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Toms River	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-16.7 C (1.9 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
West Hickory River	United States	Record daily snowfall	29.2 cm (11.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Kingston	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Gatesville	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-3.3 C (26.1 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Chipata	Zambia	Record daily precipitation	75.5 mm (3.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Malanda Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	72.8 mm (2.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Sidney 1SSE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-20.0 C (-4.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Eskridge	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-17.8 C (0.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Gest Lock 3	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Greeneville Exp STN	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-20.6 C (-5.1 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Bowie	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-6.1 C (21.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Burkes Garden	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Munchen-Nymphenburg	Germany	Record high maximum temperature	19.6 C (67.3 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

3,181 records

Records set or tied on 16 December 1989 by type: Highest daily maximum 410, Lowest daily maximum 820, Highest daily minimum 211, Lowest daily minimum 879, Heaviest daily rainfall 290, Heaviest daily snowfall 315, Deepest snow cover 256.

Records on 16 December 1989 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	410
Lowest daily maximum	820
Highest daily minimum	211
Lowest daily minimum	879
Heaviest daily rainfall	290
Heaviest daily snowfall	315
Deepest snow cover	256

Records on 16 December 1989 by timescale: all-time 5, monthly 200, daily 2,976.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

2,764 broken records

Margins by which the 2,764 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 280.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

16 December 1989

Top 20 records on 16 December 1989 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
16 December 1989	Shirbourne Park, AU	daily rain	176.0 mm (6.9 in)	159.5 mm (6.3 in)	62 years	65 of 100 (Major)
16 December 1989	Chilo Meldahl Locks & Dam, US	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	68 years	65 of 100 (Major)
16 December 1989	Giru Post Office, AU	daily rain	192.8 mm (7.6 in)	182.4 mm (7.2 in)	51 years	60 of 100 (Major)
16 December 1989	Portsmouth-Sciotoville, US	daily snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	54 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Springfield 2W, US	daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	94 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Linesville 1 S, US	daily snowfall	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	22.8 cm (9.0 in)	38 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Valley of Lagoons, AU	monthly rain	112.0 mm (4.4 in)	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	72 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Ponte Alta 1, BR	daily rain	123.0 mm (4.8 in)	66.2 mm (2.6 in)	48 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Salamanca Aeropuerto, ES	daily rain	28.5 mm (1.1 in)	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	30 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Bajramaly, TM	daily rain	28.8 mm (1.1 in)	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	12 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Eads, US	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	82 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Franklin, US	daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	16 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Louisville Intl AP, US	daily snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	40 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Dotswood Station, AU	daily rain	85.0 mm (3.3 in)	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	4 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Zagreb-Gric, HR	monthly high max	18.2 C (64.8 F)	0.3 C (0.5 F)	102 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Frankfort Downtown, US	daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	6.3 cm (2.5 in)	84 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Mt Vernon 3 NE, US	daily snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	84 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Abilene, US	daily low min	-26.7 C (-16.1 F)	7.8 C (14.0 F)	87 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1989	Zametchino, RU	daily rain	17.9 mm (0.7 in)	7.5 mm (0.30 in)	82 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
16 December 1989	Du Quoin 4 SE, US	daily snow depth	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	86 years	20 of 100 (Routine)

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 1989

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1989. 1989 had 3,181 records.

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

Records on 12-16 in each year
Year	Records
1793	2
1798	2
1808	1
1810	1
1814	2
1815	2
1835	1
1839	1
1840	1
1846	3
1852	1
1853	1
1859	3
1864	1
1869	1
1870	1
1872	1
1876	1
1877	1
1878	2
1879	1
1885	2
1886	2
1888	2
1889	1
1890	4
1891	2
1892	3
1893	1
1894	1
1895	1
1896	7
1897	4
1898	1
1899	2
1900	2
1901	4
1902	17
1903	6
1904	8
1905	4
1906	5
1907	30
1908	11
1909	5
1910	38
1911	26
1912	31
1913	12
1914	26
1915	55
1916	31
1917	60
1918	33
1919	52
1920	61
1921	35
1922	62
1923	205
1924	347
1925	93
1926	130
1927	218
1928	338
1929	383
1930	398
1931	168
1932	880
1933	716
1934	163
1935	71
1936	429
1937	351
1938	142
1939	1,014
1940	633
1941	348
1942	550
1943	491
1944	189
1945	478
1946	357
1947	506
1948	775
1949	132
1950	272
1951	987
1952	349
1953	265
1954	305
1955	325
1956	650
1957	478
1958	497
1959	605
1960	393
1961	858
1962	859
1963	484
1964	639
1965	576
1966	417
1967	886
1968	557
1969	205
1970	726
1971	1,540
1972	1,020
1973	823
1974	546
1975	493
1976	526
1977	950
1978	532
1979	528
1980	1,322
1981	1,498
1982	1,208
1983	1,156
1984	1,944
1985	983
1986	485
1987	1,377
1988	605
1989	3,181
1990	753
1991	659
1992	1,408
1993	676
1994	698
1995	714
1996	797
1997	1,260
1998	698
1999	821
2000	1,160
2001	1,197
2002	990
2003	679
2004	510
2005	1,073
2006	1,020
2007	1,301
2008	2,049
2009	1,032
2010	1,585
2011	777
2012	912
2013	762
2014	465
2015	925
2016	1,588
2017	349
2018	624
2019	786
2020	415
2021	1,485
2022	836
2023	841
2024	755
2025	1,820

Download the Data

Data for records on 1989-12-16: 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	2,526
50 to 100	176
100 to 150	44
150 to 200	15
200 to 250	2
250 to 300	1