Weather Records on 20 December 1989

1,812 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 December 1989. Highest significance: Busby, US.

Key Facts for 20 December 1989

On 20 December 1989, 1,812 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
489 were record highs and 715 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 3 were all-time records, 69 monthly and 1,740 daily.
Busby set a daily record snowfall of 22.9 cm (9.0 in) on 20 December 1989.
Across 163 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 459 records.

Record Map

1,812 stations

1,812 station records on 20 December 1989 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 December 1989: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Busby	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Bowling Green Wwtp	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Grass Range	United States	Record daily snowfall	21.6 cm (8.5 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Tower 2S	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-30.0 C (-22.0 F)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Grass Range	United States	Record snow depth	73.7 cm (29.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Erie Intl AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	36.1 cm (14.2 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Rothamsted	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Manistique Wwtp	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-16.7 C (1.9 F)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Coimbra	Portugal	Record daily precipitation	64.5 mm (2.5 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Roseau	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-31.1 C (-24.0 F)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Langeoog	Germany	Record daily precipitation	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Postville	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-32.2 C (-26.0 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Lusk 2 SW	United States	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Park Rapids Muni AP	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-27.8 C (-18.0 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
St. Anna Parochie	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Benton	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Borkum-Suderstrasse	Germany	Record daily precipitation	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Pacific	United States	Record snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Hebron	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-28.9 C (-20.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Rendsburg	Germany	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Buzau	Romania	Record high maximum temperature	18.0 C (64.4 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Oujda	Morocco	Record high maximum temperature	26.0 C (78.8 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Leeuwarden_1	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Bolivar 1 NE	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-26.1 C (-15.0 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Conway	United States	Record low maximum temperature	0.6 C (33.1 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Copper Hill	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Abre Campo	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	95.0 mm (3.7 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Cataguases	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	101.6 mm (4.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Schleswig	Germany	Record daily precipitation	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Tenosique (Smn)	Mexico	Record high minimum temperature	23.9 C (75.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Bollerup	Sweden	Record daily precipitation	25.5 mm (1.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Saint Leo	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Ludington 4 SE	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-12.2 C (10.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Beach	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-38.3 C (-36.9 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Portsmouth-Sciotoville	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Kewaunee	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-17.8 C (0.0 F)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Harlingen	Netherlands	Record daily precipitation	30.1 mm (1.2 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Cata (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Shelbyville 1 E	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-23.9 C (-11.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Cambridge	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-30.0 C (-22.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Wangerooge	Germany	Record daily precipitation	27.5 mm (1.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Millen 4 N	United States	Record low maximum temperature	1.1 C (34.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Olney 2S	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-23.9 C (-11.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Atwood	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-27.8 C (-18.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Camden 3 W	United States	Record low maximum temperature	0.0 C (32.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Appleton	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-27.2 C (-17.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Bambui	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	60.7 mm (2.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Astolfo Dutra	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	114.0 mm (4.5 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Usina Mauricio	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	97.0 mm (3.8 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Tabuleiro	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	75.4 mm (3.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Schotten	Germany	Record daily precipitation	34.7 mm (1.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Paris Stp	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-24.4 C (-11.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
New Hampton	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-18.9 C (-2.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Sigourney	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-15.6 C (3.9 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Melstone	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Red Cloud	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-31.1 C (-24.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Cheraw	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-2.2 C (28.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Rocky Mt	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Escanaba	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-17.2 C (1.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Fazenda Ajudas	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	67.2 mm (2.6 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,812 records

Records set or tied on 20 December 1989 by type: Highest daily maximum 328, Lowest daily maximum 404, Highest daily minimum 161, Lowest daily minimum 311, Heaviest daily rainfall 353, Heaviest daily snowfall 80, Deepest snow cover 175.

Records on 20 December 1989 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	328
Lowest daily maximum	404
Highest daily minimum	161
Lowest daily minimum	311
Heaviest daily rainfall	353
Heaviest daily snowfall	80
Deepest snow cover	175

Records on 20 December 1989 by timescale: all-time 3, monthly 69, daily 1,740.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

1,482 broken records

Margins by which the 1,482 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 279.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 December 1989

Top 20 records on 20 December 1989 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 December 1989	Busby, US	daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	72 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Bowling Green Wwtp, US	daily snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	83 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Grass Range, US	daily snowfall	21.6 cm (8.5 in)	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	44 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Tower 2S, US	monthly low max	-30.0 C (-22.0 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	90 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Grass Range, US	all-time snow depth	73.7 cm (29.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	0 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Erie Intl AP, US	daily snowfall	36.1 cm (14.2 in)	18.6 cm (7.3 in)	14 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Rothamsted, GB	daily rain	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	28 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Manistique Wwtp, US	daily low max	-16.7 C (1.9 F)	6.1 C (11.0 F)	88 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Coimbra, PT	daily rain	64.5 mm (2.5 in)	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	44 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Roseau, US	monthly low max	-31.1 C (-24.0 F)	0.5 C (0.9 F)	90 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Langeoog, DE	daily rain	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	4 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Postville, US	monthly low min	-32.2 C (-26.0 F)	0.5 C (0.9 F)	88 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Lusk 2 SW, US	daily snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	38 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Park Rapids Muni AP, US	monthly low max	-27.8 C (-18.0 F)	0.6 C (1.1 F)	88 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	St. Anna Parochie, NL	daily rain	31.0 mm (1.2 in)	17.6 mm (0.7 in)	3 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Ft Benton, US	daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	9.4 cm (3.7 in)	44 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Borkum-Suderstrasse, DE	daily rain	30.2 mm (1.2 in)	15.9 mm (0.6 in)	4 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Pacific, US	daily snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	26 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Hebron, US	daily low min	-28.9 C (-20.0 F)	5.0 C (9.0 F)	88 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1989	Rendsburg, DE	daily rain	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	14.1 mm (0.6 in)	22 years	42 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 1989

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1989. 1989 had 1,812 records.

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

Records on 12-20 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1795	1
1804	1
1805	2
1808	1
1815	1
1828	1
1837	1
1846	1
1855	8
1858	1
1860	1
1866	1
1867	1
1868	1
1869	1
1871	2
1874	3
1875	1
1877	2
1878	1
1879	1
1880	1
1881	1
1882	1
1884	4
1885	1
1886	4
1889	4
1890	2
1891	2
1892	1
1894	2
1895	8
1896	1
1897	4
1898	2
1899	1
1900	7
1901	8
1902	14
1903	17
1904	9
1905	5
1906	5
1907	11
1908	5
1909	22
1910	17
1911	24
1912	27
1913	7
1914	43
1915	18
1916	45
1917	33
1918	18
1919	25
1920	22
1921	101
1922	88
1923	215
1924	332
1925	96
1926	163
1927	200
1928	93
1929	256
1930	67
1931	536
1932	170
1933	492
1934	265
1935	152
1936	416
1937	181
1938	240
1939	308
1940	965
1941	633
1942	817
1943	193
1944	340
1945	430
1946	327
1947	385
1948	345
1949	1,141
1950	758
1951	926
1952	394
1953	385
1954	416
1955	726
1956	471
1957	1,354
1958	382
1959	142
1960	354
1961	369
1962	475
1963	875
1964	499
1965	353
1966	555
1967	1,370
1968	482
1969	514
1970	518
1971	441
1972	448
1973	1,184
1974	328
1975	610
1976	382
1977	484
1978	910
1979	600
1980	667
1981	1,681
1982	712
1983	2,995
1984	1,411
1985	1,035
1986	321
1987	1,179
1988	760
1989	1,812
1990	1,885
1991	1,172
1992	1,134
1993	1,266
1994	813
1995	1,128
1996	1,448
1997	651
1998	1,110
1999	938
2000	1,150
2001	523
2002	943
2003	1,315
2004	836
2005	515
2006	1,387
2007	986
2008	1,356
2009	1,502
2010	2,055
2011	846
2012	1,131
2013	584
2014	524
2015	1,238
2016	603
2017	688
2018	592
2019	731
2020	554
2021	442
2022	567
2023	1,242
2024	897
2025	1,166

Download the Data

Data for records on 1989-12-20: 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	1,394
50 to 100	57
100 to 150	20
150 to 200	7
200 to 250	2
250 to 300	2