Weather Records on 31 December 1989

506 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 31 December 1989. Highest significance: Bay Minette, US.

Key Facts for 31 December 1989

On 31 December 1989, 506 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
106 were record highs and 46 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 1 were all-time records, 19 monthly and 486 daily.
Bay Minette set a daily record precipitation of 137.2 mm (5.4 in) on 31 December 1989.
Across 157 earlier years (1797 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 487 records.

Record Map

506 stations

506 station records on 31 December 1989 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 31 December 1989: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Bay Minette	United States	Record daily precipitation	137.2 mm (5.4 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Wolwekraal (Irr)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	66.3 mm (2.6 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Benton Harbor AP	United States	Record snow depth	134.6 cm (53.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Oliphantspoort	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	85.5 mm (3.4 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Bhopal/Bairagarh	India	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Bridgeport 5 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Villalba 1 SE	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record daily precipitation	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Jackson Reynolds Fld	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Chipata	Zambia	Record daily precipitation	67.1 mm (2.6 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Laguna de Sanchez	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Putneyville 2 SE Dam	United States	Record daily snowfall	26.7 cm (10.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Dwarsfontein	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Storrs	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Greybull	United States	Record snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Waterkloof	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	81.7 mm (3.2 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Mt Vernon	United States	Record daily precipitation	60.7 mm (2.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Natchitoches	United States	Record daily precipitation	96.8 mm (3.8 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Bowling Green Wwtp	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Merensky (Skl)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	112.0 mm (4.4 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
State UNIV	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.3 mm (1.9 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Morungaba	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	85.2 mm (3.4 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Rockville 1 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Hillsdale	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Elim (Hosp)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.5 mm (1.8 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Union Springs 9 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Maricao Fish Hatchery	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record daily precipitation	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Rietfontein (Skl)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Tabora Airport	Tanzania	Record daily precipitation	51.8 mm (2.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Tenosique (Smn)	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	35.0 C (95.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Andalusia 3 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	104.9 mm (4.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Philo 3 SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Fairmont	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Sao Paulo	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	62.4 mm (2.5 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Man	Cote D'Ivoire	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Colquitt 2 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	94.0 mm (3.7 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
St Marys 3 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Kresgeville 2 W	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Raymond 3 NE	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Ashburn 3 ENE	United States	Record daily precipitation	83.8 mm (3.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Albany	United States	Record daily precipitation	65.8 mm (2.6 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
First Connecticut Lake	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-32.8 C (-27.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Bouake	Cote D'Ivoire	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Emgcewe (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Louisville	United States	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
De Funiak Springs 1 E	United States	Record daily precipitation	76.7 mm (3.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Woolwine 1 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Basin	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Katanning Comparison	Australia	Record low minimum temperature	7.0 C (44.6 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Itapira	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	60.7 mm (2.4 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Jomo Kenyatta Intl	Kenya	Record daily precipitation	63.1 mm (2.5 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Santander Centro	Spain	Record high minimum temperature	12.8 C (55.0 F)	28 of 100 (Routine)
Wandering Comparison	Australia	Record low minimum temperature	4.9 C (40.8 F)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Quadra	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	55.2 mm (2.2 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Beatrix	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.6 mm (1.8 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Barrage (Rwb)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	41.5 mm (1.6 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Evergreen	United States	Record daily precipitation	154.9 mm (6.1 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
Winnfield 3 N	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.3 mm (1.9 in)	27 of 100 (Routine)
San Juanillo	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	35.6 C (96.1 F)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Orono	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)
Livingston 2 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.6 mm (2.0 in)	26 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

506 records

Records set or tied on 31 December 1989 by type: Highest daily maximum 70, Lowest daily maximum 23, Highest daily minimum 36, Lowest daily minimum 23, Heaviest daily rainfall 306, Heaviest daily snowfall 18, Deepest snow cover 30.

Records on 31 December 1989 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	70
Lowest daily maximum	23
Highest daily minimum	36
Lowest daily minimum	23
Heaviest daily rainfall	306
Heaviest daily snowfall	18
Deepest snow cover	30

Records on 31 December 1989 by timescale: all-time 1, monthly 19, daily 486.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

426 broken records

Margins by which the 426 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 635.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

31 December 1989

Top 20 records on 31 December 1989 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
31 December 1989	Bay Minette, US	daily rain	137.2 mm (5.4 in)	78.8 mm (3.1 in)	67 years	67 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1989	Wolwekraal (Irr), ZA	daily rain	66.3 mm (2.6 in)	44.7 mm (1.8 in)	40 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Benton Harbor AP, US	daily snow depth	134.6 cm (53.0 in)	63.5 cm (25.0 in)	4 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Oliphantspoort, ZA	daily rain	85.5 mm (3.4 in)	59.2 mm (2.3 in)	12 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Bhopal/Bairagarh, IN	daily rain	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	49.2 mm (1.9 in)	36 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Bridgeport 5 NW, US	daily rain	62.2 mm (2.4 in)	24.4 mm (1.0 in)	78 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Villalba 1 SE, PR	daily rain	45.7 mm (1.8 in)	39.3 mm (1.5 in)	28 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Jackson Reynolds Fld, US	daily rain	33.3 mm (1.3 in)	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	11 years	47 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Chipata, ZM	daily rain	67.1 mm (2.6 in)	58.2 mm (2.3 in)	8 years	46 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Laguna de Sanchez, MX	daily rain	25.9 mm (1.0 in)	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	32 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Putneyville 2 SE Dam, US	daily snowfall	26.7 cm (10.5 in)	21.6 cm (8.5 in)	2 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Dwarsfontein, ZA	daily rain	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	21.3 mm (0.8 in)	58 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Storrs, US	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	78 years	42 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Greybull, US	daily snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	4 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Waterkloof, ZA	daily rain	81.7 mm (3.2 in)	47.3 mm (1.9 in)	6 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Mt Vernon, US	daily rain	60.7 mm (2.4 in)	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	14 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Natchitoches, US	daily rain	96.8 mm (3.8 in)	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	44 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Bowling Green Wwtp, US	daily snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	2.5 cm (1.0 in)	88 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	Merensky (Skl), ZA	daily rain	112.0 mm (4.4 in)	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	34 years	37 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1989	State UNIV, US	daily rain	49.3 mm (1.9 in)	15.5 mm (0.6 in)	67 years	37 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

1797 to 1989

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1797 to 1989. 1989 had 506 records.

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

Records on 12-31 in each year
Year	Records
1797	1
1799	2
1826	1
1836	1
1842	2
1850	3
1853	1
1854	1
1859	1
1860	1
1867	1
1870	2
1872	2
1874	4
1875	2
1876	2
1878	2
1879	2
1880	2
1882	1
1884	2
1885	1
1886	3
1887	1
1888	2
1890	2
1891	8
1892	4
1895	4
1897	6
1898	5
1899	4
1900	3
1901	16
1902	3
1903	3
1904	11
1905	9
1906	31
1907	11
1908	7
1909	5
1910	25
1911	14
1912	17
1913	46
1914	34
1915	32
1916	25
1917	239
1918	24
1919	38
1920	64
1921	130
1922	83
1923	280
1924	113
1925	183
1926	77
1927	491
1928	53
1929	224
1930	58
1931	543
1932	394
1933	409
1934	181
1935	309
1936	567
1937	500
1938	247
1939	298
1940	467
1941	159
1942	352
1943	159
1944	259
1945	210
1946	707
1947	461
1948	591
1949	384
1950	310
1951	1,421
1952	377
1953	410
1954	286
1955	429
1956	216
1957	724
1958	584
1959	414
1960	389
1961	309
1962	810
1963	1,015
1964	388
1965	1,371
1966	326
1967	1,023
1968	1,371
1969	825
1970	579
1971	568
1972	836
1973	1,370
1974	590
1975	791
1976	1,306
1977	641
1978	2,791
1979	448
1980	1,448
1981	786
1982	639
1983	2,220
1984	942
1985	593
1986	616
1987	845
1988	600
1989	506
1990	1,379
1991	703
1992	1,062
1993	718
1994	878
1995	1,151
1996	2,202
1997	988
1998	739
1999	524
2000	1,575
2001	748
2002	1,232
2003	523
2004	1,278
2005	959
2006	2,089
2007	652
2008	656
2009	867
2010	1,544
2011	739
2012	803
2013	606
2014	903
2015	748
2016	678
2017	1,589
2018	620
2019	593
2020	489
2021	1,739
2022	1,497
2023	474
2024	460
2025	760

Download the Data

Data for records on 1989-12-31: 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 100	423
100 to 200	0
200 to 300	2
300 to 400	0
400 to 500	0
500 to 600	0
600 to 700	1