Weather Records on 3 December 1996

694 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 3 December 1996. Highest significance: Fortine 1 N, US.

Key Facts for 3 December 1996

On 3 December 1996, 694 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
181 were record highs and 204 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 2 were all-time records, 33 monthly and 659 daily.
Fortine 1 N set a daily record snow depth of 58.4 cm (23.0 in) on 3 December 1996.
Across 163 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 465 records.

Record Map

694 stations

694 station records on 3 December 1996 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 3 December 1996: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Fortine 1 N	United States	Record snow depth	58.4 cm (23.0 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Kalispell Glacier AP	United States	Record snow depth	53.3 cm (21.0 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Limassol	Cyprus	Record daily precipitation	68.1 mm (2.7 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Dunbar	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	38.3 mm (1.5 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Colville	United States	Record snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Newport	United States	Record snow depth	71.1 cm (28.0 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Penicuik	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Priest Rvr Exp STN	United States	Record snow depth	91.4 cm (36.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Georgetown 1 E	United States	Record snow depth	66.0 cm (26.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Verwoedburg-Mu"Lytteltn"	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Khmelnytskyi	Ukraine	Record daily precipitation	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Morro Do Chiqueiro	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	149.5 mm (5.9 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Bowhill	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	75.3 mm (3.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Kanosh	United States	Record snow depth	45.7 cm (18.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Balmoral	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Bingham Wyman Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	71.6 mm (2.8 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Williston Sloulin Fld	United States	Record snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Libby 1 NE Rs	United States	Record snow depth	45.7 cm (18.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Alamo	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Odesa	Ukraine	Record high minimum temperature	10.0 C (50.0 F)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Bozeman Montana State UNIV	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Riversul	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	61.8 mm (2.4 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Lake City	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-5.6 C (21.9 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Arrowrock Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Dorado 2 WNW	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record low maximum temperature	25.0 C (77.0 F)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Tetonia Exp STN	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Murdo	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Garrison	United States	Record snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Devon (Pol)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	42.8 mm (1.7 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Richfield Radio Ksvc	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-21.7 C (-7.1 F)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Richfield Radio Ksvc	United States	Record snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Broadlands	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Union	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Cuixtla	Mexico	Record low maximum temperature	21.7 C (71.1 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Ludlow	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	54.0 mm (2.1 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Feodosiia	Ukraine	Record high minimum temperature	12.0 C (53.6 F)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Lowman	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Culbertson	United States	Record snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Sherwood	United States	Record snow depth	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Iffley Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Telchaquillo	Mexico	Record high maximum temperature	40.6 C (105.1 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Sandpoint Exp STN	United States	Record daily snowfall	19.1 cm (7.5 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Colonia Do Piagui	Brazil	Record daily precipitation	83.5 mm (3.3 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Silverton	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-27.8 C (-18.0 F)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Cascade 1 NW	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Priest Rvr Exp STN	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Northport	United States	Record snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Hulett	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	31 of 100 (Routine)
Mulege	Mexico	Record low minimum temperature	3.9 C (39.0 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Dyce	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	33.1 mm (1.3 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Saint Maries	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Sandpoint Exp STN	United States	Record snow depth	58.4 cm (23.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Mohall	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Selby	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Snake Rvr	United States	Record low maximum temperature	-9.4 C (15.1 F)	30 of 100 (Routine)
Stormont Castle	United Kingdom	Record daily precipitation	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Porthill	United States	Record snow depth	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Echo Dam	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-22.8 C (-9.0 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Spanish Fk Pwr House	United States	Record low minimum temperature	-13.3 C (8.1 F)	29 of 100 (Routine)
Kleiner Feldberg/Taunus	Germany	Record snow depth	42.0 cm (16.5 in)	28 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

694 records

Records set or tied on 3 December 1996 by type: Highest daily maximum 93, Lowest daily maximum 75, Highest daily minimum 88, Lowest daily minimum 129, Heaviest daily rainfall 169, Heaviest daily snowfall 32, Deepest snow cover 108.

Records on 3 December 1996 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	93
Lowest daily maximum	75
Highest daily minimum	88
Lowest daily minimum	129
Heaviest daily rainfall	169
Heaviest daily snowfall	32
Deepest snow cover	108

Records on 3 December 1996 by timescale: all-time 2, monthly 33, daily 659.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

533 broken records

Margins by which the 533 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 711.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

3 December 1996

Top 20 records on 3 December 1996 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
3 December 1996	Fortine 1 N, US	daily snow depth	58.4 cm (23.0 in)	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	81 years	62 of 100 (Major)
3 December 1996	Kalispell Glacier AP, US	daily snow depth	53.3 cm (21.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	91 years	62 of 100 (Major)
3 December 1996	Limassol, CY	daily rain	68.1 mm (2.7 in)	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	60 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Dunbar, GB	monthly rain	38.3 mm (1.5 in)	15.2 mm (0.6 in)	13 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Colville, US	daily snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	81 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Newport, US	daily snow depth	71.1 cm (28.0 in)	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	81 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Penicuik, GB	monthly rain	55.4 mm (2.2 in)	20.4 mm (0.8 in)	2 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Priest Rvr Exp STN, US	daily snow depth	91.4 cm (36.0 in)	35.5 cm (14.0 in)	81 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Georgetown 1 E, US	monthly snow depth	66.0 cm (26.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	31 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Verwoedburg-Mu"Lytteltn", ZA	daily rain	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	15.3 mm (0.6 in)	89 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Khmelnytskyi, UA	monthly rain	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	9.8 mm (0.39 in)	16 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Morro Do Chiqueiro, BR	daily rain	149.5 mm (5.9 in)	112.5 mm (4.4 in)	9 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Bowhill, GB	all-time rain	75.3 mm (3.0 in)	10.2 mm (0.4 in)	19 years	45 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Kanosh, US	daily snow depth	45.7 cm (18.0 in)	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	23 years	44 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Balmoral, GB	daily rain	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	2 years	43 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Bingham Wyman Dam, US	daily rain	71.6 mm (2.8 in)	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	10 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Williston Sloulin Fld, US	daily snow depth	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	32 years	41 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Libby 1 NE Rs, US	daily snow depth	45.7 cm (18.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	81 years	40 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Alamo, MX	daily rain	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	30.3 mm (1.2 in)	17 years	39 of 100 (Notable)
3 December 1996	Odesa, UA	daily high min	10.0 C (50.0 F)	1.4 C (2.5 F)	93 years	39 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 1996

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1996. 1996 had 694 records.

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

Records on 12-03 in each year
Year	Records
1793	1
1796	1
1797	1
1801	1
1807	1
1810	1
1816	1
1828	1
1829	2
1831	1
1832	1
1846	1
1853	1
1855	3
1856	4
1866	2
1867	1
1869	4
1870	2
1872	3
1873	1
1875	4
1876	3
1879	8
1882	3
1886	1
1887	2
1888	3
1890	2
1891	3
1892	4
1893	1
1894	1
1895	4
1896	2
1897	4
1898	2
1899	4
1900	4
1901	9
1902	13
1903	9
1904	5
1905	33
1906	23
1907	2
1908	4
1909	45
1910	8
1911	12
1912	23
1913	66
1914	74
1915	19
1916	153
1917	34
1918	29
1919	88
1920	44
1921	128
1922	68
1923	58
1924	89
1925	152
1926	189
1927	247
1928	79
1929	651
1930	131
1931	352
1932	528
1933	486
1934	270
1935	267
1936	379
1937	284
1938	347
1939	443
1940	1,023
1941	1,141
1942	595
1943	290
1944	284
1945	194
1946	443
1947	814
1948	419
1949	177
1950	689
1951	881
1952	242
1953	804
1954	493
1955	763
1956	679
1957	211
1958	583
1959	372
1960	577
1961	342
1962	923
1963	331
1964	824
1965	308
1966	1,076
1967	859
1968	646
1969	395
1970	1,247
1971	999
1972	890
1973	778
1974	661
1975	638
1976	1,315
1977	681
1978	1,406
1979	959
1980	1,128
1981	644
1982	3,010
1983	1,255
1984	645
1985	2,305
1986	801
1987	682
1988	672
1989	1,064
1990	1,178
1991	1,521
1992	776
1993	670
1994	664
1995	725
1996	694
1997	854
1998	1,969
1999	982
2000	759
2001	604
2002	977
2003	519
2004	739
2005	1,140
2006	1,167
2007	793
2008	804
2009	1,124
2010	1,879
2011	852
2012	1,355
2013	799
2014	510
2015	533
2016	347
2017	669
2018	1,043
2019	490
2020	409
2021	1,364
2022	448
2023	810
2024	709
2025	578

Download the Data

Data for records on 1996-12-03: 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	503
100 to 200	17
200 to 300	6
300 to 400	4
400 to 500	1
500 to 600	0
600 to 700	1
700 to 800	1