Weather Records on 31 December 1996

2,202 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 31 December 1996. Highest significance: Ellensburg, US.

Key Facts for 31 December 1996

On 31 December 1996, 2,202 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
1,173 were record highs and 482 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 10 were all-time records, 134 monthly and 2,058 daily.
Ellensburg set an all-time record daily snowfall of 63.5 cm (25.0 in) on 31 December 1996.
Across 157 earlier years (1797 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 476 records.

Record Map

2,000 stations, highest significance shown

2,000 station records on 31 December 1996 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 31 December 1996: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Ellensburg	United States	Record daily snowfall	63.5 cm (25.0 in)	85 of 100 (Exceptional)
Big Timber	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	74 of 100 (Major)
Ashland	United States	Record daily precipitation	72.6 mm (2.9 in)	72 of 100 (Major)
Mineral	United States	Record daily precipitation	193.3 mm (7.6 in)	66 of 100 (Major)
Moscow U of I	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Marillana	Australia	Record daily precipitation	74.2 mm (2.9 in)	61 of 100 (Major)
Drummond Aviation	United States	Record snow depth	61.0 cm (24.0 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Blunt	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Elwha Rs	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Cascade 1 NW	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Lac Vieux Desert	United States	Record daily snowfall	26.7 cm (10.5 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Superior	United States	Record snow depth	101.6 cm (40.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Kwa-Mbonambi (Bos)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Garden Valley	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Brockton	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Lemmon	United States	Record snow depth	73.7 cm (29.0 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Yreka	United States	Record daily precipitation	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Iron Mtn-Kingsford Wwtp	United States	Record snow depth	68.6 cm (27.0 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Wasco	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Sugar Camp	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Homeleigh	Australia	Record daily precipitation	80.0 mm (3.1 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Stambaugh 2SSE	United States	Record snow depth	99.1 cm (39.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Kalispell Glacier AP	United States	Record snow depth	147.3 cm (58.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Rest Lake	United States	Record snow depth	106.7 cm (42.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Wollomombi (Wallamumbi)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	55.0 mm (2.2 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
McCall	United States	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Faith	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Vilsandi	Estonia	Record snow depth	34.0 cm (13.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Bowman Dam	United States	Record daily precipitation	125.7 mm (4.9 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Cecilville	United States	Record daily precipitation	84.1 mm (3.3 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Harrison Gulch Rs	United States	Record daily precipitation	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Manzanita Lake	United States	Record daily precipitation	139.7 mm (5.5 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Uccle	Belgium	Record low maximum temperature	-8.1 C (17.4 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Lichtentanne	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-18.3 C (-0.9 F)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Fairview	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Seneca	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Chief Joseph Dam	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Geisenheim	Germany	Record low minimum temperature	-14.6 C (5.7 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Paradise	United States	Record daily precipitation	140.2 mm (5.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Clover Valley	United States	Record high minimum temperature	3.9 C (39.0 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Vancouver 4 NNE	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.8 mm (1.4 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Eagle Rvr	United States	Record snow depth	61.0 cm (24.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Yakima AP	United States	Record snow depth	63.5 cm (25.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Mundubbera	Australia	Record daily precipitation	48.0 mm (1.9 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Munchen-Nymphenburg	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-10.6 C (12.9 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Plauen	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-14.6 C (5.7 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Sierraville Rs	United States	Record high minimum temperature	5.6 C (42.1 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Ochoco Rs	United States	Record daily snowfall	19.8 cm (7.8 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Danevang 1 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	61.7 mm (2.4 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Ice Harbor Dam	United States	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Port Angeles	United States	Record daily precipitation	43.2 mm (1.7 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Lichtentanne	Germany	Record low maximum temperature	-12.7 C (9.1 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Lemon Cove	United States	Record high minimum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Morganton	United States	Record high minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Keno	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.2 mm (1.7 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Newell	United States	Record snow depth	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Chimacum 4 S	United States	Record daily precipitation	51.3 mm (2.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Koolatah Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	107.0 mm (4.2 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Pecs Pogany	Hungary	Record low minimum temperature	-22.1 C (-7.8 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Keilands	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

2,202 records

Records set or tied on 31 December 1996 by type: Highest daily maximum 454, Lowest daily maximum 319, Highest daily minimum 719, Lowest daily minimum 163, Heaviest daily rainfall 308, Heaviest daily snowfall 24, Deepest snow cover 215.

Records on 31 December 1996 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	454
Lowest daily maximum	319
Highest daily minimum	719
Lowest daily minimum	163
Heaviest daily rainfall	308
Heaviest daily snowfall	24
Deepest snow cover	215

Records on 31 December 1996 by timescale: all-time 10, monthly 134, daily 2,058.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

1,811 broken records

Margins by which the 1,811 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 838.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

31 December 1996

Top 20 records on 31 December 1996 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
31 December 1996	Ellensburg, US	all-time snowfall	63.5 cm (25.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	80 years	85 of 100 (Exceptional)
31 December 1996	Big Timber, US	monthly rain	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	13.0 mm (0.5 in)	68 years	74 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1996	Ashland, US	daily rain	72.6 mm (2.9 in)	35.0 mm (1.4 in)	74 years	72 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1996	Mineral, US	daily rain	193.3 mm (7.6 in)	145.0 mm (5.7 in)	63 years	66 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1996	Moscow U of I, US	daily rain	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	14.8 mm (0.6 in)	94 years	62 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1996	Marillana, AU	daily rain	74.2 mm (2.9 in)	62.3 mm (2.5 in)	51 years	61 of 100 (Major)
31 December 1996	Drummond Aviation, US	daily snow depth	61.0 cm (24.0 in)	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	45 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1996	Blunt, US	daily snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	41 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1996	Elwha Rs, US	daily snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	35.6 cm (14.0 in)	45 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1996	Cascade 1 NW, US	daily rain	38.9 mm (1.5 in)	24.4 mm (1.0 in)	54 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1996	Lac Vieux Desert, US	daily snowfall	26.7 cm (10.5 in)	11.5 cm (4.5 in)	85 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1996	Superior, US	daily snow depth	101.6 cm (40.0 in)	61.0 cm (24.0 in)	28 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1996	Kwa-Mbonambi (Bos), ZA	daily rain	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	55.7 mm (2.2 in)	54 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1996	Garden Valley, US	daily rain	41.7 mm (1.6 in)	16.6 mm (0.7 in)	87 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1996	Brockton, US	daily rain	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	18.5 mm (0.7 in)	100 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1996	Lemmon, US	daily snow depth	73.7 cm (29.0 in)	40.7 cm (16.0 in)	24 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
31 December 1996	Quincy, US	daily rain	22.9 mm (0.9 in)	18.6 mm (0.7 in)	49 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
31 December 1996	Colville, US	daily rain	22.9 mm (0.9 in)	9.9 mm (0.39 in)	83 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
31 December 1996	Richland, US	daily rain	16.5 mm (0.6 in)	11.9 mm (0.5 in)	41 years	20 of 100 (Routine)
31 December 1996	Adin Rs, US	daily rain	23.1 mm (0.9 in)	10.4 mm (0.4 in)	99 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

1797 to 1996

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1797 to 1996. 1996 had 2,202 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 1996-12-31: 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 200	1,784
200 to 400	23
400 to 600	2
600 to 800	1
800 to 1000	1