Weather Records on 20 December 1997

651 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 20 December 1997. Highest significance: Waco Rgnl AP, US.

Key Facts for 20 December 1997

On 20 December 1997, 651 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
213 were record highs and 113 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 4 were all-time records, 13 monthly and 634 daily.
Waco Rgnl AP set an all-time record daily precipitation of 202.7 mm (8.0 in) on 20 December 1997.
Across 163 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 466 records.

Record Map

651 stations

651 station records on 20 December 1997 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 20 December 1997: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Waco Rgnl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	202.7 mm (8.0 in)	78 of 100 (Major)
Warthausen-Birkenhard	Germany	Record daily precipitation	29.1 mm (1.1 in)	76 of 100 (Major)
Temple	United States	Record daily precipitation	108.7 mm (4.3 in)	75 of 100 (Major)
Ulm	Germany	Record daily precipitation	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	71 of 100 (Major)
Crane	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	67 of 100 (Major)
Rye Patch Dam	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	64 of 100 (Major)
Roswell Ind Air Pk	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Sumner	United States	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Sumner 5 S	United States	Record snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Cameron	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Bitter Lakes Wl Refuge	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Hagansport	United States	Record daily precipitation	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Bitter Lakes Wl Refuge	United States	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Sumner	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Jayton	United States	Record daily precipitation	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Woolomin (Northcotte)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	72.0 mm (2.8 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Brackendale (the Lake)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	78.0 mm (3.1 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Andrews	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Socorro	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Derby Aero	Australia	Record daily precipitation	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Elong Elong (Bendeela St)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Woolomin (Culwulla)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Kreis Biberach Altheim	Germany	Record daily precipitation	27.5 mm (1.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Socorro	United States	Record snow depth	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Lindsay 2 W	United States	Record daily precipitation	38.1 mm (1.5 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Palmerville	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	25.5 C (77.9 F)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Canton	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Sumner	United States	Record snow depth	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Hillgrove Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	48.2 mm (1.9 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Tasiilaq	Greenland [Denmark]	Record high minimum temperature	1.9 C (35.4 F)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Munsingen-Apfelstetten	Germany	Record daily precipitation	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Roswell Ind Air Pk	United States	Record snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Capitan	United States	Record snow depth	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Melrose	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Canton	United States	Record daily precipitation	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Hugo	United States	Record daily precipitation	58.4 mm (2.3 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Frisco	United States	Record daily precipitation	75.2 mm (3.0 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Hamlin 1SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	35.1 mm (1.4 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Maysville Wwtp	United States	Record high maximum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Elida	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)
Yamburgan	Australia	Record daily precipitation	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	37 of 100 (Notable)
Gayndah Post Office	Australia	Record high minimum temperature	25.2 C (77.4 F)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Villanueva	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Carter Twr	United States	Record daily precipitation	53.3 mm (2.1 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Lubbock	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	36 of 100 (Notable)
Ramon 8 SW	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Kirbyville	United States	Record daily precipitation	78.7 mm (3.1 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
San Antonio Intl AP	United States	Record daily precipitation	64.0 mm (2.5 in)	35 of 100 (Notable)
Birricannia	Australia	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Chatsworth	Australia	Record daily precipitation	54.4 mm (2.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Rheinfelden	Germany	Record daily precipitation	30.7 mm (1.2 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Elida	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Morton	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.3 cm (2.1 in)	34 of 100 (Routine)
Bernardo	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Clovis 13 N	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Santa Rosa	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Wilburton 9 ENE	United States	Record daily precipitation	55.9 mm (2.2 in)	33 of 100 (Routine)
Malsburg-Marzell-Friedrichshei	Germany	Record daily precipitation	47.7 mm (1.9 in)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Zuara	Libya	Record high minimum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)
Arecibo 3 ESE	Puerto Rico [United States]	Record high maximum temperature	33.3 C (91.9 F)	32 of 100 (Routine)

Counts by Type and Timescale

651 records

Records set or tied on 20 December 1997 by type: Highest daily maximum 80, Lowest daily maximum 61, Highest daily minimum 133, Lowest daily minimum 52, Heaviest daily rainfall 263, Heaviest daily snowfall 35, Deepest snow cover 27.

Records on 20 December 1997 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	80
Lowest daily maximum	61
Highest daily minimum	133
Lowest daily minimum	52
Heaviest daily rainfall	263
Heaviest daily snowfall	35
Deepest snow cover	27

Records on 20 December 1997 by timescale: all-time 4, monthly 13, daily 634.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

551 broken records

Margins by which the 551 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 229.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

20 December 1997

Top 20 records on 20 December 1997 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
20 December 1997	Waco Rgnl AP, US	all-time rain	202.7 mm (8.0 in)	84.8 mm (3.3 in)	44 years	78 of 100 (Major)
20 December 1997	Warthausen-Birkenhard, DE	daily rain	29.1 mm (1.1 in)	15.9 mm (0.6 in)	88 years	76 of 100 (Major)
20 December 1997	Temple, US	daily rain	108.7 mm (4.3 in)	74.9 mm (2.9 in)	86 years	75 of 100 (Major)
20 December 1997	Ulm, DE	daily rain	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	12.6 mm (0.5 in)	102 years	71 of 100 (Major)
20 December 1997	Crane, US	daily rain	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	68 years	67 of 100 (Major)
20 December 1997	Rye Patch Dam, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	62 years	64 of 100 (Major)
20 December 1997	Roswell Ind Air Pk, US	daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	48 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Ft Sumner, US	daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	79 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Ft Sumner 5 S, US	daily snow depth	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	48 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Cameron, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	68 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Bitter Lakes Wl Refuge, US	daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	47 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Hagansport, US	daily rain	63.5 mm (2.5 in)	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	86 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Bitter Lakes Wl Refuge, US	daily snow depth	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	47 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Ft Sumner, US	daily rain	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	13.2 mm (0.5 in)	79 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Jayton, US	monthly rain	48.3 mm (1.9 in)	7.7 mm (0.30 in)	84 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Woolomin (Northcotte), AU	daily rain	72.0 mm (2.8 in)	57.6 mm (2.3 in)	22 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Brackendale (the Lake), AU	monthly rain	78.0 mm (3.1 in)	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	29 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Andrews, US	daily rain	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	6 years	49 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Socorro, US	daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	8.9 cm (3.5 in)	92 years	48 of 100 (Notable)
20 December 1997	Derby Aero, AU	daily rain	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	53.2 mm (2.1 in)	12 years	46 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 1997

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1997. 1997 had 651 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 1997-12-20: 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	510
50 to 100	28
100 to 150	2
150 to 200	7
200 to 250	4