Weather Records on 3 January 1949

910 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 3 January 1949. Highest significance: Chadron 3SW, US.

Key Facts for 3 January 1949

On 3 January 1949, 910 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
107 were record highs and 365 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 10 were all-time records, 55 monthly and 845 daily.
Chadron 3SW set an all-time record daily snowfall of 67.8 cm (26.7 in) on 3 January 1949.
Across 163 earlier years (1794 to 2026) the same calendar date averaged 488 records.

Record Map

910 stations

910 station records on 3 January 1949 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 3 January 1949: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Chadron 3SW	United States	Record daily snowfall	67.8 cm (26.7 in)	73 of 100 (Major)
Butte	United States	Record daily snowfall	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
Tyndall	United States	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	63 of 100 (Major)
State UNIV	United States	Record daily precipitation	102.1 mm (4.0 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
Lake Providence	United States	Record daily precipitation	154.2 mm (6.1 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Curtis	United States	Record daily precipitation	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Halsey 2 W	United States	Record snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	58 of 100 (Notable)
Holly Bluff	United States	Record daily precipitation	126.0 mm (5.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Fairfax	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Lusk 2 SW	United States	Record daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Hayes Center 1NW	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.1 cm (7.9 in)	55 of 100 (Notable)
Matatiele	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Wahoo	United States	Record daily precipitation	42.2 mm (1.7 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Hartington	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Coldwater	United States	Record daily precipitation	74.2 mm (2.9 in)	53 of 100 (Notable)
Highmore	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Cheyenne	United States	Record daily precipitation	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Alliance 1WNW	United States	Record daily snowfall	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Chadron 3SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Columbus 3 NE	United States	Record daily precipitation	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Fremont	United States	Record daily precipitation	46.0 mm (1.8 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Centerville 6 SE	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Walthill 1E	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Atkinson 3SW	United States	Record snow depth	66.0 cm (26.0 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Mount Surprise Township	Australia	Record daily precipitation	100.8 mm (4.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Logan 1 WNW	United States	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Arriba	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.7 cm (4.6 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Ft Lupton 2 SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Glenwood 3SW	United States	Record daily precipitation	41.9 mm (1.6 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Crete 4ESE	United States	Record daily precipitation	29.7 mm (1.2 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Bruthen (Post Office)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	80.8 mm (3.2 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Red Oak	United States	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Grenada	United States	Record daily precipitation	113.3 mm (4.5 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Okolona	United States	Record daily precipitation	119.4 mm (4.7 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Ashland #2	United States	Record daily precipitation	36.1 mm (1.4 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Ericson 8 WNW	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Madison	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Oak Hills Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	104.1 mm (4.1 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Academy 2NE	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Armour	United States	Record daily snowfall	27.9 cm (11.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Goodland	United States	Record daily snowfall	13.2 cm (5.2 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ewing	United States	Record daily snowfall	22.9 cm (9.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Georgetown Post Office	Australia	Record low minimum temperature	15.0 C (59.0 F)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Ingham Post Office	Australia	Record daily precipitation	186.4 mm (7.3 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Mvenyane	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	43.4 mm (1.7 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Vale	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Falls City Brenner Fld	United States	Record daily precipitation	37.1 mm (1.5 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Stratford	Australia	Record daily precipitation	91.7 mm (3.6 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Yazoo City	United States	Record daily precipitation	96.8 mm (3.8 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Halsey 2 W	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.7 cm (5.8 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Armour	United States	Record snow depth	55.9 cm (22.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Duck Hill	United States	Record daily precipitation	129.5 mm (5.1 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Leroy 5 WSW	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Wallace	United States	Record snow depth	106.7 cm (42.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Scott	United States	Record daily precipitation	78.7 mm (3.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Vaughn	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Spring Creek Station	Australia	Record daily precipitation	88.9 mm (3.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Boulder	United States	Record daily snowfall	21.6 cm (8.5 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Syracuse	United States	Record daily precipitation	40.4 mm (1.6 in)	39 of 100 (Notable)
Woodhouse	Australia	Record daily precipitation	114.3 mm (4.5 in)	38 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

910 records

Records set or tied on 3 January 1949 by type: Highest daily maximum 43, Lowest daily maximum 196, Highest daily minimum 64, Lowest daily minimum 169, Heaviest daily rainfall 294, Heaviest daily snowfall 115, Deepest snow cover 29.

Records on 3 January 1949 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	43
Lowest daily maximum	196
Highest daily minimum	64
Lowest daily minimum	169
Heaviest daily rainfall	294
Heaviest daily snowfall	115
Deepest snow cover	29

Records on 3 January 1949 by timescale: all-time 10, monthly 55, daily 845.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

779 broken records

Margins by which the 779 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 483.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

3 January 1949

Top 20 records on 3 January 1949 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
3 January 1949	Chadron 3SW, US	all-time snowfall	67.8 cm (26.7 in)	24.6 cm (9.7 in)	29 years	73 of 100 (Major)
3 January 1949	Butte, US	monthly snowfall	30.5 cm (12.0 in)	15.3 cm (6.0 in)	31 years	63 of 100 (Major)
3 January 1949	Tyndall, US	monthly rain	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	29.5 mm (1.2 in)	26 years	63 of 100 (Major)
3 January 1949	State UNIV, US	daily rain	102.1 mm (4.0 in)	65.3 mm (2.6 in)	51 years	60 of 100 (Major)
3 January 1949	Lake Providence, US	monthly rain	154.2 mm (6.1 in)	76.7 mm (3.0 in)	12 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Curtis, US	daily rain	30.5 mm (1.2 in)	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	47 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Halsey 2 W, US	monthly snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	33 years	58 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Holly Bluff, US	daily rain	126.0 mm (5.0 in)	88.2 mm (3.5 in)	43 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Fairfax, US	daily rain	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	22.1 mm (0.9 in)	43 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Lusk 2 SW, US	daily snowfall	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	39 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Hayes Center 1NW, US	daily snowfall	20.1 cm (7.9 in)	15.0 cm (5.9 in)	35 years	55 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Matatiele, ZA	daily rain	56.4 mm (2.2 in)	43.7 mm (1.7 in)	33 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Wahoo, US	monthly rain	42.2 mm (1.7 in)	17.6 mm (0.7 in)	15 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Hartington, US	monthly rain	41.1 mm (1.6 in)	10.6 mm (0.4 in)	51 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Coldwater, US	daily rain	74.2 mm (2.9 in)	50.8 mm (2.0 in)	36 years	53 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Highmore, US	daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	10.1 cm (4.0 in)	51 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Cheyenne, US	monthly rain	33.5 mm (1.3 in)	8.1 mm (0.32 in)	27 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Alliance 1WNW, US	daily snowfall	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	22.8 cm (9.0 in)	20 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Chadron 3SW, US	daily rain	27.2 mm (1.1 in)	19.3 mm (0.8 in)	23 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
3 January 1949	Columbus 3 NE, US	daily rain	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	23 years	51 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

1794 to 1949

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1794 to 1949. 1949 had 910 records.

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

Records on 01-03 in each year
Year	Records
1794	1
1798	1
1800	1
1823	2
1825	1
1830	2
1839	1
1848	1
1853	1
1860	2
1861	1
1864	1
1867	2
1868	2
1871	2
1873	1
1874	2
1876	2
1877	3
1878	1
1879	2
1882	2
1883	3
1884	1
1886	4
1887	5
1888	3
1889	4
1890	3
1891	4
1892	1
1893	1
1894	1
1895	3
1896	1
1897	3
1899	2
1900	15
1901	4
1902	15
1903	17
1904	51
1905	12
1906	13
1907	26
1908	8
1909	11
1910	23
1911	40
1912	26
1913	83
1914	33
1915	29
1916	60
1917	52
1918	80
1919	54
1920	31
1921	139
1922	80
1923	46
1924	222
1925	139
1926	268
1927	235
1928	412
1929	58
1930	160
1931	100
1932	167
1933	160
1934	208
1935	249
1936	404
1937	291
1938	139
1939	498
1940	312
1941	595
1942	505
1943	508
1944	361
1945	148
1946	171
1947	662
1948	462
1949	910
1950	2,025
1951	459
1952	587
1953	241
1954	370
1955	443
1956	188
1957	177
1958	326
1959	861
1960	431
1961	543
1962	802
1963	494
1964	513
1965	492
1966	885
1967	247
1968	582
1969	516
1970	749
1971	1,280
1972	313
1973	623
1974	1,010
1975	710
1976	524
1977	790
1978	745
1979	2,417
1980	470
1981	1,401
1982	1,380
1983	921
1984	983
1985	739
1986	676
1987	843
1988	1,034
1989	740
1990	467
1991	1,077
1992	1,200
1993	910
1994	902
1995	726
1996	2,085
1997	3,676
1998	1,434
1999	1,568
2000	2,063
2001	1,385
2002	1,307
2003	981
2004	1,406
2005	1,157
2006	1,472
2007	1,396
2008	948
2009	682
2010	1,337
2011	681
2012	956
2013	496
2014	1,029
2015	869
2016	605
2017	1,053
2018	1,444
2019	474
2020	772
2021	476
2022	989
2023	1,318
2024	734
2025	653
2026	902

Download the Data

Data for records on 1949-01-03: 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 2026-10-15. Last revised 15 October 2026 (2026-10-15).

Histogram of margins by which records were beaten on 3 January 1949
Margin	Records
0 to 100	749
100 to 200	26
200 to 300	3
300 to 400	0
400 to 500	1