Weather Records on 16 December 1983

1,156 weather records were set or tied worldwide on 16 December 1983. Highest significance: Paarl (Tnk), ZA.

Key Facts for 16 December 1983

On 16 December 1983, 1,156 weather records were set or tied at long-record stations worldwide.
147 were record highs and 321 were record lows, counting maximum and minimum temperature.
By timescale, 23 were all-time records, 100 monthly and 1,033 daily.
Paarl (Tnk) set a daily record precipitation of 37.4 mm (1.5 in) on 16 December 1983.
Across 160 earlier years (1793 to 2025) the same calendar date averaged 478 records.

Record Map

1,156 stations

1,156 station records on 16 December 1983 are marked on the map, coloured by record type. Dot size shows the significance score. Made with Natural Earth.

Weather records on 16 December 1983: highest significance records shown on the map
Station	Country	Type	Value	Significance
Paarl (Tnk)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	37.4 mm (1.5 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Vermillion 2 SE	United States	Record snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	62 of 100 (Major)
Hugo	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	60 of 100 (Major)
David City 4E	United States	Record snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	59 of 100 (Notable)
Mellen 4 NE	United States	Record daily snowfall	26.9 cm (10.6 in)	57 of 100 (Notable)
Pipestone	United States	Record snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	56 of 100 (Notable)
Longview	United States	Record daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	54 of 100 (Notable)
Glenwood 4 NNE	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
New Boston Dam 17	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Greenville Kgvl Radio	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
McKinney Muni AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.7 cm (4.2 in)	52 of 100 (Notable)
Arkadelphia 2 N	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Storm Lake	United States	Record snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Kemmerer 2N	United States	Record snow depth	58.4 cm (23.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Redwood Falls Muni AP	United States	Record snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	51 of 100 (Notable)
Pine Ridge (Windy)	Australia	Record daily precipitation	63.4 mm (2.5 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Sparkman	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Plain Dealing	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Tracy	United States	Record snow depth	53.3 cm (21.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Carter Twr	United States	Record daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	50 of 100 (Notable)
Catemaco (Cfe)	Mexico	Record daily precipitation	82.8 mm (3.3 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Gilmer 4 WNW	United States	Record daily snowfall	14.0 cm (5.5 in)	49 of 100 (Notable)
Port Alfred	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	27.0 mm (1.1 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Dumas	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Denton 2 SE	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Dialville 2 W	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Emory	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Honey Grove	United States	Record daily snowfall	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	48 of 100 (Notable)
Nashville	United States	Record daily snowfall	19.1 cm (7.5 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Brownwood 2NE	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Grapevine Dam	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.9 cm (3.1 in)	47 of 100 (Notable)
Blackburn	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	75.0 mm (3.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Arkadelphia 2 N	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Lynch	United States	Record snow depth	45.7 cm (18.0 in)	46 of 100 (Notable)
Detroit Lakes 1 NNE	United States	Record snow depth	50.8 cm (20.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Ripley	United States	Record daily snowfall	6.4 cm (2.5 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Platte	United States	Record snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	45 of 100 (Notable)
Frasers	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	75.0 mm (3.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Daingerfield 9 S	United States	Record daily snowfall	16.5 cm (6.5 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Graham	United States	Record daily snowfall	9.7 cm (3.8 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Paducah 7E	United States	Record daily snowfall	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Nome AP	United States	Record daily snowfall	9.9 cm (3.9 in)	44 of 100 (Notable)
Wakefield 3NW	United States	Record snow depth	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Madill	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Rotan	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	43 of 100 (Notable)
Jhb-Braamfontein (Cem)	South Africa	Record daily precipitation	50.0 mm (2.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Pompano Beach	United States	Record daily precipitation	77.5 mm (3.1 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Ardmore	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Boswell 1 S	United States	Record daily snowfall	19.1 cm (7.5 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Denton 2 SE	United States	Record daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Paris	United States	Record snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Weatherford	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Jump Rvr 3E	United States	Record snow depth	61.0 cm (24.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Pine Bluffs	United States	Record daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	42 of 100 (Notable)
Columbus 3 NE	United States	Record snow depth	38.1 cm (15.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Claude	United States	Record snow depth	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Ferris	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Haskell	United States	Record daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	41 of 100 (Notable)
Port Dover	Canada	Record daily snowfall	8.0 cm (3.1 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)
Chattanooga	United States	Record daily snowfall	5.1 cm (2.0 in)	40 of 100 (Notable)

Counts by Type and Timescale

1,156 records

Records set or tied on 16 December 1983 by type: Highest daily maximum 44, Lowest daily maximum 205, Highest daily minimum 103, Lowest daily minimum 116, Heaviest daily rainfall 151, Heaviest daily snowfall 188, Deepest snow cover 349.

Records on 16 December 1983 by type
Record type	Records
Highest daily maximum	44
Lowest daily maximum	205
Highest daily minimum	103
Lowest daily minimum	116
Heaviest daily rainfall	151
Heaviest daily snowfall	188
Deepest snow cover	349

Records on 16 December 1983 by timescale: all-time 23, monthly 100, daily 1,033.

How Much Records Were Beaten By

914 broken records

Margins by which the 914 broken records beat the old ones, in degrees Celsius for temperature and millimetres for precipitation and snow; the largest margin was 457.0. Ties are not counted.

Top 20 by Significance

16 December 1983

Top 20 records on 16 December 1983 by significance
Date	Station	Record	Value	Beat old record by	Old record stood	Significance
16 December 1983	Paarl (Tnk), ZA	daily rain	37.4 mm (1.5 in)	21.7 mm (0.9 in)	90 years	62 of 100 (Major)
16 December 1983	Vermillion 2 SE, US	daily snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	80 years	62 of 100 (Major)
16 December 1983	Hugo, US	daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	65 years	60 of 100 (Major)
16 December 1983	David City 4E, US	daily snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	85 years	59 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Mellen 4 NE, US	daily snowfall	26.9 cm (10.6 in)	19.3 cm (7.6 in)	56 years	57 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Pipestone, US	daily snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	28 years	56 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Longview, US	daily snowfall	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	11.4 cm (4.5 in)	80 years	54 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Glenwood 4 NNE, US	monthly snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	12.4 cm (4.9 in)	47 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	New Boston Dam 17, US	daily snowfall	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	12.7 cm (5.0 in)	44 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Greenville Kgvl Radio, US	daily snowfall	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	10.2 cm (4.0 in)	80 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	McKinney Muni AP, US	daily snowfall	10.7 cm (4.2 in)	10.7 cm (4.2 in)	78 years	52 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Arkadelphia 2 N, US	daily snow depth	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	15.2 cm (6.0 in)	91 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Storm Lake, US	daily snow depth	40.6 cm (16.0 in)	20.3 cm (8.0 in)	42 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Kemmerer 2N, US	daily snow depth	58.4 cm (23.0 in)	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	12 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Redwood Falls Muni AP, US	daily snow depth	43.2 cm (17.0 in)	25.4 cm (10.0 in)	32 years	51 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Pine Ridge (Windy), AU	daily rain	63.4 mm (2.5 in)	35.5 mm (1.4 in)	50 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Sparkman, US	daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	36 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Plain Dealing, US	daily snowfall	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	7.6 cm (3.0 in)	88 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Tracy, US	daily snow depth	53.3 cm (21.0 in)	33.0 cm (13.0 in)	36 years	50 of 100 (Notable)
16 December 1983	Carter Twr, US	daily snowfall	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	17.8 cm (7.0 in)	37 years	50 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 1983

Records set or tied on this calendar date in each year from 1793 to 1983. 1983 had 1,156 records.

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

Records on 12-16 in each year
Year	Records
1793	2
1798	2
1808	1
1810	1
1814	2
1815	2
1835	1
1839	1
1840	1
1846	3
1852	1
1853	1
1859	3
1864	1
1869	1
1870	1
1872	1
1876	1
1877	1
1878	2
1879	1
1885	2
1886	2
1888	2
1889	1
1890	4
1891	2
1892	3
1893	1
1894	1
1895	1
1896	7
1897	4
1898	1
1899	2
1900	2
1901	4
1902	17
1903	6
1904	8
1905	4
1906	5
1907	30
1908	11
1909	5
1910	38
1911	26
1912	31
1913	12
1914	26
1915	55
1916	31
1917	60
1918	33
1919	52
1920	61
1921	35
1922	62
1923	205
1924	347
1925	93
1926	130
1927	218
1928	338
1929	383
1930	398
1931	168
1932	880
1933	716
1934	163
1935	71
1936	429
1937	351
1938	142
1939	1,014
1940	633
1941	348
1942	550
1943	491
1944	189
1945	478
1946	357
1947	506
1948	775
1949	132
1950	272
1951	987
1952	349
1953	265
1954	305
1955	325
1956	650
1957	478
1958	497
1959	605
1960	393
1961	858
1962	859
1963	484
1964	639
1965	576
1966	417
1967	886
1968	557
1969	205
1970	726
1971	1,540
1972	1,020
1973	823
1974	546
1975	493
1976	526
1977	950
1978	532
1979	528
1980	1,322
1981	1,498
1982	1,208
1983	1,156
1984	1,944
1985	983
1986	485
1987	1,377
1988	605
1989	3,181
1990	753
1991	659
1992	1,408
1993	676
1994	698
1995	714
1996	797
1997	1,260
1998	698
1999	821
2000	1,160
2001	1,197
2002	990
2003	679
2004	510
2005	1,073
2006	1,020
2007	1,301
2008	2,049
2009	1,032
2010	1,585
2011	777
2012	912
2013	762
2014	465
2015	925
2016	1,588
2017	349
2018	624
2019	786
2020	415
2021	1,485
2022	836
2023	841
2024	755
2025	1,820

Download the Data

Data for records on 1983-12-16: 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 2026-10-18. Last revised 18 October 2026 (2026-10-18).

Histogram of margins by which records were beaten on 16 December 1983
Margin	Records
0 to 100	812
100 to 200	81
200 to 300	16
300 to 400	4
400 to 500	1