The spatial and temporal characteristics in the frequencies of four types of high-impact weathers (HIWs), i.e. snowfall, thunderstorm, foggy and hailstorm weathers were analyzed in China by using daily weather phenomenon data from 604 stations. Results indicate that snowfall, thunderstorm, foggy and hailstorm days showed significant decreasing trends with rates of 2.5, 2.6, 0.8 and 0.5 days per decade respectively, and snowfall, thunderstorm, foggy and hailstorm weather processes decreased significantly at rates of 0.3, 0.4, 0.1 and 0.1 times per decade during 1959–2014.