Leetcode #2314: The First Day of the Maximum Recorded Degree in Each City
In this guide, we solve Leetcode #2314 The First Day of the Maximum Recorded Degree in Each City in Python and focus on the core idea that makes the solution efficient.
You will see the intuition, the step-by-step method, and a clean Python implementation you can use in interviews.

Problem Statement
Table: Weather +-------------+------+ | Column Name | Type | +-------------+------+ | city_id | int | | day | date | | degree | int | +-------------+------+ (city_id, day) is the primary key (combination of columns with unique values) for this table. Each row in this table contains the degree of the weather of a city on a certain day.
Quick Facts
- Difficulty: Medium
- Premium: Yes
- Tags: Database
Intuition
The task is relational in nature, which maps cleanly to DataFrame operations in Python.
By treating tables as DataFrames, joins and group-bys become concise and readable.
Approach
Load the inputs as DataFrames and apply the appropriate merge, filter, or group-by.
Select or rename the columns to match the required output.
Steps:
- Load inputs as DataFrames.
- Apply merge/groupby/filter operations.
- Select the output columns.
Example
+-------------+------+
| Column Name | Type |
+-------------+------+
| city_id | int |
| day | date |
| degree | int |
+-------------+------+
(city_id, day) is the primary key (combination of columns with unique values) for this table.
Each row in this table contains the degree of the weather of a city on a certain day.
All the degrees are recorded in the year 2022.
Python Solution
import duckdb
import pandas as pd
def solution(weather: pd.DataFrame) -> pd.DataFrame:
con = duckdb.connect()
con.register("Weather", weather)
return con.execute("""WITH
T AS (
SELECT
*,
RANK() OVER (
PARTITION BY city_id
ORDER BY degree DESC, day
) AS rk
FROM Weather
)
SELECT city_id, day, degree
FROM T
WHERE rk = 1
ORDER BY 1;""").df()
Complexity
The time complexity is O(n log n) (typical). The space complexity is O(n).
Edge Cases and Pitfalls
Watch for boundary values, empty inputs, and duplicate values where applicable. If the problem involves ordering or constraints, confirm the invariant is preserved at every step.
Summary
This Python solution focuses on the essential structure of the problem and keeps the implementation interview-friendly while meeting the constraints.