Extreme rain in Australia, 9 to 23 December 2018

Name: Extreme rain in Australia, 9 to 23 December 2018
Start: 2018-12-09
End: 2018-12-23
Location: Australia

Extreme rain in Australia, 9 to 23 December 2018: 1,041 records at 833 stations, peak on 14 December 2018. Closed.

Data as of 2026-10-17. Last revised 17 October 2026 (2026-10-17).

Key Facts

Extreme rain in Australia, 9 to 23 December 2018 set or tied 1,041 station records at 833 stations.
It ran from 9 December 2018 to 23 December 2018 (15 days) and its peak day was 14 December 2018.
Status: closed.
Bemerside set a monthly record daily precipitation of 396.6 mm (15.6 in) on 16 December 2018.
The busiest day was 14 December 2018 with 346 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 145 years.

Footprint

9 to 23 December 2018

The area covered by Extreme rain in Australia, 9 to 23 December 2018 is outlined, with 20 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.

Footprint of Extreme rain in Australia, 9 to 23 December 2018: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Bemerside	Record daily precipitation	396.6 mm (15.6 in)	2018-12-16
Antwerp	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	2018-12-14
Macknade Sugar Mill	Record daily precipitation	571.0 mm (22.5 in)	2018-12-16
Ulmarra (Newsagency)	Record daily precipitation	152.4 mm (6.0 in)	2018-12-17
Birchip Reservoir	Record daily precipitation	127.2 mm (5.0 in)	2018-12-14
Brushgrove Post Office	Record daily precipitation	107.0 mm (4.2 in)	2018-12-17
Lower Bucca	Record daily precipitation	162.8 mm (6.4 in)	2018-12-17
Michelago (Soglio)	Record daily precipitation	58.0 mm (2.3 in)	2018-12-14
Annuello	Record daily precipitation	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	2018-12-15
Crookwell Post Office	Record daily precipitation	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	2018-12-14
Wentworth (Burtundy)	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	2018-12-14
Innisfail	Record daily precipitation	195.4 mm (7.7 in)	2018-12-16
Victoria Sugar Mill	Record daily precipitation	562.0 mm (22.1 in)	2018-12-16
Bowraville Recreation Club	Record daily precipitation	96.0 mm (3.8 in)	2018-12-17
Ingham Composite	Record daily precipitation	485.0 mm (19.1 in)	2018-12-16
Quambatook South	Record daily precipitation	73.0 mm (2.9 in)	2018-12-14
Cape Barren Island (Cape Barre	Record daily precipitation	60.6 mm (2.4 in)	2018-12-15
Moogerah Dam	Record daily precipitation	91.0 mm (3.6 in)	2018-12-17
Lyrup	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	2018-12-14
Callemondah Station	Record daily precipitation	126.0 mm (5.0 in)	2018-12-16

Records per Day

Peak day 346

Records set or tied each day from 9 December 2018 to 23 December 2018. The most in one day was 346 on 14 December 2018.

Records per day during Extreme rain in Australia, 9 to 23 December 2018
Date	Records
2018-12-09	4
2018-12-10	31
2018-12-11	4
2018-12-12	19
2018-12-13	141
2018-12-14	346
2018-12-15	147
2018-12-16	111
2018-12-17	119
2018-12-18	5
2018-12-19	3
2018-12-20	48
2018-12-21	19
2018-12-22	35
2018-12-23	9

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Extreme rain in Australia, 9 to 23 December 2018 ranked by margin
Macknade Sugar Mill, 12-16	493.5 mm (19.4 in)
Ingham Composite, 12-16	237.0 mm (9.3 in)
Bemerside, 12-16	166.7 mm (6.6 in)
Lower Bucca, 12-17	113.5 mm (4.5 in)
Innisfail, 12-16	110.1 mm (4.3 in)
Brushgrove Post Office, 12-17	77.0 mm (3.0 in)
Callemondah Station, 12-16	73.9 mm (2.9 in)
Victoria Sugar Mill, 12-16	57.3 mm (2.3 in)
Moogerah Dam, 12-17	51.4 mm (2.0 in)
Bowraville Recreation Club, 12-17	46.7 mm (1.8 in)
Ulmarra (Newsagency), 12-17	45.0 mm (1.8 in)
Birchip Reservoir, 12-14	42.4 mm (1.7 in)
Crookwell Post Office, 12-14	42.3 mm (1.7 in)
Michelago (Soglio), 12-14	37.4 mm (1.5 in)
Antwerp, 12-14	37.3 mm (1.5 in)

Margin is how far the new value is beyond the record it replaced. Ties are not shown.

Margin Against Age of the Broken Record

500 records plotted by how far they beat the old record (across) and how many years the old record had stood (up). Long standing records beaten by a wide margin sit in the top right.

Margin against age of the broken record in Extreme rain in Australia, 9 to 23 December 2018
Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
167	84
494	100
37	104
45	102
77	92
114	92
42	45
37	124
29	85
42	81
26	133
110	100
57	66
47	112
237	41
51	68
16	102
30	84
25	116
74	80
55	33
48	52
16	45
71	47
105	29
110	30
34	84
34	57
40	56
59	37
36	52
43	92
57	48
28	56
9	61
52	43
33	71
23	123
45	37
27	84
23	123
24	108
22	88
11	56
39	43
43	43
9	124
53	43
52	43
101	35
25	96
121	13
15	95
23	103
20	93
7	72
38	33
19	56
26	71
15	104
21	56
154	28
36	56
59	32
56	25
61	12
23	44
45	27
48	20
46	35
187	28
27	92
39	75
16	101
34	59
42	37
38	9
51	9
35	43
10	100
21	85
26	56
11	101
33	88
135	7
82	24
42	56
33	0
103	23
41	28
40	27
28	56
2	98
45	20
13	93
10	123
57	32
13	85
86	29
2	96
43	51
52	52
26	60
64	12
12	116
15	85
18	56
20	56
9	122
2	98
10	108
23	24
74	76
51	39
12	124
11	101
60	13
25	43
5	107
53	8
82	8
11	101
33	28
15	81
19	56
7	126
21	73
5	104
22	111
22	84
18	93
44	5
8	136
7	123
28	43
7	95
11	85
24	75
46	39
54	8
7	120
45	13
12	88
17	56
16	56
39	43
71	8
28	56
53	15
5	123
38	27
42	32
23	63
11	85
33	48
7	97
20	43
59	76
39	64
48	44
61	52
95	4
19	52
5	108
19	81
5	145
6	132
9	92
31	9
4	122
4	123
6	104
6	96
20	37
29	37
7	93
35	13
27	20
7	72
85	28
38	32
48	9
10	84
43	20
5	108
5	103
13	76
16	81
4	145
11	83
17	56
3	105
13	56
12	73
5	95
4	93
25	24
2	125
4	95
8	113

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Extreme rain in Australia, 9 to 23 December 2018 compared with similar events
Extreme rain in United States and Mexico, 23 February to 15 March 2019	2,223 records
Extreme rain in United States, 3 to 19 January 2024	2,133 records
Extreme rain in Australia, 7 to 26 March 2021	2,099 records
Extreme rain in United States and Mexico, 29 September to 19 October 2018	1,970 records
Extreme rain in United States, 19 December 2022 to 13 January 2023	1,941 records
Extreme rain in Australia, 9 to 23 December 2018 (this event)	1,041 records

Every Record Set

20 of 1,041

Every record set or tied during Extreme rain in Australia, 9 to 23 December 2018, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2018-12-14	Antwerp	Record daily precipitation	49.0 mm (1.9 in)	37.3 mm (1.5 in)	104	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
2018-12-14	Birchip Reservoir	Record daily precipitation	127.2 mm (5.0 in)	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	45	77 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-14	Michelago (Soglio)	Record daily precipitation	58.0 mm (2.3 in)	37.4 mm (1.5 in)	124	75 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-14	Crookwell Post Office	Record daily precipitation	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	42.3 mm (1.7 in)	81	70 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-14	Wentworth (Burtundy)	Record daily precipitation	37.0 mm (1.5 in)	26.3 mm (1.0 in)	133	69 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-14	Quambatook South	Record daily precipitation	73.0 mm (2.9 in)	15.6 mm (0.6 in)	102	66 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-14	Lyrup	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	116	65 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-15	Annuello	Record daily precipitation	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	28.9 mm (1.1 in)	85	71 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-15	Cape Barren Island (Cape Barre	Record daily precipitation	60.6 mm (2.4 in)	29.9 mm (1.2 in)	84	66 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-16	Bemerside	Record daily precipitation	396.6 mm (15.6 in)	166.7 mm (6.6 in)	84	84 of 100 (Exceptional)
2018-12-16	Macknade Sugar Mill	Record daily precipitation	571.0 mm (22.5 in)	493.5 mm (19.4 in)	100	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
2018-12-16	Innisfail	Record daily precipitation	195.4 mm (7.7 in)	110.1 mm (4.3 in)	100	68 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-16	Victoria Sugar Mill	Record daily precipitation	562.0 mm (22.1 in)	57.3 mm (2.3 in)	66	68 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-16	Ingham Composite	Record daily precipitation	485.0 mm (19.1 in)	237.0 mm (9.3 in)	41	67 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-16	Callemondah Station	Record daily precipitation	126.0 mm (5.0 in)	73.9 mm (2.9 in)	80	65 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-17	Ulmarra (Newsagency)	Record daily precipitation	152.4 mm (6.0 in)	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	102	79 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-17	Brushgrove Post Office	Record daily precipitation	107.0 mm (4.2 in)	77.0 mm (3.0 in)	92	77 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-17	Lower Bucca	Record daily precipitation	162.8 mm (6.4 in)	113.5 mm (4.5 in)	92	77 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-17	Bowraville Recreation Club	Record daily precipitation	96.0 mm (3.8 in)	46.7 mm (1.8 in)	112	68 of 100 (Major)
2018-12-17	Moogerah Dam	Record daily precipitation	91.0 mm (3.6 in)	51.4 mm (2.0 in)	68	66 of 100 (Major)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 1,041 records the event counts. The counts above use the full total.

Related Headlines

Third party news, headline and link only

Download the Data

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)) Data as of 2026-10-17. Events are found by this site from station records and are not official designations. Records are provisional until reprocessed.

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
167	84
494	100
37	104
45	102
77	92
114	92
42	45
37	124
29	85
42	81
26	133
110	100
57	66
47	112
237	41
51	68
16	102
30	84
25	116
74	80
55	33
48	52
16	45
71	47
105	29
110	30
34	84
34	57
40	56
59	37
36	52
43	92
57	48
28	56
9	61
52	43
33	71
23	123
45	37
27	84
23	123
24	108
22	88
11	56
39	43
43	43
9	124
53	43
52	43
101	35
25	96
121	13
15	95
23	103
20	93
7	72
38	33
19	56
26	71
15	104
21	56
154	28
36	56
59	32
56	25
61	12
23	44
45	27
48	20
46	35
187	28
27	92
39	75
16	101
34	59
42	37
38	9
51	9
35	43
10	100
21	85
26	56
11	101
33	88
135	7
82	24
42	56
33	0
103	23
41	28
40	27
28	56
2	98
45	20
13	93
10	123
57	32
13	85
86	29
2	96
43	51
52	52
26	60
64	12
12	116
15	85
18	56
20	56
9	122
2	98
10	108
23	24
74	76
51	39
12	124
11	101
60	13
25	43
5	107
53	8
82	8
11	101
33	28
15	81
19	56
7	126
21	73
5	104
22	111
22	84
18	93
44	5
8	136
7	123
28	43
7	95
11	85
24	75
46	39
54	8
7	120
45	13
12	88
17	56
16	56
39	43
71	8
28	56
53	15
5	123
38	27
42	32
23	63
11	85
33	48
7	97
20	43
59	76
39	64
48	44
61	52
95	4
19	52
5	108
19	81
5	145
6	132
9	92
31	9
4	122
4	123
6	104
6	96
20	37
29	37
7	93
35	13
27	20
7	72
85	28
38	32
48	9
10	84
43	20
5	108
5	103
13	76
16	81
4	145
11	83
17	56
3	105
13	56
12	73
5	95
4	93
25	24
2	125
4	95
8	113

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
167	84
494	100
37	104
45	102
77	92
114	92
42	45
37	124
29	85
42	81
26	133
110	100
57	66
47	112
237	41
51	68
16	102
30	84
25	116
74	80
55	33
48	52
16	45
71	47
105	29
110	30
34	84
34	57
40	56
59	37
36	52
43	92
57	48
28	56
9	61
52	43
33	71
23	123
45	37
27	84
23	123
24	108
22	88
11	56
39	43
43	43
9	124
53	43
52	43
101	35
25	96
121	13
15	95
23	103
20	93
7	72
38	33
19	56
26	71
15	104
21	56
154	28
36	56
59	32
56	25
61	12
23	44
45	27
48	20
46	35
187	28
27	92
39	75
16	101
34	59
42	37
38	9
51	9
35	43
10	100
21	85
26	56
11	101
33	88
135	7
82	24
42	56
33	0
103	23
41	28
40	27
28	56
2	98
45	20
13	93
10	123
57	32
13	85
86	29
2	96
43	51
52	52
26	60
64	12
12	116
15	85
18	56
20	56
9	122
2	98
10	108
23	24
74	76
51	39
12	124
11	101
60	13
25	43
5	107
53	8
82	8
11	101
33	28
15	81
19	56
7	126
21	73
5	104
22	111
22	84
18	93
44	5
8	136
7	123
28	43
7	95
11	85
24	75
46	39
54	8
7	120
45	13
12	88
17	56
16	56
39	43
71	8
28	56
53	15
5	123
38	27
42	32
23	63
11	85
33	48
7	97
20	43
59	76
39	64
48	44
61	52
95	4
19	52
5	108
19	81
5	145
6	132
9	92
31	9
4	122
4	123
6	104
6	96
20	37
29	37
7	93
35	13
27	20
7	72
85	28
38	32
48	9
10	84
43	20
5	108
5	103
13	76
16	81
4	145
11	83
17	56
3	105
13	56
12	73
5	95
4	93
25	24
2	125
4	95
8	113

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
167	84
494	100
37	104
45	102
77	92
114	92
42	45
37	124
29	85
42	81
26	133
110	100
57	66
47	112
237	41
51	68
16	102
30	84
25	116
74	80
55	33
48	52
16	45
71	47
105	29
110	30
34	84
34	57
40	56
59	37
36	52
43	92
57	48
28	56
9	61
52	43
33	71
23	123
45	37
27	84
23	123
24	108
22	88
11	56
39	43
43	43
9	124
53	43
52	43
101	35
25	96
121	13
15	95
23	103
20	93
7	72
38	33
19	56
26	71
15	104
21	56
154	28
36	56
59	32
56	25
61	12
23	44
45	27
48	20
46	35
187	28
27	92
39	75
16	101
34	59
42	37
38	9
51	9
35	43
10	100
21	85
26	56
11	101
33	88
135	7
82	24
42	56
33	0
103	23
41	28
40	27
28	56
2	98
45	20
13	93
10	123
57	32
13	85
86	29
2	96
43	51
52	52
26	60
64	12
12	116
15	85
18	56
20	56
9	122
2	98
10	108
23	24
74	76
51	39
12	124
11	101
60	13
25	43
5	107
53	8
82	8
11	101
33	28
15	81
19	56
7	126
21	73
5	104
22	111
22	84
18	93
44	5
8	136
7	123
28	43
7	95
11	85
24	75
46	39
54	8
7	120
45	13
12	88
17	56
16	56
39	43
71	8
28	56
53	15
5	123
38	27
42	32
23	63
11	85
33	48
7	97
20	43
59	76
39	64
48	44
61	52
95	4
19	52
5	108
19	81
5	145
6	132
9	92
31	9
4	122
4	123
6	104
6	96
20	37
29	37
7	93
35	13
27	20
7	72
85	28
38	32
48	9
10	84
43	20
5	108
5	103
13	76
16	81
4	145
11	83
17	56
3	105
13	56
12	73
5	95
4	93
25	24
2	125
4	95
8	113