Extreme rain in Australia, 2 to 8 December 2020

Name: Extreme rain in Australia, 2 to 8 December 2020
Start: 2020-12-02
End: 2020-12-08
Location: Australia

Extreme rain in Australia, 2 to 8 December 2020: 136 records at 132 stations, peak on 4 December 2020. Closed.

Data as of 2026-10-12. Last revised 12 October 2026 (2026-10-12).

Key Facts

Extreme rain in Australia, 2 to 8 December 2020 set or tied 136 station records at 132 stations.
It ran from 2 December 2020 to 8 December 2020 (7 days) and its peak day was 4 December 2020.
Status: closed.
Cape Barren Island (Cape Barre set a daily record precipitation of 76.0 mm (3.0 in) on 6 December 2020.
The busiest day was 4 December 2020 with 60 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 122 years.

Footprint

2 to 8 December 2020

The area covered by Extreme rain in Australia, 2 to 8 December 2020 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, 2 to 8 December 2020: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Cape Barren Island (Cape Barre	Record daily precipitation	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	2020-12-06
Sapphire (Argyle)	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	2020-12-04
Delungra (Pearsby Hall)	Record daily precipitation	69.8 mm (2.7 in)	2020-12-04
Glen Innes Ag Research STN	Record daily precipitation	82.0 mm (3.2 in)	2020-12-04
Kings Plains (Croye)	Record daily precipitation	153.6 mm (6.0 in)	2020-12-04
Gooloogong Post Office	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	2020-12-06
Cobar (Taringo Downs)	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	2020-12-07
Traighli	Record daily precipitation	108.0 mm (4.3 in)	2020-12-03
Croppa Creek (Krui Plains)	Record daily precipitation	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	2020-12-04
Ringarooma (Charles Street)	Record daily precipitation	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	2020-12-07
Barraba Post Office	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	2020-12-04
Boggabri (Kanownda)	Record daily precipitation	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	2020-12-04
Bonshaw (Campbell St)	Record daily precipitation	45.6 mm (1.8 in)	2020-12-04
Tulloona (Coolanga)	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	2020-12-04
Kookabookra	Record daily precipitation	54.8 mm (2.2 in)	2020-12-04
Dalveen	Record daily precipitation	44.4 mm (1.7 in)	2020-12-04
Stanthorpe Leslie Parade	Record daily precipitation	34.2 mm (1.3 in)	2020-12-04
Pallamallawa Post Office	Record daily precipitation	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	2020-12-04
Selbourne (Kirnbrae)	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	2020-12-07
Turrawan (Wallah)	Record daily precipitation	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	2020-12-03

Records per Day

Peak day 60

Records set or tied each day from 2 December 2020 to 8 December 2020. The most in one day was 60 on 4 December 2020.

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Extreme rain in Australia, 2 to 8 December 2020 ranked by margin
Kings Plains (Croye), 12-04	77.2 mm (3.0 in)
Traighli, 12-03	75.0 mm (3.0 in)
Cape Barren Island (Cape Barre, 12-06	59.7 mm (2.4 in)
Delungra (Pearsby Hall), 12-04	47.6 mm (1.9 in)
Glen Innes Ag Research STN, 12-04	44.0 mm (1.7 in)
Croppa Creek (Krui Plains), 12-04	25.6 mm (1.0 in)
Sapphire (Argyle), 12-04	23.6 mm (0.9 in)
Gooloogong Post Office, 12-06	23.6 mm (0.9 in)
Tulloona (Coolanga), 12-04	22.9 mm (0.9 in)
Kookabookra, 12-04	22.5 mm (0.9 in)
Cobar (Taringo Downs), 12-07	13.2 mm (0.5 in)
Boggabri (Kanownda), 12-04	11.3 mm (0.4 in)
Bonshaw (Campbell St), 12-04	11.3 mm (0.4 in)
Ringarooma (Charles Street), 12-07	10.6 mm (0.4 in)
Pallamallawa Post Office, 12-04	8.4 mm (0.33 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

136 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, 2 to 8 December 2020
Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
60	81
24	111
48	42
44	37
77	2
24	58
13	98
75	15
26	55
11	88
7	122
11	88
11	84
23	55
23	52
2	111
1	122
8	84
2	109
4	90
15	72
28	37
11	75
6	85
25	35
20	42
23	37
21	25
3	87
1	94
21	42
12	35
21	38
23	42
26	28
8	62
3	68
8	56
14	30
16	45
16	42
19	32
11	39
14	37
15	37
15	37
9	52
9	38
25	13
5	55
11	38
11	42
5	60
6	56
2	62
0	55
9	35
6	37
12	37
8	40
4	40
2	32
1	52
16	28
4	56
9	25
10	12
5	37
8	38
12	13
8	37
8	37
4	45
10	18
6	33
7	30
5	37
7	30
9	32
2	37
12	12
0	39
8	37
8	14
3	28
5	39
6	37
3	42
4	42
3	37
6	37
4	32
6	35
13	6
4	40
1	37
13	18
12	6
16	7
3	37
3	37
6	30
1	42
2	42
2	37
12	3
1	45
0	45
5	15
0	45
1	28
3	37
1	27
6	23
4	35
4	28
6	25
5	25
2	33
1	10
2	28
2	28
0	23
7	10
2	32
9	8
6	6
2	24
3	6
0	4
2	16
0	7
1	10
2	7
2	5
1	6

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Extreme rain in Australia, 2 to 8 December 2020 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, 2 to 8 December 2020 (this event)	136 records

Every Record Set

20 of 136

Every record set or tied during Extreme rain in Australia, 2 to 8 December 2020, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2020-12-03	Traighli	Record daily precipitation	108.0 mm (4.3 in)	75.0 mm (3.0 in)	15	47 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-03	Turrawan (Wallah)	Record daily precipitation	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	2.2 mm (0.09 in)	109	20 of 100 (Routine)
2020-12-04	Sapphire (Argyle)	Record daily precipitation	54.6 mm (2.1 in)	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	111	60 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-04	Delungra (Pearsby Hall)	Record daily precipitation	69.8 mm (2.7 in)	47.6 mm (1.9 in)	42	59 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-04	Glen Innes Ag Research STN	Record daily precipitation	82.0 mm (3.2 in)	44.0 mm (1.7 in)	37	58 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-04	Kings Plains (Croye)	Record daily precipitation	153.6 mm (6.0 in)	77.2 mm (3.0 in)	2	56 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-04	Croppa Creek (Krui Plains)	Record daily precipitation	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	25.6 mm (1.0 in)	55	47 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-04	Barraba Post Office	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	6.8 mm (0.27 in)	122	45 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-04	Boggabri (Kanownda)	Record daily precipitation	39.0 mm (1.5 in)	11.3 mm (0.4 in)	88	45 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-04	Bonshaw (Campbell St)	Record daily precipitation	45.6 mm (1.8 in)	11.3 mm (0.4 in)	84	44 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-04	Tulloona (Coolanga)	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	22.9 mm (0.9 in)	55	43 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-04	Kookabookra	Record daily precipitation	54.8 mm (2.2 in)	22.5 mm (0.9 in)	52	43 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-04	Dalveen	Record daily precipitation	44.4 mm (1.7 in)	1.7 mm (0.07 in)	111	41 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-04	Stanthorpe Leslie Parade	Record daily precipitation	34.2 mm (1.3 in)	1.2 mm (0.05 in)	122	41 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-04	Pallamallawa Post Office	Record daily precipitation	26.2 mm (1.0 in)	8.4 mm (0.33 in)	84	41 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-06	Cape Barren Island (Cape Barre	Record daily precipitation	76.0 mm (3.0 in)	59.7 mm (2.4 in)	81	74 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-06	Gooloogong Post Office	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	23.6 mm (0.9 in)	58	49 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-07	Cobar (Taringo Downs)	Record daily precipitation	32.0 mm (1.3 in)	13.2 mm (0.5 in)	98	48 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-07	Ringarooma (Charles Street)	Record daily precipitation	36.0 mm (1.4 in)	10.6 mm (0.4 in)	88	47 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-07	Selbourne (Kirnbrae)	Record daily precipitation	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	4.1 mm (0.16 in)	90	41 of 100 (Notable)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 136 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 2026-10-12. Events are found by this site from station records and are not official designations. Records are provisional until reprocessed.

Date	Records
2020-12-02	1
2020-12-03	10
2020-12-04	60
2020-12-05	3
2020-12-06	52
2020-12-07	9
2020-12-08	1

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
60	81
24	111
48	42
44	37
77	2
24	58
13	98
75	15
26	55
11	88
7	122
11	88
11	84
23	55
23	52
2	111
1	122
8	84
2	109
4	90
15	72
28	37
11	75
6	85
25	35
20	42
23	37
21	25
3	87
1	94
21	42
12	35
21	38
23	42
26	28
8	62
3	68
8	56
14	30
16	45
16	42
19	32
11	39
14	37
15	37
15	37
9	52
9	38
25	13
5	55
11	38
11	42
5	60
6	56
2	62
0	55
9	35
6	37
12	37
8	40
4	40
2	32
1	52
16	28
4	56
9	25
10	12
5	37
8	38
12	13
8	37
8	37
4	45
10	18
6	33
7	30
5	37
7	30
9	32
2	37
12	12
0	39
8	37
8	14
3	28
5	39
6	37
3	42
4	42
3	37
6	37
4	32
6	35
13	6
4	40
1	37
13	18
12	6
16	7
3	37
3	37
6	30
1	42
2	42
2	37
12	3
1	45
0	45
5	15
0	45
1	28
3	37
1	27
6	23
4	35
4	28
6	25
5	25
2	33
1	10
2	28
2	28
0	23
7	10
2	32
9	8
6	6
2	24
3	6
0	4
2	16
0	7
1	10
2	7
2	5
1	6

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
60	81
24	111
48	42
44	37
77	2
24	58
13	98
75	15
26	55
11	88
7	122
11	88
11	84
23	55
23	52
2	111
1	122
8	84
2	109
4	90
15	72
28	37
11	75
6	85
25	35
20	42
23	37
21	25
3	87
1	94
21	42
12	35
21	38
23	42
26	28
8	62
3	68
8	56
14	30
16	45
16	42
19	32
11	39
14	37
15	37
15	37
9	52
9	38
25	13
5	55
11	38
11	42
5	60
6	56
2	62
0	55
9	35
6	37
12	37
8	40
4	40
2	32
1	52
16	28
4	56
9	25
10	12
5	37
8	38
12	13
8	37
8	37
4	45
10	18
6	33
7	30
5	37
7	30
9	32
2	37
12	12
0	39
8	37
8	14
3	28
5	39
6	37
3	42
4	42
3	37
6	37
4	32
6	35
13	6
4	40
1	37
13	18
12	6
16	7
3	37
3	37
6	30
1	42
2	42
2	37
12	3
1	45
0	45
5	15
0	45
1	28
3	37
1	27
6	23
4	35
4	28
6	25
5	25
2	33
1	10
2	28
2	28
0	23
7	10
2	32
9	8
6	6
2	24
3	6
0	4
2	16
0	7
1	10
2	7
2	5
1	6

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
60	81
24	111
48	42
44	37
77	2
24	58
13	98
75	15
26	55
11	88
7	122
11	88
11	84
23	55
23	52
2	111
1	122
8	84
2	109
4	90
15	72
28	37
11	75
6	85
25	35
20	42
23	37
21	25
3	87
1	94
21	42
12	35
21	38
23	42
26	28
8	62
3	68
8	56
14	30
16	45
16	42
19	32
11	39
14	37
15	37
15	37
9	52
9	38
25	13
5	55
11	38
11	42
5	60
6	56
2	62
0	55
9	35
6	37
12	37
8	40
4	40
2	32
1	52
16	28
4	56
9	25
10	12
5	37
8	38
12	13
8	37
8	37
4	45
10	18
6	33
7	30
5	37
7	30
9	32
2	37
12	12
0	39
8	37
8	14
3	28
5	39
6	37
3	42
4	42
3	37
6	37
4	32
6	35
13	6
4	40
1	37
13	18
12	6
16	7
3	37
3	37
6	30
1	42
2	42
2	37
12	3
1	45
0	45
5	15
0	45
1	28
3	37
1	27
6	23
4	35
4	28
6	25
5	25
2	33
1	10
2	28
2	28
0	23
7	10
2	32
9	8
6	6
2	24
3	6
0	4
2	16
0	7
1	10
2	7
2	5
1	6