Extreme rain in Australia, 11 to 24 December 2020

Name: Extreme rain in Australia, 11 to 24 December 2020
Start: 2020-12-11
End: 2020-12-24
Location: Australia

Extreme rain in Australia, 11 to 24 December 2020: 780 records at 552 stations, peak on 22 December 2020. Closed.

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

Key Facts

Extreme rain in Australia, 11 to 24 December 2020 set or tied 780 station records at 552 stations.
It ran from 11 December 2020 to 24 December 2020 (14 days) and its peak day was 22 December 2020.
Status: closed.
Mapleton Post Office set a daily record precipitation of 178.8 mm (7.0 in) on 14 December 2020.
The busiest day was 22 December 2020 with 211 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 143 years.

Footprint

11 to 24 December 2020

The area covered by Extreme rain in Australia, 11 to 24 December 2020 is outlined, with 19 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.

Footprint of Extreme rain in Australia, 11 to 24 December 2020: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Mapleton Post Office	Record daily precipitation	178.8 mm (7.0 in)	2020-12-14
Wingham (Lanark Close)	Record daily precipitation	114.6 mm (4.5 in)	2020-12-16
Mittagong (Beatrice Street)	Record daily precipitation	109.6 mm (4.3 in)	2020-12-17
Somerton (Bective Estate)	Record daily precipitation	91.0 mm (3.6 in)	2020-12-22
Cape Barren Island (Cape Barre	Record daily precipitation	72.0 mm (2.8 in)	2020-12-22
Coraki Post Office	Record daily precipitation	270.0 mm (10.6 in)	2020-12-16
Tallebudgera Guineas Creek Roa	Record daily precipitation	314.0 mm (12.4 in)	2020-12-17
Barraba (Neranghi)	Record daily precipitation	67.0 mm (2.6 in)	2020-12-22
New Italy (Vineyard Haven)	Record daily precipitation	60.2 mm (2.4 in)	2020-12-13
Lower Bucca	Record daily precipitation	170.2 mm (6.7 in)	2020-12-15
Mathinna (Fingal Road)	Record daily precipitation	125.0 mm (4.9 in)	2020-12-21
Nimbin Post Office	Record daily precipitation	138.0 mm (5.4 in)	2020-12-15
Kelvin (Kahana)	Record daily precipitation	67.0 mm (2.6 in)	2020-12-22
Lindfield	Record daily precipitation	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	2020-12-14
Moruya Heads Pilot Station	Record daily precipitation	82.8 mm (3.3 in)	2020-12-16
Wee Waa (George St)	Record daily precipitation	76.4 mm (3.0 in)	2020-12-22
Bowraville Recreation Club	Record daily precipitation	201.0 mm (7.9 in)	2020-12-12
Beerburrum Forest Station	Record daily precipitation	116.8 mm (4.6 in)	2020-12-14
Glen Morrison (Millbank)	Record daily precipitation	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	2020-12-22

Records per Day

Peak day 211

Records set or tied each day from 11 December 2020 to 24 December 2020. The most in one day was 211 on 22 December 2020.

Records per day during Extreme rain in Australia, 11 to 24 December 2020
Date	Records
2020-12-11	4
2020-12-12	22
2020-12-13	28
2020-12-14	81
2020-12-15	88
2020-12-16	66
2020-12-17	110
2020-12-18	36
2020-12-19	54
2020-12-20	6
2020-12-21	43
2020-12-22	211
2020-12-23	30
2020-12-24	1

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Extreme rain in Australia, 11 to 24 December 2020 ranked by margin
Tallebudgera Guineas Creek Roa, 12-17	227.6 mm (9.0 in)
Mapleton Post Office, 12-14	116.1 mm (4.6 in)
Nimbin Post Office, 12-15	105.5 mm (4.2 in)
Lower Bucca, 12-15	103.9 mm (4.1 in)
Beerburrum Forest Station, 12-14	102.6 mm (4.0 in)
Wingham (Lanark Close), 12-16	77.8 mm (3.1 in)
Mittagong (Beatrice Street), 12-17	77.6 mm (3.1 in)
Coraki Post Office, 12-16	75.4 mm (3.0 in)
Bowraville Recreation Club, 12-12	69.0 mm (2.7 in)
Nimbin Post Office, 12-17	64.8 mm (2.6 in)
Lindfield, 12-14	63.1 mm (2.5 in)
Mathinna (Fingal Road), 12-21	49.6 mm (2.0 in)
Somerton (Bective Estate), 12-22	49.1 mm (1.9 in)
Kelvin (Kahana), 12-22	44.4 mm (1.7 in)
New Italy (Vineyard Haven), 12-13	43.9 mm (1.7 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, 11 to 24 December 2020
Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
116	104
49	106
78	102
78	118
40	104
75	65
228	94
42	106
44	107
104	89
50	50
106	83
44	106
63	77
34	131
38	106
65	94
69	28
103	57
33	106
120	59
40	104
79	57
135	57
110	59
69	58
132	59
64	65
148	21
122	55
29	99
23	97
98	49
89	58
33	87
33	118
47	51
121	59
105	55
67	65
73	57
26	106
41	60
27	102
126	49
48	83
83	29
52	95
73	16
23	116
57	51
125	49
60	49
48	65
87	49
17	118
32	124
34	78
24	120
166	29
70	57
87	29
42	51
26	50
94	29
39	35
24	88
47	74
73	23
21	120
70	28
92	37
59	31
147	39
35	110
32	110
63	17
53	49
45	45
75	39
62	39
22	99
17	112
44	51
22	50
36	50
15	106
34	57
46	49
59	32
49	32
42	48
106	32
69	11
15	106
63	11
130	23
63	32
56	58
66	39
78	31
11	118
15	118
73	32
14	132
32	24
13	106
40	32
39	32
31	94
30	83
60	29
29	60
25	85
50	11
34	31
29	94
24	133
56	6
40	58
12	109
39	17
43	76
93	21
24	64
20	106
61	14
37	50
48	33
145	17
75	32
56	55
15	106
15	95
17	131
34	21
15	90
30	74
14	112
31	64
37	51
45	11
57	11
47	11
22	96
71	29
170	15
30	62
52	10
10	106
55	58
47	49
61	9
29	77
110	2
22	61
76	9
39	65
50	19
42	33
25	40
10	99
32	63
52	11
8	71
6	80
40	55
53	41
157	5
54	41
10	143
13	84
5	134
7	116
39	11
26	48
18	74
26	59
17	95
16	95
78	6
104	6
66	9
38	33
29	48
7	94
13	69
34	66
13	80
7	99
20	61
40	31
15	83
55	32
1	83
7	73
64	2
18	59
10	85
58	16

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Extreme rain in Australia, 11 to 24 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, 11 to 24 December 2020 (this event)	780 records

Every Record Set

20 of 780

Every record set or tied during Extreme rain in Australia, 11 to 24 December 2020, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2020-12-12	Bowraville Recreation Club	Record daily precipitation	201.0 mm (7.9 in)	69.0 mm (2.7 in)	28	68 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-13	New Italy (Vineyard Haven)	Record daily precipitation	60.2 mm (2.4 in)	43.9 mm (1.7 in)	107	76 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-14	Mapleton Post Office	Record daily precipitation	178.8 mm (7.0 in)	116.1 mm (4.6 in)	104	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
2020-12-14	Lindfield	Record daily precipitation	88.0 mm (3.5 in)	63.1 mm (2.5 in)	77	70 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-14	Beerburrum Forest Station	Record daily precipitation	116.8 mm (4.6 in)	102.6 mm (4.0 in)	57	67 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-15	Lower Bucca	Record daily precipitation	170.2 mm (6.7 in)	103.9 mm (4.1 in)	89	76 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-15	Nimbin Post Office	Record daily precipitation	138.0 mm (5.4 in)	105.5 mm (4.2 in)	83	74 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-16	Wingham (Lanark Close)	Record daily precipitation	114.6 mm (4.5 in)	77.8 mm (3.1 in)	102	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
2020-12-16	Coraki Post Office	Record daily precipitation	270.0 mm (10.6 in)	75.4 mm (3.0 in)	65	79 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-16	Moruya Heads Pilot Station	Record daily precipitation	82.8 mm (3.3 in)	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	131	70 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-17	Mittagong (Beatrice Street)	Record daily precipitation	109.6 mm (4.3 in)	77.6 mm (3.1 in)	118	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
2020-12-17	Tallebudgera Guineas Creek Roa	Record daily precipitation	314.0 mm (12.4 in)	227.6 mm (9.0 in)	94	78 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-17	Nimbin Post Office	Record daily precipitation	138.0 mm (5.4 in)	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	94	69 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-21	Mathinna (Fingal Road)	Record daily precipitation	125.0 mm (4.9 in)	49.6 mm (2.0 in)	50	75 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-22	Somerton (Bective Estate)	Record daily precipitation	91.0 mm (3.6 in)	49.1 mm (1.9 in)	106	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
2020-12-22	Cape Barren Island (Cape Barre	Record daily precipitation	72.0 mm (2.8 in)	40.0 mm (1.6 in)	104	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
2020-12-22	Barraba (Neranghi)	Record daily precipitation	67.0 mm (2.6 in)	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	106	77 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-22	Kelvin (Kahana)	Record daily precipitation	67.0 mm (2.6 in)	44.4 mm (1.7 in)	106	73 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-22	Wee Waa (George St)	Record daily precipitation	76.4 mm (3.0 in)	38.0 mm (1.5 in)	106	69 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-22	Glen Morrison (Millbank)	Record daily precipitation	79.0 mm (3.1 in)	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	106	67 of 100 (Major)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 780 records the event counts. The counts above use the full total.

Related Headlines

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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
116	104
49	106
78	102
78	118
40	104
75	65
228	94
42	106
44	107
104	89
50	50
106	83
44	106
63	77
34	131
38	106
65	94
69	28
103	57
33	106
120	59
40	104
79	57
135	57
110	59
69	58
132	59
64	65
148	21
122	55
29	99
23	97
98	49
89	58
33	87
33	118
47	51
121	59
105	55
67	65
73	57
26	106
41	60
27	102
126	49
48	83
83	29
52	95
73	16
23	116
57	51
125	49
60	49
48	65
87	49
17	118
32	124
34	78
24	120
166	29
70	57
87	29
42	51
26	50
94	29
39	35
24	88
47	74
73	23
21	120
70	28
92	37
59	31
147	39
35	110
32	110
63	17
53	49
45	45
75	39
62	39
22	99
17	112
44	51
22	50
36	50
15	106
34	57
46	49
59	32
49	32
42	48
106	32
69	11
15	106
63	11
130	23
63	32
56	58
66	39
78	31
11	118
15	118
73	32
14	132
32	24
13	106
40	32
39	32
31	94
30	83
60	29
29	60
25	85
50	11
34	31
29	94
24	133
56	6
40	58
12	109
39	17
43	76
93	21
24	64
20	106
61	14
37	50
48	33
145	17
75	32
56	55
15	106
15	95
17	131
34	21
15	90
30	74
14	112
31	64
37	51
45	11
57	11
47	11
22	96
71	29
170	15
30	62
52	10
10	106
55	58
47	49
61	9
29	77
110	2
22	61
76	9
39	65
50	19
42	33
25	40
10	99
32	63
52	11
8	71
6	80
40	55
53	41
157	5
54	41
10	143
13	84
5	134
7	116
39	11
26	48
18	74
26	59
17	95
16	95
78	6
104	6
66	9
38	33
29	48
7	94
13	69
34	66
13	80
7	99
20	61
40	31
15	83
55	32
1	83
7	73
64	2
18	59
10	85
58	16

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
116	104
49	106
78	102
78	118
40	104
75	65
228	94
42	106
44	107
104	89
50	50
106	83
44	106
63	77
34	131
38	106
65	94
69	28
103	57
33	106
120	59
40	104
79	57
135	57
110	59
69	58
132	59
64	65
148	21
122	55
29	99
23	97
98	49
89	58
33	87
33	118
47	51
121	59
105	55
67	65
73	57
26	106
41	60
27	102
126	49
48	83
83	29
52	95
73	16
23	116
57	51
125	49
60	49
48	65
87	49
17	118
32	124
34	78
24	120
166	29
70	57
87	29
42	51
26	50
94	29
39	35
24	88
47	74
73	23
21	120
70	28
92	37
59	31
147	39
35	110
32	110
63	17
53	49
45	45
75	39
62	39
22	99
17	112
44	51
22	50
36	50
15	106
34	57
46	49
59	32
49	32
42	48
106	32
69	11
15	106
63	11
130	23
63	32
56	58
66	39
78	31
11	118
15	118
73	32
14	132
32	24
13	106
40	32
39	32
31	94
30	83
60	29
29	60
25	85
50	11
34	31
29	94
24	133
56	6
40	58
12	109
39	17
43	76
93	21
24	64
20	106
61	14
37	50
48	33
145	17
75	32
56	55
15	106
15	95
17	131
34	21
15	90
30	74
14	112
31	64
37	51
45	11
57	11
47	11
22	96
71	29
170	15
30	62
52	10
10	106
55	58
47	49
61	9
29	77
110	2
22	61
76	9
39	65
50	19
42	33
25	40
10	99
32	63
52	11
8	71
6	80
40	55
53	41
157	5
54	41
10	143
13	84
5	134
7	116
39	11
26	48
18	74
26	59
17	95
16	95
78	6
104	6
66	9
38	33
29	48
7	94
13	69
34	66
13	80
7	99
20	61
40	31
15	83
55	32
1	83
7	73
64	2
18	59
10	85
58	16

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
116	104
49	106
78	102
78	118
40	104
75	65
228	94
42	106
44	107
104	89
50	50
106	83
44	106
63	77
34	131
38	106
65	94
69	28
103	57
33	106
120	59
40	104
79	57
135	57
110	59
69	58
132	59
64	65
148	21
122	55
29	99
23	97
98	49
89	58
33	87
33	118
47	51
121	59
105	55
67	65
73	57
26	106
41	60
27	102
126	49
48	83
83	29
52	95
73	16
23	116
57	51
125	49
60	49
48	65
87	49
17	118
32	124
34	78
24	120
166	29
70	57
87	29
42	51
26	50
94	29
39	35
24	88
47	74
73	23
21	120
70	28
92	37
59	31
147	39
35	110
32	110
63	17
53	49
45	45
75	39
62	39
22	99
17	112
44	51
22	50
36	50
15	106
34	57
46	49
59	32
49	32
42	48
106	32
69	11
15	106
63	11
130	23
63	32
56	58
66	39
78	31
11	118
15	118
73	32
14	132
32	24
13	106
40	32
39	32
31	94
30	83
60	29
29	60
25	85
50	11
34	31
29	94
24	133
56	6
40	58
12	109
39	17
43	76
93	21
24	64
20	106
61	14
37	50
48	33
145	17
75	32
56	55
15	106
15	95
17	131
34	21
15	90
30	74
14	112
31	64
37	51
45	11
57	11
47	11
22	96
71	29
170	15
30	62
52	10
10	106
55	58
47	49
61	9
29	77
110	2
22	61
76	9
39	65
50	19
42	33
25	40
10	99
32	63
52	11
8	71
6	80
40	55
53	41
157	5
54	41
10	143
13	84
5	134
7	116
39	11
26	48
18	74
26	59
17	95
16	95
78	6
104	6
66	9
38	33
29	48
7	94
13	69
34	66
13	80
7	99
20	61
40	31
15	83
55	32
1	83
7	73
64	2
18	59
10	85
58	16