Extreme rain in Australia, 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021

Name: Extreme rain in Australia, 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021
Start: 2020-12-19
End: 2021-01-11
Location: Australia

Extreme rain in Australia, 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021: 697 records at 527 stations, peak on 5 January 2021. Closed.

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

Key Facts

Extreme rain in Australia, 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021 set or tied 697 station records at 527 stations.
It ran from 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021 (24 days) and its peak day was 5 January 2021.
Status: closed.
Barkly Downs set a daily record precipitation of 138.0 mm (5.4 in) on 22 December 2020.
The busiest day was 5 January 2021 with 81 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 132 years.

Footprint

19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021

The area covered by Extreme rain in Australia, 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021 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, 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Barkly Downs	Record daily precipitation	138.0 mm (5.4 in)	2020-12-22
Madalya	Record daily precipitation	76.6 mm (3.0 in)	2021-01-05
Quilpie Airport	Record daily precipitation	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	2020-12-30
Warrion	Record daily precipitation	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	2021-01-03
Upper Stone Exelby	Record daily precipitation	207.8 mm (8.2 in)	2021-01-05
Collinsville Post Office	Record daily precipitation	126.1 mm (5.0 in)	2020-12-25
Cape Barren Island (Cape Barre	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	2021-01-04
Willow Tree (Yarrabah)	Record daily precipitation	63.6 mm (2.5 in)	2021-01-05
Oak Park Station	Record daily precipitation	93.0 mm (3.7 in)	2020-12-24
Surbiton Station	Record daily precipitation	110.0 mm (4.3 in)	2020-12-25
Cressy	Record daily precipitation	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	2021-01-02
Woolsthorpe	Record daily precipitation	73.0 mm (2.9 in)	2021-01-03
Undilla Station	Record daily precipitation	140.0 mm (5.5 in)	2020-12-23
Moorland (Denro-An)	Record daily precipitation	88.4 mm (3.5 in)	2021-01-06
Hayman Island Resort	Record daily precipitation	152.0 mm (6.0 in)	2021-01-02
Eveleigh Station	Record daily precipitation	130.0 mm (5.1 in)	2021-01-05
Glen Harding	Record daily precipitation	115.0 mm (4.5 in)	2021-01-05
Gregory Springs Station	Record daily precipitation	130.0 mm (5.1 in)	2020-12-25
Alpha Post Office	Record daily precipitation	103.0 mm (4.1 in)	2020-12-25
Soudan	Record daily precipitation	87.0 mm (3.4 in)	2020-12-22

Records per Day

Peak day 81

Records set or tied each day from 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021. The most in one day was 81 on 5 January 2021.

Records per day during Extreme rain in Australia, 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021
Date	Records
2020-12-19	1
2020-12-20	6
2020-12-21	20
2020-12-22	26
2020-12-23	17
2020-12-24	16
2020-12-25	38
2020-12-26	11
2020-12-27	10
2020-12-28	10
2020-12-29	45
2020-12-30	68
2020-12-31	25
2021-01-01	34
2021-01-02	32
2021-01-03	74
2021-01-04	67
2021-01-05	81
2021-01-06	20
2021-01-07	59
2021-01-08	19
2021-01-09	11
2021-01-10	3
2021-01-11	4

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Extreme rain in Australia, 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021 ranked by margin
Hayman Island Resort, 01-02	138.0 mm (5.4 in)
Upper Stone Exelby, 01-05	133.6 mm (5.3 in)
Eveleigh Station, 01-05	90.4 mm (3.6 in)
Barkly Downs, 12-22	87.2 mm (3.4 in)
Gregory Springs Station, 12-25	81.0 mm (3.2 in)
Collinsville Post Office, 12-25	78.1 mm (3.1 in)
Soudan, 12-22	65.4 mm (2.6 in)
Oak Park Station, 12-24	60.0 mm (2.4 in)
Undilla Station, 12-23	60.0 mm (2.4 in)
Glen Harding, 01-05	56.1 mm (2.2 in)
Quilpie Airport, 12-30	52.4 mm (2.1 in)
Surbiton Station, 12-25	52.3 mm (2.1 in)
Cressy, 01-02	51.2 mm (2.0 in)
Moorland (Denro-An), 01-06	45.2 mm (1.8 in)
Madalya, 01-05	43.6 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, 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021
Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
87	113
44	119
52	73
25	117
134	70
78	64
36	101
30	112
60	78
52	94
51	50
42	51
60	71
45	100
90	57
56	80
138	46
81	39
42	84
65	51
40	59
27	74
44	87
83	59
68	42
93	43
35	97
86	30
25	85
15	100
60	104
67	46
26	95
38	70
38	74
67	91
111	30
53	32
38	91
6	110
86	46
69	58
25	100
79	24
44	61
28	78
27	32
39	34
65	21
45	32
18	97
62	37
36	3
44	25
19	106
269	21
96	26
48	80
52	51
16	66
64	7
42	46
45	10
38	54
14	105
22	80
23	51
16	41
46	87
59	40
33	60
32	46
43	30
58	21
21	99
11	96
11	117
67	47
52	92
160	22
122	40
93	47
43	4
31	62
23	80
11	132
28	73
13	103
31	26
7	112
7	100
20	51
11	112
6	100
28	18
44	51
32	34
19	51
56	25
33	70
25	73
29	53
19	51
14	85
21	48
58	45
46	53
23	51
53	3
8	104
31	60
45	41
55	35
79	30
4	70
5	116
14	68
48	14
39	28
7	85
19	65
3	117
2	114
60	14
62	16
9	87
79	49
5	113
7	97
46	34
38	40
3	101
39	26
26	70
3	104
62	25
2	104
7	93
40	42
2	129
3	108
47	5
12	80
41	43
14	58
1	112
1	117
48	8
1	132
0	113
51	41
37	64
20	78
21	60
1	120
23	33
11	83
22	57
6	85
28	34
19	60
59	5
17	91
51	13
25	49
37	49
20	53
29	43
1	95
0	99
6	83
52	37
15	45
6	80
15	53
42	29
42	21
13	34
17	34
33	28
15	56
3	94
38	59
36	36
25	49
16	61
1	55
63	29
28	51
28	19
43	4
37	17
53	24
25	45
1	91
6	86
18	21
23	32
15	32
10	51

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Extreme rain in Australia, 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021 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, 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021 (this event)	697 records

Every Record Set

20 of 697

Every record set or tied during Extreme rain in Australia, 19 December 2020 to 11 January 2021, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2020-12-22	Barkly Downs	Record daily precipitation	138.0 mm (5.4 in)	87.2 mm (3.4 in)	113	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
2020-12-22	Soudan	Record daily precipitation	87.0 mm (3.4 in)	65.4 mm (2.6 in)	51	59 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-23	Undilla Station	Record daily precipitation	140.0 mm (5.5 in)	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	71	64 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-24	Oak Park Station	Record daily precipitation	93.0 mm (3.7 in)	60.0 mm (2.4 in)	78	66 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-25	Collinsville Post Office	Record daily precipitation	126.1 mm (5.0 in)	78.1 mm (3.1 in)	64	67 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-25	Surbiton Station	Record daily precipitation	110.0 mm (4.3 in)	52.3 mm (2.1 in)	94	66 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-25	Gregory Springs Station	Record daily precipitation	130.0 mm (5.1 in)	81.0 mm (3.2 in)	39	60 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-25	Alpha Post Office	Record daily precipitation	103.0 mm (4.1 in)	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	84	60 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-30	Quilpie Airport	Record daily precipitation	56.0 mm (2.2 in)	52.4 mm (2.1 in)	73	70 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-02	Cressy	Record daily precipitation	68.0 mm (2.7 in)	51.2 mm (2.0 in)	50	65 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-02	Hayman Island Resort	Record daily precipitation	152.0 mm (6.0 in)	138.0 mm (5.4 in)	46	61 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-03	Warrion	Record daily precipitation	42.0 mm (1.7 in)	24.7 mm (1.0 in)	117	70 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-03	Woolsthorpe	Record daily precipitation	73.0 mm (2.9 in)	42.3 mm (1.7 in)	51	65 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-04	Cape Barren Island (Cape Barre	Record daily precipitation	47.0 mm (1.9 in)	30.0 mm (1.2 in)	112	67 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-05	Madalya	Record daily precipitation	76.6 mm (3.0 in)	43.6 mm (1.7 in)	119	73 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-05	Upper Stone Exelby	Record daily precipitation	207.8 mm (8.2 in)	133.6 mm (5.3 in)	70	69 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-05	Willow Tree (Yarrabah)	Record daily precipitation	63.6 mm (2.5 in)	35.7 mm (1.4 in)	101	67 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-05	Eveleigh Station	Record daily precipitation	130.0 mm (5.1 in)	90.4 mm (3.6 in)	57	61 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-05	Glen Harding	Record daily precipitation	115.0 mm (4.5 in)	56.1 mm (2.2 in)	80	61 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-06	Moorland (Denro-An)	Record daily precipitation	88.4 mm (3.5 in)	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	100	62 of 100 (Major)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 697 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
87	113
44	119
52	73
25	117
134	70
78	64
36	101
30	112
60	78
52	94
51	50
42	51
60	71
45	100
90	57
56	80
138	46
81	39
42	84
65	51
40	59
27	74
44	87
83	59
68	42
93	43
35	97
86	30
25	85
15	100
60	104
67	46
26	95
38	70
38	74
67	91
111	30
53	32
38	91
6	110
86	46
69	58
25	100
79	24
44	61
28	78
27	32
39	34
65	21
45	32
18	97
62	37
36	3
44	25
19	106
269	21
96	26
48	80
52	51
16	66
64	7
42	46
45	10
38	54
14	105
22	80
23	51
16	41
46	87
59	40
33	60
32	46
43	30
58	21
21	99
11	96
11	117
67	47
52	92
160	22
122	40
93	47
43	4
31	62
23	80
11	132
28	73
13	103
31	26
7	112
7	100
20	51
11	112
6	100
28	18
44	51
32	34
19	51
56	25
33	70
25	73
29	53
19	51
14	85
21	48
58	45
46	53
23	51
53	3
8	104
31	60
45	41
55	35
79	30
4	70
5	116
14	68
48	14
39	28
7	85
19	65
3	117
2	114
60	14
62	16
9	87
79	49
5	113
7	97
46	34
38	40
3	101
39	26
26	70
3	104
62	25
2	104
7	93
40	42
2	129
3	108
47	5
12	80
41	43
14	58
1	112
1	117
48	8
1	132
0	113
51	41
37	64
20	78
21	60
1	120
23	33
11	83
22	57
6	85
28	34
19	60
59	5
17	91
51	13
25	49
37	49
20	53
29	43
1	95
0	99
6	83
52	37
15	45
6	80
15	53
42	29
42	21
13	34
17	34
33	28
15	56
3	94
38	59
36	36
25	49
16	61
1	55
63	29
28	51
28	19
43	4
37	17
53	24
25	45
1	91
6	86
18	21
23	32
15	32
10	51

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
87	113
44	119
52	73
25	117
134	70
78	64
36	101
30	112
60	78
52	94
51	50
42	51
60	71
45	100
90	57
56	80
138	46
81	39
42	84
65	51
40	59
27	74
44	87
83	59
68	42
93	43
35	97
86	30
25	85
15	100
60	104
67	46
26	95
38	70
38	74
67	91
111	30
53	32
38	91
6	110
86	46
69	58
25	100
79	24
44	61
28	78
27	32
39	34
65	21
45	32
18	97
62	37
36	3
44	25
19	106
269	21
96	26
48	80
52	51
16	66
64	7
42	46
45	10
38	54
14	105
22	80
23	51
16	41
46	87
59	40
33	60
32	46
43	30
58	21
21	99
11	96
11	117
67	47
52	92
160	22
122	40
93	47
43	4
31	62
23	80
11	132
28	73
13	103
31	26
7	112
7	100
20	51
11	112
6	100
28	18
44	51
32	34
19	51
56	25
33	70
25	73
29	53
19	51
14	85
21	48
58	45
46	53
23	51
53	3
8	104
31	60
45	41
55	35
79	30
4	70
5	116
14	68
48	14
39	28
7	85
19	65
3	117
2	114
60	14
62	16
9	87
79	49
5	113
7	97
46	34
38	40
3	101
39	26
26	70
3	104
62	25
2	104
7	93
40	42
2	129
3	108
47	5
12	80
41	43
14	58
1	112
1	117
48	8
1	132
0	113
51	41
37	64
20	78
21	60
1	120
23	33
11	83
22	57
6	85
28	34
19	60
59	5
17	91
51	13
25	49
37	49
20	53
29	43
1	95
0	99
6	83
52	37
15	45
6	80
15	53
42	29
42	21
13	34
17	34
33	28
15	56
3	94
38	59
36	36
25	49
16	61
1	55
63	29
28	51
28	19
43	4
37	17
53	24
25	45
1	91
6	86
18	21
23	32
15	32
10	51

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
87	113
44	119
52	73
25	117
134	70
78	64
36	101
30	112
60	78
52	94
51	50
42	51
60	71
45	100
90	57
56	80
138	46
81	39
42	84
65	51
40	59
27	74
44	87
83	59
68	42
93	43
35	97
86	30
25	85
15	100
60	104
67	46
26	95
38	70
38	74
67	91
111	30
53	32
38	91
6	110
86	46
69	58
25	100
79	24
44	61
28	78
27	32
39	34
65	21
45	32
18	97
62	37
36	3
44	25
19	106
269	21
96	26
48	80
52	51
16	66
64	7
42	46
45	10
38	54
14	105
22	80
23	51
16	41
46	87
59	40
33	60
32	46
43	30
58	21
21	99
11	96
11	117
67	47
52	92
160	22
122	40
93	47
43	4
31	62
23	80
11	132
28	73
13	103
31	26
7	112
7	100
20	51
11	112
6	100
28	18
44	51
32	34
19	51
56	25
33	70
25	73
29	53
19	51
14	85
21	48
58	45
46	53
23	51
53	3
8	104
31	60
45	41
55	35
79	30
4	70
5	116
14	68
48	14
39	28
7	85
19	65
3	117
2	114
60	14
62	16
9	87
79	49
5	113
7	97
46	34
38	40
3	101
39	26
26	70
3	104
62	25
2	104
7	93
40	42
2	129
3	108
47	5
12	80
41	43
14	58
1	112
1	117
48	8
1	132
0	113
51	41
37	64
20	78
21	60
1	120
23	33
11	83
22	57
6	85
28	34
19	60
59	5
17	91
51	13
25	49
37	49
20	53
29	43
1	95
0	99
6	83
52	37
15	45
6	80
15	53
42	29
42	21
13	34
17	34
33	28
15	56
3	94
38	59
36	36
25	49
16	61
1	55
63	29
28	51
28	19
43	4
37	17
53	24
25	45
1	91
6	86
18	21
23	32
15	32
10	51