Extreme rain in Australia, 8 to 19 January 2023

Name: Extreme rain in Australia, 8 to 19 January 2023
Start: 2023-01-08
End: 2023-01-19
Location: Australia

Extreme rain in Australia, 8 to 19 January 2023: 169 records at 111 stations, peak on 12 January 2023. Closed.

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

Key Facts

Extreme rain in Australia, 8 to 19 January 2023 set or tied 169 station records at 111 stations.
It ran from 8 January 2023 to 19 January 2023 (12 days) and its peak day was 12 January 2023.
Status: closed.
Ravenswood Post Office set a daily record precipitation of 126.6 mm (5.0 in) on 17 January 2023.
The busiest day was 12 January 2023 with 32 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 127 years.

Footprint

8 to 19 January 2023

The area covered by Extreme rain in Australia, 8 to 19 January 2023 is outlined, with 18 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.

Footprint of Extreme rain in Australia, 8 to 19 January 2023: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Ravenswood Post Office	Record daily precipitation	126.6 mm (5.0 in)	2023-01-17
Maylands	Record daily precipitation	110.0 mm (4.3 in)	2023-01-12
Tambo Post Office	Record daily precipitation	73.2 mm (2.9 in)	2023-01-13
South Galway	Record daily precipitation	71.0 mm (2.8 in)	2023-01-11
Sapphire Post Office	Record daily precipitation	93.4 mm (3.7 in)	2023-01-14
Burdekin Shire Council	Record daily precipitation	246.0 mm (9.7 in)	2023-01-16
Karmoo	Record daily precipitation	141.8 mm (5.6 in)	2023-01-14
Surbiton Station	Record daily precipitation	134.0 mm (5.3 in)	2023-01-13
Hayman Island Resort	Record daily precipitation	242.3 mm (9.5 in)	2023-01-15
Mount Jukes	Record daily precipitation	221.0 mm (8.7 in)	2023-01-17
Proserpine Airport	Record daily precipitation	316.6 mm (12.5 in)	2023-01-16
Palmerville	Record daily precipitation	144.2 mm (5.7 in)	2023-01-19
Hamilton Island Airport	Record daily precipitation	235.0 mm (9.3 in)	2023-01-16
Charters Towers Airport	Record daily precipitation	167.2 mm (6.6 in)	2023-01-17
Kelsey Creek Dittmer Rd	Record daily precipitation	314.5 mm (12.4 in)	2023-01-16
Monklands	Record daily precipitation	115.0 mm (4.5 in)	2023-01-11
Carella Station	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	2023-01-11
Laura Post Office	Record daily precipitation	108.8 mm (4.3 in)	2023-01-19

Records per Day

Peak day 32

Records set or tied each day from 8 January 2023 to 19 January 2023. The most in one day was 32 on 12 January 2023.

Records per day during Extreme rain in Australia, 8 to 19 January 2023
Date	Records
2023-01-08	1
2023-01-09	3
2023-01-10	6
2023-01-11	19
2023-01-12	32
2023-01-13	23
2023-01-14	22
2023-01-15	17
2023-01-16	19
2023-01-17	16
2023-01-18	7
2023-01-19	4

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Extreme rain in Australia, 8 to 19 January 2023 ranked by margin
Proserpine Airport, 01-16	207.8 mm (8.2 in)
Hamilton Island Airport, 01-16	183.0 mm (7.2 in)
Mount Jukes, 01-17	146.0 mm (5.7 in)
Charters Towers Airport, 01-17	145.8 mm (5.7 in)
Hamilton Island Airport, 01-15	136.6 mm (5.4 in)
Hayman Island Resort, 01-15	133.1 mm (5.2 in)
Kelsey Creek Dittmer Rd, 01-16	126.9 mm (5.0 in)
Burdekin Shire Council, 01-16	113.2 mm (4.5 in)
Karmoo, 01-14	81.0 mm (3.2 in)
South Galway, 01-11	62.0 mm (2.4 in)
Maylands, 01-12	61.5 mm (2.4 in)
Monklands, 01-11	61.2 mm (2.4 in)
Ravenswood Post Office, 01-17	55.5 mm (2.2 in)
Sapphire Post Office, 01-14	47.7 mm (1.9 in)
Carella Station, 01-11	41.6 mm (1.6 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

169 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, 8 to 19 January 2023
Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
56	101
62	67
32	112
113	55
48	60
62	40
81	48
133	15
7	101
146	48
41	72
3	127
208	24
183	24
146	24
127	24
15	124
137	15
61	49
42	47
59	15
12	101
10	100
57	32
13	122
14	101
9	104
56	48
67	68
10	104
56	63
8	104
65	55
7	108
26	63
10	87
72	63
3	100
17	72
43	63
68	49
35	49
113	24
34	40
9	48
37	68
45	55
50	48
42	16
27	48
27	48
31	68
3	80
85	24
3	81
27	39
21	69
24	69
14	72
65	24
31	68
6	39
33	44
22	40
14	67
21	48
45	29
29	20
21	48
59	13
19	48
20	47
30	40
12	51
37	47
28	40
12	47
52	20
21	36
26	41
16	47
32	29
26	20
40	48
59	24
40	24
20	33
35	13
35	23
15	60
73	15
34	5
29	29
14	47
26	48
10	47
24	15
24	48
21	24
6	48
44	24
13	48
53	15
5	48
34	19
6	40
10	47
18	21
30	15
56	11
29	32
11	28
26	5
7	48
18	32
25	39
4	51
32	5
7	32
6	47
20	15
2	39
19	13
32	5
8	29
4	48
15	32
20	16
11	36
5	24
21	12
7	36
20	19
17	29
19	15
4	24
2	24
19	29
15	32
3	33
12	29
16	23
16	8
10	29
8	29
15	19
19	8
13	24
2	35
20	20
8	29
1	19
12	12
3	15
3	24
14	16
2	19
11	13
7	24
3	19
2	20
2	29
6	16
2	1
2	25
7	15
2	16
4	9
5	0

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Extreme rain in Australia, 8 to 19 January 2023 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, 8 to 19 January 2023 (this event)	169 records

Every Record Set

20 of 169

Every record set or tied during Extreme rain in Australia, 8 to 19 January 2023, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2023-01-11	South Galway	Record daily precipitation	71.0 mm (2.8 in)	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	40	57 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-11	Monklands	Record daily precipitation	115.0 mm (4.5 in)	61.2 mm (2.4 in)	49	47 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-11	Carella Station	Record daily precipitation	45.0 mm (1.8 in)	41.6 mm (1.6 in)	47	47 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-12	Maylands	Record daily precipitation	110.0 mm (4.3 in)	61.5 mm (2.4 in)	67	62 of 100 (Major)
2023-01-12	Surbiton Station	Record daily precipitation	92.0 mm (3.6 in)	40.7 mm (1.6 in)	72	52 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-13	Tambo Post Office	Record daily precipitation	73.2 mm (2.9 in)	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	112	61 of 100 (Major)
2023-01-13	Surbiton Station	Record daily precipitation	134.0 mm (5.3 in)	7.0 mm (0.28 in)	101	53 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-14	Sapphire Post Office	Record daily precipitation	93.4 mm (3.7 in)	47.7 mm (1.9 in)	60	57 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-14	Karmoo	Record daily precipitation	141.8 mm (5.6 in)	81.0 mm (3.2 in)	48	54 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-15	Hayman Island Resort	Record daily precipitation	242.3 mm (9.5 in)	133.1 mm (5.2 in)	15	53 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-15	Hamilton Island Airport	Record daily precipitation	185.0 mm (7.3 in)	136.6 mm (5.4 in)	15	47 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-16	Burdekin Shire Council	Record daily precipitation	246.0 mm (9.7 in)	113.2 mm (4.5 in)	55	57 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-16	Proserpine Airport	Record daily precipitation	316.6 mm (12.5 in)	207.8 mm (8.2 in)	24	51 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-16	Hamilton Island Airport	Record daily precipitation	235.0 mm (9.3 in)	183.0 mm (7.2 in)	24	50 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-16	Kelsey Creek Dittmer Rd	Record daily precipitation	314.5 mm (12.4 in)	126.9 mm (5.0 in)	24	48 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-17	Ravenswood Post Office	Record daily precipitation	126.6 mm (5.0 in)	55.5 mm (2.2 in)	101	64 of 100 (Major)
2023-01-17	Mount Jukes	Record daily precipitation	221.0 mm (8.7 in)	146.0 mm (5.7 in)	48	52 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-17	Charters Towers Airport	Record daily precipitation	167.2 mm (6.6 in)	145.8 mm (5.7 in)	24	50 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-19	Palmerville	Record daily precipitation	144.2 mm (5.7 in)	3.2 mm (0.13 in)	127	51 of 100 (Notable)
2023-01-19	Laura Post Office	Record daily precipitation	108.8 mm (4.3 in)	14.8 mm (0.6 in)	124	47 of 100 (Notable)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 169 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
56	101
62	67
32	112
113	55
48	60
62	40
81	48
133	15
7	101
146	48
41	72
3	127
208	24
183	24
146	24
127	24
15	124
137	15
61	49
42	47
59	15
12	101
10	100
57	32
13	122
14	101
9	104
56	48
67	68
10	104
56	63
8	104
65	55
7	108
26	63
10	87
72	63
3	100
17	72
43	63
68	49
35	49
113	24
34	40
9	48
37	68
45	55
50	48
42	16
27	48
27	48
31	68
3	80
85	24
3	81
27	39
21	69
24	69
14	72
65	24
31	68
6	39
33	44
22	40
14	67
21	48
45	29
29	20
21	48
59	13
19	48
20	47
30	40
12	51
37	47
28	40
12	47
52	20
21	36
26	41
16	47
32	29
26	20
40	48
59	24
40	24
20	33
35	13
35	23
15	60
73	15
34	5
29	29
14	47
26	48
10	47
24	15
24	48
21	24
6	48
44	24
13	48
53	15
5	48
34	19
6	40
10	47
18	21
30	15
56	11
29	32
11	28
26	5
7	48
18	32
25	39
4	51
32	5
7	32
6	47
20	15
2	39
19	13
32	5
8	29
4	48
15	32
20	16
11	36
5	24
21	12
7	36
20	19
17	29
19	15
4	24
2	24
19	29
15	32
3	33
12	29
16	23
16	8
10	29
8	29
15	19
19	8
13	24
2	35
20	20
8	29
1	19
12	12
3	15
3	24
14	16
2	19
11	13
7	24
3	19
2	20
2	29
6	16
2	1
2	25
7	15
2	16
4	9
5	0

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
56	101
62	67
32	112
113	55
48	60
62	40
81	48
133	15
7	101
146	48
41	72
3	127
208	24
183	24
146	24
127	24
15	124
137	15
61	49
42	47
59	15
12	101
10	100
57	32
13	122
14	101
9	104
56	48
67	68
10	104
56	63
8	104
65	55
7	108
26	63
10	87
72	63
3	100
17	72
43	63
68	49
35	49
113	24
34	40
9	48
37	68
45	55
50	48
42	16
27	48
27	48
31	68
3	80
85	24
3	81
27	39
21	69
24	69
14	72
65	24
31	68
6	39
33	44
22	40
14	67
21	48
45	29
29	20
21	48
59	13
19	48
20	47
30	40
12	51
37	47
28	40
12	47
52	20
21	36
26	41
16	47
32	29
26	20
40	48
59	24
40	24
20	33
35	13
35	23
15	60
73	15
34	5
29	29
14	47
26	48
10	47
24	15
24	48
21	24
6	48
44	24
13	48
53	15
5	48
34	19
6	40
10	47
18	21
30	15
56	11
29	32
11	28
26	5
7	48
18	32
25	39
4	51
32	5
7	32
6	47
20	15
2	39
19	13
32	5
8	29
4	48
15	32
20	16
11	36
5	24
21	12
7	36
20	19
17	29
19	15
4	24
2	24
19	29
15	32
3	33
12	29
16	23
16	8
10	29
8	29
15	19
19	8
13	24
2	35
20	20
8	29
1	19
12	12
3	15
3	24
14	16
2	19
11	13
7	24
3	19
2	20
2	29
6	16
2	1
2	25
7	15
2	16
4	9
5	0

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
56	101
62	67
32	112
113	55
48	60
62	40
81	48
133	15
7	101
146	48
41	72
3	127
208	24
183	24
146	24
127	24
15	124
137	15
61	49
42	47
59	15
12	101
10	100
57	32
13	122
14	101
9	104
56	48
67	68
10	104
56	63
8	104
65	55
7	108
26	63
10	87
72	63
3	100
17	72
43	63
68	49
35	49
113	24
34	40
9	48
37	68
45	55
50	48
42	16
27	48
27	48
31	68
3	80
85	24
3	81
27	39
21	69
24	69
14	72
65	24
31	68
6	39
33	44
22	40
14	67
21	48
45	29
29	20
21	48
59	13
19	48
20	47
30	40
12	51
37	47
28	40
12	47
52	20
21	36
26	41
16	47
32	29
26	20
40	48
59	24
40	24
20	33
35	13
35	23
15	60
73	15
34	5
29	29
14	47
26	48
10	47
24	15
24	48
21	24
6	48
44	24
13	48
53	15
5	48
34	19
6	40
10	47
18	21
30	15
56	11
29	32
11	28
26	5
7	48
18	32
25	39
4	51
32	5
7	32
6	47
20	15
2	39
19	13
32	5
8	29
4	48
15	32
20	16
11	36
5	24
21	12
7	36
20	19
17	29
19	15
4	24
2	24
19	29
15	32
3	33
12	29
16	23
16	8
10	29
8	29
15	19
19	8
13	24
2	35
20	20
8	29
1	19
12	12
3	15
3	24
14	16
2	19
11	13
7	24
3	19
2	20
2	29
6	16
2	1
2	25
7	15
2	16
4	9
5	0