Extreme rain in Netherlands and 5 other countries, 20 to 24 December 2020

Name: Extreme rain in Netherlands and 5 other countries, 20 to 24 December 2020
Start: 2020-12-20
End: 2020-12-24
Location: Netherlands, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Poland

Extreme rain in Netherlands and 5 other countries, 20 to 24 December 2020: 446 records at 308 stations, peak on 23 December 2020. Closed.

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

Key Facts

Extreme rain in Netherlands and 5 other countries, 20 to 24 December 2020 set or tied 446 station records at 308 stations.
It ran from 20 December 2020 to 24 December 2020 (5 days) and its peak day was 23 December 2020.
Status: closed.
Den Helder-1 set a daily record precipitation of 36.7 mm (1.4 in) on 23 December 2020.
The busiest day was 23 December 2020 with 248 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 163 years.

Footprint

20 to 24 December 2020

The area covered by Extreme rain in Netherlands and 5 other countries, 20 to 24 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 Netherlands and 5 other countries, 20 to 24 December 2020: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Den Helder-1	Record daily precipitation	36.7 mm (1.4 in)	2020-12-23
Ter Apel	Record daily precipitation	36.7 mm (1.4 in)	2020-12-23
Dwingelo	Record daily precipitation	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	2020-12-23
Papenburg	Record daily precipitation	29.3 mm (1.2 in)	2020-12-23
Heerde	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	2020-12-23
Frederiksoord	Record daily precipitation	47.1 mm (1.9 in)	2020-12-23
Oldeholtpade	Record daily precipitation	42.3 mm (1.7 in)	2020-12-23
Oldebroek	Record daily precipitation	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	2020-12-23
Heino_1	Record daily precipitation	38.7 mm (1.5 in)	2020-12-23
Konigsmoor	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	2020-12-23
Dorpen	Record daily precipitation	28.8 mm (1.1 in)	2020-12-23
Zeerijp	Record daily precipitation	26.3 mm (1.0 in)	2020-12-23
West Terschelling	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	2020-12-23
Rouveen	Record daily precipitation	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	2020-12-23
Schotten	Record daily precipitation	45.3 mm (1.8 in)	2020-12-22
Petten	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	2020-12-23
Bremen-Seefahrtschule	Record daily precipitation	21.7 mm (0.9 in)	2020-12-23
Grunow	Record daily precipitation	16.6 mm (0.7 in)	2020-12-23
Hoofddorp	Record daily precipitation	24.7 mm (1.0 in)	2020-12-23
Denekamp	Record daily precipitation	24.8 mm (1.0 in)	2020-12-23

Records per Day

Peak day 248

Records set or tied each day from 20 December 2020 to 24 December 2020. The most in one day was 248 on 23 December 2020.

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Extreme rain in Netherlands and 5 other countries, 20 to 24 December 2020 ranked by margin
Frederiksoord, 12-23	32.5 mm (1.3 in)
Heino_1, 12-23	27.7 mm (1.1 in)
Oldebroek, 12-23	26.5 mm (1.0 in)
Rouveen, 12-23	25.7 mm (1.0 in)
Oldeholtpade, 12-23	25.6 mm (1.0 in)
Ter Apel, 12-23	23.5 mm (0.9 in)
Schotten, 12-22	22.5 mm (0.9 in)
Dwingelo, 12-23	22.0 mm (0.9 in)
Heerde, 12-23	20.7 mm (0.8 in)
Dorpen, 12-23	19.5 mm (0.8 in)
Petten, 12-23	18.7 mm (0.7 in)
Den Helder-1, 12-23	18.4 mm (0.7 in)
Papenburg, 12-23	17.6 mm (0.7 in)
Zeerijp, 12-23	16.9 mm (0.7 in)
Konigsmoor, 12-23	13.0 mm (0.5 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

446 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 Netherlands and 5 other countries, 20 to 24 December 2020
Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
18	163
24	93
22	66
18	66
21	55
33	66
26	66
12	113
27	55
28	55
13	79
20	53
17	54
10	49
9	104
9	104
6	105
26	27
23	31
19	22
12	66
22	22
19	22
24	22
47	22
21	22
6	105
21	29
5	104
23	17
22	17
16	37
13	66
30	2
12	32
4	104
10	54
9	66
32	9
22	9
24	9
31	7
24	7
31	9
20	9
27	9
22	9
6	60
25	7
21	9
21	9
26	9
29	7
20	9
32	9
20	7
21	2
31	9
12	8
11	53
19	8
23	6
23	6
12	55
13	55
19	7
27	6
10	35
9	53
28	2
28	2
30	2
23	2
30	2
28	2
24	2
32	2
12	55
18	9
20	2
23	2
39	2
21	2
21	2
29	2
25	2
12	55
19	2
27	2
27	2
29	2
10	65
10	53
17	2
17	7
21	2
17	6
29	2
11	55
16	19
17	9
10	55
19	6
4	83
16	8
4	93
10	53
11	55
19	2
11	53
22	2
1	104
18	2
10	55
17	2
16	7
4	60
16	6
10	53
7	66
2	147
10	55
15	9
8	53
16	2
15	6
4	55
15	9
16	2
6	53
14	6
11	29
6	73
13	8
14	2
8	55
8	55
13	19
15	7
7	66
9	29
14	6
13	6
10	2
13	9
13	18
10	65
4	73
14	9
10	38
7	55
7	55
8	55
14	2
12	40
11	18
9	29
4	68
14	2
7	55
14	9
6	25
6	53
10	54
4	73
6	55
15	2
9	29
13	9
11	29
0	60
8	29
12	7
5	55
11	19
4	66
12	8
2	73
4	66
12	8
13	6
8	29
5	55
14	2
9	29
9	25
7	10
2	66
5	55
9	29
4	55
3	32
9	19
15	2
5	55
5	55
4	55
5	53
6	53
7	29

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Extreme rain in Netherlands and 5 other countries, 20 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 Netherlands and 5 other countries, 20 to 24 December 2020 (this event)	446 records

Every Record Set

20 of 446

Every record set or tied during Extreme rain in Netherlands and 5 other countries, 20 to 24 December 2020, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2020-12-22	Schotten	Record daily precipitation	45.3 mm (1.8 in)	22.5 mm (0.9 in)	31	54 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-23	Den Helder-1	Record daily precipitation	36.7 mm (1.4 in)	18.4 mm (0.7 in)	163	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
2020-12-23	Ter Apel	Record daily precipitation	36.7 mm (1.4 in)	23.5 mm (0.9 in)	93	77 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-23	Dwingelo	Record daily precipitation	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	22.0 mm (0.9 in)	66	69 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-23	Papenburg	Record daily precipitation	29.3 mm (1.2 in)	17.6 mm (0.7 in)	66	66 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-23	Heerde	Record daily precipitation	32.8 mm (1.3 in)	20.7 mm (0.8 in)	55	66 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-23	Frederiksoord	Record daily precipitation	47.1 mm (1.9 in)	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	66	66 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-23	Oldeholtpade	Record daily precipitation	42.3 mm (1.7 in)	25.6 mm (1.0 in)	66	66 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-23	Oldebroek	Record daily precipitation	37.5 mm (1.5 in)	26.5 mm (1.0 in)	55	63 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-23	Heino_1	Record daily precipitation	38.7 mm (1.5 in)	27.7 mm (1.1 in)	55	63 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-23	Konigsmoor	Record daily precipitation	25.1 mm (1.0 in)	13.0 mm (0.5 in)	79	61 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-23	Dorpen	Record daily precipitation	28.8 mm (1.1 in)	19.5 mm (0.8 in)	53	61 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-23	Zeerijp	Record daily precipitation	26.3 mm (1.0 in)	16.9 mm (0.7 in)	54	61 of 100 (Major)
2020-12-23	West Terschelling	Record daily precipitation	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	8.6 mm (0.34 in)	104	59 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-23	Rouveen	Record daily precipitation	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	25.7 mm (1.0 in)	27	55 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-23	Petten	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	18.7 mm (0.7 in)	22	53 of 100 (Notable)
2020-12-23	Bremen-Seefahrtschule	Record daily precipitation	21.7 mm (0.9 in)	6.0 mm (0.24 in)	105	20 of 100 (Routine)
2020-12-23	Grunow	Record daily precipitation	16.6 mm (0.7 in)	10.4 mm (0.4 in)	49	20 of 100 (Routine)
2020-12-23	Hoofddorp	Record daily precipitation	24.7 mm (1.0 in)	11.6 mm (0.5 in)	113	20 of 100 (Routine)
2020-12-23	Denekamp	Record daily precipitation	24.8 mm (1.0 in)	8.8 mm (0.35 in)	104	20 of 100 (Routine)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 446 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.

Date	Records
2020-12-20	3
2020-12-21	153
2020-12-22	33
2020-12-23	248
2020-12-24	9

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
18	163
24	93
22	66
18	66
21	55
33	66
26	66
12	113
27	55
28	55
13	79
20	53
17	54
10	49
9	104
9	104
6	105
26	27
23	31
19	22
12	66
22	22
19	22
24	22
47	22
21	22
6	105
21	29
5	104
23	17
22	17
16	37
13	66
30	2
12	32
4	104
10	54
9	66
32	9
22	9
24	9
31	7
24	7
31	9
20	9
27	9
22	9
6	60
25	7
21	9
21	9
26	9
29	7
20	9
32	9
20	7
21	2
31	9
12	8
11	53
19	8
23	6
23	6
12	55
13	55
19	7
27	6
10	35
9	53
28	2
28	2
30	2
23	2
30	2
28	2
24	2
32	2
12	55
18	9
20	2
23	2
39	2
21	2
21	2
29	2
25	2
12	55
19	2
27	2
27	2
29	2
10	65
10	53
17	2
17	7
21	2
17	6
29	2
11	55
16	19
17	9
10	55
19	6
4	83
16	8
4	93
10	53
11	55
19	2
11	53
22	2
1	104
18	2
10	55
17	2
16	7
4	60
16	6
10	53
7	66
2	147
10	55
15	9
8	53
16	2
15	6
4	55
15	9
16	2
6	53
14	6
11	29
6	73
13	8
14	2
8	55
8	55
13	19
15	7
7	66
9	29
14	6
13	6
10	2
13	9
13	18
10	65
4	73
14	9
10	38
7	55
7	55
8	55
14	2
12	40
11	18
9	29
4	68
14	2
7	55
14	9
6	25
6	53
10	54
4	73
6	55
15	2
9	29
13	9
11	29
0	60
8	29
12	7
5	55
11	19
4	66
12	8
2	73
4	66
12	8
13	6
8	29
5	55
14	2
9	29
9	25
7	10
2	66
5	55
9	29
4	55
3	32
9	19
15	2
5	55
5	55
4	55
5	53
6	53
7	29

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
18	163
24	93
22	66
18	66
21	55
33	66
26	66
12	113
27	55
28	55
13	79
20	53
17	54
10	49
9	104
9	104
6	105
26	27
23	31
19	22
12	66
22	22
19	22
24	22
47	22
21	22
6	105
21	29
5	104
23	17
22	17
16	37
13	66
30	2
12	32
4	104
10	54
9	66
32	9
22	9
24	9
31	7
24	7
31	9
20	9
27	9
22	9
6	60
25	7
21	9
21	9
26	9
29	7
20	9
32	9
20	7
21	2
31	9
12	8
11	53
19	8
23	6
23	6
12	55
13	55
19	7
27	6
10	35
9	53
28	2
28	2
30	2
23	2
30	2
28	2
24	2
32	2
12	55
18	9
20	2
23	2
39	2
21	2
21	2
29	2
25	2
12	55
19	2
27	2
27	2
29	2
10	65
10	53
17	2
17	7
21	2
17	6
29	2
11	55
16	19
17	9
10	55
19	6
4	83
16	8
4	93
10	53
11	55
19	2
11	53
22	2
1	104
18	2
10	55
17	2
16	7
4	60
16	6
10	53
7	66
2	147
10	55
15	9
8	53
16	2
15	6
4	55
15	9
16	2
6	53
14	6
11	29
6	73
13	8
14	2
8	55
8	55
13	19
15	7
7	66
9	29
14	6
13	6
10	2
13	9
13	18
10	65
4	73
14	9
10	38
7	55
7	55
8	55
14	2
12	40
11	18
9	29
4	68
14	2
7	55
14	9
6	25
6	53
10	54
4	73
6	55
15	2
9	29
13	9
11	29
0	60
8	29
12	7
5	55
11	19
4	66
12	8
2	73
4	66
12	8
13	6
8	29
5	55
14	2
9	29
9	25
7	10
2	66
5	55
9	29
4	55
3	32
9	19
15	2
5	55
5	55
4	55
5	53
6	53
7	29

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
18	163
24	93
22	66
18	66
21	55
33	66
26	66
12	113
27	55
28	55
13	79
20	53
17	54
10	49
9	104
9	104
6	105
26	27
23	31
19	22
12	66
22	22
19	22
24	22
47	22
21	22
6	105
21	29
5	104
23	17
22	17
16	37
13	66
30	2
12	32
4	104
10	54
9	66
32	9
22	9
24	9
31	7
24	7
31	9
20	9
27	9
22	9
6	60
25	7
21	9
21	9
26	9
29	7
20	9
32	9
20	7
21	2
31	9
12	8
11	53
19	8
23	6
23	6
12	55
13	55
19	7
27	6
10	35
9	53
28	2
28	2
30	2
23	2
30	2
28	2
24	2
32	2
12	55
18	9
20	2
23	2
39	2
21	2
21	2
29	2
25	2
12	55
19	2
27	2
27	2
29	2
10	65
10	53
17	2
17	7
21	2
17	6
29	2
11	55
16	19
17	9
10	55
19	6
4	83
16	8
4	93
10	53
11	55
19	2
11	53
22	2
1	104
18	2
10	55
17	2
16	7
4	60
16	6
10	53
7	66
2	147
10	55
15	9
8	53
16	2
15	6
4	55
15	9
16	2
6	53
14	6
11	29
6	73
13	8
14	2
8	55
8	55
13	19
15	7
7	66
9	29
14	6
13	6
10	2
13	9
13	18
10	65
4	73
14	9
10	38
7	55
7	55
8	55
14	2
12	40
11	18
9	29
4	68
14	2
7	55
14	9
6	25
6	53
10	54
4	73
6	55
15	2
9	29
13	9
11	29
0	60
8	29
12	7
5	55
11	19
4	66
12	8
2	73
4	66
12	8
13	6
8	29
5	55
14	2
9	29
9	25
7	10
2	66
5	55
9	29
4	55
3	32
9	19
15	2
5	55
5	55
4	55
5	53
6	53
7	29