Extreme rain in United States, 24 to 30 January 2021

Name: Extreme rain in United States, 24 to 30 January 2021
Start: 2021-01-24
End: 2021-01-30
Location: United States

Extreme rain in United States, 24 to 30 January 2021: 198 records at 154 stations, peak on 28 January 2021. Closed.

Data as of 2026-10-18. Last revised 18 October 2026 (2026-10-18).

Key Facts

Extreme rain in United States, 24 to 30 January 2021 set or tied 198 station records at 154 stations.
It ran from 24 January 2021 to 30 January 2021 (7 days) and its peak day was 28 January 2021.
Status: closed.
Los Banos set a daily record precipitation of 53.6 mm (2.1 in) on 28 January 2021.
The busiest day was 28 January 2021 with 91 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 127 years.

Footprint

24 to 30 January 2021

The area covered by Extreme rain in United States, 24 to 30 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 United States, 24 to 30 January 2021: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Los Banos	Record daily precipitation	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	2021-01-28
Turlock #2	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	2021-01-27
Salinas AP	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	2021-01-27
Friant Government Camp	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	2021-01-29
Modesto AP	Record daily precipitation	63.2 mm (2.5 in)	2021-01-27
Paso Robles	Record daily precipitation	68.1 mm (2.7 in)	2021-01-28
De Sabla	Record daily precipitation	143.3 mm (5.6 in)	2021-01-28
Hanford 1 S	Record daily precipitation	39.1 mm (1.5 in)	2021-01-29
King City	Record daily precipitation	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	2021-01-28
Kettleman City	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	2021-01-29
Big Sur STN	Record daily precipitation	197.1 mm (7.8 in)	2021-01-28
Fresno Yosemite Intl	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	2021-01-28
Five Points 5 SSW	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	2021-01-28
Paso Robles Muni AP	Record daily precipitation	74.7 mm (2.9 in)	2021-01-28
Topaz Lake	Record daily precipitation	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	2021-01-27
Morro Bay Fire Dept	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	2021-01-29
Lompoc	Record daily precipitation	74.2 mm (2.9 in)	2021-01-28
Buttonwillow	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	2021-01-29
Sonora	Record daily precipitation	77.2 mm (3.0 in)	2021-01-28
Mt Hamilton	Record daily precipitation	69.1 mm (2.7 in)	2021-01-28

Records per Day

Peak day 91

Records set or tied each day from 24 January 2021 to 30 January 2021. The most in one day was 91 on 28 January 2021.

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Extreme rain in United States, 24 to 30 January 2021 ranked by margin
Big Sur STN, 01-28	113.3 mm (4.5 in)
De Sabla, 01-28	74.0 mm (2.9 in)
Paso Robles Muni AP, 01-28	63.0 mm (2.5 in)
Morro Bay Fire Dept, 01-29	55.6 mm (2.2 in)
Friant Government Camp, 01-29	42.7 mm (1.7 in)
Lompoc, 01-28	42.4 mm (1.7 in)
Salinas AP, 01-27	38.6 mm (1.5 in)
Los Banos, 01-28	38.4 mm (1.5 in)
Paso Robles, 01-28	37.6 mm (1.5 in)
Five Points 5 SSW, 01-28	34.0 mm (1.3 in)
Mt Hamilton, 01-28	31.8 mm (1.3 in)
Turlock #2, 01-27	28.0 mm (1.1 in)
Kettleman City, 01-29	26.9 mm (1.1 in)
Hanford 1 S, 01-29	26.4 mm (1.0 in)
Fresno Yosemite Intl, 01-28	26.1 mm (1.0 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

198 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 United States, 24 to 30 January 2021
Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
38	105
43	84
28	127
39	88
18	86
38	106
74	110
26	55
27	60
25	110
113	40
26	71
34	40
63	40
56	40
17	57
15	71
42	40
26	114
32	71
20	31
17	110
5	93
40	13
51	14
22	40
33	71
19	118
5	63
4	110
28	31
49	13
20	38
32	71
25	16
44	16
7	95
5	57
24	71
13	2
34	20
7	105
5	84
1	126
29	25
1	118
2	93
3	99
21	25
20	40
18	40
5	58
15	70
36	25
21	40
48	40
16	40
28	40
33	40
32	40
11	40
13	34
15	24
58	13
58	13
36	40
1	79
8	79
18	2
41	16
24	40
23	40
13	31
19	23
3	71
40	21
5	33
11	52
28	25
1	75
44	40
28	16
10	40
22	38
2	70
23	38
10	38
25	40
16	19
13	7
37	25
7	40
1	64
23	40
0	76
12	40
8	40
38	23
2	54
23	40
28	13
3	49
13	3
0	26
5	40
2	64
14	40
15	23
6	38
5	54
0	55
5	25
13	7
18	13
11	38
17	38
26	40
4	3
11	26
0	66
23	40
33	13
28	13
25	16
24	40
8	40
1	54
13	40
8	16
9	3
1	26
7	40
1	54
30	25
4	54
42	23
13	52
8	38
5	34
3	31
18	40
1	54
1	38
25	13
10	40
1	38
4	25
8	19
10	13
5	31
8	40
15	40
31	25
17	26
6	40
8	7
10	13
13	1
8	40
13	35
16	14
2	40
16	16
7	26
20	13
1	25
16	13
5	31
3	26
5	40
23	25
4	19
3	29
5	25
5	31
5	17
4	23
1	25
7	16
6	23
2	26
3	33
8	13
12	23
3	13
5	13
13	13
3	25
13	15
3	5
3	13
3	25
3	23
3	15
0	16
0	15
5	13
1	5

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Extreme rain in United States, 24 to 30 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 United States, 24 to 30 January 2021 (this event)	198 records

Every Record Set

20 of 198

Every record set or tied during Extreme rain in United States, 24 to 30 January 2021, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2021-01-27	Turlock #2	Record daily precipitation	49.8 mm (2.0 in)	28.0 mm (1.1 in)	127	75 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-27	Salinas AP	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	38.6 mm (1.5 in)	88	75 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-27	Modesto AP	Record daily precipitation	63.2 mm (2.5 in)	17.5 mm (0.7 in)	86	69 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-27	Topaz Lake	Record daily precipitation	76.2 mm (3.0 in)	16.5 mm (0.6 in)	57	58 of 100 (Notable)
2021-01-28	Los Banos	Record daily precipitation	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	38.4 mm (1.5 in)	105	80 of 100 (Exceptional)
2021-01-28	Paso Robles	Record daily precipitation	68.1 mm (2.7 in)	37.6 mm (1.5 in)	106	68 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-28	De Sabla	Record daily precipitation	143.3 mm (5.6 in)	74.0 mm (2.9 in)	110	66 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-28	King City	Record daily precipitation	53.6 mm (2.1 in)	25.2 mm (1.0 in)	110	64 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-28	Big Sur STN	Record daily precipitation	197.1 mm (7.8 in)	113.3 mm (4.5 in)	40	62 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-28	Fresno Yosemite Intl	Record daily precipitation	45.2 mm (1.8 in)	26.1 mm (1.0 in)	71	61 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-28	Five Points 5 SSW	Record daily precipitation	40.6 mm (1.6 in)	34.0 mm (1.3 in)	40	60 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-28	Paso Robles Muni AP	Record daily precipitation	74.7 mm (2.9 in)	63.0 mm (2.5 in)	40	59 of 100 (Notable)
2021-01-28	Lompoc	Record daily precipitation	74.2 mm (2.9 in)	42.4 mm (1.7 in)	40	57 of 100 (Notable)
2021-01-28	Sonora	Record daily precipitation	77.2 mm (3.0 in)	26.1 mm (1.0 in)	114	56 of 100 (Notable)
2021-01-28	Mt Hamilton	Record daily precipitation	69.1 mm (2.7 in)	31.8 mm (1.3 in)	71	55 of 100 (Notable)
2021-01-29	Friant Government Camp	Record daily precipitation	64.8 mm (2.6 in)	42.7 mm (1.7 in)	84	75 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-29	Hanford 1 S	Record daily precipitation	39.1 mm (1.5 in)	26.4 mm (1.0 in)	55	66 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-29	Kettleman City	Record daily precipitation	29.2 mm (1.1 in)	26.9 mm (1.1 in)	60	64 of 100 (Major)
2021-01-29	Morro Bay Fire Dept	Record daily precipitation	66.0 mm (2.6 in)	55.6 mm (2.2 in)	40	58 of 100 (Notable)
2021-01-29	Buttonwillow	Record daily precipitation	25.4 mm (1.0 in)	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	71	57 of 100 (Notable)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 198 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 2026-10-18. Events are found by this site from station records and are not official designations. Records are provisional until reprocessed.

Date	Records
2021-01-24	1
2021-01-25	2
2021-01-26	1
2021-01-27	45
2021-01-28	91
2021-01-29	52
2021-01-30	6

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
38	105
43	84
28	127
39	88
18	86
38	106
74	110
26	55
27	60
25	110
113	40
26	71
34	40
63	40
56	40
17	57
15	71
42	40
26	114
32	71
20	31
17	110
5	93
40	13
51	14
22	40
33	71
19	118
5	63
4	110
28	31
49	13
20	38
32	71
25	16
44	16
7	95
5	57
24	71
13	2
34	20
7	105
5	84
1	126
29	25
1	118
2	93
3	99
21	25
20	40
18	40
5	58
15	70
36	25
21	40
48	40
16	40
28	40
33	40
32	40
11	40
13	34
15	24
58	13
58	13
36	40
1	79
8	79
18	2
41	16
24	40
23	40
13	31
19	23
3	71
40	21
5	33
11	52
28	25
1	75
44	40
28	16
10	40
22	38
2	70
23	38
10	38
25	40
16	19
13	7
37	25
7	40
1	64
23	40
0	76
12	40
8	40
38	23
2	54
23	40
28	13
3	49
13	3
0	26
5	40
2	64
14	40
15	23
6	38
5	54
0	55
5	25
13	7
18	13
11	38
17	38
26	40
4	3
11	26
0	66
23	40
33	13
28	13
25	16
24	40
8	40
1	54
13	40
8	16
9	3
1	26
7	40
1	54
30	25
4	54
42	23
13	52
8	38
5	34
3	31
18	40
1	54
1	38
25	13
10	40
1	38
4	25
8	19
10	13
5	31
8	40
15	40
31	25
17	26
6	40
8	7
10	13
13	1
8	40
13	35
16	14
2	40
16	16
7	26
20	13
1	25
16	13
5	31
3	26
5	40
23	25
4	19
3	29
5	25
5	31
5	17
4	23
1	25
7	16
6	23
2	26
3	33
8	13
12	23
3	13
5	13
13	13
3	25
13	15
3	5
3	13
3	25
3	23
3	15
0	16
0	15
5	13
1	5

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
38	105
43	84
28	127
39	88
18	86
38	106
74	110
26	55
27	60
25	110
113	40
26	71
34	40
63	40
56	40
17	57
15	71
42	40
26	114
32	71
20	31
17	110
5	93
40	13
51	14
22	40
33	71
19	118
5	63
4	110
28	31
49	13
20	38
32	71
25	16
44	16
7	95
5	57
24	71
13	2
34	20
7	105
5	84
1	126
29	25
1	118
2	93
3	99
21	25
20	40
18	40
5	58
15	70
36	25
21	40
48	40
16	40
28	40
33	40
32	40
11	40
13	34
15	24
58	13
58	13
36	40
1	79
8	79
18	2
41	16
24	40
23	40
13	31
19	23
3	71
40	21
5	33
11	52
28	25
1	75
44	40
28	16
10	40
22	38
2	70
23	38
10	38
25	40
16	19
13	7
37	25
7	40
1	64
23	40
0	76
12	40
8	40
38	23
2	54
23	40
28	13
3	49
13	3
0	26
5	40
2	64
14	40
15	23
6	38
5	54
0	55
5	25
13	7
18	13
11	38
17	38
26	40
4	3
11	26
0	66
23	40
33	13
28	13
25	16
24	40
8	40
1	54
13	40
8	16
9	3
1	26
7	40
1	54
30	25
4	54
42	23
13	52
8	38
5	34
3	31
18	40
1	54
1	38
25	13
10	40
1	38
4	25
8	19
10	13
5	31
8	40
15	40
31	25
17	26
6	40
8	7
10	13
13	1
8	40
13	35
16	14
2	40
16	16
7	26
20	13
1	25
16	13
5	31
3	26
5	40
23	25
4	19
3	29
5	25
5	31
5	17
4	23
1	25
7	16
6	23
2	26
3	33
8	13
12	23
3	13
5	13
13	13
3	25
13	15
3	5
3	13
3	25
3	23
3	15
0	16
0	15
5	13
1	5

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
38	105
43	84
28	127
39	88
18	86
38	106
74	110
26	55
27	60
25	110
113	40
26	71
34	40
63	40
56	40
17	57
15	71
42	40
26	114
32	71
20	31
17	110
5	93
40	13
51	14
22	40
33	71
19	118
5	63
4	110
28	31
49	13
20	38
32	71
25	16
44	16
7	95
5	57
24	71
13	2
34	20
7	105
5	84
1	126
29	25
1	118
2	93
3	99
21	25
20	40
18	40
5	58
15	70
36	25
21	40
48	40
16	40
28	40
33	40
32	40
11	40
13	34
15	24
58	13
58	13
36	40
1	79
8	79
18	2
41	16
24	40
23	40
13	31
19	23
3	71
40	21
5	33
11	52
28	25
1	75
44	40
28	16
10	40
22	38
2	70
23	38
10	38
25	40
16	19
13	7
37	25
7	40
1	64
23	40
0	76
12	40
8	40
38	23
2	54
23	40
28	13
3	49
13	3
0	26
5	40
2	64
14	40
15	23
6	38
5	54
0	55
5	25
13	7
18	13
11	38
17	38
26	40
4	3
11	26
0	66
23	40
33	13
28	13
25	16
24	40
8	40
1	54
13	40
8	16
9	3
1	26
7	40
1	54
30	25
4	54
42	23
13	52
8	38
5	34
3	31
18	40
1	54
1	38
25	13
10	40
1	38
4	25
8	19
10	13
5	31
8	40
15	40
31	25
17	26
6	40
8	7
10	13
13	1
8	40
13	35
16	14
2	40
16	16
7	26
20	13
1	25
16	13
5	31
3	26
5	40
23	25
4	19
3	29
5	25
5	31
5	17
4	23
1	25
7	16
6	23
2	26
3	33
8	13
12	23
3	13
5	13
13	13
3	25
13	15
3	5
3	13
3	25
3	23
3	15
0	16
0	15
5	13
1	5