Extreme rain in United States, 8 to 17 December 2021

Name: Extreme rain in United States, 8 to 17 December 2021
Start: 2021-12-08
End: 2021-12-17
Location: United States

Extreme rain in United States, 8 to 17 December 2021: 916 records at 822 stations, peak on 11 December 2021. Closed.

Data as of 2026-10-12. Last revised 12 October 2026 (2026-10-12).

Key Facts

Extreme rain in United States, 8 to 17 December 2021 set or tied 916 station records at 822 stations.
It ran from 8 December 2021 to 17 December 2021 (10 days) and its peak day was 11 December 2021.
Status: closed.
Woodland 1 WNW set a daily record precipitation of 84.6 mm (3.3 in) on 13 December 2021.
The busiest day was 11 December 2021 with 239 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 126 years.

Footprint

8 to 17 December 2021

The area covered by Extreme rain in United States, 8 to 17 December 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, 8 to 17 December 2021: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Woodland 1 WNW	Record daily precipitation	84.6 mm (3.3 in)	2021-12-13
San Luis Obispo Poly	Record daily precipitation	106.7 mm (4.2 in)	2021-12-14
Bishop AP	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	2021-12-14
Wasco	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	2021-12-15
Santaquin Chlorinator	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	2021-12-15
Windom	Record daily precipitation	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	2021-12-11
Big Sur STN	Record daily precipitation	138.4 mm (5.4 in)	2021-12-13
Santa Margarita Boost	Record daily precipitation	129.5 mm (5.1 in)	2021-12-14
Vallecito Dam	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	2021-12-10
Chico UNIV Farm	Record daily precipitation	103.9 mm (4.1 in)	2021-12-14
Ojai	Record daily precipitation	87.6 mm (3.4 in)	2021-12-14
Santa Barbara	Record daily precipitation	78.5 mm (3.1 in)	2021-12-14
Lemon Cove	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	2021-12-15
Racine Wwtp	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	2021-12-11
Hawthorne	Record daily precipitation	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	2021-12-09
Nephi	Record daily precipitation	21.3 mm (0.8 in)	2021-12-09
Grand Junction Walker Fld	Record daily precipitation	14.5 mm (0.6 in)	2021-12-09
Colorado Nm	Record daily precipitation	23.1 mm (0.9 in)	2021-12-10
Rapid City Rgnl AP	Record daily precipitation	12.7 mm (0.5 in)	2021-12-10
Steuben	Record daily precipitation	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	2021-12-11

Records per Day

Peak day 239

Records set or tied each day from 8 December 2021 to 17 December 2021. The most in one day was 239 on 11 December 2021.

Records per day during Extreme rain in United States, 8 to 17 December 2021
Date	Records
2021-12-08	3
2021-12-09	164
2021-12-10	102
2021-12-11	239
2021-12-12	21
2021-12-13	90
2021-12-14	189
2021-12-15	96
2021-12-16	11
2021-12-17	1

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Extreme rain in United States, 8 to 17 December 2021 ranked by margin
Santa Margarita Boost, 12-14	107.9 mm (4.2 in)
Big Sur STN, 12-13	74.1 mm (2.9 in)
San Luis Obispo Poly, 12-14	73.7 mm (2.9 in)
Ojai, 12-14	57.1 mm (2.2 in)
Chico UNIV Farm, 12-14	53.1 mm (2.1 in)
Woodland 1 WNW, 12-13	47.8 mm (1.9 in)
Santa Barbara, 12-14	38.4 mm (1.5 in)
Vallecito Dam, 12-10	34.1 mm (1.3 in)
Bishop AP, 12-14	32.3 mm (1.3 in)
Wasco, 12-15	20.8 mm (0.8 in)
Lemon Cove, 12-15	20.3 mm (0.8 in)
Windom, 12-11	19.8 mm (0.8 in)
Santaquin Chlorinator, 12-15	19.6 mm (0.8 in)
Colorado Nm, 12-10	18.3 mm (0.7 in)
Steuben, 12-11	15.0 mm (0.6 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

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 United States, 8 to 17 December 2021
Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
48	106
74	84
11	90
21	83
20	87
32	122
74	92
20	56
12	112
10	59
108	52
14	56
18	52
34	56
15	72
53	52
20	108
57	87
38	106
15	121
15	106
19	84
47	28
28	87
27	38
9	51
57	52
35	84
107	28
13	121
30	55
6	121
10	58
9	63
134	26
18	87
22	19
6	106
13	90
43	39
23	38
20	108
16	99
8	90
7	126
142	26
25	12
6	83
17	72
18	36
31	34
25	32
15	36
15	106
29	87
11	87
70	26
24	51
19	56
15	90
9	88
10	56
14	100
64	28
23	87
21	87
30	24
21	43
5	106
12	56
13	36
28	34
36	24
22	56
28	71
11	56
4	125
6	88
53	24
33	20
36	26
14	87
10	29
8	99
17	12
7	51
24	56
93	6
12	56
36	60
6	90
7	72
9	112
10	32
5	51
20	16
25	24
56	16
9	106
20	5
6	84
25	35
30	56
17	28
31	16
9	72
8	67
5	90
19	20
4	116
10	44
10	37
10	28
23	39
28	38
34	19
14	99
66	19
31	12
6	87
25	52
22	84
9	88
10	12
2	100
6	51
3	112
5	90
25	39
25	24
13	6
23	20
19	80
35	19
50	19
15	87
43	19
3	121
11	72
31	52
6	51
18	23
43	4
2	126
5	72
3	106
9	60
5	87
2	122
2	102
2	106
3	121
11	51
3	103
2	106
20	36
9	20
1	112
23	14
69	26
35	71
24	56
15	83
14	18
10	16
9	62
15	36
10	40
9	48
1	106
10	44
6	90
31	14
20	22
15	39
31	34
18	35
51	28
17	56
3	88
3	123
8	32
17	6
2	90
1	112
13	40
15	39
23	38
5	56
26	56
23	16
13	87
9	87
38	19
37	28
23	24
8	56
10	38
3	71
6	80

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Extreme rain in United States, 8 to 17 December 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, 8 to 17 December 2021 (this event)	916 records

Every Record Set

20 of 916

Every record set or tied during Extreme rain in United States, 8 to 17 December 2021, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2021-12-09	Hawthorne	Record daily precipitation	14.7 mm (0.6 in)	13.7 mm (0.5 in)	56	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-12-09	Nephi	Record daily precipitation	21.3 mm (0.8 in)	11.9 mm (0.5 in)	112	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-12-09	Grand Junction Walker Fld	Record daily precipitation	14.5 mm (0.6 in)	10.9 mm (0.4 in)	90	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-12-10	Vallecito Dam	Record daily precipitation	62.0 mm (2.4 in)	34.1 mm (1.3 in)	56	62 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-10	Colorado Nm	Record daily precipitation	23.1 mm (0.9 in)	18.3 mm (0.7 in)	52	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-12-10	Rapid City Rgnl AP	Record daily precipitation	12.7 mm (0.5 in)	10.2 mm (0.4 in)	59	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-12-11	Windom	Record daily precipitation	28.7 mm (1.1 in)	19.8 mm (0.8 in)	56	66 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-11	Racine Wwtp	Record daily precipitation	35.6 mm (1.4 in)	14.8 mm (0.6 in)	121	60 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-11	Steuben	Record daily precipitation	23.9 mm (0.9 in)	15.0 mm (0.6 in)	72	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-12-13	Woodland 1 WNW	Record daily precipitation	84.6 mm (3.3 in)	47.8 mm (1.9 in)	106	78 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-13	Big Sur STN	Record daily precipitation	138.4 mm (5.4 in)	74.1 mm (2.9 in)	92	66 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-14	San Luis Obispo Poly	Record daily precipitation	106.7 mm (4.2 in)	73.7 mm (2.9 in)	84	75 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-14	Bishop AP	Record daily precipitation	34.3 mm (1.4 in)	32.3 mm (1.3 in)	122	67 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-14	Santa Margarita Boost	Record daily precipitation	129.5 mm (5.1 in)	107.9 mm (4.2 in)	52	63 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-14	Chico UNIV Farm	Record daily precipitation	103.9 mm (4.1 in)	53.1 mm (2.1 in)	52	61 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-14	Ojai	Record daily precipitation	87.6 mm (3.4 in)	57.1 mm (2.2 in)	87	61 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-14	Santa Barbara	Record daily precipitation	78.5 mm (3.1 in)	38.4 mm (1.5 in)	106	61 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-15	Wasco	Record daily precipitation	33.0 mm (1.3 in)	20.8 mm (0.8 in)	83	67 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-15	Santaquin Chlorinator	Record daily precipitation	31.5 mm (1.2 in)	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	87	67 of 100 (Major)
2021-12-15	Lemon Cove	Record daily precipitation	32.5 mm (1.3 in)	20.3 mm (0.8 in)	108	61 of 100 (Major)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 916 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 2026-10-12. 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
48	106
74	84
11	90
21	83
20	87
32	122
74	92
20	56
12	112
10	59
108	52
14	56
18	52
34	56
15	72
53	52
20	108
57	87
38	106
15	121
15	106
19	84
47	28
28	87
27	38
9	51
57	52
35	84
107	28
13	121
30	55
6	121
10	58
9	63
134	26
18	87
22	19
6	106
13	90
43	39
23	38
20	108
16	99
8	90
7	126
142	26
25	12
6	83
17	72
18	36
31	34
25	32
15	36
15	106
29	87
11	87
70	26
24	51
19	56
15	90
9	88
10	56
14	100
64	28
23	87
21	87
30	24
21	43
5	106
12	56
13	36
28	34
36	24
22	56
28	71
11	56
4	125
6	88
53	24
33	20
36	26
14	87
10	29
8	99
17	12
7	51
24	56
93	6
12	56
36	60
6	90
7	72
9	112
10	32
5	51
20	16
25	24
56	16
9	106
20	5
6	84
25	35
30	56
17	28
31	16
9	72
8	67
5	90
19	20
4	116
10	44
10	37
10	28
23	39
28	38
34	19
14	99
66	19
31	12
6	87
25	52
22	84
9	88
10	12
2	100
6	51
3	112
5	90
25	39
25	24
13	6
23	20
19	80
35	19
50	19
15	87
43	19
3	121
11	72
31	52
6	51
18	23
43	4
2	126
5	72
3	106
9	60
5	87
2	122
2	102
2	106
3	121
11	51
3	103
2	106
20	36
9	20
1	112
23	14
69	26
35	71
24	56
15	83
14	18
10	16
9	62
15	36
10	40
9	48
1	106
10	44
6	90
31	14
20	22
15	39
31	34
18	35
51	28
17	56
3	88
3	123
8	32
17	6
2	90
1	112
13	40
15	39
23	38
5	56
26	56
23	16
13	87
9	87
38	19
37	28
23	24
8	56
10	38
3	71
6	80

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
48	106
74	84
11	90
21	83
20	87
32	122
74	92
20	56
12	112
10	59
108	52
14	56
18	52
34	56
15	72
53	52
20	108
57	87
38	106
15	121
15	106
19	84
47	28
28	87
27	38
9	51
57	52
35	84
107	28
13	121
30	55
6	121
10	58
9	63
134	26
18	87
22	19
6	106
13	90
43	39
23	38
20	108
16	99
8	90
7	126
142	26
25	12
6	83
17	72
18	36
31	34
25	32
15	36
15	106
29	87
11	87
70	26
24	51
19	56
15	90
9	88
10	56
14	100
64	28
23	87
21	87
30	24
21	43
5	106
12	56
13	36
28	34
36	24
22	56
28	71
11	56
4	125
6	88
53	24
33	20
36	26
14	87
10	29
8	99
17	12
7	51
24	56
93	6
12	56
36	60
6	90
7	72
9	112
10	32
5	51
20	16
25	24
56	16
9	106
20	5
6	84
25	35
30	56
17	28
31	16
9	72
8	67
5	90
19	20
4	116
10	44
10	37
10	28
23	39
28	38
34	19
14	99
66	19
31	12
6	87
25	52
22	84
9	88
10	12
2	100
6	51
3	112
5	90
25	39
25	24
13	6
23	20
19	80
35	19
50	19
15	87
43	19
3	121
11	72
31	52
6	51
18	23
43	4
2	126
5	72
3	106
9	60
5	87
2	122
2	102
2	106
3	121
11	51
3	103
2	106
20	36
9	20
1	112
23	14
69	26
35	71
24	56
15	83
14	18
10	16
9	62
15	36
10	40
9	48
1	106
10	44
6	90
31	14
20	22
15	39
31	34
18	35
51	28
17	56
3	88
3	123
8	32
17	6
2	90
1	112
13	40
15	39
23	38
5	56
26	56
23	16
13	87
9	87
38	19
37	28
23	24
8	56
10	38
3	71
6	80

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
48	106
74	84
11	90
21	83
20	87
32	122
74	92
20	56
12	112
10	59
108	52
14	56
18	52
34	56
15	72
53	52
20	108
57	87
38	106
15	121
15	106
19	84
47	28
28	87
27	38
9	51
57	52
35	84
107	28
13	121
30	55
6	121
10	58
9	63
134	26
18	87
22	19
6	106
13	90
43	39
23	38
20	108
16	99
8	90
7	126
142	26
25	12
6	83
17	72
18	36
31	34
25	32
15	36
15	106
29	87
11	87
70	26
24	51
19	56
15	90
9	88
10	56
14	100
64	28
23	87
21	87
30	24
21	43
5	106
12	56
13	36
28	34
36	24
22	56
28	71
11	56
4	125
6	88
53	24
33	20
36	26
14	87
10	29
8	99
17	12
7	51
24	56
93	6
12	56
36	60
6	90
7	72
9	112
10	32
5	51
20	16
25	24
56	16
9	106
20	5
6	84
25	35
30	56
17	28
31	16
9	72
8	67
5	90
19	20
4	116
10	44
10	37
10	28
23	39
28	38
34	19
14	99
66	19
31	12
6	87
25	52
22	84
9	88
10	12
2	100
6	51
3	112
5	90
25	39
25	24
13	6
23	20
19	80
35	19
50	19
15	87
43	19
3	121
11	72
31	52
6	51
18	23
43	4
2	126
5	72
3	106
9	60
5	87
2	122
2	102
2	106
3	121
11	51
3	103
2	106
20	36
9	20
1	112
23	14
69	26
35	71
24	56
15	83
14	18
10	16
9	62
15	36
10	40
9	48
1	106
10	44
6	90
31	14
20	22
15	39
31	34
18	35
51	28
17	56
3	88
3	123
8	32
17	6
2	90
1	112
13	40
15	39
23	38
5	56
26	56
23	16
13	87
9	87
38	19
37	28
23	24
8	56
10	38
3	71
6	80