Extreme rain in Australia, 18 to 21 October 2021

Name: Extreme rain in Australia, 18 to 21 October 2021
Start: 2021-10-18
End: 2021-10-21
Location: Australia

Extreme rain in Australia, 18 to 21 October 2021: 178 records at 164 stations, peak on 20 October 2021. Closed.

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

Key Facts

Extreme rain in Australia, 18 to 21 October 2021 set or tied 178 station records at 164 stations.
It ran from 18 October 2021 to 21 October 2021 (4 days) and its peak day was 20 October 2021.
Status: closed.
Balline set a daily record precipitation of 36.6 mm (1.4 in) on 19 October 2021.
The busiest day was 20 October 2021 with 120 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 126 years.

Footprint

18 to 21 October 2021

The area covered by Extreme rain in Australia, 18 to 21 October 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, 18 to 21 October 2021: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Balline	Record daily precipitation	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	2021-10-19
Mumby	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	2021-10-19
Lynton	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	2021-10-19
Hamelin Station	Record daily precipitation	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	2021-10-19
Useless Loop	Record daily precipitation	22.0 mm (0.9 in)	2021-10-19
Meka Station	Record daily precipitation	12.2 mm (0.5 in)	2021-10-19
Geraldton Town	Record daily precipitation	20.0 mm (0.8 in)	2021-10-19
Gleneva	Record daily precipitation	21.2 mm (0.8 in)	2021-10-19
Cape Naturaliste	Record daily precipitation	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	2021-10-19
Yarrabubba	Record daily precipitation	7.2 mm (0.28 in)	2021-10-20
Munarra	Record daily precipitation	9.0 mm (0.35 in)	2021-10-20
Ballidu	Record daily precipitation	12.2 mm (0.5 in)	2021-10-20
Indarrie	Record daily precipitation	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	2021-10-20
New Norcia	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	2021-10-20
Wannamal	Record daily precipitation	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	2021-10-20
Goomalling	Record daily precipitation	17.0 mm (0.7 in)	2021-10-20
Meckering	Record daily precipitation	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	2021-10-20
Grass Valley	Record daily precipitation	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	2021-10-20
Sturt Meadows	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	2021-10-20
Muresk Agric.College	Record daily precipitation	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	2021-10-21

Records per Day

Peak day 120

Records set or tied each day from 18 October 2021 to 21 October 2021. The most in one day was 120 on 20 October 2021.

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Extreme rain in Australia, 18 to 21 October 2021 ranked by margin
Balline, 10-19	28.2 mm (1.1 in)
Lynton, 10-19	21.2 mm (0.8 in)
Hamelin Station, 10-19	21.0 mm (0.8 in)
Useless Loop, 10-19	19.6 mm (0.8 in)
Mumby, 10-19	15.8 mm (0.6 in)
Meckering, 10-20	13.0 mm (0.5 in)
Wannamal, 10-20	12.6 mm (0.5 in)
Sturt Meadows, 10-20	12.0 mm (0.5 in)
Muresk Agric.College, 10-21	10.9 mm (0.4 in)
Geraldton Town, 10-19	10.6 mm (0.4 in)
Grass Valley, 10-20	10.5 mm (0.4 in)
Gleneva, 10-19	9.8 mm (0.39 in)
Goomalling, 10-20	9.4 mm (0.37 in)
Munarra, 10-20	9.0 mm (0.35 in)
Cape Naturaliste, 10-19	8.4 mm (0.33 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

178 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, 18 to 21 October 2021
Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
28	86
21	96
16	74
13	106
13	88
10	74
21	20
9	88
11	88
8	96
9	100
11	74
7	106
8	88
8	92
11	88
12	86
20	20
7	104
6	104
7	106
12	40
9	74
6	88
4	106
7	126
7	112
15	30
19	8
7	88
5	88
9	66
13	30
7	95
4	106
5	88
3	100
5	88
2	106
2	106
2	106
15	10
3	108
3	88
4	88
2	112
4	88
4	82
11	66
1	106
5	82
7	47
5	66
18	10
9	66
2	88
11	40
1	88
2	92
1	88
9	40
2	74
9	64
0	88
7	47
8	71
16	7
11	47
11	8
9	54
1	74
7	20
4	66
5	59
8	47
1	74
3	66
8	16
3	31
1	66
8	32
5	44
11	47
5	20
5	44
11	7
0	76
5	40
3	47
3	47
5	20
2	59
2	66
13	8
2	47
0	66
7	32
2	47
9	47
9	30
7	42
8	8
0	64
4	40
3	40
5	40
1	47
3	47
3	50
1	50
1	47
5	47
0	51
2	40
0	47
2	47
2	47
3	20
2	47
3	40
2	47
1	47
1	22
4	47
5	20
7	30
9	30
6	7
6	14
4	15
3	20
6	8
5	20
2	47
5	7
2	32
0	52
5	39
4	8
2	20
2	8
1	47
2	32
9	8
7	7
4	30
2	20
5	14
6	30
1	20
1	20
4	32
3	7
3	7
2	20
2	32
4	20
3	20
1	30
2	8
3	7
4	8
1	32
1	8
1	8
0	20
1	7
1	20
5	3
1	8
1	20
0	8
3	8
0	20
0	7
2	0
1	8
0	7

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Extreme rain in Australia, 18 to 21 October 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, 18 to 21 October 2021 (this event)	178 records

Every Record Set

20 of 178

Every record set or tied during Extreme rain in Australia, 18 to 21 October 2021, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2021-10-19	Balline	Record daily precipitation	36.6 mm (1.4 in)	28.2 mm (1.1 in)	86	74 of 100 (Major)
2021-10-19	Mumby	Record daily precipitation	26.0 mm (1.0 in)	15.8 mm (0.6 in)	74	63 of 100 (Major)
2021-10-19	Lynton	Record daily precipitation	29.0 mm (1.1 in)	21.2 mm (0.8 in)	20	56 of 100 (Notable)
2021-10-19	Hamelin Station	Record daily precipitation	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	96	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-19	Useless Loop	Record daily precipitation	22.0 mm (0.9 in)	19.6 mm (0.8 in)	20	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-19	Meka Station	Record daily precipitation	12.2 mm (0.5 in)	7.1 mm (0.28 in)	104	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-19	Geraldton Town	Record daily precipitation	20.0 mm (0.8 in)	10.6 mm (0.4 in)	74	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-19	Gleneva	Record daily precipitation	21.2 mm (0.8 in)	9.8 mm (0.39 in)	74	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-19	Cape Naturaliste	Record daily precipitation	22.4 mm (0.9 in)	8.4 mm (0.33 in)	96	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-20	Yarrabubba	Record daily precipitation	7.2 mm (0.28 in)	6.4 mm (0.25 in)	104	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-20	Munarra	Record daily precipitation	9.0 mm (0.35 in)	9.0 mm (0.35 in)	100	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-20	Ballidu	Record daily precipitation	12.2 mm (0.5 in)	7.6 mm (0.30 in)	88	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-20	Indarrie	Record daily precipitation	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	8.0 mm (0.31 in)	92	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-20	New Norcia	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	7.1 mm (0.28 in)	106	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-20	Wannamal	Record daily precipitation	21.0 mm (0.8 in)	12.6 mm (0.5 in)	106	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-20	Goomalling	Record daily precipitation	17.0 mm (0.7 in)	9.4 mm (0.37 in)	88	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-20	Meckering	Record daily precipitation	24.9 mm (1.0 in)	13.0 mm (0.5 in)	88	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-20	Grass Valley	Record daily precipitation	19.1 mm (0.8 in)	10.5 mm (0.4 in)	88	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-20	Sturt Meadows	Record daily precipitation	17.8 mm (0.7 in)	12.0 mm (0.5 in)	86	20 of 100 (Routine)
2021-10-21	Muresk Agric.College	Record daily precipitation	21.6 mm (0.9 in)	10.9 mm (0.4 in)	88	20 of 100 (Routine)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 178 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
28	86
21	96
16	74
13	106
13	88
10	74
21	20
9	88
11	88
8	96
9	100
11	74
7	106
8	88
8	92
11	88
12	86
20	20
7	104
6	104
7	106
12	40
9	74
6	88
4	106
7	126
7	112
15	30
19	8
7	88
5	88
9	66
13	30
7	95
4	106
5	88
3	100
5	88
2	106
2	106
2	106
15	10
3	108
3	88
4	88
2	112
4	88
4	82
11	66
1	106
5	82
7	47
5	66
18	10
9	66
2	88
11	40
1	88
2	92
1	88
9	40
2	74
9	64
0	88
7	47
8	71
16	7
11	47
11	8
9	54
1	74
7	20
4	66
5	59
8	47
1	74
3	66
8	16
3	31
1	66
8	32
5	44
11	47
5	20
5	44
11	7
0	76
5	40
3	47
3	47
5	20
2	59
2	66
13	8
2	47
0	66
7	32
2	47
9	47
9	30
7	42
8	8
0	64
4	40
3	40
5	40
1	47
3	47
3	50
1	50
1	47
5	47
0	51
2	40
0	47
2	47
2	47
3	20
2	47
3	40
2	47
1	47
1	22
4	47
5	20
7	30
9	30
6	7
6	14
4	15
3	20
6	8
5	20
2	47
5	7
2	32
0	52
5	39
4	8
2	20
2	8
1	47
2	32
9	8
7	7
4	30
2	20
5	14
6	30
1	20
1	20
4	32
3	7
3	7
2	20
2	32
4	20
3	20
1	30
2	8
3	7
4	8
1	32
1	8
1	8
0	20
1	7
1	20
5	3
1	8
1	20
0	8
3	8
0	20
0	7
2	0
1	8
0	7

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
28	86
21	96
16	74
13	106
13	88
10	74
21	20
9	88
11	88
8	96
9	100
11	74
7	106
8	88
8	92
11	88
12	86
20	20
7	104
6	104
7	106
12	40
9	74
6	88
4	106
7	126
7	112
15	30
19	8
7	88
5	88
9	66
13	30
7	95
4	106
5	88
3	100
5	88
2	106
2	106
2	106
15	10
3	108
3	88
4	88
2	112
4	88
4	82
11	66
1	106
5	82
7	47
5	66
18	10
9	66
2	88
11	40
1	88
2	92
1	88
9	40
2	74
9	64
0	88
7	47
8	71
16	7
11	47
11	8
9	54
1	74
7	20
4	66
5	59
8	47
1	74
3	66
8	16
3	31
1	66
8	32
5	44
11	47
5	20
5	44
11	7
0	76
5	40
3	47
3	47
5	20
2	59
2	66
13	8
2	47
0	66
7	32
2	47
9	47
9	30
7	42
8	8
0	64
4	40
3	40
5	40
1	47
3	47
3	50
1	50
1	47
5	47
0	51
2	40
0	47
2	47
2	47
3	20
2	47
3	40
2	47
1	47
1	22
4	47
5	20
7	30
9	30
6	7
6	14
4	15
3	20
6	8
5	20
2	47
5	7
2	32
0	52
5	39
4	8
2	20
2	8
1	47
2	32
9	8
7	7
4	30
2	20
5	14
6	30
1	20
1	20
4	32
3	7
3	7
2	20
2	32
4	20
3	20
1	30
2	8
3	7
4	8
1	32
1	8
1	8
0	20
1	7
1	20
5	3
1	8
1	20
0	8
3	8
0	20
0	7
2	0
1	8
0	7

Margin (mm)	Years the old record stood
28	86
21	96
16	74
13	106
13	88
10	74
21	20
9	88
11	88
8	96
9	100
11	74
7	106
8	88
8	92
11	88
12	86
20	20
7	104
6	104
7	106
12	40
9	74
6	88
4	106
7	126
7	112
15	30
19	8
7	88
5	88
9	66
13	30
7	95
4	106
5	88
3	100
5	88
2	106
2	106
2	106
15	10
3	108
3	88
4	88
2	112
4	88
4	82
11	66
1	106
5	82
7	47
5	66
18	10
9	66
2	88
11	40
1	88
2	92
1	88
9	40
2	74
9	64
0	88
7	47
8	71
16	7
11	47
11	8
9	54
1	74
7	20
4	66
5	59
8	47
1	74
3	66
8	16
3	31
1	66
8	32
5	44
11	47
5	20
5	44
11	7
0	76
5	40
3	47
3	47
5	20
2	59
2	66
13	8
2	47
0	66
7	32
2	47
9	47
9	30
7	42
8	8
0	64
4	40
3	40
5	40
1	47
3	47
3	50
1	50
1	47
5	47
0	51
2	40
0	47
2	47
2	47
3	20
2	47
3	40
2	47
1	47
1	22
4	47
5	20
7	30
9	30
6	7
6	14
4	15
3	20
6	8
5	20
2	47
5	7
2	32
0	52
5	39
4	8
2	20
2	8
1	47
2	32
9	8
7	7
4	30
2	20
5	14
6	30
1	20
1	20
4	32
3	7
3	7
2	20
2	32
4	20
3	20
1	30
2	8
3	7
4	8
1	32
1	8
1	8
0	20
1	7
1	20
5	3
1	8
1	20
0	8
3	8
0	20
0	7
2	0
1	8
0	7