Australia in May 2025

In brief

• The national area-averaged mean temperature in May was 0.84 °C above the 1961–1990 average.
• Australia's area-averaged mean maximum temperature was 1.08 °C above the 1961–1990 average. The national area-averaged mean minimum temperature was 0.60 °C above average.
• Mean maximum temperatures were above average for most of southern and parts of eastern Australia. Mean maximum temperatures were below average for areas of northern Australia.
• Mean minimum temperatures were above average for much of eastern Australia, parts of the Northern Territory, scattered areas of Western Australia and parts of western Tasmania. Mean minimum temperatures were below average for parts of the southern mainland and some inland regions.
• Australia's area-averaged May rainfall total was 15% below the 1961–1990 average.
• May rainfall was below average across much of southern Australia and above average across large parts of northern Australia and eastern New South Wales.
• It was the seventh-driest May on record, since 1900, for Victoria.

 Further information and tables of records for each state and Territory are available in the individual regional climate summaries, published on 4 June 2025.

Temperatures

Australia's area-averaged mean temperature in May was 0.84 °C above the 1961–1990 average.

May area-averaged mean temperature for New South Wales was the seventh-warmest on record since national observations started in 1910, and the warmest since 2016.

Australia's area-averaged mean maximum temperature was 1.08 °C above the 1961–1990 average.

For most of the southern half of Australia and eastern Queensland, mean maximum temperatures were above to very much above average (in the highest 10% of all Mays since 1910). Mean maximum temperatures were the highest on record for parts of the Gascoyne district in Western Australia, southern and alpine regions of Victoria, south-eastern New South Wales and northern Tasmania. Many stations had their record highest mean maximum temperature for May.

For Victoria, the area-averaged mean maximum temperature was the second-warmest on record for May, 2.14 °C above average, behind only1947. It was the fourth-warmest mean maximum temperature on record for Tasmania, 1.40 °C above average, and the eighth-warmest mean maximum temperature for Western Australia, 1.84 °C above average.

Mean maximum temperatures for May were below average for parts of the Pilbara, Kimberley and Interior districts of Western Australia, eastern Top End and parts of western and southern Northern Territory, and central parts of Queensland.

The national area-averaged mean minimum temperature was 0.60 °C above average. Mean minimum temperatures were above to very much above average for scattered areas of Western Australia, most of the Northern Territory and Queensland, northern and eastern New South Wales, east- Gippsland in Victoria, and southern and western Tasmania. Minimum temperatures were the warmest on record for parts of the Mid North Coast in New South Wales.

Area-averaged mean minimum temperature for Queensland was the eighth-warmest on record for May, 1.64 °C above average.

Mean minimum temperatures were below to very much below average (in the lowest 10% of all Mays since 1910) for large parts of south-eastern and central Western Australia, southern South Australia, western Victoria, south-western New South Wales, and south-western Northern Territory.

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 116 (highest). A rank marked with ’=‘ indicates the value is tied for that rank. Anomaly is the departure from the long-term (1961–1990) average.

Rainfall

The national area-averaged May rainfall total was 15% below the 1961–1990 average.

May rainfall was above to very much above average (in the highest 10% of all Mays since 1900) for:

• the Kimberley and northern interior districts of Western Australia
• most of the Northern Territory
• far northern Cape York Peninsula, and parts of eastern Queensland
• eastern New South Wales.

Many stations across eastern New South Wales recorded May and annual daily rainfall records. Rainfall was the highest on record for a region of the New South Wales Hunter district and Mid North coast.

May rainfall was below to very much below average (in the lowest 10% of all Mays since 1900) for:

• most of southern Western Australia
• most of South Australia
• most of Victoria
• northern and western Tasmania
• western New South Wales
• areas surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

It was the seventh-driest May on record for Victoria, with area-averaged rainfall 71% below average, the driest since 2005.

Significant weather and records

Warm days and nights in the south-west and south-east

During the first half of May, much of south-western and south-eastern Australia experienced above average daytime and night-time temperatures. This was especially notable in the south-east between 4 and 6 May, and again between 11 and 12 May, when strong north-westerly winds ahead of a cold front and a low pressure trough brought warm, dry air from central to eastern Australia.

On 6 May, several stations set May and late-season maximum and minimum temperature records, including:

• Renmark Aero in South Australia, which had its warmest May daytime temperature on record at 30.3 °C (30 years of data)
• Melbourne (Olympic Park), which recorded a maximum temperature of 26.7 °C, the highest daily May maximum temperature at Melbourne city since 2002.
• Hobart (Ellerslie Road), which had its warmest May minimum temperature on record at 16.3 °C (136 years of data).

Following the warm conditions, a cold front with a cold air mass behind it crossed over Tasmania on 6 and 7 May and brought early-season snow to elevated regions, including the Central Plateau and kunanyi (Mt Wellington). 

Between 7 and 12 May, daily maximum temperatures were up to 12 °C above average across large areas of Western Australia. Daily minimum temperatures were also above average across large areas of southern Australia. Many stations had their record highest May daily maximum  or highest May daily minimum temperatures, or both, or late season temperature records. Perth had 3 days (1, 8 and 9 May) with maximum temperature at or above 30.0 °C, equalling the May record set in 1907.

Cold mornings across south-eastern Australia

Between 12 and 17 May, parts of south-eastern Australia experienced cooler than average May minimum temperatures for several days, in the wake of a cold front that moved across south-eastern Australia. The front was followed by a slow moving high pressure system that directed persistent cold southerly airflow across the south-east of the country. Clear skies and light winds under the high pressure system resulted in daily minimum temperatures 4 to 8 °C below the May average across much of the country between 18 and 22 May. Many sites recorded their lowest May minimum temperature on record, including:

• −3.3 °C at Wynyard Airport (Tasmania) on 18 May (41 years of data)
• −3.5 °C at Coonawarra (South Australia) on 19 May (40 years of data)
• −5.5 °C at Coldstream (Victoria) on 20 May (31 years of data).

On 19 May, many stations set early season temperature records, including Adelaide West Terrace/ngayirdapira, which observed a daily minimum temperature of 3.1 °C, the stations second-lowest for May and an early season minimum temperature record, and Melbourne city, with a minimum temperature of 2 °C, its lowest this early in the season since 1946. Between 18 and 22 May, frost was observed across large parts of South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

Wet in parts of the east coast

Between 15 and 17 May, widespread showers, rain and isolated thunderstorms impacted much of eastern Australia as moisture was advected by a low pressure system located off the east coast. Three-day rainfall totals (ending 9 am 17 May) exceeded 50 mm at a number of stations in south-eastern Queensland and far north-eastern new South Wales and flash flooding was reported in some areas. The highest daily rainfall total during this event, 101.4 mm, was recorded at Abercorn (Queensland); it was the record highest daily rainfall for this station which has 78 years of data. 

Persistent heavy to intense rainfall and flooding for the New South Wales coast

A low pressure trough off the coast of New South Wales that started to develop on 18 May combined with moist air from the Tasman Sea directed by a near-stationary high-pressure system. The trough brought heavy rainfall and damaging winds to the Hunter and Sydney Metropolitan districts. In the 24 hours to 9 am on 19 May:

• Newcastle Nobbys Signal Station AWS recorded 99.0 mm
• Williamtown RAAF (75 years of data) recorded 103.6 mm, its record highest daily rainfall for May
• Morisset (Bay St) (25 years of data) recorded 126.0 mm, its record highest daily rainfall for May.

As the low pressure trough slowly tracked northwards between 19 and 21 May, areas with heavy rainfall were mostly across the Mid North Coast, northern regions of the Hunter and parts of the Northern Tablelands districts. Multiple stations had daily rainfall totals exceeding 200 mm, with the highest daily total of 337.0 mm at Bellingen (Crystal Creek) in the 24 hours to 9 am on 22 May. Many stations had their record highest daily rainfall totals for May or for any month (annual) between 19 and 23 May, including several stations with more than 100 years of data. From 22 May, rainfall spread across much of eastern and into central New South Wales due to a low pressure system which developed over western New South Wales on 22 May, pulling the trough southwards and further inland.

This rainfall led to flash flooding and widespread minor to major riverine flooding along most of the east coast of New South Wales between 19 and 22 May. The Manning River at Taree exceeding major flood levels reaching a new annual record of 6.45 m on 22 May. There were also reports of rivers reaching Major flood levels in catchments across the Hunter and Mid North Coast districts.

Cold front south-eastern Australia 26 to 27 May

On Monday 26 May, a low pressure system and associated cold front moved across south-eastern Australia. Northerly winds ahead of this system generated strong to damaging winds across South Australia and Victoria, resulting in areas of raised dust across central and eastern parts of South Australia, western and northern Victoria and southern and central parts of New South Wales. This led to reduced visibility and some areas were covered in red dust. The dust cloud moved across parts of Victoria towards south-eastern and central areas of New South Wales including Sydney, and across the Tasman Sea as far as New Zealand.

On 26 May, maximum daily wind gusts across parts of south-eastern South Australia and north-western Victoria exceeded 70 km/h, with many sites recording their highest daily wind gust on record for May, including Loxton Research Centre in South Australia (28 years of data) and 87 km/h at Hopetoun Airport in Victoria (22 years of data).

This system was also associated with rainfall across south-eastern Australia in the 24 hours to 9 am on 27 May, with 10 to 25 mm of rainfall across parts of south-eastern South Australia and south-western Victoria, and falls greater than 25 mm across the Adelaide Metropolitan and Mount Lofty Ranges districts and across New South Wales Southern Mountains, Hunter and Northern Tablelands districts.

Snow was reported across alpine areas of Victoria and southern New South Wales, with up to 15 cm of snow at Perisher in New South Wales.

Coastal areas of South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania were impacted by abnormally high tides and large waves, with coastal inundation observed for low-lying areas on the high tide.

Unseasonable rainfall for parts of northern Australia

Much of northern Australia had several days of unseasonable rainfall at the end of the month, as a surface trough off the Western Australian Kimberley coast directed tropical moisture from the Indian Ocean towards northern and central parts of the country. Typically, in northern and central parts of Australia, the average May rainfall is up to 25 mm, however this system brought moderate to heavy daily rainfall in excess of the May average for several days. Rainfall totals in the 48 hours to 9 am on 28 May were greater than 50 mm across the Kimberly district of Western Australia and western, northern and central areas of the Northern Territory, with falls greater than 100 mm in some areas. Many sites in Western Australia had their highest daily rainfall on record on 27 May including:

• 76.0 mm at Udialla (Western Australia) (96 years of data)
• 60.0 mm at Nicholson (101 years of data)

and on 28 May in the Northern Territory including:

• 184.0 mm at Katherine Council (153 years of data)
• 179.8 mm at Tindal RAAF (45 years of data).

This rainfall led to creek and river levels rising and flood watches were issued for northern and inland parts of Western Australia and west and south-west Northern Territory. This system shifted into Queensland moving eastwards towards the coast, generating light to moderate rainfall across inland, central and northern parts of Queensland  

This cloud band combined with southerly winds brought several days of below average temperatures for northern and central parts of the country, with daytime temperatures 6 to 12°C below average between 27 and 29 May, and many sites across southern regions of the Northern Territory and western Queensland had their lowest May daytime temperature on record including:

• Watarrka (Northern Territory) recorded 11.2 °C (32 years of data) on 27 May
• Birdsville Airport (Queensland) recorded 14.8 °C (25 years of data) on 28 May
• Mount Isa Aero (Queensland) recorded 15.1 °C (59 years of data) on 29 May.

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 126 (highest). A rank marked with ’=‘ indicates the value is tied for that rank. Departure from mean is relative to the long-term (1961–1990) average.