Thursday, 5 January 2017 - Annual Climate Summary for Brisbane - Product code IDCKGC54L0

Brisbane in 2016: Dry and record warm

Rainfall was below average for Brisbane in 2016. Mean maximum temperatures were the warmest on record for Brisbane City. Mean minimum temperatures were also above average at all metropolitan locations.

Dry overall, but a wet winter

  • Overall, rainfall was below average in the Brisbane metropolitan area for 2016
  • A very dry start to the year, particularly in February
  • Heavy rainfall in June, and the wettest month of this year
  • Locally heavy falls occurred during June on the 4th and 5th, and then the 19th and 20th
  • The wettest day of the year occurred to 9am on 20 June, with 182.0 mm reported at Oxley, as an East Coast Low affected the southeast
  • At least 759.8 mm fell in the city gauge, although the exact total is unknown due to equipment outages in January and February - for comparison, nearby rainfall stations measured annual rainfall totals of 849.7 mm at the Brisbane Airport and 713.0 mm at Archerfield

Warm days and nights

  • Temperatures were well above average at sites across Brisbane, with some locations having their highest mean daily maximum, highest mean daily minimum, or highest mean temperature on record
  • Brisbane City's mean daily maximum of 27.3 °C was the warmest on record from this site or the old site in Ann Street
  • The mean minimum temperature of 17.1 °C at Brisbane City was the warmest on record for this site, although there were warmer years at the old Ann Street site
  • Very hot days in February, particularly at the start and middle of the month.

Fog, Severe thunderstorms

  • Thick fog blanketed Brisbane City on 18 July, causing major disruptions to transportation services
  • A line of severe thunderstorms produced damaging winds in and around Brisbane, with a maximum wind gust of 157 km/h recorded at the Brisbane Airport on 13 November
  • Severe thunderstorms moved through the Brisbane metropolitan area on 18 December, with wind gusts up to 100 km/h recorded at Amberley, and heavy rainfall recorded in and around Ipswich caused flash flooding

Further information

Media
(03) 9669 4057
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Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes in 2016
Hottest day 38.9 °C at Amberley AMO on 16 Feb
Warmest days on average 28.0 °C at Amberley AMO
Coolest days on average 25.8 °C at Redcliffe
Coldest day 16.0 °C at Amberley AMO on 26 Jun
Coldest night 0.1 °C at Amberley AMO on 3 Jul
Coolest nights on average 13.5 °C at Amberley AMO
Warmest nights on average 17.6 °C at Redcliffe
Warmest night 26.0 °C at Brisbane on 19 Feb
Warmest on average overall 22.2 °C at Brisbane
Coolest on average overall 20.8 °C at Amberley AMO
Wettest overall 1087.1 mm at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-Tha
Driest overall 712.1 mm at Logan City Water Treatment Plant
Wettest day 182.0 mm at Oxley on 20 Jun
Strongest wind gust 157 km/h at Brisbane Aero on 13 Nov

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Record highest annual mean daily maximum temperature

New record
(°C)		 Old
record		 Years of
record		 Annual
average
Brisbane^ 27.3 27.2 in 2004 116 26.5
Archerfield Airport 27.6 27.4 in 2014 37 26.3
Logan City Water Treatment Plant 27.0 26.8 in 2009 23 26.0

Observations and annual average taken from current (open) site. Years of record calculated using old (closed) and current (open) sites.



Record highest annual mean daily minimum temperature

New record
(°C)		 Old
record		 Years of
record		 Annual
average
Brisbane Aero 16.5 = 16.5 in 1998 20 15.6


Record highest annual mean temperature

New record
(°C)		 Old
record		 Years of
record		 Annual
average
Brisbane^ 22.2 22.0 in 2005 116 21.4
Archerfield Airport 21.6 21.3 in 1998 37 20.3
Brisbane Aero 21.2 21.0 in 2014 20 20.5

^Observations and annual average taken from current (open) site. Years of record calculated using old (closed) and current (open) sites.


Highest annual mean temperature for at least 20 years

Observed
(°C)		 Most recent
higher		 Annual
average
Amberley AMO 20.8 21.2 in 1973 19.9


Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for 2016

Maximum temperatures
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
(°C)		 Rainfall
(millimetres)
Mean
for
2016		 Diff
from
average		 Highest
for
2016		 Mean
for
2016		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest
for
2016		 Total
for
2016		 Average
annual
total		 Rank
of
2016		 Fraction
of annual
average
Amberley AMO 28.0 +1.2 38.9 16 Feb 13.5 +0.4 0.1 3 Jul 718.4 863.3 low 83%
Archerfield Airport 27.6 +1.3 37.8 1 Feb 15.6 +1.2 3.5 3 Jul 713.0 1061.0 low 67%
Brisbane 27.3 +0.8 36.2 2 Feb 17.1 +0.8 6.6 26 Jun 759.8* 1021.6 N/A N/A
Brisbane Aero 25.9 +0.6 36.3 2 Feb 16.5 +0.9 4.6 26 Jun 849.7 1049.0 low 81%
Logan City Water Treatment Plant 27.0 +1.0 38.0 16 Feb 16.0      +1.0  4.3 26 Jun 712.1 1079.0 v low 66%
Redcliffe 25.8 +0.6 36.4 2 Feb 17.6 +0.7 5.6 26 Jun N/A 1087.6 N/A N/A
* the exact total is not known following equipment outages in January and February

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Notes

The Annual climate summary, generally published on the second working day of the year, lists the main features of the weather in Brisbane using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. More extensive discussion of significant weather events, along with later information and data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review.

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 9 am on Tuesday 3 January 2017. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

Averages for individual sites are long-term means based on observations from all available years of record, which vary widely from site to site. They are not shown for sites with less than 10 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median is sometimes more representative than the mean of long-term average rain.

The Rank indicates how rainfall this time compares with the climate record for the site, based on the decile ranking (very low rainfall is in decile 1, low in decile 2 or 3, average in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9 and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of average shows how much rain has fallen this time as a percentage of the long-term mean.

Where temperature area averages are mentioned, they are derived from the ACORN-SAT dataset.

Further information

Media
(03) 9669 4057
Enquiries