Friday, 8 January 2021 - Annual Climate Summary for Greater Brisbane - Product code IDCKGC54L0

Greater Brisbane in 2020: average rainfall; warmer than usual

Rainfall was slightly above average for Greater Brisbane in 2020. Thunderstorms and showers generated the bulk of the annual rainfall, with severe thunderstorms at the end of October.

Both mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures were above average across Greater Brisbane.

Close to average rainfall

• Below average annual rainfall was reported across Greater Brisbane. Bursts of thunderstorm activity throughout the start and end of the year brought locally heavy, intense rainfall totals.
• In January, severe thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall and flash flooding in Brisbane. More than 140 mm was recorded from 16 to 19 January at Brisbane, accounting for around 13% of the annual rainfall total for the site in 2020.
• A near-stationary coastal trough over the south-east from 6 February generated persistent showers and thunderstorms until the middle of that month, with nearly one-third of Brisbane's annual total falling in the nine days from 6 to 14 February.
• Moist onshore flow brought showers and moderate falls to Brisbane on from 4 to 13 March, with close to average March rainfall reported across most of Greater Brisbane.
• April and May were both dry months in terms of absolute values and compared to the long-term average. Brisbane reported less than 20 mm (5.2 mm in April and 12.2 mm in May), compared to the long-term average of 120 mm. 100 mm was reported in Brisbane for June and July (close to average), with persistent showers and periods of rain through the two months.
• August and September were also drier than usual, but these are the two driest months of the year in Brisbane.
• October was particularly active in terms of severe thunderstorms, with heavy rainfall reported across Greater Brisbane between 25 to 31 October. 167.6 mm was recorded at Brisbane from 25 to 29 October, and accounted for around 16% of the annual rainfall total in 2020. 
• November was much drier than usual, with very little rain falling in Brisbane.
• It was a dry start to December, but moist onshore flow associated with a trough off the south-east coast brought showers and storms, and moderate falls to Greater Brisbane in the middle of the month. 114 mm was recorded from 12 to 18 December, and accounted for around 11% of the annual rainfall total in 2020.

Warmer than usual

• Both mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures were warmer than usual across Greater Brisbane for 2020.
• Warm days and nights occurred in January across Greater Brisbane.
• February was wetter than usual, and the thick cloud cover throughout the month resulted in warmer than usual minimum temperatures.
• March temperatures were close to average, but April had warmer than usual daytime temperatures (due to a lack of notable rainfall).
• May was a cooler than usual month for both maximum and minimum temperatures.
• Winter mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures were warmer than usual.
• By late September, maximum temperature were close to, or over, 30 °C at some sites. This led to warmer than usual spring mean maximum temperatures, particularly at inland sites.
• December temperatures were generally warmer than usual. A severe heatwave across the south-east at the end of November and beginning of December saw very warm days and nights.

Brisbane

• An equipment outage in March means the exact total for Brisbane is not known, but comparison with neighbouring sites suggests annual rainfall of around 1045 mm, which is 103% of the long-term average of 1011.5 mm.
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Brisbane was 26.9 °C, which is 0.3 °C above the long-term average of 26.6 °C. The warmest day was 34.5 °C on 3 Feb, and the coolest day was on 23 May when the temperature reached 15.1 °C.
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Brisbane was 17.2 °C, which is 0.8 °C above the long-term average of 16.4 °C. The coldest morning was 7.6 °C on 5 Jul, and the warmest morning was on 23 Jan when the minimum temperature was 26.7 °C.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top