Tuesday, 9 January 2018 - Annual Climate Summary for Greater Brisbane - Product code IDCKGC54L0

Greater Brisbane in 2017: Warm overall, average rainfall

Temperatures in Greater Brisbane were very warm overall in 2017, with Brisbane's mean temperature the warmest on record. The mean maximum temperature equalled the record set in 2016. Brisbane rainfall was close to the long-term average at most locations.

Record warm temperatures

  • Warmest mean maximum temperature on record for Brisbane, with 27.3 °C, equalling the mean maximum temperature record set in 2016
  • A mean temperature of 22.2 °C for Brisbane was the warmest on record, equalling the 2016 record
  • Mean minimum temperature at Brisbane well above average, and ranking as the third-warmest on record
  • Brisbane had a warm start to the year (January to March) for both mean maximum (31.5 °C) and mean minimum temperatures (22.6 °C)
  • February was persistently warm, with Brisbane recording 26 consecutive days above 30.0 °C
  • The hottest day occurred on 12 February when Gatton reached 45.7 °C, its highest temperature on record
  • Warmest March on record for Brisbane, Amberley, Archerfield and Brisbane Aero in terms of mean temperature
  • July saw record warm mean maximum temperatures at some locations, and Brisbane had its second-warmest mean maximum temperature on record, and only 0.1 °C below the record (is 23.0 °C in July 2004)
  • Record warm days and nights on 28 and 29 September as part of an exceptional and extended heat event that affected eastern Australia
  • Most locations recorded their coldest nights in July or August; Gatton reported the coldest temperature with -1.0 °C on 26 July and again on 10 August

Rainfall

  • Annual rainfall totals tended near average at most locations
  • Average rainfall was received in January followed by a very dry and hot February
  • Wettest March on record for many Brisbane locations, as a result of severe tropical cyclone Debbie and the wettest for any month; some sites had their highest annual daily rainfall on record
  • April was very dry, followed by near-average winter rainfall
  • Record high October rainfall at some Brisbane locations
  • Severe thunderstorms during December produced moderate to locally heavy falls around Greater Brisbane

Brisbane

  • Brisbane's annual rainfall total was at least 1076.4 mm, which is 107% above the long-term average of 1011.1 mm. Due to equipment failures during the year, the true total is unknown.
  • The mean daily maximum temperature for Brisbane was 27.3 °C, which is 0.8 °C above the long-term average of 26.5 °C. The warmest day was 37.6 °C on 12 February, and the coolest day was on 7 July when the temperature reached 16.4 °C
  • The mean daily minimum temperature for Brisbane was 17.1 °C, which is 0.8 °C above the long-term average of 16.3 °C. The coldest morning was 5.9 °C on 24 July, and the warmest morning was on 21 January when the minimum temperature was 28.0 °C

Severe tropical cyclone Debbie brings flooding

  • Major riverine flooding occurred in the Logan and Albert Rivers, Warrill Creek, Bremer River and Lockyer Creek in March in the wake of severe tropical cyclone Debbie
  • Waterford, on the Logan River, peaked at 10.4 m on 1 April, the highest since the flood peak of 12.95 m in January 1974
  • Major flood levels were recorded at Beenleigh on the Albert River and Amberley on Warrill Creek at the very beginning of April

Further information

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

Extremes in 2017
Hottest day 45.7 °C at University of Queensland Gatton on 12 Feb
Warmest days on average 28.4 °C at University of Queensland Gatton
Coolest days on average 25.0 °C at Cape Moreton Lighthouse
Coldest day 15.2 °C at Archerfield Airport and at University of Queensland Gatton, both on 7 Jul
Coldest night -1.0 °C at University of Queensland Gatton on 26 Jul and on 10 Aug
Coolest nights on average 13.3 °C at Amberley AMO
Warmest nights on average 19.4 °C at Cape Moreton Lighthouse
Warmest night 28.0 °C at Brisbane on 21 Jan
Warmest on average overall 22.2 °C at Brisbane and at Cape Moreton Lighthouse
Coolest on average overall 20.6 °C at Beaudesert Drumley Street
Wettest overall 1662.6 mm at Landsborough
Wettest day 400.0 mm at Green Mountains on 30 Mar
Strongest wind gust 115 km/h at Inner Reciprocal Marker on 13 Feb
115 km/h at Cape Moreton Lighthouse and at Redcliffe, both on 30 Mar

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Record highest daily rainfall

New record
(mm)		 Old
record		 Years of
record
Lumeah 297.0 on 31 Mar 226.0 on 2 Apr 1989 71
Maclean Bridge 242.0 on 31 Mar 172.0 on 28 Jan 2013 35
Jimboomba Millstream Road 269.8 on 31 Mar 227.8 on 7 Nov 2004 30


Record highest temperature

New record
(°C)		 Old
record		 Years of
record		 Annual
average
University of Queensland Gatton 45.7 on 12 Feb 44.5 on 6 Jan 1994 53 26.9


Record highest annual mean daily maximum temperature

New record
(°C)		 Old
record		 Years of
record		 Annual
average
Brisbane^ 27.3 =27.3 in 2016 117 26.5
Cape Moreton Lighthouse 25.0 = 25.0 in 2016 106 23.3
Logan City Water Treatment Plant 27.0 = 27.0 in 2016 24 26.0
Brisbane Aero 26.0 = 26.0 in 2004 21 25.4
^New record, Old record and 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
Cape Moreton Lighthouse 19.4 = 19.4 in 1973 104 18.0
Logan City Water Treatment Plant 16.0 = 16.0 in 2016 24 15.1
Brisbane Aero 16.5 = 16.5 in 2016 21 15.7


Record highest annual mean temperature

New record
(°C)		 Old
record		 Years of
record		 Annual
average
Brisbane ^ 22.2 22.2 in 2016 117 21.4
Cape Moreton Lighthouse 22.2 22.1 in 2016 104 20.7
Brisbane Aero 21.3 21.2 in 2016 21 20.5


Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for 2017

Maximum temperatures
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
(°C)		 Rainfall
(millimetres)
Mean
for
2017		 Diff
from
average		 Highest
for
2017		 Mean
for
2017		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest
for
2017		 Total
for
2017		 Average
annual
total		 Rank
of
2017		 Fraction
of annual
average
Amberley AMO 28.0 +1.2 43.0 12 Feb 13.3 +0.2 -0.9 20 Aug 915.8 864.0 average 106%
Archerfield Airport 27.6 +1.3 40.0 12 Feb 15.4 +1.0 3.4 25 Jul 1165.0 1062.2 average 110%
Beaudesert Drumley Street 27.7 N/A 43.1 12 Feb 13.6  N/A -0.7 9 Aug 1221.0 N/A N/A N/A
Beerburrum Forest Station 27.4 +0.9 39.9 12 Feb 15.2 +0.4 4.4 21 Aug 1401.2 1419.8 average 99%
Brisbane 27.3 +0.8 37.6 12 Feb 17.1 +0.8 5.9 24 Jul 1076.4* 1001.1 average 107%
Brisbane Aero 26.0 +0.6 34.9 29 Sep 16.5 +0.8 4.3 24 Jul 859.2* 1017.9 average 84%
Cape Moreton Lighthouse 25.0 +1.7 32.1 7 Feb 19.4 +1.4 11.1 20 Aug 923.6 1489.0 low 62%
Logan City Water Treatment Plant 27.0 +1.0 38.5 12 Feb 16.0 +0.9 5.1 24 Jul 1249.8 1087.1 average 115%
Redcliffe 25.9 +0.7 35.9 21 Jan 17.6 +0.6 6.9 24 Jul 1018.0 1051.9 average 97%
Redland (Alexandra Hills) 25.7  N/A 34.6 17 Mar 16.3 N/A 5.3 10 Aug N/A N/A N/A N/A
University of Queensland Gatton 28.4 +1.5 45.7 12 Feb 13.4 +0.4 -1.0 26 Jul 797.2 772.4 average 103%
*Due to equipment failures during the year, the true total is unknown

Extremes Maps 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 Greater 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.

In September 2017 this summary was broadened to include data from observing sites in or near the Greater Brisbane “Greater Capital City Statistical Area” (GCCSA). The Australian Bureau of Statistics designed the GCCSAs to “include the population within the urban area of the city, as well as people who regularly socialise, shop or work within the city, and live in small towns and rural areas surrounding the city. It is important to note that GCCSAs do not define the built up edge of the city. They provide a stable definition for these cities and are designed for the output of a range of social and economic survey data.”

This statement has been prepared based on information available on Tuesday 9 January 2018. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

In some situations, some or all of the rainfall is in the form of hail or snow. In these cases the totals given are for the water equivalent: the depth of liquid water that results from melting any frozen precipitation. There can be significant 'undercatch' of snow in strong winds, meaning the true precipitation can be higher than that reported.

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
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