Tuesday, 1 June 2021 - Monthly Climate Summary for Queensland - Product code IDCKGC14R0

Queensland in May 2021: a dry end to autumn

Rainfall was below average across most of Queensland in May, apart from the south-east quarter and areas in the far northern tropics. Mean maximum temperatures were warmer than usual across most of the state, and minimum temperatures were cooler than usual in the southern and central interior.

Drier than usual May

• Rainfall was below average across most of the state, except for the south-east quarter, and across parts of the northern tropics. Most of the western half of the state received little or no rain.
• Averaged across the state, it was the 17th-driest May on record for Queensland as a whole, and more than 77% below the long-term average.
• In the first three days of May, a coastal trough off the east coast of Queensland coast produced showers and thunderstorms in the north tropical, and central to south-east coasts. Some short-term sites had their highest May daily rainfall on record.
• A cold front and trough tracked across southern and south-east Queensland on the 4th, triggering thunderstorms and showers, with moderate falls recorded over parts of inland southern and south-east Queensland on the 5th and 6th.
• From the 8th, another surface trough pushed across southern and south-east Queensland, with further showers and thunderstorms developing over parts of the Warrego and Maranoa on the 9th, and the Darling Downs and South East Coast districts on the 10th and 11th.
• Another surface trough located through the southern interior produced moderate falls over the greater south-eastern quarter of Queensland on the 12th and 13th.
• Isolated stream showers affected exposed and elevated parts of Queensland from the 19th until the end of the month.

Maximum temperatures warmer than usual; mean minimum temperatures below average in some parts

• The May mean temperature was 0.39 °C above average.
• The state's mean maximum temperature for May was 0.91 °C above average.
• Maximum temperatures were above average across parts of the Cape York Peninsula, and from the north-west, across the central west, to the east coast of Queensland between Townsville and Fraser Island.
• Maximum temperatures were above average across much of south-west Queensland at the start of the month, but cooler than usual days were observed over southern and then south-eastern parts with the passage of a surface trough on the 5th and 6th.
• Maximum temperatures were warmer than average over most of Queensland from the 8th, and persisted until around the middle of the month.
• From the 14th, maximum temperatures were generally cooler than usual over western and southern Queensland, then for most of the state until the 18th. Days were cooler than usual from the 27th to the end of the month.
• The mean minimum temperature for Queensland as a whole was 0.14 °C below average.
• Minimum temperatures were cooler than usual across the southern interior and parts of the north-west and the inland northern interior. Warmer than usual minimum temperatures were reported in the Gulf Country and coastal parts of the Cape York Peninsula.
• Minimum temperatures were generally warmer than usual across most of the state in the first five days of the month.
• Cooler than usual minima were reported across large parts of Queensland on the 6th and 7th, and contracted to northern parts of the state by the 9th.
• Minima were cooler than usual from the 12th as a high pressure system over southern Queensland ensured clear and calm skies, with the coolest night occurring on the 17th, when large areas of the southern interior reported daily minimum temperatures more than 10 °C below average.
• For the year to date, the mean temperature was 0.51 °C above average, the state's mean maximum temperature was 0.49 °C above average, and the mean minimum (overnight) temperature was 0.53 °C above average.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Extremes in May 2021
Hottest day	36.4 °C at Burketown Airport on the 10th
Warmest days on average	32.7 °C at Burketown Airport
Coolest days on average	17.3 °C at Applethorpe
Coldest day	11.6 °C at Applethorpe on the 5th
Coldest night	-3.0 °C at Stanthorpe Leslie Parade on the 17th
Coolest nights on average	4.8 °C at Stanthorpe Leslie Parade
Warmest nights on average	25.8 °C at Coconut Island
Warmest night	27.0 °C at Coconut Island on the 4th
Warmest on average overall	28.4 °C at Coconut Island
Coolest on average overall	11.1 °C at Applethorpe
Wettest overall	278.4 mm at Rainbow Beach
Wettest day	120.0 mm at Caloundra Airport on the 1st
Strongest wind gust	81 km/h at Double Island Point Lighthouse on the 1st 81 km/h at Double Island Point Lighthouse on the 21st 81 km/h at Double Island Point Lighthouse on the 24th

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Maps
	Observed	Anomaly	Decile rank
Total rainfall
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

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Record highest May daily rainfall
	New record (mm)		Old record		Years of record
Kingaroy Airport	60.0	on the 12th	53.0	on the 1st in 2015	21
Samuel Hill Aero	98.0	on the 1st	53.4	on the 30th in 2013	21

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Highest May total rainfall for at least 20 years
	Observed (mm)	Most recent higher		Average for May
Rainbow Beach	278.4	448.1	in 1999	154.4

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Record lowest May total rainfall
	New record (mm)	Old record		Years of record	Average for May
Low Isles Lighthouse	0.0	5.9	in 1925	130	98.9
Rockhampton Aero	0.0	0.3	in 1970	83	44.6
Oakington	6.0	= 6.0	in 2004	44	57.5

Lowest May total rainfall for at least 20 years
	Observed (mm)	Most recent lower		Average for May
Victoria Sugar Mill	5.4	2.3	in 1953	98.2
Abercorn	2.2	0.0	in 1975	38.3
Warkon	1.4	1.0	in 1985	30.4
Mount McConnell	2.6	0.0	in 1994*	27.0
Greenhaven	18.8	6.2	in 2001	200.6

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a lower value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for May 2021
	Maximum temperatures (°C)				Minimum temperatures (°C)				Rainfall (millimetres)
	Mean for May 2021	Diff from average	Highest for May 2021		Mean for May 2021	Diff from average	Lowest for May 2021		Total for May 2021	Average for May	Rank of May 2021	Fraction of May average
North Peninsula (district 27)
Coconut Island	31.0	-0.4	32.7	2nd	25.8	+0.3	24.3	11th	61.2	69.5	average	88%
Coen Airport	30.4	0.0	32.2	13th	20.0	+0.1	17.3	26th	0	11.9	v low	0%
Horn Island	30.2	+0.1	31.1	12th	25.1	+0.2	23.5	27th	28.0	63.7	average	44%
Scherger RAAF	31.5	-0.3	33.0	13th	21.2	-0.1	19.2	28th	0.2	20.9	v low	1%
Weipa Aero	31.8	-0.1	32.8	14th	21.5	+0.1	19.3	26th	0.8	19.7	low	4%
South Peninsula (district 28)
Lockhart River Airport	29.2	+0.5	30.9	13th	23.0	+0.9	20.3	7th	32.8	101.5	low	32%
Palmerville	31.1	-0.1	33.0	12th	17.0	-0.5	12.0	28th	13.2	15.9	average	83%
Lower Carpentaria (district 29)
Burketown Airport	32.7	+0.9	36.4	10th	18.1	-0.1	13.0	8th	0	5.2	lowest	0%
Century Mine	31.4	0.0	34.9	10th	17.4	+0.2	13.1	31st	0	5.6	v low	0%
Cloncurry Airport	29.7	+0.4	33.4	10th	16.6	+1.0	10.6	7th	0	6.9	lowest	0%
Julia Creek Airport	31.0	+0.4	34.0	10th	13.3	-0.3	6.1	30th	0	8.1	v low	0%
Kowanyama Airport	32.5	+0.3	34.5	10th	19.7	+0.5	15.1	28th	0	11.3	lowest	0%
Lake Julius AWS	29.9		33.1	2nd	17.7		12.7	7th	0
Mornington Island Airport	29.4		32.4	3rd	19.8		15.8	8th	0.2
Mount Isa Aero	29.0	+1.0	32.4	9th	14.4	+0.5	7.3	30th	0	11.6	lowest	0%
Normanton Airport	32.1	+0.2	34.7	10th	19.3	-0.1	15.3	30th	0	5.1	lowest	0%
Sweers Island	28.7	0.0	31.8	10th	22.2	+0.4	18.4	8th	0	5.3	lowest	0%
Upper Carpentaria (district 30)
Georgetown Airport	30.0	-0.3	32.4	10th	15.9	-0.8	10.9	27th	0	13.6	v low	0%
Hughenden Airport	28.8	+0.2	32.4	12th	12.2	-1.5	4.4	30th	0	6.3	lowest	0%
Richmond Airport	30.7	+1.0	33.4	10th	12.3	-1.0	5.3	30th	0	7.5	lowest	0%
Barron North Coast (district 31)
Cairns Aero	28.3	+0.6	31.1	12th	20.4	+0.5	17.6	7th	68.2	91.2	average	75%
Cairns Racecourse	27.7		30.6	12th	19.4		14.9	28th	73.4
Cape Flattery	28.6	0.0	29.7	15th	23.5	+0.2	21.2	31st	61.2	63.3	average	97%
Cooktown Airport	27.7	-0.1	29.4	10th	21.3	+0.1	15.9	28th	21.2	49.8	low	43%
Low Isles Lighthouse	26.8	-0.8	29.4	13th	23.0	+0.1	21.1	25th	0	98.9	lowest	0%
Mareeba Airport	26.5	-0.4	30.1	13th	17.1	+0.3	12.5	28th	5.8	12.8	average	45%
Walkamin Research Station	25.1	0.0	28.6	13th	16.1	-0.1	12.0	28th	17.9	26.1	average	69%
Herbert North Coast (district 32)
Cowley Beach (Defence)	26.3		28.7	13th	19.6		15.7	8th	164.6
Innisfail Aerodrome	27.2		30.5	13th	18.3		13.0	17th	162.8
Mount Stuart (Defence)	28.1		31.8	13th	17.7		13.4	29th	2.2
South Johnstone Exp Stn	26.4	+0.1	29.3	13th	18.9	+0.5	14.4	17th	204.0	266.4	average	77%
Townsville Aero	28.2	+0.5	30.2	12th	17.2	-0.5	11.3	29th	0	33.1	lowest	0%
Townsville- Air Weapons Range (Defence)	27.1		30.5	13th	13.2		5.5	29th	2.0
East Central Coast (district 33)
Alva Beach	26.5	-0.4	28.6	12th	17.3	-0.5	10.8	29th	1.8	39.3	v low	5%
Ayr DPI Research Stn	28.0	+0.4	31.0	5th	15.9	-0.3	7.9	29th	3.0	39.9	low	8%
Bowen Airport AWS	27.9		30.9	12th	17.0		7.7	29th	0.6
Collinsville Post Office	28.3	+0.7	31.6	13th	13.6	-0.2	5.1	29th	3.2	33.0	low	10%
Hamilton Island Airport	23.8	-0.6	27.4	5th	20.3	-0.3	18.2	29th	103.4	90.8	average	114%
Mackay Aero	25.5	+0.2	28.4	5th	15.8	+0.1	7.3	29th	43.2	87.1	low	50%
Mackay M.O	24.5	+0.3	28.5	5th	17.2	0.0	10.7	29th	105.2	102.5	average	103%
Ooralea Racecourse (Mackay Turf Club)	25.6		28.5	5th	15.5		6.3	29th	48.8
Proserpine Airport	27.0	+0.4	30.5	5th	15.6	-0.3	5.8	29th	20.0	64.4	low	31%
Samuel Hill Aero	25.0	+0.1	28.1	11th	13.9	+0.1	6.1	29th	125.8	98.1	high	128%
Townsville- Fanning River (Defence)	27.3		30.5	11th	13.2		5.4	29th	0
Williamson	26.7	+0.4	29.3	11th	13.4	-0.6	7.4	29th	22.4	30.1	average	74%
Woolshed	23.8	-0.2	27.5	5th	13.6	-0.9	4.5	29th	3.8	30.2	low	13%
Yeppoon The Esplanade	24.2	0.0	26.8	12th	15.8	-0.1	9.8	28th	5.0	65.8	v low	8%
West Central Coast (district 34)
Charters Towers Airport	28.0	+0.6	31.0	13th	14.9	-0.3	8.9	30th	2.6	23.4	low	11%
Moranbah Airport	27.8		33.2	11th	12.4		5.4	17th	13.0	28.5	average	46%
Central Highlands (district 35)
Blackwater Airport	27.4		32.1	11th	12.4		7.8	31st	11.2
Clermont Airport	26.6	+0.7	31.9	11th	9.2	-1.2	2.5	17th	19.4	15.1	average	128%
Emerald Airport	27.5	+1.1	31.9	11th	12.8	-0.3	7.6	17th	17.6	17.9	average	98%
Lochington	27.1	+0.9	32.2	11th	8.6	-1.7	1.1	17th	4.8	8.8	average	55%
Rolleston Airport	26.5	+0.7	31.5	10th	9.6	-0.6	3.6	17th	0	15.0	v low	0%
Springsure Comet St	26.5	+1.2	30.7	11th	10.4	-0.5	4.1	6th	3.0	34.2	low	9%
Tambo Post Office	25.2	+0.2	30.9	10th	7.1	-1.1	-0.1	17th	10.0	33.1	average	30%
Taroom Post Office	25.3	+0.6	30.7	11th	8.8	-0.9	1.9	18th	33.0	38.8	average	85%
Central Lowlands (district 36)
Barcaldine Post Office	26.9	+0.9	31.5	10th	12.8	+0.3	6.7	17th	0	29.0	lowest	0%
Blackall Airport	26.6	+0.3	31.6	10th	10.5	-0.3	3.9	19th	0	11.9	lowest	0%
Isisford Post Office	27.3	+1.0	31.9	10th	11.1	-0.2	5.5	17th	0	27.4	lowest	0%
Longreach Aero	27.9	+0.8	32.3	10th	11.9	-0.1	6.1	6th	0	23.4	lowest	0%
Upper Western (district 37)
Camooweal Township	30.3	+1.3	33.5	9th	13.0	-0.5	6.2	18th	0	10.5	lowest	0%
Carters Bore	28.2		31.6	4th	16.5		12.2	30th	0
New May Downs	28.5		32.0	9th	15.7		10.9	30th	1.8
The Monument Airport	27.9	+0.2	32.2	4th	12.1	+0.1	5.2	30th	0	9.5	lowest	0%
Trepell Airport	28.4	+0.2	32.8	4th	12.6	-0.4	6.0	30th	0	6.7	lowest	0%
Urandangi Aerodrome	28.8		33.4	3rd	11.6		5.2	14th	0
Winton Airport	28.8	+0.2	32.7	9th	12.9	-0.2	7.9	30th	0	11.2	v low	0%
Lower Western (district 38)
Bedourie	26.7	+0.2	33.7	2nd	11.9	0.0	6.1	18th	0	11.0	lowest	0%
Birdsville Airport	26.0	+0.2	32.7	3rd	10.6	-1.0	5.4	30th	0	7.9	lowest	0%
Windorah Airport	26.1		31.3	2nd	12.1		6.5	17th	0
Port Curtis South Coast (district 39)
Bundaberg Aero	25.9	+1.1	29.3	12th	13.8	-0.4	9.6	17th	7.4	65.1	v low	11%
Gayndah Airport	25.7	+0.1	30.1	11th	10.1	-0.7	2.8	18th	21.2	25.4	average	83%
Gladstone Airport	26.6	+0.9	29.2	11th	15.6	0.0	9.6	17th	6.6	33.3	v low	20%
Gladstone Radar	26.8	+1.1	29.9	13th	16.8	-0.2	12.8	6th	15.4	54.0	low	29%
Lady Elliot Island	24.2	+0.1	27.7	12th	19.1	-0.5	13.3	16th	163.2	114.7	high	142%
Rockhampton Aero	27.7	+1.6	31.7	11th	13.9	-0.4	8.3	17th	0	44.6	lowest	0%
Rundle Island	23.3	-0.2	25.8	7th	19.2	-0.2	16.0	28th
Thangool Airport	26.6	+0.4	31.2	11th	8.2	-1.8	0.5	28th	3.2	37.5	v low	9%
Moreton South Coast (district 40)
Amberley AMO	24.2	+0.1	28.6	10th	8.7	-1.2	2.4	17th	60.2	52.0	high	116%
Archerfield Airport	24.1	+0.1	28.8	10th	11.3	-0.6	5.9	29th	72.0	71.7	high	100%
Beaudesert Drumley Street	24.2	0.0	28.6	10th	9.5	0.0	2.9	17th	100.4	51.4	high	195%
Beerburrum Forest Station	23.4	-0.6	28.7	10th	12.5	-0.1	7.1	29th	72.6	119.5	average	61%
Brisbane	23.9	-0.6	28.1	10th	13.9	+0.1	8.7	17th	89.8	61.1	high	147%
Brisbane Aero	23.3	-0.3	27.1	11th	12.8	-0.2	7.5	17th	127.8	96.6	high	132%
Canungra (Defence)	23.3		27.5	10th	8.0		1.8	17th	88.6
Cape Moreton Lighthouse	22.0	+0.1	24.6	10th	16.5	0.0	12.2	6th	100.8	165.3	average	61%
Coolangatta	23.4	+0.2	27.6	10th	13.6	-0.3	7.1	17th	93.4	129.3	average	72%
Double Island Point Lighthouse	22.9	+0.5	28.3	12th	17.2	-0.1	12.2	6th	165.0	143.9	average	115%
Gold Coast Seaway	23.4	-0.2	28.1	10th	15.0	-0.4	9.8	17th	76.8	96.8	average	79%
Greenbank (Defence)	23.9		28.1	10th	9.7		3.8	17th	121.8
Gympie	24.9	+0.4	28.8	12th	11.7	+0.9	5.2	15th	29.6	70.7	low	42%
Hervey Bay Airport	24.5	+0.2	28.2	12th	13.8	-0.3	9.3	16th	110.8	89.8	high	123%
Kingaroy Airport	22.0	-0.5	27.1	10th	7.6	+0.3	-0.7	28th	79.2	32.9	v high	241%
Logan City Water Treatment Plant	23.8	-0.3	29.2	10th	13.1	+0.5	8.5	29th	108.0	96.6	high	112%
Maryborough	25.3	+0.6	29.1	12th	12.7	-0.4	7.3	16th	69.4	77.5	average	90%
Nambour Daff - Hillside	24.0	+0.2	28.5	10th	13.4	-0.1	6.3	17th	125.4	109.0	average	115%
Rainbow Beach	24.2	+0.5	26.9	12th					278.4	154.4	high	180%
Redcliffe	23.5	0.0	25.9	11th	14.0	-0.4	9.0	17th	136.2	67.9	high	201%
Redland (Alexandra Hills)	22.9		26.5	11th	13.1		8.5	16th	93.2
Sunshine Coast Airport	23.5	-0.1	27.0	10th	13.8	+0.2	6.0	17th	107.0	149.9	average	71%
Tewantin RSL Park	24.3	+0.6	28.2	10th	14.8	0.0	8.6	17th	123.6	143.1	average	86%
Tin Can Bay (Defence)	24.0		28.3	10th	13.6		7.7	16th	179.4
University of Queensland Gatton	23.7	-0.1	28.6	10th	10.1	-0.1	4.1	17th	90.0	45.3	high	199%
East Darling Downs (district 41)
Applethorpe	17.3	-0.2	21.0	3rd	5.0	-1.0	-2.7	17th	50.6	47.4	average	107%
Dalby Airport	22.3	-1.0	27.1	11th	7.5	-0.8	0.0	28th	44.6	35.4	high	126%
Goondiwindi Airport	22.0		26.5	1st	8.3		1.9	17th	29.0
Oakey Aero	21.7	-0.6	26.3	11th	6.1	-1.7	-1.8	28th	44.2	38.6	high	115%
Stanthorpe Leslie Parade	18.3	-0.1	22.0	3rd	4.8	-0.6	-3.0	17th	34.4	45.8	average	75%
Texas Post Office	21.5	-1.5	25.6	1st	7.8	-0.2	0.1	17th	50.1	38.9	high	129%
Toowoomba Airport	19.0	-0.9	24.0	10th	9.1	-0.9	2.8	28th	60.2	36.5	high	165%
Warwick	20.6	-0.7	24.2	10th	6.8	-0.1	-1.0	17th	50.8	39.1	high	130%
West Darling Downs (district 42)
Miles Constance Street	23.3	-0.6	29.1	11th	7.3	-0.8	0.1	18th	19.6	21.8	average	90%
Maranoa (district 43)
Injune Post Office	24.0	+0.4	30.0	9th	5.2	-2.5	-2.2	17th	4.4	31.3	low	14%
Mitchell Post Office	24.3	+1.1	29.3	9th	5.5	-1.6	-2.9	17th	7.2	31.6	low	23%
Roma Airport	24.3	+0.4	29.2	9th	6.2	-1.5	-2.4	17th	3.0	30.7	v low	10%
St George Airport	23.2	-0.1	28.5	26th	8.4	-0.6	0.5	17th	14.0	25.3	average	55%
Surat	23.8	+0.2	28.3	10th	7.2	-1.6	-0.8	17th	2.6	33.1	low	8%
Warrego (district 44)
Bollon Mary St	23.0	-0.1	28.0	10th	8.2	-0.4	0.0	17th	3.7	31.4	low	12%
Charleville Aero	24.6	+1.2	29.5	10th	8.5	-0.5	0.4	17th	0	29.6	lowest	0%
Cunnamulla Post Office	23.7	+0.7	28.8	3rd	9.9	0.0	3.2	17th	0.4	29.1	low	1%
Far Southwest (district 45)
Ballera Gas Field	24.7	+0.1	31.5	3rd	10.5	-1.0	5.1	17th	0	10.4	lowest	0%
Thargomindah Airport	24.1	0.0	30.1	3rd	10.7	-0.3	2.9	17th	0	15.1	lowest	0%
Offshore Islands (district 200)
Bougainville Reef	26.8		27.8	10th	24.7		21.6	23rd
Cato Island	24.5		27.1	13th	21.3		18.2	31st
Creal Reef	25.1		28.6	5th	22.6		18.1	1st
Flinders Reef	26.1		27.2	11th	23.4		20.1	27th
Frederick Reef	24.8		26.3	9th	22.5		18.9	30th
Gannet Cay	24.8		27.1	10th	21.7		18.0	31st
Holmes Reef	26.7		28.0	12th	24.6		21.6	28th
Lihou Reef Lighthouse	26.5		28.1	10th	24.6		21.3	29th
Marion Reef	25.6		26.9	9th	23.4		20.7	21st
Middle Percy Island	23.3	0.0	26.3	12th	18.9	-0.2	15.8	28th	97.0	82.2	average	118%
Willis Island	28.5	+0.7	29.8	11th	24.8	+0.9	21.8	29th	25.4	71.9	average	35%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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