Monday 1 March 2021 — Seasonal Climate Summary for Australia — Product Code IDCKGC1A00

Australia in summer 2020–21

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

In Brief

• The national mean temperature for summer was slightly above average
• The mean maximum temperature was below average for Australia as a whole
• The mean minimum temperature was above average for Australia as a whole
• Mean maximum temperatures were cooler than average for much of the mainland, but warmer than average for parts of the west coast, and parts of south-west Queensland and between Fraser Island and Rockhampton
• Mean minimum temperatures were above average for the west and north-west of Western Australia, the north and east of the Northern Territory, all of Queensland, and the northern and eastern margin of New South Wales; they were below average for the northern interior of Western Australia and adjacent Northern Territory, areas of southern inland New South Wales, north-west Victoria, and south-east and northern South Australia
• Rainfall for summer above average for Australia as a whole
• Rainfall for summer above average for much of Western Australia, the north and west of the Northern Territory, western South Australia, far northern Queensland, most of New South Wales away from the west and south-east coast, south-west and north-east Victoria, and northern Tasmania
• Rainfall for the season was below average for an area of eastern Queensland south of Mackay
• Longer-term rainfall deficits still persist in many parts of Australia

---

Temperatures

Summer 2020–21 was warmer than average, with a mean temperature 0.06 °C above average. The national mean maximum temperature was below average at −0.28 °C, while the mean minimum temperature was 0.39 °C warmer than average.

Mean maximum temperatures were cooler than average for much of the mainland, but warmer than average for parts of the west coast, and parts of south-west Queensland and between Fraser Island and Rockhampton. The mean maximum temperature for the season was very much below average (decile 1, the lowest 10% of historical observations) for much of inland eastern Western Australia.

Mean minimum temperatures were above average for the west and north-west of Western Australia, the north and east of the Northern Territory, all of Queensland, and the northern and eastern margin of New South Wales; they were below average for the northern interior of Western Australia and some adjacent parts of the Northern Territory, areas of southern inland New South Wales, north-west Victoria, and south-east and northern South Australia. The mean minimum temperature for the season was very much above average (decile 10, the highest 10% of historical observations) for much of inland Queensland and the Cape York Peninsula and parts of coastal north-west Western Australia.

A very cold start to December saw a few stations near the west coast of Western Australia observed record low temperatures for summer on 1 December, associated with the passage of a tropical low.

Temperature maps
	Mean	Anomaly	Deciles
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures
Mean daily temperatures

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

---

Rainfall

Rainfall for summer was 29% above average for Australia as a whole. Summer 2020–21 was the wettest since 2016–17, and December 2020 was the third wettest December since national records began in 1900.

Rainfall for summer was above average for much of Western Australia, the north and west of the Northern Territory, western South Australia, far northern Queensland, most of New South Wales away from the west and south-east coast, south-west and north-east Victoria, and northern Tasmania . Rainfall for the season was below average for an area of eastern Queensland extending south from Mackay.

Four named tropical cyclones occurred within the Australian region during summer 2020–21, with one (tropical cyclone Imogen) making landfall over the Queensland Gulf Country on 3 January. Imogen's remnants then combined with a coastal trough and low, resulting in widespread moderate rainfall across northern Queensland. A few stations observed their highest daily rainfall on record for summer.

Four unnamed significant tropical lows also brought heavy rain and some flooding to parts of northern Australia, including the Kimberley region in January and Gascoyne and Pilbara regions in early February. A number of stations observed their highest daily rainfall on record for summer.

Many stations in New South Wales set daily rainfall records across a number of events during summer. A number of stations set records for their highest total summer rainfall.

A cold front and low pressure trough brought tropical moisture into Victoria and southern New South Wales in late January to early February. A few stations in Victoria observed record-high daily rainfall for summer and daily totals approached or exceeded the average monthly rainfall across large areas.

Area-average rainfall
	Rank (of 121)	Average (mm)	Departure from mean	Comment
Australia	108	268.7	+29%
Queensland	74	349.8	+8%
New South Wales	101	215.7	+29%
Victoria	83	135.7	+14%
Tasmania	92	282.8	+18%
South Australia	88	67.4	+14%
Western Australia	104	230.2	+54%
Northern Territory	103	442.4	+39%
Murray-Darling Basin	87	160.4	+13%

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 121 (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.

Rainfall maps
	Totals	Percentages	Deciles
Total rainfall

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

---

Australian weather extremes in summer 2020–21
Hottest day	48.7 °C	at Birdsville Airport (Qld) on 5 December
Coldest day	1.9 °C	at Thredbo AWS (NSW) on 6 and 7 December
Coldest night	−6.0 °C	at Perisher Valley AWS (NSW) on 11 December
Warmest night	33.3 °C	at Windorah Airport (Qld) on 3 December
Wettest day	456.0 mm	at Numinbah (Qld) on 13 December

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

---

---

---