Australia in spring 2024

In brief

• Australia's warmest spring on record since 1910, 2.08 °C above the 1961–1990 average.

• Queensland had its warmest spring on record, while for all other states and territories, spring was amongst their respective top ten warmest on record.

• Australia's area-averaged mean maximum temperature for spring was 2.10 °C above the 1961–1990 average, the seventh-warmest on record.

• Australia's area-averaged mean minimum temperature was 2.05 °C above the 1961–1990 average, the warmest on record.

• Both mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures were warmer than average for most of Australia.

• The national area-averaged spring rainfall was 28% above the 1961–1990 average.

• Spring rainfall was above average for most of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, large parts of South Australia and Queensland, and areas in northern New South Wales, far north-western Victoria and the north and west of Tasmania.

• Spring rainfall was below average in large parts of Victoria, south-eastern South Australia and south-western Western Australia, and areas in south-eastern New South Wales and north-eastern Queensland.

Further information and tables of records for each state and the Northern Territory can be found in the individual regional climate summaries, to be issued on 4 December. For discussion of events during spring, see the individual monthly climate summaries for Australia for September, October and November.

Temperatures

Australia's national area-averaged mean temperature for spring was 2.08 °C above the 1961–1990 average, the warmest spring on record since national observations began in 1910.

Queensland had its warmest spring on record, surpassing the previous record set in 2020 by around 0.4 °C. For all other states and territories, spring was amongst their respective top ten warmest on record.

Australia's area-averaged mean maximum temperature was 2.10 °C above the 1961–1990 spring average, the seventh-warmest on record.

Mean maximum temperatures were above average to very much above average (in the highest 10% of all springs since 1910) for most of Australia. Mean maximum temperatures this spring were the highest on record for small areas of the western Kimberley in Western Australia and Queensland's central-west and Cape York Peninsula.

The national mean minimum temperature was 2.05 °C above the 1961–1990 average for spring, the warmest on record since 1910.

Western Australia and Queensland had their warmest spring mean minimum temperature on record, while for South Australia the mean minimum temperature was the second-warmest on record. For all other states and territories spring mean minimum temperatures were in their respective top ten warmest on record.

Mean minimum temperatures for spring were above average to very much above average (in the highest 10% of all springs since 1910) for most of Australia. Mean minimum temperatures were the highest on record for large parts of the Kimberley, Pilbara and Southern Interior districts in Western Australia, pastoral districts in South Australia extending into large parts of the Channel Country and adjacent regions, as well as for Queensland's south-east. Many stations in these areas had their record highest mean minimum temperature for spring.

Hot days and warm nights occurred regularly across northern and in parts of southern Australia in October and November, with daily maximum temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s and minimum temperatures  in the mid to high 20s. There were extended periods with low to severe intensity heatwaves across much of Australia in both October and November.

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 115 (highest). A rank marked with ’=‘ indicates the value is tied for that rank. Anomaly is the departure from the long-term (1961–1990) average.

Rainfall

The national area-averaged spring rainfall was 28% above the 1961–1990 average.

Nationally, September and November were wetter than average while October was drier than average.

Spring rainfall was above average to very much above average (in the wettest 10% of all springs since 1900) for most of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and for parts of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. Parts of western and northern Tasmania also had above average spring rainfall. Rainfall was the highest on record for parts of Western Australia's Pilbara and the interior. Some stations, including several with more than 50 years of data, had their record highest total rainfall for spring.

Western Australia had its fourth-wettest spring on record since 1900, slightly more than double the 1961–1990 average.

Rainfall was below average to very much below average (in the driest 10% of all springs since 1900) for parts of south-western Western Australia, south-eastern South Australia, south-eastern New South Wales and north-eastern Queensland. Rainfall was below average for spring in large parts of Victoria; it was the state's driest spring since 2019.

Significant weather and records

For discussion of events during winter see the individual monthly climate summaries for Australia for September, October and November.

Further information and tables of records for each state and the Northern Territory can be found in the individual regional climate summaries, to be issued on 4 December.

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 125 (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.