Ararat Prison is a weather station located 295 m above sea level, 5 km from Ararat. Its records go back to 1970: 51 years of temperature are available up to 2025, along with rainfall and a comparison with two reference normals. Over 1991–2020 the annual mean temperature there is 13.4 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (12.9 °C): a difference of 0.5 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2024 (14.6 °C) and the coldest 1970 (11.9 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 3 out of 51, from warmest to coldest. Over 1970–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.31 °C per decade. The station ranks 15 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1970
The first ten years of the series (1970–1980) average 12.6 °C; the last ten (2012–2025) average 14.1 °C, a difference of +1.5 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 9 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2024 (14.6 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 14.0 °C (2018) and bottoms out at 12.6 °C (1977).
Annual rainfall since 1970
On average 582 mm of rain falls per year over the 55 documented years. The wettest year, 1973, received 909 mm; the driest, 1982, only 302 mm, which is 3.0 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (544 mm per year) is 86 mm (13.7 %) below the 1961–1990 one (630 mm). Over 1991–2020, August is on average the wettest month (67 mm) and March the driest (23 mm). Between 2005 and 2025, 6 years out of 20 exceeded the series average.
Monthly normals: 1961–1990 against 1991–2020
The table compares, month by month, the mean temperature and the rainfall total of two thirty-year reference periods. The difference column shows what the recent period changes compared with the earlier one.
| Month | Temp. 1961–1990 | Temp. 1991–2020 | Difference | Rain 1961–1990 | Rain 1991–2020 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18.4 °C | 19.7 °C | +1.3 °C | 40 mm | 37 mm | −3 mm |
| February | 18.9 °C | 19.4 °C | +0.5 °C | 35 mm | 30 mm | −5 mm |
| March | – | 17.0 °C | – | 38 mm | 23 mm | −15 mm |
| April | 13.3 °C | 13.6 °C | +0.3 °C | 49 mm | 37 mm | −12 mm |
| May | 10.6 °C | 10.5 °C | −0.1 °C | 66 mm | 48 mm | −18 mm |
| June | 7.8 °C | 8.4 °C | +0.6 °C | 50 mm | 58 mm | +8 mm |
| July | 7.5 °C | 7.8 °C | +0.3 °C | 69 mm | 58 mm | −11 mm |
| August | 8.4 °C | 8.6 °C | +0.2 °C | 71 mm | 67 mm | −4 mm |
| September | 9.9 °C | 10.4 °C | +0.5 °C | 65 mm | 58 mm | −7 mm |
| October | 11.8 °C | 12.5 °C | +0.7 °C | 69 mm | 44 mm | −25 mm |
| November | 14.4 °C | 15.1 °C | +0.7 °C | 44 mm | 44 mm | 0 mm |
| December | 16.8 °C | 17.5 °C | +0.7 °C | 34 mm | 40 mm | +6 mm |
For rainfall, the largest difference is in June (+8 mm) and the smallest in October (−25 mm).
Records at Ararat Prison
- Warmest year: 14.6 °C, in 2024
- Coldest year: 11.9 °C, in 1970
- Driest year: 302 mm, in 1982
- Wettest year: 909 mm, in 1973
- Warmest month: 22.4 °C, in January 2001
- Coldest month: 5.7 °C, in July 1997
- Wettest month: 226 mm, in February 1973
- Hottest day: 44.7 °C, on 7 February 2009
- Coldest day: −7.5 °C, on 21 July 2022
- Heaviest rain in one day: 98.6 mm, on 6 February 1973
2.7 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 52.2 °C.
Temperature trend over 1970–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.31 °C per decade between 1970 and 2025, about +1.7 °C over the whole period. That is faster than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.12 °C per decade: the station ranks 15 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 24 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 21 months out of 24 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +1.1 °C. The highest departure was in April 2025 (+3.0 °C); the lowest, in November 2025 (−0.9 °C). The last twelve months add up to 603 mm of rain, which is 111 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (544 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 14.7 °C | +2.2 °C | 30 mm | 44 mm |
| November 2024 | 17.6 °C | +2.5 °C | 53 mm | 44 mm |
| December 2024 | 19.7 °C | +2.2 °C | 41 mm | 40 mm |
| January 2025 | 20.9 °C | +1.2 °C | 19 mm | 37 mm |
| February 2025 | 21.2 °C | +1.8 °C | 14 mm | 30 mm |
| March 2025 | 19.9 °C | +2.9 °C | 32 mm | 23 mm |
| April 2025 | 16.6 °C | +3.0 °C | 18 mm | 37 mm |
| May 2025 | 11.3 °C | +0.8 °C | 12 mm | 48 mm |
| June 2025 | 8.1 °C | −0.3 °C | 66 mm | 58 mm |
| July 2025 | 8.1 °C | +0.3 °C | 84 mm | 58 mm |
| August 2025 | 8.6 °C | 0.0 °C | 79 mm | 67 mm |
| September 2025 | 11.1 °C | +0.7 °C | 38 mm | 58 mm |
| October 2025 | 12.8 °C | +0.3 °C | 65 mm | 44 mm |
| November 2025 | 14.2 °C | −0.9 °C | 80 mm | 44 mm |
| December 2025 | 17.7 °C | +0.2 °C | 32 mm | 40 mm |
| January 2026 | 21.5 °C | +1.8 °C | 2 mm | 37 mm |
| February 2026 | 19.6 °C | +0.2 °C | 26 mm | 30 mm |
| March 2026 | 17.8 °C | +0.8 °C | 39 mm | 23 mm |
| April 2026 | 14.7 °C | +1.1 °C | 18 mm | 37 mm |
| May 2026 | 12.3 °C | +1.8 °C | 34 mm | 48 mm |
| June 2026 | 9.9 °C | +1.5 °C | 120 mm | 58 mm |
| July 2026 | 8.1 °C | +0.3 °C | 57 mm | 58 mm |
| August 2026 | 9.7 °C | +1.1 °C | 98 mm | 67 mm |
| September 2026 | 12.2 °C | +1.8 °C | 32 mm | 58 mm |
Data source and licence
Data source: Bureau of Meteorology (ACORN-SAT) and NOAA NCEI (GHCN-Daily) (dataset “ACORN-SAT v2 daily (homogenised) + GHCN-Daily”), licence CC BY 4.0; Public domain (NOAA NCEI). Last updated: 29 October 2026.
The data for Ararat Prison are shown as the source publishes them; this site does not correct them. A year is kept only if at least eleven months of measurements are available, and a normal is computed only with at least twenty years of data out of its thirty. Temperatures are rounded to 0.1 °C and rainfall to the millimetre. The station is one of 227 stations in Australia: the overview page lets you compare them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the annual mean temperature at Ararat Prison?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Ararat Prison is 13.4 °C. It was 12.9 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.5 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Ararat Prison?
Since records began in 1970, the warmest year at Ararat Prison is 2024, at 14.6 °C on average. The coldest is 1970 (11.9 °C).
Is the climate at Ararat Prison getting warmer?
Yes: at Ararat Prison, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.31 °C per decade between 1970 and 2025, +1.7 °C in total. 9 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations