Cape Naturaliste is a weather station located 109 m above sea level, 11 km from Dunsborough. Its records go back to 1907: 64 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 17.4 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (16.8 °C): a difference of 0.6 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2011 (18.4 °C) and the coldest 1960 (15.3 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 2 out of 64, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.21 °C per decade. The station ranks 100 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1907
The first ten years of the series (1957–1967) average 16.5 °C; the last ten (2015–2025) average 17.6 °C, a difference of +1.2 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 8 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2011 (18.4 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 17.7 °C (2014) and bottoms out at 16.4 °C (1966).
Annual rainfall since 1907
On average 797 mm of rain falls per year over the 117 documented years. The wettest year, 1917, received 1193 mm; the driest, 2002, only 500 mm, which is 2.4 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (716 mm per year) is 114 mm (13.7 %) below the 1961–1990 one (830 mm). Over 1991–2020, July is on average the wettest month (141 mm) and February the driest (9 mm). Between 2005 and 2025, 4 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 | 20.6 °C | 21.2 °C | +0.6 °C | 12 mm | 11 mm | −1 mm |
| February | 21.1 °C | 21.6 °C | +0.5 °C | 12 mm | 9 mm | −3 mm |
| March | 20.0 °C | 20.7 °C | +0.7 °C | 20 mm | 24 mm | +4 mm |
| April | 17.7 °C | 18.7 °C | +1.0 °C | 51 mm | 33 mm | −18 mm |
| May | 16.1 °C | 16.6 °C | +0.5 °C | 113 mm | 103 mm | −10 mm |
| June | 14.5 °C | 15.0 °C | +0.5 °C | 166 mm | 131 mm | −35 mm |
| July | 13.5 °C | 14.0 °C | +0.5 °C | 165 mm | 141 mm | −24 mm |
| August | 13.2 °C | 13.9 °C | +0.7 °C | 112 mm | 114 mm | +2 mm |
| September | 14.0 °C | 14.4 °C | +0.4 °C | 80 mm | 76 mm | −4 mm |
| October | 15.0 °C | 15.9 °C | +0.9 °C | 54 mm | 36 mm | −18 mm |
| November | 17.0 °C | 17.8 °C | +0.8 °C | 32 mm | 26 mm | −6 mm |
| December | 19.0 °C | 19.6 °C | +0.6 °C | 13 mm | 12 mm | −1 mm |
The largest temperature change is in April (+1.0 °C) and the smallest in September (+0.4 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.6 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in March (+4 mm) and the smallest in June (−35 mm).
Records at Cape Naturaliste
- Warmest year: 18.4 °C, in 2011
- Coldest year: 15.3 °C, in 1960
- Driest year: 500 mm, in 2002
- Wettest year: 1193 mm, in 1917
- Warmest month: 24.6 °C, in February 2011
- Coldest month: 11.8 °C, in July 1960
- Wettest month: 338 mm, in July 1996
- Hottest day: 40.6 °C, on 10 January 1978
- Coldest day: 3.7 °C, on 28 August 2004
- Heaviest rain in one day: 92.5 mm, on 9 June 1934
3.1 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 36.9 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.21 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +1.3 °C over the whole period. That is faster than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.02 °C per decade: the station ranks 100 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 22 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 17 months out of 22 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.5 °C. The highest departure was in March 2025 (+1.5 °C); the lowest, in April 2026 (−0.7 °C). The last twelve months add up to 631 mm of rain, which is 88 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (716 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 17.0 °C | +1.1 °C | 32 mm | 36 mm |
| January 2025 | 22.6 °C | +1.4 °C | 10 mm | 11 mm |
| February 2025 | 22.2 °C | +0.6 °C | 4 mm | 9 mm |
| March 2025 | 22.2 °C | +1.5 °C | 32 mm | 24 mm |
| April 2025 | 19.1 °C | +0.4 °C | 40 mm | 33 mm |
| May 2025 | 17.6 °C | +1.0 °C | 45 mm | 103 mm |
| June 2025 | 16.3 °C | +1.3 °C | 217 mm | 131 mm |
| July 2025 | 13.8 °C | −0.2 °C | 265 mm | 141 mm |
| August 2025 | 14.2 °C | +0.3 °C | 125 mm | 114 mm |
| September 2025 | 15.1 °C | +0.7 °C | 76 mm | 76 mm |
| October 2025 | 16.2 °C | +0.3 °C | 59 mm | 36 mm |
| November 2025 | 18.3 °C | +0.5 °C | 38 mm | 26 mm |
| December 2025 | 20.8 °C | +1.2 °C | 1 mm | 12 mm |
| January 2026 | 21.5 °C | +0.3 °C | 7 mm | 11 mm |
| February 2026 | 21.2 °C | −0.4 °C | 4 mm | 9 mm |
| March 2026 | 20.9 °C | +0.2 °C | 36 mm | 24 mm |
| April 2026 | 18.0 °C | −0.7 °C | 45 mm | 33 mm |
| May 2026 | 16.6 °C | 0.0 °C | 79 mm | 103 mm |
| June 2026 | 14.5 °C | −0.5 °C | 99 mm | 131 mm |
| July 2026 | 14.3 °C | +0.3 °C | 82 mm | 141 mm |
| August 2026 | 14.5 °C | +0.6 °C | 116 mm | 114 mm |
| September 2026 | 15.9 °C | +1.5 °C | 65 mm | 76 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 Cape Naturaliste 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 Cape Naturaliste?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Cape Naturaliste is 17.4 °C. It was 16.8 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.6 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Cape Naturaliste?
Since records began in 1907, the warmest year at Cape Naturaliste is 2011, at 18.4 °C on average. The coldest is 1960 (15.3 °C).
Is the climate at Cape Naturaliste getting warmer?
Yes: at Cape Naturaliste, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.21 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.3 °C in total. 8 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations