Cape Otway is a weather station located 82 m above sea level, 18 km from Apollo Bay. Its records go back to 1868: 95 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 14.3 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (13.9 °C): a difference of 0.4 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2025 (15.1 °C) and the coldest 1949 (12.3 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 1 out of 95, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.16 °C per decade. The station ranks 151 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1868
The first ten years of the series (1910–1922) average 13.6 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 14.5 °C, a difference of +0.9 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 9 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2025 (15.1 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 14.5 °C (2014) and bottoms out at 13.1 °C (1949).
Annual rainfall since 1868
On average 889 mm of rain falls per year over the 155 documented years. The wettest year, 1964, received 1292 mm; the driest, 2024, only 604 mm, which is 2.1 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (896 mm per year) is 64 mm (6.7 %) below the 1961–1990 one (960 mm). Over 1991–2020, August is on average the wettest month (119 mm) and February the driest (41 mm). Between 2006 and 2025, 8 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 | 17.1 °C | 17.7 °C | +0.6 °C | 43 mm | 46 mm | +3 mm |
| February | 17.6 °C | 18.0 °C | +0.4 °C | 39 mm | 41 mm | +2 mm |
| March | 16.7 °C | 16.9 °C | +0.2 °C | 63 mm | 54 mm | −9 mm |
| April | 15.0 °C | 15.2 °C | +0.2 °C | 75 mm | 63 mm | −12 mm |
| May | 13.0 °C | 13.2 °C | +0.2 °C | 99 mm | 85 mm | −14 mm |
| June | 11.1 °C | 11.5 °C | +0.4 °C | 95 mm | 95 mm | 0 mm |
| July | 10.2 °C | 10.7 °C | +0.5 °C | 122 mm | 112 mm | −10 mm |
| August | 10.6 °C | 11.1 °C | +0.5 °C | 119 mm | 119 mm | 0 mm |
| September | 11.7 °C | 12.2 °C | +0.5 °C | 91 mm | 94 mm | +3 mm |
| October | 13.2 °C | 13.5 °C | +0.3 °C | 89 mm | 73 mm | −16 mm |
| November | 14.6 °C | 14.8 °C | +0.2 °C | 68 mm | 61 mm | −7 mm |
| December | 15.9 °C | 16.3 °C | +0.4 °C | 57 mm | 53 mm | −4 mm |
The largest temperature change is in January (+0.6 °C) and the smallest in March (+0.2 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.4 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in January (+3 mm) and the smallest in October (−16 mm).
Records at Cape Otway
- Warmest year: 15.1 °C, in 2025
- Coldest year: 12.3 °C, in 1949
- Driest year: 604 mm, in 2024
- Wettest year: 1292 mm, in 1964
- Warmest month: 20.6 °C, in February 2001
- Coldest month: 8.6 °C, in August 1960
- Wettest month: 225 mm, in October 1949
- Hottest day: 43.8 °C, on 24 January 1982
- Coldest day: 0.1 °C, on 17 July 1966
- Heaviest rain in one day: 93.0 mm, on 28 March 1932
2.8 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 43.7 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.16 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +1.0 °C over the whole period. That is slower than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.03 °C per decade: the station ranks 151 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 24 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 11 months out of 14 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.7 °C. The highest departure was in April 2025 (+1.8 °C); the lowest, in November 2025 (−1.3 °C). The last twelve months add up to 707 mm of rain, which is 79 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (896 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 14.4 °C | +0.9 °C | 36 mm | 73 mm |
| November 2024 | 16.3 °C | +1.5 °C | 36 mm | 61 mm |
| December 2024 | 17.8 °C | +1.5 °C | 86 mm | 53 mm |
| January 2025 | 19.2 °C | +1.5 °C | 10 mm | 46 mm |
| February 2025 | 19.4 °C | +1.4 °C | 25 mm | 41 mm |
| March 2025 | 18.2 °C | +1.3 °C | 24 mm | 54 mm |
| April 2025 | 17.0 °C | +1.8 °C | 18 mm | 63 mm |
| May 2025 | 13.9 °C | +0.7 °C | 47 mm | 85 mm |
| June 2025 | – | – | 127 mm | 95 mm |
| July 2025 | 11.0 °C | +0.3 °C | 128 mm | 112 mm |
| August 2025 | 11.4 °C | +0.3 °C | 99 mm | 119 mm |
| September 2025 | 12.7 °C | +0.5 °C | 111 mm | 94 mm |
| October 2025 | 13.5 °C | 0.0 °C | 104 mm | 73 mm |
| November 2025 | 13.5 °C | −1.3 °C | 95 mm | 61 mm |
| December 2025 | 15.8 °C | −0.5 °C | 35 mm | 53 mm |
| January 2026 | – | – | 23 mm | 46 mm |
| February 2026 | – | – | 11 mm | 41 mm |
| March 2026 | – | – | 56 mm | 54 mm |
| April 2026 | – | – | 63 mm | 63 mm |
| May 2026 | – | – | 58 mm | 85 mm |
| June 2026 | – | – | 94 mm | 95 mm |
| July 2026 | – | – | 108 mm | 112 mm |
| August 2026 | – | – | 43 mm | 119 mm |
| September 2026 | – | – | 17 mm | 94 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 Otway 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 Otway?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Cape Otway is 14.3 °C. It was 13.9 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.4 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Cape Otway?
Since records began in 1868, the warmest year at Cape Otway is 2025, at 15.1 °C on average. The coldest is 1949 (12.3 °C).
Is the climate at Cape Otway getting warmer?
Yes: at Cape Otway, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.16 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.0 °C in total. 9 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations