Gladstone Radar is a weather station located 74 m above sea level, 1 km from Gladstone. Its records go back to 1958: 61 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 23.5 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (23.0 °C): a difference of 0.5 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2005 (24.4 °C) and the coldest 1974 (22.4 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 3 out of 61, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.17 °C per decade. The station ranks 139 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1958
The first ten years of the series (1958–1967) average 22.8 °C; the last ten (2014–2025) average 23.8 °C, a difference of +1.0 °C. All of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999; the warmest is 2005 (24.4 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 23.9 °C (2025) and bottoms out at 22.8 °C (1968).
Annual rainfall since 1958
On average 898 mm of rain falls per year over the 62 documented years. The wettest year, 1971, received 1732 mm; the driest, 1965, only 432 mm, which is 4.0 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (873 mm per year) is 60 mm (6.4 %) below the 1961–1990 one (933 mm). Over 1991–2020, January is on average the wettest month (163 mm) and July the driest (28 mm). Between 2005 and 2025, 7 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 | 26.8 °C | 27.2 °C | +0.4 °C | 150 mm | 163 mm | +13 mm |
| February | 26.5 °C | 27.1 °C | +0.6 °C | 140 mm | 155 mm | +15 mm |
| March | 25.7 °C | 26.1 °C | +0.4 °C | 104 mm | 122 mm | +18 mm |
| April | 23.9 °C | 24.2 °C | +0.3 °C | 54 mm | 40 mm | −14 mm |
| May | 21.2 °C | 21.6 °C | +0.4 °C | 70 mm | 38 mm | −32 mm |
| June | 18.5 °C | 19.3 °C | +0.8 °C | 35 mm | 36 mm | +1 mm |
| July | 17.8 °C | 18.7 °C | +0.9 °C | 43 mm | 28 mm | −15 mm |
| August | 19.0 °C | 19.7 °C | +0.7 °C | 32 mm | 31 mm | −1 mm |
| September | 21.2 °C | 22.0 °C | +0.8 °C | 24 mm | 31 mm | +7 mm |
| October | 23.5 °C | 23.8 °C | +0.3 °C | 61 mm | 61 mm | 0 mm |
| November | 25.2 °C | 25.6 °C | +0.4 °C | 81 mm | 52 mm | −29 mm |
| December | 26.3 °C | 26.7 °C | +0.4 °C | 139 mm | 116 mm | −23 mm |
The largest temperature change is in July (+0.9 °C) and the smallest in April (+0.3 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.5 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in March (+18 mm) and the smallest in May (−32 mm).
Records at Gladstone Radar
- Warmest year: 24.4 °C, in 2005
- Coldest year: 22.4 °C, in 1974
- Driest year: 432 mm, in 1965
- Wettest year: 1732 mm, in 1971
- Warmest month: 29.5 °C, in December 2005
- Coldest month: 16.4 °C, in July 1989
- Wettest month: 869 mm, in January 2013
- Hottest day: 42.0 °C, on 12 March 2007
- Coldest day: 4.4 °C, on 13 July 1960
- Heaviest rain in one day: 254.4 mm, on 25 January 2013
2.0 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 37.6 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.17 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +1.1 °C over the whole period. That is slower than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.02 °C per decade: the station ranks 139 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 24 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 19 months out of 24 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.7 °C. The highest departure was in October 2025 (+2.0 °C); the lowest, in March 2026 (−0.4 °C). The last twelve months add up to 895 mm of rain, which is 103 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (873 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 24.9 °C | +1.1 °C | 20 mm | 61 mm |
| November 2024 | 27.1 °C | +1.5 °C | 36 mm | 52 mm |
| December 2024 | 27.9 °C | +1.2 °C | 97 mm | 116 mm |
| January 2025 | 28.2 °C | +1.0 °C | – | 163 mm |
| February 2025 | 27.3 °C | +0.2 °C | 78 mm | 155 mm |
| March 2025 | 27.3 °C | +1.2 °C | 64 mm | 122 mm |
| April 2025 | 24.9 °C | +0.7 °C | 205 mm | 40 mm |
| May 2025 | 22.3 °C | +0.7 °C | 40 mm | 38 mm |
| June 2025 | 19.2 °C | −0.1 °C | 14 mm | 36 mm |
| July 2025 | 19.2 °C | +0.5 °C | 24 mm | 28 mm |
| August 2025 | 19.4 °C | −0.3 °C | 31 mm | 31 mm |
| September 2025 | 22.3 °C | +0.3 °C | 36 mm | 31 mm |
| October 2025 | 25.8 °C | +2.0 °C | 35 mm | 61 mm |
| November 2025 | 27.2 °C | +1.6 °C | 133 mm | 52 mm |
| December 2025 | 27.6 °C | +0.9 °C | 130 mm | 116 mm |
| January 2026 | 27.1 °C | −0.1 °C | 130 mm | 163 mm |
| February 2026 | 27.4 °C | +0.3 °C | 114 mm | 155 mm |
| March 2026 | 25.7 °C | −0.4 °C | 303 mm | 122 mm |
| April 2026 | 24.6 °C | +0.4 °C | 0 mm | 40 mm |
| May 2026 | 22.1 °C | +0.5 °C | 33 mm | 38 mm |
| June 2026 | 20.3 °C | +1.0 °C | 9 mm | 36 mm |
| July 2026 | 19.9 °C | +1.2 °C | 1 mm | 28 mm |
| August 2026 | 20.6 °C | +0.9 °C | 0 mm | 31 mm |
| September 2026 | 22.0 °C | 0.0 °C | 7 mm | 31 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 Gladstone Radar 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 Gladstone Radar?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Gladstone Radar is 23.5 °C. It was 23.0 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.5 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Gladstone Radar?
Since records began in 1958, the warmest year at Gladstone Radar is 2005, at 24.4 °C on average. The coldest is 1974 (22.4 °C).
Is the climate at Gladstone Radar getting warmer?
Yes: at Gladstone Radar, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.17 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.1 °C in total. 10 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
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