Horn Island is a weather station located 4 m above sea level, 8 km from Thursday Island. Its records go back to 1953: 58 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 27.5 °C, clearly higher than over 1961–1990 (26.8 °C): a difference of 0.7 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2016 (28.4 °C) and the coldest 1965 (25.9 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 5 out of 58, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.26 °C per decade. The station ranks 42 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1953
The first ten years of the series (1953–1962) average 26.6 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 28.0 °C, a difference of +1.4 °C. All of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999; the warmest is 2016 (28.4 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 28.0 °C (2025) and bottoms out at 26.5 °C (1968).
Annual rainfall since 1953
On average 1855 mm of rain falls per year over the 22 documented years. The wettest year, 2000, received 2729 mm; the driest, 2019, only 1238 mm, which is 2.2 times less. Over 1991–2020, February is on average the wettest month (424 mm) and September the driest (2 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 | 27.2 °C | 28.1 °C | +0.9 °C | – | 417 mm | – |
| February | 26.9 °C | 27.7 °C | +0.8 °C | – | 424 mm | – |
| March | 27.1 °C | 27.8 °C | +0.7 °C | – | 350 mm | – |
| April | 27.3 °C | 27.9 °C | +0.6 °C | – | 236 mm | – |
| May | 26.8 °C | 27.4 °C | +0.6 °C | – | 63 mm | – |
| June | 25.9 °C | 26.6 °C | +0.7 °C | – | 16 mm | – |
| July | 25.1 °C | 26.0 °C | +0.9 °C | – | 10 mm | – |
| August | 25.3 °C | 26.1 °C | +0.8 °C | – | 6 mm | – |
| September | 25.9 °C | 26.9 °C | +1.0 °C | – | 2 mm | – |
| October | 27.1 °C | 27.8 °C | +0.7 °C | – | 15 mm | – |
| November | 28.3 °C | 28.9 °C | +0.6 °C | – | 40 mm | – |
| December | 28.4 °C | 28.9 °C | +0.5 °C | – | 179 mm | – |
The largest temperature change is in September (+1.0 °C) and the smallest in December (+0.5 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.7 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before.
Records at Horn Island
- Warmest year: 28.4 °C, in 2016
- Coldest year: 25.9 °C, in 1965
- Driest year: 1238 mm, in 2019
- Wettest year: 2729 mm, in 2000
- Warmest month: 30.1 °C, in November 2024
- Coldest month: 23.1 °C, in July 1965
- Wettest month: 910 mm, in February 2004
- Hottest day: 35.8 °C, on 22 December 1986
- Coldest day: 15.0 °C, on 20 July 1965
- Heaviest rain in one day: 215.6 mm, on 30 December 2016
2.5 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 20.8 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.26 °C per decade between 1961 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 0.07 °C per decade: the station ranks 42 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 24 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 12 months out of 14 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.6 °C. The highest departure was in November 2024 (+1.2 °C); the lowest, in April 2025 (−0.8 °C). The last twelve months add up to 1947 mm of rain, which is 111 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (1758 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 28.9 °C | +1.1 °C | 8 mm | 15 mm |
| November 2024 | 30.1 °C | +1.2 °C | 6 mm | 40 mm |
| December 2024 | – | – | 101 mm | 179 mm |
| January 2025 | 28.6 °C | +0.5 °C | 322 mm | 417 mm |
| February 2025 | 28.3 °C | +0.6 °C | 361 mm | 424 mm |
| March 2025 | 28.5 °C | +0.7 °C | 264 mm | 350 mm |
| April 2025 | 27.1 °C | −0.8 °C | 810 mm | 236 mm |
| May 2025 | 27.6 °C | +0.2 °C | 277 mm | 63 mm |
| June 2025 | 27.3 °C | +0.7 °C | 28 mm | 16 mm |
| July 2025 | 27.0 °C | +1.0 °C | 24 mm | 10 mm |
| August 2025 | 26.9 °C | +0.8 °C | 3 mm | 6 mm |
| September 2025 | 27.9 °C | +1.0 °C | 3 mm | 2 mm |
| October 2025 | 29.0 °C | +1.2 °C | 4 mm | 15 mm |
| November 2025 | 29.3 °C | +0.4 °C | 28 mm | 40 mm |
| December 2025 | 28.5 °C | −0.4 °C | 295 mm | 179 mm |
| January 2026 | – | – | 557 mm | 417 mm |
| February 2026 | – | – | 453 mm | 424 mm |
| March 2026 | – | – | 385 mm | 350 mm |
| April 2026 | – | – | 148 mm | 236 mm |
| May 2026 | – | – | 18 mm | 63 mm |
| June 2026 | – | – | 22 mm | 16 mm |
| July 2026 | – | – | 16 mm | 10 mm |
| August 2026 | – | – | 19 mm | 6 mm |
| September 2026 | – | – | 2 mm | 2 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 Horn Island 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 Horn Island?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Horn Island is 27.5 °C. It was 26.8 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.7 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Horn Island?
Since records began in 1953, the warmest year at Horn Island is 2016, at 28.4 °C on average. The coldest is 1965 (25.9 °C).
Is the climate at Horn Island getting warmer?
Yes: at Horn Island, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.26 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.7 °C in total. 10 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations