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Launceston Airport: weather history since 1910

Launceston Airport is a weather station located 167 m above sea level, 3 km from Evandale. Its records go back to 1910: 114 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 12.1 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (11.7 °C): a difference of 0.4 °C. The warmest year of the series is 1988 (12.9 °C) and the coldest 1957 (10.3 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 12 out of 114, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.16 °C per decade. The station ranks 150 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.

Annual mean temperature since 1910

91011121314
191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102025
Mean temperature of the year   10-year running mean   1961–1990 normal (11.7 °C)   1991–2020 normal (12.1 °C)

The first ten years of the series (1910–1919) average 11.2 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 12.3 °C, a difference of +1.1 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 8 fall after 1999. The warmest is 1988 (12.9 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 12.3 °C (2016) and bottoms out at 11.0 °C (1952).

Annual rainfall since 1910

02004006008001000
191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102025
Rainfall of the year   Series average (622 mm)

On average 622 mm of rain falls per year over the 28 documented years. The wettest year, 2016, received 855 mm; the driest, 2006, only 423 mm, which is 2.0 times less. Over 1991–2020, August is on average the wettest month (74 mm) and February the driest (33 mm). Between 2006 and 2025, 9 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.

Monthly temperature and rainfall normals, 1961–1990 and 1991–2020
MonthTemp. 1961–1990Temp. 1991–2020DifferenceRain 1961–1990Rain 1991–2020Difference
January16.8 °C17.7 °C+0.9 °C–48 mm–
February17.2 °C17.6 °C+0.4 °C–33 mm–
March15.4 °C15.7 °C+0.3 °C–43 mm–
April12.2 °C12.3 °C+0.1 °C–48 mm–
May9.1 °C9.4 °C+0.3 °C–56 mm–
June7.0 °C7.4 °C+0.4 °C–58 mm–
July6.4 °C6.9 °C+0.5 °C–70 mm–
August7.5 °C7.7 °C+0.2 °C–74 mm–
September9.1 °C9.4 °C+0.3 °C–59 mm–
October11.1 °C11.4 °C+0.3 °C–44 mm–
November13.3 °C13.7 °C+0.4 °C–50 mm–
December14.9 °C15.6 °C+0.7 °C–47 mm–

The largest temperature change is in January (+0.9 °C) and the smallest in April (+0.1 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.4 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before.

Records at Launceston Airport

  • Warmest year: 12.9 °C, in 1988
  • Coldest year: 10.3 °C, in 1957
  • Driest year: 423 mm, in 2006
  • Wettest year: 855 mm, in 2016
  • Warmest month: 20.4 °C, in February 2007
  • Coldest month: 4.7 °C, in July 1982
  • Wettest month: 213 mm, in August 2005
  • Hottest day: 40.4 °C, on 30 January 2009
  • Coldest day: −8.0 °C, on 27 June 1944
  • Heaviest rain in one day: 78.0 mm, on 31 August 2005

2.6 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 48.4 °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 150 out of 227.

The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal

−2−1012
October 2024September 2026
Warmer than the 1991–2020 normal   Cooler than the 1991–2020 normal

Over the last 24 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 11 months out of 15 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.3 °C. The highest departure was in April 2025 (+1.6 °C); the lowest, in November 2025 (−1.6 °C). The last twelve months add up to 466 mm of rain, which is 74 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (630 mm).

Temperature and rainfall of recent months, compared with the 1991–2020 normals
MonthTemperatureDeparture from normalRainNormal rain
October 202411.9 °C+0.5 °C28 mm44 mm
November 202414.9 °C+1.2 °C68 mm50 mm
December 202416.5 °C+0.9 °C68 mm47 mm
January 202518.1 °C+0.4 °C43 mm48 mm
February 202518.3 °C+0.7 °C14 mm33 mm
March 202517.2 °C+1.5 °C19 mm43 mm
April 202513.9 °C+1.6 °C24 mm48 mm
May 20259.9 °C+0.5 °C43 mm56 mm
June 20257.4 °C0.0 °C80 mm58 mm
July 20257.1 °C+0.2 °C57 mm70 mm
August 20258.6 °C+0.9 °C54 mm74 mm
September 20259.6 °C+0.2 °C64 mm59 mm
October 202510.7 °C−0.7 °C70 mm44 mm
November 202512.1 °C−1.6 °C58 mm50 mm
December 202514.3 °C−1.3 °C20 mm47 mm
January 2026––7 mm48 mm
February 2026––17 mm33 mm
March 2026––32 mm43 mm
April 2026––25 mm48 mm
May 2026––45 mm56 mm
June 2026––73 mm58 mm
July 2026––70 mm70 mm
August 2026––24 mm74 mm
September 2026––25 mm59 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 Launceston Airport 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 Launceston Airport?

Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Launceston Airport is 12.1 °C. It was 11.7 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.4 °C.

What is the warmest year ever measured at Launceston Airport?

Since records began in 1910, the warmest year at Launceston Airport is 1988, at 12.9 °C on average. The coldest is 1957 (10.3 °C).

Is the climate at Launceston Airport getting warmer?

Yes: at Launceston Airport, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.16 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.0 °C in total. 8 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.

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