Mackay is a weather station located 30 m above sea level, 7 km from Mackay. Its records go back to 1910: 98 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 23.3 °C, clearly higher than over 1961–1990 (22.3 °C): a difference of 0.9 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2016 (24.5 °C) and the coldest 1917 (21.1 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 2 out of 98, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.30 °C per decade. The station ranks 20 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1910
The first ten years of the series (1910–1928) average 21.8 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 23.8 °C, a difference of +2.1 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 9 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2016 (24.5 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 23.8 °C (2025) and bottoms out at 21.8 °C (1957).
Annual rainfall since 1910
On average 1570 mm of rain falls per year over the 65 documented years. The wettest year, 2010, received 2821 mm; the driest, 1987, only 795 mm, which is 3.5 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (1515 mm per year) is 116 mm (7.1 %) below the 1961–1990 one (1631 mm). Over 1991–2020, February is on average the wettest month (328 mm) and September the driest (19 mm). Between 2005 and 2025, 11 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 | 26.5 °C | 27.4 °C | +0.9 °C | 268 mm | 264 mm | −4 mm |
| February | 26.1 °C | 27.0 °C | +0.9 °C | 302 mm | 328 mm | +26 mm |
| March | 25.1 °C | 25.9 °C | +0.8 °C | 312 mm | 261 mm | −51 mm |
| April | 23.0 °C | 23.8 °C | +0.8 °C | 154 mm | 142 mm | −12 mm |
| May | 20.3 °C | 21.0 °C | +0.7 °C | 115 mm | 93 mm | −22 mm |
| June | 17.3 °C | 18.6 °C | +1.3 °C | 64 mm | 56 mm | −8 mm |
| July | 16.5 °C | 17.7 °C | +1.2 °C | 48 mm | 31 mm | −17 mm |
| August | 18.1 °C | 18.8 °C | +0.7 °C | 29 mm | 30 mm | +1 mm |
| September | 20.3 °C | 21.5 °C | +1.2 °C | 15 mm | 19 mm | +4 mm |
| October | 23.2 °C | 24.1 °C | +0.9 °C | 39 mm | 31 mm | −8 mm |
| November | 25.4 °C | 26.0 °C | +0.6 °C | 88 mm | 93 mm | +5 mm |
| December | 26.3 °C | 27.3 °C | +1.0 °C | 197 mm | 167 mm | −30 mm |
The largest temperature change is in June (+1.3 °C) and the smallest in November (+0.6 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.9 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in February (+26 mm) and the smallest in March (−51 mm).
Records at Mackay
- Warmest year: 24.5 °C, in 2016
- Coldest year: 21.1 °C, in 1917
- Driest year: 795 mm, in 1987
- Wettest year: 2821 mm, in 2010
- Warmest month: 29.9 °C, in December 2005
- Coldest month: 14.0 °C, in July 1929
- Wettest month: 1159 mm, in December 1990
- Hottest day: 40.4 °C, on 16 December 1964
- Coldest day: 0.7 °C, on 25 June 1943
- Heaviest rain in one day: 388.6 mm, on 26 March 1963
3.4 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 39.7 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.30 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +1.9 °C over the whole period. That is faster than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.11 °C per decade: the station ranks 20 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 24 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 14 months out of 15 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.7 °C. The highest departure was in November 2025 (+2.5 °C); the lowest, in February 2025 (−0.9 °C). The last twelve months add up to 1392 mm of rain, which is 92 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (1515 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 24.9 °C | +0.8 °C | 45 mm | 31 mm |
| November 2024 | 27.0 °C | +1.0 °C | 52 mm | 93 mm |
| December 2024 | 27.5 °C | +0.2 °C | 371 mm | 167 mm |
| January 2025 | 27.6 °C | +0.2 °C | 362 mm | 264 mm |
| February 2025 | 26.1 °C | −0.9 °C | 614 mm | 328 mm |
| March 2025 | 27.1 °C | +1.2 °C | 240 mm | 261 mm |
| April 2025 | 24.4 °C | +0.6 °C | 56 mm | 142 mm |
| May 2025 | 21.9 °C | +0.9 °C | 152 mm | 93 mm |
| June 2025 | 18.7 °C | +0.1 °C | 64 mm | 56 mm |
| July 2025 | 18.8 °C | +1.1 °C | 24 mm | 31 mm |
| August 2025 | 19.0 °C | +0.2 °C | 17 mm | 30 mm |
| September 2025 | 22.1 °C | +0.6 °C | 19 mm | 19 mm |
| October 2025 | 25.8 °C | +1.7 °C | 19 mm | 31 mm |
| November 2025 | 28.5 °C | +2.5 °C | 44 mm | 93 mm |
| December 2025 | 27.7 °C | +0.4 °C | 133 mm | 167 mm |
| January 2026 | – | – | 337 mm | 264 mm |
| February 2026 | – | – | 323 mm | 328 mm |
| March 2026 | – | – | 279 mm | 261 mm |
| April 2026 | – | – | 72 mm | 142 mm |
| May 2026 | – | – | 47 mm | 93 mm |
| June 2026 | – | – | 84 mm | 56 mm |
| July 2026 | – | – | 20 mm | 31 mm |
| August 2026 | – | – | 21 mm | 30 mm |
| September 2026 | – | – | 13 mm | 19 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 Mackay 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 Mackay?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Mackay is 23.3 °C. It was 22.3 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.9 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Mackay?
Since records began in 1910, the warmest year at Mackay is 2016, at 24.5 °C on average. The coldest is 1917 (21.1 °C).
Is the climate at Mackay getting warmer?
Yes: at Mackay, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.30 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.9 °C in total. 9 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations