Nowra is a weather station located 109 m above sea level, 4 km from Nowra Hill. Its records go back to 1958: 53 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 16.9 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (16.4 °C): a difference of 0.5 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2009 (17.8 °C) and the coldest 1966 (15.7 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 5 out of 53, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.20 °C per decade. The station ranks 103 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1958
The first ten years of the series (1958–1971) average 16.1 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 17.4 °C, a difference of +1.2 °C. All of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999; the warmest is 2009 (17.8 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 17.4 °C (2025) and bottoms out at 16.1 °C (1970).
Annual rainfall since 1958
On average 1129 mm of rain falls per year over the 27 documented years. The wettest year, 2022, received 2535 mm; the driest, 2019, only 580 mm, which is 4.4 times less. Over 1991–2020, February is on average the wettest month (133 mm) and September the driest (52 mm). Between 2002 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 | 21.0 °C | 22.0 °C | +1.0 °C | – | 78 mm | – |
| February | 21.0 °C | 21.7 °C | +0.7 °C | – | 133 mm | – |
| March | 19.8 °C | 19.9 °C | +0.1 °C | – | 103 mm | – |
| April | 17.3 °C | 17.4 °C | +0.1 °C | – | 55 mm | – |
| May | 14.5 °C | 14.8 °C | +0.3 °C | – | 65 mm | – |
| June | 12.0 °C | 12.4 °C | +0.4 °C | – | 132 mm | – |
| July | 11.1 °C | 11.6 °C | +0.5 °C | – | 56 mm | – |
| August | 12.0 °C | 12.5 °C | +0.5 °C | – | 82 mm | – |
| September | 14.0 °C | 14.7 °C | +0.7 °C | – | 52 mm | – |
| October | 16.2 °C | 16.8 °C | +0.6 °C | – | 63 mm | – |
| November | 18.1 °C | 18.8 °C | +0.7 °C | – | 74 mm | – |
| December | 20.1 °C | 20.4 °C | +0.3 °C | – | 79 mm | – |
The largest temperature change is in January (+1.0 °C) and the smallest in March (+0.1 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.5 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before.
Records at Nowra
- Warmest year: 17.8 °C, in 2009
- Coldest year: 15.7 °C, in 1966
- Driest year: 580 mm, in 2019
- Wettest year: 2535 mm, in 2022
- Warmest month: 24.5 °C, in January 2019
- Coldest month: 9.9 °C, in July 1971
- Wettest month: 676 mm, in March 2022
- Hottest day: 45.6 °C, on 21 December 2019
- Coldest day: −0.9 °C, on 24 August 2002
- Heaviest rain in one day: 208.0 mm, on 26 August 2015
2.1 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 46.5 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.20 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +1.3 °C over the whole period. That is faster than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.01 °C per decade: the station ranks 103 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 15 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.8 °C. The highest departure was in November 2024 (+1.8 °C); the lowest, in June 2025 (−0.8 °C). The last twelve months add up to 688 mm of rain, which is 71 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (972 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 16.5 °C | −0.3 °C | 20 mm | 63 mm |
| November 2024 | 20.6 °C | +1.8 °C | 120 mm | 74 mm |
| December 2024 | 22.2 °C | +1.8 °C | 43 mm | 79 mm |
| January 2025 | 21.7 °C | −0.3 °C | 146 mm | 78 mm |
| February 2025 | 21.9 °C | +0.2 °C | 26 mm | 133 mm |
| March 2025 | 21.7 °C | +1.8 °C | 164 mm | 103 mm |
| April 2025 | 18.7 °C | +1.3 °C | – | 55 mm |
| May 2025 | 15.7 °C | +0.9 °C | 162 mm | 65 mm |
| June 2025 | 11.6 °C | −0.8 °C | 7 mm | 132 mm |
| July 2025 | 12.3 °C | +0.7 °C | 222 mm | 56 mm |
| August 2025 | 12.7 °C | +0.2 °C | 189 mm | 82 mm |
| September 2025 | 16.1 °C | +1.4 °C | 100 mm | 52 mm |
| October 2025 | 18.4 °C | +1.6 °C | 29 mm | 63 mm |
| November 2025 | 19.5 °C | +0.7 °C | 51 mm | 74 mm |
| December 2025 | 21.2 °C | +0.8 °C | 30 mm | 79 mm |
| January 2026 | – | – | 129 mm | 78 mm |
| February 2026 | – | – | 84 mm | 133 mm |
| March 2026 | – | – | 154 mm | 103 mm |
| April 2026 | – | – | 8 mm | 55 mm |
| May 2026 | – | – | 103 mm | 65 mm |
| June 2026 | – | – | 29 mm | 132 mm |
| July 2026 | – | – | 22 mm | 56 mm |
| August 2026 | – | – | 27 mm | 82 mm |
| September 2026 | – | – | 22 mm | 52 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 Nowra 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 Nowra?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Nowra is 16.9 °C. It was 16.4 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.5 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Nowra?
Since records began in 1958, the warmest year at Nowra is 2009, at 17.8 °C on average. The coldest is 1966 (15.7 °C).
Is the climate at Nowra getting warmer?
Yes: at Nowra, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.20 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.3 °C in total. 10 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations