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Port Hedland: weather history since 1913

Port Hedland is a weather station located 6 m above sea level, 7 km from Port Hedland. Its records go back to 1913: 106 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 26.8 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (26.3 °C): a difference of 0.5 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2024 (28.3 °C) and the coldest 1913 (25.1 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 8 out of 106, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.22 °C per decade. The station ranks 90 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.

Annual mean temperature since 1913

242526272829
19131930194019501960197019801990200020102025
Mean temperature of the year   10-year running mean   1961–1990 normal (26.3 °C)   1991–2020 normal (26.8 °C)

The first ten years of the series (1913–1923) average 25.8 °C; the last ten (2015–2025) average 27.4 °C, a difference of +1.6 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 8 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2024 (28.3 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 27.4 °C (2024) and bottoms out at 25.8 °C (1922).

Annual rainfall since 1913

0200400600800
19131930194019501960197019801990200020102025
Rainfall of the year   Series average (312 mm)

On average 312 mm of rain falls per year over the 71 documented years. The wettest year, 1956, received 627 mm; the driest, 1944, only 44 mm, which is 14.2 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (303 mm per year) is 14 mm (4.4 %) below the 1961–1990 one (317 mm). Over 1991–2020, February is on average the wettest month (74 mm) and October the driest (0 mm). Between 1995 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.

Monthly temperature and rainfall normals, 1961–1990 and 1991–2020
MonthTemp. 1961–1990Temp. 1991–2020DifferenceRain 1961–1990Rain 1991–2020Difference
January30.9 °C31.2 °C+0.3 °C64 mm62 mm−2 mm
February30.9 °C31.1 °C+0.2 °C100 mm74 mm−26 mm
March30.6 °C31.0 °C+0.4 °C48 mm62 mm+14 mm
April28.1 °C28.9 °C+0.8 °C24 mm19 mm−5 mm
May23.7 °C24.4 °C+0.7 °C27 mm20 mm−7 mm
June20.7 °C21.3 °C+0.6 °C20 mm30 mm+10 mm
July19.5 °C20.4 °C+0.9 °C8 mm10 mm+2 mm
August21.1 °C21.7 °C+0.6 °C5 mm4 mm−1 mm
September24.0 °C24.3 °C+0.3 °C1 mm1 mm0 mm
October26.7 °C27.8 °C+1.1 °C1 mm0 mm−1 mm
November29.0 °C29.3 °C+0.3 °C2 mm1 mm−1 mm
December30.5 °C30.8 °C+0.3 °C17 mm20 mm+3 mm

The largest temperature change is in October (+1.1 °C) and the smallest in February (+0.2 °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 (+14 mm) and the smallest in February (−26 mm).

Records at Port Hedland

  • Warmest year: 28.3 °C, in 2024
  • Coldest year: 25.1 °C, in 1913
  • Driest year: 44 mm, in 1944
  • Wettest year: 627 mm, in 1956
  • Warmest month: 33.6 °C, in December 2021
  • Coldest month: 16.8 °C, in July 1916
  • Wettest month: 454 mm, in January 1967
  • Hottest day: 49.6 °C, on 25 October 1926
  • Coldest day: 3.1 °C, on 10 July 1967
  • Heaviest rain in one day: 387.1 mm, on 27 January 1967

3.2 °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 +0.22 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +1.4 °C over the whole period. That is faster than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.03 °C per decade: the station ranks 90 out of 227.

The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal

−4−2024
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), 13 months out of 15 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.9 °C. The highest departure was in November 2024 (+2.8 °C); the lowest, in July 2025 (−1.0 °C). The last twelve months add up to 283 mm of rain, which is 93 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (303 mm).

Temperature and rainfall of recent months, compared with the 1991–2020 normals
MonthTemperatureDeparture from normalRainNormal rain
October 202429.8 °C+2.0 °C1 mm0 mm
November 202432.1 °C+2.8 °C0 mm1 mm
December 202432.4 °C+1.6 °C18 mm20 mm
January 202531.6 °C+0.4 °C132 mm62 mm
February 202531.4 °C+0.3 °C264 mm74 mm
March 202532.5 °C+1.5 °C5 mm62 mm
April 202530.0 °C+1.1 °C5 mm19 mm
May 202524.5 °C+0.1 °C1 mm20 mm
June 202521.5 °C+0.2 °C2 mm30 mm
July 202519.4 °C−1.0 °C13 mm10 mm
August 202522.7 °C+1.0 °C0 mm4 mm
September 202525.6 °C+1.3 °C0 mm1 mm
October 202529.2 °C+1.4 °C0 mm0 mm
November 202528.4 °C−0.9 °C0 mm1 mm
December 202532.4 °C+1.6 °C6 mm20 mm
January 2026––3 mm62 mm
February 2026––149 mm74 mm
March 2026––101 mm62 mm
April 2026––0 mm19 mm
May 2026––19 mm20 mm
June 2026––5 mm30 mm
July 2026––0 mm10 mm
August 2026––0 mm4 mm
September 2026––0 mm1 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 Port Hedland 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 Port Hedland?

Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Port Hedland is 26.8 °C. It was 26.3 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.5 °C.

What is the warmest year ever measured at Port Hedland?

Since records began in 1913, the warmest year at Port Hedland is 2024, at 28.3 °C on average. The coldest is 1913 (25.1 °C).

Is the climate at Port Hedland getting warmer?

Yes: at Port Hedland, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.22 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.4 °C in total. 8 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.

Towns near this station

Neighbouring stations

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