Port Lincoln is a weather station located 9 m above sea level, 14 km from Port Lincoln. Its records go back to 1910: 108 years of temperature are available up to 2024, along with rainfall and a comparison with two reference normals. Over 1991–2020 the annual mean temperature there is 16.3 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (15.9 °C): a difference of 0.4 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2013 (17.2 °C) and the coldest 1924 (14.5 °C). The last complete year, 2024, ranks 5 out of 108, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2024, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.13 °C per decade. The station ranks 186 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1910
The first ten years of the series (1910–1921) average 15.8 °C; the last ten (2015–2024) average 16.3 °C, a difference of +0.5 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 6 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2013 (17.2 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 16.6 °C (2018) and bottoms out at 15.1 °C (1952).
Annual rainfall since 1910
On average 391 mm of rain falls per year over the 23 documented years. The wettest year, 2010, received 560 mm; the driest, 2019, only 268 mm, which is 2.1 times less. Over 1991–2020, June is on average the wettest month (59 mm) and January the driest (14 mm). Between 2000 and 2024, 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.
| Month | Temp. 1961–1990 | Temp. 1991–2020 | Difference | Rain 1961–1990 | Rain 1991–2020 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20.1 °C | 21.0 °C | +0.9 °C | – | 14 mm | – |
| February | 20.5 °C | 21.0 °C | +0.5 °C | – | 16 mm | – |
| March | 19.2 °C | 19.4 °C | +0.2 °C | – | 18 mm | – |
| April | 17.0 °C | 17.3 °C | +0.3 °C | – | 23 mm | – |
| May | 14.7 °C | 14.9 °C | +0.2 °C | – | 44 mm | – |
| June | 12.4 °C | 12.7 °C | +0.3 °C | – | 59 mm | – |
| July | 11.5 °C | 11.8 °C | +0.3 °C | – | 56 mm | – |
| August | 11.6 °C | 12.0 °C | +0.4 °C | – | 53 mm | – |
| September | 12.9 °C | 13.3 °C | +0.4 °C | – | 42 mm | – |
| October | 15.0 °C | 15.5 °C | +0.5 °C | – | 29 mm | – |
| November | 17.3 °C | 17.6 °C | +0.3 °C | – | 21 mm | – |
| December | 19.0 °C | 19.3 °C | +0.3 °C | – | 19 mm | – |
The largest temperature change is in January (+0.9 °C) and the smallest in March (+0.2 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.4 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before.
Records at Port Lincoln
- Warmest year: 17.2 °C, in 2013
- Coldest year: 14.5 °C, in 1924
- Driest year: 268 mm, in 2019
- Wettest year: 560 mm, in 2010
- Warmest month: 23.6 °C, in February 1997
- Coldest month: 9.5 °C, in August 1943
- Wettest month: 117 mm, in July 2021
- Hottest day: 48.3 °C, on 24 January 2019
- Coldest day: −0.5 °C, on 2 August 1918
- Heaviest rain in one day: 53.0 mm, on 14 January 1995
2.7 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 48.8 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2024
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.13 °C per decade between 1961 and 2024, about +0.8 °C over the whole period. That is slower than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.06 °C per decade: the station ranks 186 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 23 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 11 months out of 13 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.8 °C. The highest departure was in March 2025 (+2.2 °C); the lowest, in August 2025 (−0.4 °C). The last twelve months add up to 490 mm of rain, which is 124 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (394 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 16.5 °C | +1.0 °C | 18 mm | 29 mm |
| November 2024 | 19.0 °C | +1.4 °C | 22 mm | 21 mm |
| December 2024 | 20.4 °C | +1.1 °C | 9 mm | 19 mm |
| January 2025 | 21.8 °C | +0.8 °C | 10 mm | 14 mm |
| February 2025 | 22.2 °C | +1.2 °C | 1 mm | 16 mm |
| March 2025 | 21.6 °C | +2.2 °C | 4 mm | 18 mm |
| April 2025 | 19.0 °C | +1.7 °C | – | 23 mm |
| May 2025 | 15.1 °C | +0.2 °C | 26 mm | 44 mm |
| June 2025 | – | – | 71 mm | 59 mm |
| July 2025 | 11.8 °C | 0.0 °C | 102 mm | 56 mm |
| August 2025 | 11.6 °C | −0.4 °C | 46 mm | 53 mm |
| September 2025 | 13.6 °C | +0.3 °C | 32 mm | 42 mm |
| October 2025 | 15.9 °C | +0.4 °C | 32 mm | 29 mm |
| December 2025 | 19.7 °C | +0.4 °C | 6 mm | 19 mm |
| January 2026 | – | – | 0 mm | 14 mm |
| February 2026 | – | – | 29 mm | 16 mm |
| March 2026 | – | – | 26 mm | 18 mm |
| April 2026 | – | – | 27 mm | 23 mm |
| May 2026 | – | – | 96 mm | 44 mm |
| June 2026 | – | – | 85 mm | 59 mm |
| July 2026 | – | – | 43 mm | 56 mm |
| August 2026 | – | – | 96 mm | 53 mm |
| September 2026 | – | – | 18 mm | 42 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Port Lincoln is 16.3 °C. It was 15.9 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.4 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Port Lincoln?
Since records began in 1910, the warmest year at Port Lincoln is 2013, at 17.2 °C on average. The coldest is 1924 (14.5 °C).
Is the climate at Port Lincoln getting warmer?
Yes: at Port Lincoln, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.13 °C per decade between 1961 and 2024, +0.8 °C in total. 6 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations