Rockhampton is a weather station located 10 m above sea level, 3 km from Rockhampton. Its records go back to 1940: 84 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 23.2 °C, clearly higher than over 1961–1990 (22.3 °C): a difference of 0.9 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2016 (24.0 °C) and the coldest 1960 (21.1 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 4 out of 84, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.29 °C per decade. The station ranks 28 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1940
The first ten years of the series (1941–1951) average 21.9 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 23.7 °C, a difference of +1.8 °C. All of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999; the warmest is 2016 (24.0 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 23.7 °C (2025) and bottoms out at 21.8 °C (1961).
Annual rainfall since 1940
On average 811 mm of rain falls per year over the 81 documented years. The wettest year, 1973, received 1631 mm; the driest, 2002, only 360 mm, which is 4.5 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (720 mm per year) is 117 mm (14.0 %) below the 1961–1990 one (837 mm). Over 1991–2020, February is on average the wettest month (136 mm) and September the driest (26 mm). Between 2001 and 2025, 7 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 | 26.9 °C | 27.7 °C | +0.8 °C | 124 mm | 104 mm | −20 mm |
| February | 26.6 °C | 27.4 °C | +0.8 °C | 120 mm | 136 mm | +16 mm |
| March | 25.4 °C | 26.2 °C | +0.8 °C | 109 mm | 81 mm | −28 mm |
| April | 23.2 °C | 23.9 °C | +0.7 °C | 51 mm | 35 mm | −16 mm |
| May | 20.0 °C | 20.7 °C | +0.7 °C | 59 mm | 31 mm | −28 mm |
| June | 16.8 °C | 18.1 °C | +1.3 °C | 35 mm | 38 mm | +3 mm |
| July | 15.9 °C | 17.2 °C | +1.3 °C | 32 mm | 30 mm | −2 mm |
| August | 17.6 °C | 18.5 °C | +0.9 °C | 30 mm | 27 mm | −3 mm |
| September | 20.2 °C | 21.5 °C | +1.3 °C | 27 mm | 26 mm | −1 mm |
| October | 23.1 °C | 23.9 °C | +0.8 °C | 47 mm | 50 mm | +3 mm |
| November | 25.1 °C | 25.7 °C | +0.6 °C | 78 mm | 59 mm | −19 mm |
| December | 26.4 °C | 27.1 °C | +0.7 °C | 125 mm | 103 mm | −22 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 (+16 mm) and the smallest in March (−28 mm).
Records at Rockhampton
- Warmest year: 24.0 °C, in 2016
- Coldest year: 21.1 °C, in 1960
- Driest year: 360 mm, in 2002
- Wettest year: 1631 mm, in 1973
- Warmest month: 29.3 °C, in December 2019
- Coldest month: 13.1 °C, in July 1965
- Wettest month: 660 mm, in January 1974
- Hottest day: 45.9 °C, on 18 November 1990
- Coldest day: −2.1 °C, on 18 July 1963
- Heaviest rain in one day: 348.0 mm, on 25 January 2013
2.9 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 48.0 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.29 °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 0.10 °C per decade: the station ranks 28 out of 227.
The last 24 months against 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 +0.7 °C. The highest departure was in October 2025 (+2.5 °C); the lowest, in February 2025 (−0.6 °C). The last twelve months add up to 578 mm of rain, which is 80 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (720 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 24.6 °C | +0.7 °C | 24 mm | 50 mm |
| November 2024 | 27.2 °C | +1.5 °C | 30 mm | 59 mm |
| December 2024 | 28.1 °C | +1.0 °C | 81 mm | 103 mm |
| January 2025 | 28.0 °C | +0.3 °C | – | 104 mm |
| February 2025 | 26.8 °C | −0.6 °C | 162 mm | 136 mm |
| March 2025 | 27.2 °C | +1.0 °C | 173 mm | 81 mm |
| April 2025 | 24.2 °C | +0.3 °C | 175 mm | 35 mm |
| May 2025 | 21.8 °C | +1.1 °C | 53 mm | 31 mm |
| June 2025 | 17.8 °C | −0.3 °C | 14 mm | 38 mm |
| July 2025 | 17.6 °C | +0.4 °C | 29 mm | 30 mm |
| August 2025 | 18.7 °C | +0.2 °C | 21 mm | 27 mm |
| September 2025 | 22.3 °C | +0.8 °C | 14 mm | 26 mm |
| October 2025 | 26.4 °C | +2.5 °C | 65 mm | 50 mm |
| November 2025 | 27.6 °C | +1.9 °C | 52 mm | 59 mm |
| December 2025 | 27.5 °C | +0.4 °C | 101 mm | 103 mm |
| January 2026 | – | – | 176 mm | 104 mm |
| February 2026 | – | – | 58 mm | 136 mm |
| March 2026 | – | – | 96 mm | 81 mm |
| April 2026 | – | – | 1 mm | 35 mm |
| May 2026 | – | – | 17 mm | 31 mm |
| June 2026 | – | – | 6 mm | 38 mm |
| July 2026 | – | – | 0 mm | 30 mm |
| August 2026 | – | – | 4 mm | 27 mm |
| September 2026 | – | – | 2 mm | 26 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 Rockhampton 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 Rockhampton?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Rockhampton is 23.2 °C. It was 22.3 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.9 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Rockhampton?
Since records began in 1940, the warmest year at Rockhampton is 2016, at 24.0 °C on average. The coldest is 1960 (21.1 °C).
Is the climate at Rockhampton getting warmer?
Yes: at Rockhampton, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.29 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.9 °C in total. 10 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations