Tennant Creek is a weather station located 376 m above sea level, 2 km from Tennant Creek. Its records go back to 1910: 108 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 26.1 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (25.6 °C): a difference of 0.5 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2013 (27.4 °C) and the coldest 1939 (23.9 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 18 out of 108, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.15 °C per decade. The station ranks 168 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1910
The first ten years of the series (1910–1922) average 24.7 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 26.3 °C, a difference of +1.6 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 3 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2013 (27.4 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 26.5 °C (2022) and bottoms out at 24.9 °C (1925).
Annual rainfall since 1910
On average 480 mm of rain falls per year over the 54 documented years. The wettest year, 2024, received 1157 mm; the driest, 2019, only 71 mm, which is 16.3 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (499 mm per year) is 73 mm (17.1 %) above the 1961–1990 one (426 mm). Over 1991–2020, February is on average the wettest month (137 mm) and August the driest (2 mm). Between 2004 and 2025, 10 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 | 31.4 °C | 31.3 °C | −0.1 °C | 98 mm | 127 mm | +29 mm |
| February | 30.1 °C | 30.2 °C | +0.1 °C | 95 mm | 137 mm | +42 mm |
| March | 28.4 °C | 29.0 °C | +0.6 °C | 66 mm | 46 mm | −20 mm |
| April | 25.2 °C | 26.3 °C | +1.1 °C | 17 mm | 16 mm | −1 mm |
| May | 22.0 °C | 22.1 °C | +0.1 °C | 8 mm | 8 mm | 0 mm |
| June | 18.6 °C | 18.9 °C | +0.3 °C | 7 mm | 4 mm | −3 mm |
| July | 18.0 °C | 18.9 °C | +0.9 °C | 7 mm | 4 mm | −3 mm |
| August | 20.4 °C | 20.8 °C | +0.4 °C | 2 mm | 2 mm | 0 mm |
| September | 24.0 °C | 25.6 °C | +1.6 °C | 11 mm | 5 mm | −6 mm |
| October | 27.9 °C | 28.4 °C | +0.5 °C | 21 mm | 17 mm | −4 mm |
| November | 30.3 °C | 30.6 °C | +0.3 °C | 33 mm | 46 mm | +13 mm |
| December | 31.3 °C | 31.2 °C | −0.1 °C | 61 mm | 87 mm | +26 mm |
The largest temperature change is in September (+1.6 °C) and the smallest in December (−0.1 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.5 °C, and 10 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in February (+42 mm) and the smallest in March (−20 mm).
Records at Tennant Creek
- Warmest year: 27.4 °C, in 2013
- Coldest year: 23.9 °C, in 1939
- Driest year: 71 mm, in 2019
- Wettest year: 1157 mm, in 2024
- Warmest month: 34.6 °C, in January 2019
- Coldest month: 14.7 °C, in June 1949
- Wettest month: 377 mm, in February 2003
- Hottest day: 45.1 °C, on 3 January 2014
- Coldest day: 3.6 °C, on 25 June 1913
- Heaviest rain in one day: 153.6 mm, on 17 February 2003
3.5 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 41.5 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.15 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +1.0 °C over the whole period. That is slower than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.04 °C per decade: the station ranks 168 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 24 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 8 months out of 15 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.4 °C. The highest departure was in October 2025 (+2.8 °C); the lowest, in June 2025 (−1.1 °C). The last twelve months add up to 701 mm of rain, which is 140 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (499 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 30.1 °C | +1.7 °C | – | 17 mm |
| November 2024 | 30.9 °C | +0.3 °C | 78 mm | 46 mm |
| December 2024 | 32.1 °C | +0.9 °C | 30 mm | 87 mm |
| January 2025 | 33.0 °C | +1.7 °C | 25 mm | 127 mm |
| February 2025 | 31.7 °C | +1.5 °C | 40 mm | 137 mm |
| March 2025 | 30.7 °C | +1.7 °C | 76 mm | 46 mm |
| April 2025 | 25.6 °C | −0.7 °C | 26 mm | 16 mm |
| May 2025 | 21.8 °C | −0.3 °C | 52 mm | 8 mm |
| June 2025 | 17.8 °C | −1.1 °C | 0 mm | 4 mm |
| July 2025 | 19.0 °C | +0.1 °C | 0 mm | 4 mm |
| August 2025 | 20.1 °C | −0.7 °C | 1 mm | 2 mm |
| September 2025 | 25.3 °C | −0.3 °C | 1 mm | 5 mm |
| October 2025 | 31.2 °C | +2.8 °C | 6 mm | 17 mm |
| November 2025 | 30.5 °C | −0.1 °C | 25 mm | 46 mm |
| December 2025 | 30.3 °C | −0.9 °C | 148 mm | 87 mm |
| January 2026 | – | – | 38 mm | 127 mm |
| February 2026 | – | – | 272 mm | 137 mm |
| March 2026 | – | – | 161 mm | 46 mm |
| April 2026 | – | – | 1 mm | 16 mm |
| May 2026 | – | – | 44 mm | 8 mm |
| June 2026 | – | – | 0 mm | 4 mm |
| July 2026 | – | – | 0 mm | 4 mm |
| August 2026 | – | – | 5 mm | 2 mm |
| September 2026 | – | – | 1 mm | 5 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 Tennant Creek 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 Tennant Creek?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Tennant Creek is 26.1 °C. It was 25.6 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.5 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Tennant Creek?
Since records began in 1910, the warmest year at Tennant Creek is 2013, at 27.4 °C on average. The coldest is 1939 (23.9 °C).
Is the climate at Tennant Creek getting warmer?
Yes: at Tennant Creek, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.15 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.0 °C in total. 3 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations