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Woomera: weather history since 1950

Woomera is a weather station located 167 m above sea level. Its records go back to 1950: 75 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 19.8 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (19.1 °C): a difference of 0.7 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2014 (20.7 °C) and the coldest 1960 (17.2 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 5 out of 75, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.23 °C per decade. The station ranks 76 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.

Annual mean temperature since 1950

16182022
19501960197019801990200020102025
Mean temperature of the year   10-year running mean   1961–1990 normal (19.1 °C)   1991–2020 normal (19.8 °C)

The first ten years of the series (1950–1959) average 18.6 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 20.0 °C, a difference of +1.4 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 9 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2014 (20.7 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 20.1 °C (2020) and bottoms out at 18.4 °C (1960).

Annual rainfall since 1950

0100200300400500
19501960197019801990200020102025
Rainfall of the year   Series average (179 mm)

On average 179 mm of rain falls per year over the 73 documented years. The wettest year, 1974, received 493 mm; the driest, 2002, only 54 mm, which is 9.1 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (152 mm per year) is 45 mm (22.8 %) below the 1961–1990 one (197 mm). Over 1991–2020, June is on average the wettest month (17 mm) and March the driest (8 mm). Between 2005 and 2025, 4 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
January26.6 °C27.8 °C+1.2 °C17 mm14 mm−3 mm
February26.4 °C27.1 °C+0.7 °C21 mm15 mm−6 mm
March23.6 °C23.9 °C+0.3 °C15 mm8 mm−7 mm
April19.3 °C19.9 °C+0.6 °C13 mm10 mm−3 mm
May14.9 °C15.4 °C+0.5 °C24 mm10 mm−14 mm
June11.9 °C12.2 °C+0.3 °C15 mm17 mm+2 mm
July11.3 °C11.8 °C+0.5 °C16 mm9 mm−7 mm
August12.7 °C13.4 °C+0.7 °C14 mm11 mm−3 mm
September15.8 °C16.9 °C+1.1 °C16 mm13 mm−3 mm
October19.4 °C20.2 °C+0.8 °C15 mm15 mm0 mm
November22.5 °C23.4 °C+0.9 °C18 mm14 mm−4 mm
December24.9 °C25.6 °C+0.7 °C13 mm16 mm+3 mm

The largest temperature change is in January (+1.2 °C) and the smallest in March (+0.3 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.7 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in December (+3 mm) and the smallest in May (−14 mm).

Records at Woomera

  • Warmest year: 20.7 °C, in 2014
  • Coldest year: 17.2 °C, in 1960
  • Driest year: 54 mm, in 2002
  • Wettest year: 493 mm, in 1974
  • Warmest month: 31.9 °C, in January 2001
  • Coldest month: 9.3 °C, in June 1949
  • Wettest month: 191 mm, in March 1989
  • Hottest day: 48.2 °C, on 20 December 2019
  • Coldest day: −1.4 °C, on 12 August 1966
  • Heaviest rain in one day: 138.4 mm, on 14 March 1989

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 49.6 °C.

Temperature trend over 1961–2025

The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.23 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +1.5 °C over the whole period. That is faster than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.04 °C per decade: the station ranks 76 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), 12 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 March 2025 (+3.2 °C); the lowest, in November 2025 (−1.6 °C). The last twelve months add up to 325 mm of rain, which is 214 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (152 mm).

Temperature and rainfall of recent months, compared with the 1991–2020 normals
MonthTemperatureDeparture from normalRainNormal rain
October 202422.7 °C+2.5 °C6 mm15 mm
November 202424.1 °C+0.7 °C56 mm14 mm
December 202426.7 °C+1.1 °C17 mm16 mm
January 202528.7 °C+0.9 °C0 mm14 mm
February 202528.7 °C+1.6 °C0 mm15 mm
March 202527.1 °C+3.2 °C16 mm8 mm
April 202521.3 °C+1.4 °C3 mm10 mm
May 202515.7 °C+0.3 °C0 mm10 mm
June 202512.3 °C+0.1 °C6 mm17 mm
July 202511.7 °C−0.1 °C24 mm9 mm
August 202513.3 °C−0.1 °C14 mm11 mm
September 202517.8 °C+0.9 °C2 mm13 mm
October 202521.1 °C+0.9 °C34 mm15 mm
November 202521.8 °C−1.6 °C15 mm14 mm
December 202526.8 °C+1.2 °C1 mm16 mm
January 2026––0 mm14 mm
February 2026––76 mm15 mm
March 2026––57 mm8 mm
April 2026––1 mm10 mm
May 2026––67 mm10 mm
June 2026––30 mm17 mm
July 2026––9 mm9 mm
August 2026––34 mm11 mm
September 2026––1 mm13 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 Woomera 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 Woomera?

Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Woomera is 19.8 °C. It was 19.1 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.7 °C.

What is the warmest year ever measured at Woomera?

Since records began in 1950, the warmest year at Woomera is 2014, at 20.7 °C on average. The coldest is 1960 (17.2 °C).

Is the climate at Woomera getting warmer?

Yes: at Woomera, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.23 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.5 °C in total. 9 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.

Neighbouring stations

See all stations in the weather history