Has anybody noticed that I haven’t spoken about the weather since 24th of March? Let’s sort that ridiculous situation out right now.
The four seasons in Australia.
I was sure I had written a post elsewhere on this blog about the four seasons here in Australia, but I can’t find it. So I thought today I would rewrite the whole thing and again explain the four seasons, when each starts and when each finishes. Here goes:
- Summer: December to February
- Autumn: March to May
- Winter: June to August
- Spring: September to November
There, all done.
But there’s more. Applying the above criteria to today’s date, I think we can all safely agree that right now Australia is slap bang-ish in the middle of autumn.
Now I live in Brisbane, and as a local said to me the other day, “Brisbane isn’t really typical of the rest of Australia, is it?” As we wallowed in 31°C temperatures over the whole weekend here, I decided to give that quote some thought and wondered what the weather was like elsewhere.
So here’s a snapshot view of the weather around the whole country during the middle of autumn. First, let’s start with the five most populous cities, from the hottest down to the coolest. These were each city’s maximum temperatures so far this month…
- Brisbane: 28.5°C
- Perth: 27.0°C
- Adelaide: 25.8°C
- Sydney: 25.4°C
- Melbourne: 23.5°C
As I mentioned earlier, it was definitely 31°C here in Brisbane over the weekend, so I can only assume these temperatures were taken at say, 12 noon. So each city may well have got to be a couple of degrees warmer. All had a minimum (night-time) temperature of around 15°C except Brisbane, which was a little warmer at 18°C.
Adelaide had about 40 to 50 mm of rain, Perth had no rain at all and the other three cities had between 10 and 20 mm.
Now our three lesser populated cities….
- Darwin: 36.2°C with a minimum night-time temperature of around 25°C.
- Canberra: 21.4°C with a minimum night-time temperature of around 9°C.
- Hobart: 20.3°C with a minimum night-time temperature of around 8°C.
Rainfall levels in Hobart and Canberra were between five and 15 mm but over at Darwin they had bucketloads. Or to be more precise, over 100 mm of rain. Notice how it was warmer in the middle of the night in Darwin than it was during the hottest day-time temperature in Melbourne.
Looking at these figures is easy to understand why people who live in England, for example, regard all of Australia as hot. But here in Australia, distinctions are made. For example, Melbourne is regarded as having the worst weather out of the major five cities. The rumour is that summers are short, winters are cold and generally the weather can change very quickly, so a hot day can easily become a cold day instantly.
I will come back to this subject in around three months time and do another snapshot for the middle of winter. If you’re considering moving to Australia, then you need to choose where to live. I would think a major influential factor when making that choice would be the weather, so hopefully the information will be useful.
Speaking as someone who lives in Brisbane, even though I’ve not yet been here for three years, I am now entering my third autumn. And I already know that autumn, for me, is easily the best of all the four seasons.
If you live in Australia, perhaps you’d like to tell us in the comments below what you think of the weather where you are.
Related posts:
- Australia vs England: The Weather
- Best Country to Live In, England or Australia?
- And the Best Country in the World to Live in is…
- Australia Is a Big Country
- Brisbane Weather: What Happened to Spring?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Great Article Bob
I have searched for weeks the Internet and bookstores on all things Australia and must say, your site and blogs are by far the
best. Not only are they entertaining, they are jam packed with information! Through your eyes, you make Australia come alive!
Sincerely
Your Canadian Friend
Angela M Derzaph
Oops, should have included your videos as well.
Angela, you’re making me blush!
But thanks
Well here is my description of Melbourne weather for those that are interested. The weather can best be described as changeable and unpredictable. In summer it can be 42 celsius one minute and a welcome cool change will arrive and the temp. will drop to 25 celsius in 10 minutes. There are summer days when stepping outside is like getting into a hot oven as the heat is very dry. You can get coolish days, warm days and very hot days throughout the summer. Average would be about 25 degrees Celsius. Autumn is usually more stable with cool nights and sunny days. It is now late May and Winter weather is now upon us after a few warmish days. Winter in Melbourne is when most of the rain falls. Average temps by day would be about 13 degrees. There are days when the temp. drops below 10 degrees but they are not all that common. It can drop to zero at night on one or two occassions over Winter. It can snow on the hills on the rural outskirts. I would compare a Melbourne Winter to that of somewhere like Rome temp. wise. Spring is very changeable and can be damp. November can be 36 degrees one day and 18 the next. We get 4 distinct seasons in Melbourne which I like but I do envy the lovely winter weather of Brisbane and other places up north. We get lovely autumn foliage in Melbourne which is more unusual in the warmer climes further north. The weather in Melbourne might not be hot all year round but it is definately better than the UK.
Great weather insight Sally!!
Yes, that is a great weather round up for Melbourne Sally, thank you!
As they say in Melbourne, four seasons in one day. And I too would take Melbourne’s weather over and above the UK’s weather any day.