Brisbane’s Coldest Day Since 1916

Brisbane Hits New Daytime Maximum Temperature Low

Newsflash:

My English CoatToday in Brisbane temperatures have barely got above 12° C. The highest temperature I’ve seen on my outdoor thermometer is
12.4° C.

It’s the coldest daytime maximum temperature I’ve ever known here and I remember reading that the previous lowest maximum daytime temperature in recent years was around 15° C.

So I decided to check the records.

The previous and all time recorded lowest daytime temperature in Brisbane was 11.7°C in 1916. So today is the coldest day for 95 years!

At last I can wear one of those coats I brought over from England.

Source:

“Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Chris Joseph said the record low daytime temperature for Brisbane was 11.7 degrees, set in 1916.”

Click here for full article.

Update:

There has been some debate whether this really has been the coldest day since 1916 in Brisbane.

I got an email from a reader earlier that said “The paper this morning (Courier Mail) confirmed more recent colder dates.”

———————————

Yes, I read that. The exact quote simply said “The southeast is freezing this morning following its coldest day in 11 years on Thursday – when the maximum daytime temperature struggled to warm up at 12.5C.”

Technically speaking, the southeast isn’t Brisbane.

I watched Seven News last night and they confirmed that Thursday was, indeed, the coldest maximum daytime temperature since 1916.

I did a little more digging today and found this on weatherzone….

Brisbane has just recorded its coldest day in 11 years, only struggling to 12 and a half degrees. It was also the coldest June day since 1916, when a top of 11.3 was recorded.’

So, according to them it was the coldest June day since 1916. 7 News and a BOM senior forecaster on one side, Courier Mail and Weatherzone on the other. So I reckon I got 50-50 chance of being right, so therefore I may be wrong too.

Either way, it was cold!

Visa Assessment Service
{ 22 comments… add one }
  • Al D July 13, 2014, 12:56 pm |

    Of course it’s going to get cooler down under as well as up over. We’re now in a global cooling trend. Both poles are experiencing increasing sea ice and the land ice on Antarctica is still thickening. We just had the coldest winter in over a century up north and now it’s happening down under. An unusual cold snap will be hitting the US Midwest next week. This is supposed to be the hottest time of the year in the US.

    It is now apparent that the increased volcanic activity that’s melting the glacier in West Antarctica and man’s contribution just won’t be enough to offset global cooling in the coming years. We’d better start pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere or our heating bills will soon be going through the roof!

    • John in Brisbane July 13, 2014, 1:40 pm |

      I vary between amusement and annoyance when I see comments like yours.

      I’m no expert so I rely on what qualified people say. Perhaps you should too, and not just the wafer thin minority who publish stuff that agrees with your unscientific world-view. What those qualified people say is:

      1. The earth has not stopped warming. The air has, due to increased ocean currents due to increased energy being soaked up by the ocean.

      2. CO2, being a green house gas, slows the radiation of the sun’s energy back into space – more CO2 means more heat being trapped. Which you seem to acknowledge. But that heat hasn’t magically vanished just because the air temp hasn’t jumped – it’s gone into the ocean.

      3. The ocean, being water, absorbs heat 24 times better than air. And it more than 4 times the energy to raise the temperature of water compared to air. So most of the sun’s energy that is being trapped by the CO2 is going into the oceans and not the air.

      4. It has always been known that global warming will result in greater extremes of weather of all sorts. There will be more extremes of cold as well as hot. It does not matter what is going on where you are. When you look at the whole planet and average every air and ocean temperature for the year, the graph is constantly climbing.

      5. Your argument is a classic example of relying on your own experience and then getting pig headed about it. Perish the thought but if you are ever diagnosed with plenty of types of cancer, there are no obvious symptoms. You might even feel better than average. Yet the doctor, relying on science and measurements, can see something you can not. It’s natural to be in denial, but most people eventually accept the truth and get treatment before it kills you. Please consider the possibility that you’re wrong about this.

      • BobinOz July 13, 2014, 11:46 pm |

        John in Brisbane, by “qualified people” I assume you mean the scientists? The ones that are getting the grants without which they would all be starving or looking for something else to investigate on humankind’s behalf?

        Yes, I also vary between amusement and annoyance when I see comments like yours, it’s mostly amusement, but sometimes annoyance creeps in when words like “pig headed” are used to describe others with valid opinions.

  • tom June 19, 2011, 7:29 am |

    Hi Bob. I hate to rub it in,but here in good old Gods Country (LaCrosse Wisconsin USA its a breezy 31.7C. My son in law who is from Brisbane was ready to head back to OZ last week because it was a record setting low for June 10th at 6.67 C. You really should try the midwest sometime Bob. We would love to show you around. Best always,Tom Sneath.

    • BobinOz June 20, 2011, 9:51 pm |

      That’s a mighty kind offer Tom, and if ever I find myself in your part of the world I’ll surely take you up on it. But it may be cheaper for me to just hang around here for two or three months and I’m pretty sure we’ll be hitting a breezy 31.7°C ourselves by then.

      Cheers

      Bob

  • John in Brisbane June 14, 2011, 12:54 pm |

    Ha ha I visited the UK and France in 2003 (leaving a few days before that heat wave that sadly killed 50,000 french people) and came back here with a new appreciation for our winters, which were similar to your summer. I now prefer winter, especially when there is a high pressure system overhead and we have 20 – 24 degree, cloudless, windless days. Sorry I’ll stop. We don’t get those endless, gorgeous afternoons and evenings though.

    • BobinOz June 14, 2011, 9:48 pm |

      I know what you mean, I tend to favour autumn. I call it our Californian weather, because from March to May it is usually around 75°F (24°C), clear blue skies, very little rain and just how I like it.

  • Camille June 10, 2011, 7:37 am |

    Well I’ve just seen the local weather forecast for my area in the uk for the 10th June. We’re expecting a balmy 15 •c! I look forward to one day complaining of ‘cold’ Aussie winters of 12 •c

    • BobinOz June 10, 2011, 10:09 pm |

      I really miss UK summers. Did you go to the beach?

  • Nick June 10, 2011, 12:20 am |

    A correction to my comment: the previous winter 2009/10 was the coldest in 30 years. December 2010 was the coldest December since 1890.

    • BobinOz June 10, 2011, 10:08 pm |

      That’s global warming for you!

      • john in brisbane June 11, 2011, 2:15 am |

        Actually Europe is supposed to get colder I’ve read. The Gulf Stream is slowing down apparently and Europe will start to get weather more commensurate with its latitude. Another reason to move here mate!

        • BobinOz June 13, 2011, 11:50 pm |

          Are they talking about that again? I did see a program about that, but it was about 10-15 years ago. I mentioned it in my post about the Australian Carbon Tax Protests.

          • John in Brisbane June 14, 2011, 12:51 pm |

            Maybe we saw the same one although I’ve seen a few articles as well. I just had a look at that other post of yours and it reminds me of the great global cooling scare from the 70s – there was a doco on it last year I think? I imagine things like that make it harder for some people to accept what the scientists are saying now. The Gulf stream thing remains a problem though I believe.

            • BobinOz June 14, 2011, 9:56 pm |

              Yes, I just checked. The Gulfstream thing is still a problem with scientists saying it could happen all of a sudden.

              Apparently it is the melting ice due to global warming that will possibly stop the Gulfstream flow and cause all the problems.

              Maybe I’ll get my snow in Brisbane after all?

  • Jackie Jones June 9, 2011, 7:05 pm |

    During the last winter in London it got as cold as -3 or -4 degrees!!!

    • Nick June 9, 2011, 11:52 pm |

      Actually, it got down to -9 here in London last winter. Coldest winter in 30 years.

      • BobinOz June 10, 2011, 10:07 pm |

        Gosh! Are these daytime temperatures? No wonder I moved out here!

  • John in Brisbane June 9, 2011, 4:25 pm |

    Hey I found your blog when googling just how cold it was today 🙂 I’ve been here since 1992 and thought today was the coldest I’ve seen too. I seldom wear long pants but took no convincing today!

    • BobinOz June 9, 2011, 5:49 pm |

      Me too, long trousers, socks, jumper, it’s just like being back in England. Maybe I’ll buy a bobble hat.

  • Charles June 9, 2011, 3:37 pm |

    Winter of 1984 was colder. There was snow on the ground in Toowoomba

    • BobinOz June 9, 2011, 5:47 pm |

      Hi Charles

      It may have been colder in Toowoomba in ’84, but not here in Brisbane according to a BOM senior forecaster. I’ve added a link to the full article above.

      So I assume he has got it right, but I wasn’t here in ’84 or 1916.

      Now, if we could get snow in Brisbane, that would be something!

Cancel reply

Leave a Comment

If your comment doesn’t get answered, find out why…..
FAQs and Comment Policy.