WeatherJourney.com

Brisbane weather by month: averages, rainfall & climate trends

Set where southeast Queensland meets the Coral Sea, Brisbane runs a humid subtropical year of long, hot, wet summers and short, gloriously sunny winters, interrupted, on unforgettable occasions, by floodwaters that can swamp large parts of the city. Brisbane weather by month: average temperatures, rainfall, records and how the climate has changed since 1940.

Today vs average

−3.3°Chigh well below average

22° / 16°Today
25° / 16°Average
see today in detail →

How it's changed

+1.0°Caverage temperature, 2016–2025 vs 1940–1949average temperature vs 1940–4953days above 30°C a year now (2016–2025) · 38 in the 1940sdays above 30°C · 38 in the 1940s+1.0°C vs the 1940s · see how it's changed →
Weather by montha typical year, averaged over the full recordJanuary, rain 124 mmhigh 29°low 21°February, rain 132 mmhigh 28°low 21°March, rain 114 mmhigh 27°low 20°April, rain 66 mmhigh 25°low 17°May, rain 63 mmhigh 23°low 13°June, rain 50 mmhigh 20°low 11°July, rain 43 mmhigh 20°low 9°August, rain 37 mmhigh 22°low 10°September, rain 35 mmhigh 24°low 13°October, rain 78 mmhigh 26°low 16°November, rain 95 mmhigh 27°low 18°December, rain 111 mmhigh 28°low 20°wettest month February, 132 mm · 948 mm a yearsee month by month →

Right now

What it's doing today vs the historical average for this date.
Overcast

Right now

21.4°

20°feels like
54%humidity
12°dew point
12 km/hfrom E
UV index0.9
sunrise05:09sunset17:57day length12h 48m
TodayOvercast22°16°
MonShowers20°16°
TueOvercast24°16°
WedOvercast25°16°
ThuOvercast21°18°
FriOvercast20°17°
SatOvercast25°17°

On this date: October 18

Today (forecast)
22° / 16°
Average for October 18
25° / 16°

High well below average · −3.3°C

  • Record high: 32.1° · 1993
  • Record low: 11.1° · 2010
  • One year ago: 32° / 19°

Every October 18 in history, coldest to hottest

▲ Daily highs▼ Daily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each October 18 on record (n = 87). Outlined dots are today's forecast.

Area we sample

Each city's history comes from one ERA5 grid cell, about 28 km across, shown by the dashed box. Near mountains or coasts, conditions can vary across the cell.

Location & data

Historical weather for Brisbane is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 27.47°S, 153.03°E, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
27.47°S, 153.03°E
Time zone
Australia/Brisbane
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

18 of the last 31 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: +0.4°C.

Each bar is one day, from morning low to afternoon high. Warm-colored bars are days whose mean ran above average; cool bars ran below. The dot inside the bar is the daily mean. The shaded band is the typical 10–90% range expected for that date. Average = the day's mean temperature averaged across every year of record (1940–2026) for that calendar date.

This date over the years

One dot per year, showing the mean temperature on this calendar date. Dots are warmer or cooler than the long-term average (dashed line); the shaded band is the typical 10–90% range, and the highlighted dot is today's forecast. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Weather by month

Average temperatures and rainfall for each month: a typical year, from the full record.

Climate overview

Brisbane spreads across the southeastern corner of Queensland, close to the Coral Sea and influenced by a warm ocean current running along the coast, with a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Summers are long, hot and reliably wet, with tropical moisture arriving from the north; winters are short, dry and famously warm by southern standards: clear blue-sky days that contrast sharply with the storm-prone summer. The city sits at the southern edge of the tropical cyclone risk zone, and while direct hits by active cyclones are rare, ex-tropical systems can bring destructive winds and flooding.

Brisbane's major floods since European settlement include those of January 1841, February 1893, January 1974 (in the wake of Cyclone Wanda), January 2011 (linked to Cyclone Tasha), and February 2022, each a reminder that the river basin on which the city is built can turn against it when exceptional rainfall falls upstream. Most recently, ex-Cyclone Alfred, downgraded to a tropical low shortly before it crossed the coast near Bribie Island, to Brisbane's north, on 8 March 2025, brought significant wind and flood impacts to the region.

January brings the year's peak warmth, with afternoons typically reaching 28.8°C and nights around 21.1°C. Around 100 nights a year stay above 20°C. In July, the coolest month, afternoons reach about 20.1°C and nights dip to 9.3°C. Freezing temperatures almost never occur.

The yearly total for Brisbane comes to about 948 mm; monthly amounts range from 35 mm in September up to 132 mm in February.

The record here starts in 1940, and since then the annual mean in Brisbane has climbed 1.0°C from the first ten years to the last ten. Days above 30°C have grown noticeably more frequent, from around 40 a year in the first decade to about 55 in the last.

Sources:en.wikipedia.orgbritannica.com

Climate graph (climograph)

January is the warmest month, July the coolest: a yearly swing of 10°C. Wettest month: February (~132 mm). Whole year averages ~948 mm of rain.

Bars = average monthly rainfall (right axis). Lines = average daily high and low (left axis). Average = each month's value averaged across every year of record (1940–2026).

Rainy days by month

About 78 rainy days a year: most in February (~10), fewest in July (~4).

Bars = average number of days with ≥ 2 mm per month. Hover for the monthly rainfall total.

Monthly wind

Average daily peak wind at 10 m, by month.

Monthly solar energy

Average daily incoming solar energy in megajoules per square metre: the record's own proxy for how sunny the month is.

Brisbane month by month: what to expect

Typical conditions for each month, averaged across the full record (since 1940). Daylight is the time from sunrise to sunset. Record high/low are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainRainy daysDaylightRecord highRecord low
January28.8°21.1°124 mm1013.6 h41.6° (2014)15.2° (1943)
February28.4°21.0°132 mm1012.9 h41.6° (1952)14.7° (1996)
March27.4°19.6°114 mm912.2 h37.6° (1965)11.0° (2008)
April25.4°16.5°66 mm511.3 h33.5° (1980)7.6° (2008)
May22.7°13.2°63 mm510.6 h30.0° (2015)3.3° (2006)
June20.5°10.6°50 mm410.3 h28.3° (2002)1.8° (1999)
July20.1°9.3°43 mm410.4 h29.0° (2016)0.8° (2007)
August21.5°10.0°37 mm411.0 h34.5° (2024)2.1° (1997)
September23.9°12.8°35 mm411.8 h37.7° (2017)3.5° (1994)
October25.8°16.0°78 mm712.7 h40.9° (1958)7.2° (1981)
November27.3°18.4°95 mm813.4 h42.2° (1944)9.3° (2006)
December28.5°20.1°111 mm913.7 h40.6° (1952)12.7° (2010)

How it's changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +1.0°C.

Each vertical stripe is one year. Color encodes how much that year's annual mean differed from the long-term average. Average = each year's annual mean compared to the average of all years (1940–2026). cooler ← → warmer

Annual mean temperature

Long-term trend: +0.10°C per decade.

One point per year, showing the temperature averaged across the whole year. The dashed line is the least-squares long-term trend. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Seasonal warming

Dec–Feb is warming fastest: +0.12°C per decade.

Each faint line is one three-month period's average per year; the bold dashed line is its long-term trend. Different parts of the year often warm at different rates. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Hot days vs frost days

Days ≥ 30°C per year: 38.2 early in the record → 53.4 recently. Frost days: 0 → 0.

Thin lines are raw yearly counts; thick lines are the smoothed trend that removes year-to-year noise. The hot-day threshold is auto-picked per city so the line actually moves. Average = a centered 5-year rolling average to smooth weather noise.

Yearly hot & cold extremes

All-time high in 1944, all-time low in 2007: 42.2°C / 0.8°C.

One point per year: the single hottest and coldest day recorded that year.

Annual rainfall

~948 mm/year on average. Last decade: +12% vs that average. Long-term trend: +21 mm per decade.

One bar per year of total rainfall. Dashed line is the long-term average. Average = the average annual rainfall across every year of record (1940–2026).

Day-by-day grid

Each tiny square is one calendar day across the full record, about 30,000 days per city. Use the mode switch above the chart: Anomaly colors each day by how far it ran from the historical average for that date (red = warmer, blue = cooler), Daily mean temp shows the absolute mean temperature for the day (useful to see seasons and heatwaves), and Precipitation shows daily rainfall (useful to spot wet/dry seasons and droughts). Average = the long-term average for that calendar date (1940–2026).

Frequently asked questions about Brisbane

Which is the warmest month in Brisbane?
On long-term average, the warmest month in Brisbane is January (mean daily temperature of about 24.5°C) and the coolest is July (about 14.2°C).
How does today's temperature in Brisbane compare to the historical average?
On October 18, 2026, Brisbane is forecast to reach a high of 22.1°C and a low of 16.3°C. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 25.4°C and a low of 16.1°C, so today's high is 3.3°C cooler than that average.
How much has Brisbane warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in Brisbane is about 1.0°C warmer.
How much does it rain in Brisbane?
Brisbane receives about 948 mm of precipitation per year on long-term average, with February typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in Brisbane?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Brisbane is about 19.9°C. The warmest month is January and the coolest is July.
What are the average temperatures in Brisbane by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in Brisbane (°C, full record since 1940): January 29°/21°, February 28°/21°, March 27°/20°, April 25°/17°, May 23°/13°, June 20°/11°, July 20°/9°, August 22°/10°, September 24°/13°, October 26°/16°, November 27°/18°, December 28°/20°.
What is the weather like in Brisbane in summer?
In summer, December through February, Brisbane is wet and warm. Afternoons run 28–29°C and nights 20–21°C; January is the warmest month. Rain falls on about 9 days a month, adding up to around 122 mm. It is the wettest season of the year.
What is the weather like in Brisbane in winter?
June to August is winter in Brisbane, and it is mild. Expect 20–22°C by day and 9–11°C at night, with July the coldest month. Rain is steady at around 43 mm a month, spread over roughly 4 days. It is the driest season of the year.
What is the weather like in Brisbane in spring?
In spring, September through November, Brisbane is pleasantly warm. Daytime highs sit at 24–27°C and nights at 13–18°C; November is the warmest month. Rain picks up through the season: 4 rainy days and 35 mm in September, 8 days and 95 mm in November.
What is the weather like in Brisbane in autumn?
In autumn, March through May, Brisbane is pleasantly warm. It cools from 27°C by day and 20°C at night in March to 23°C and 13°C in May. Rain eases through the season: 9 rainy days and 114 mm in March, 5 days and 63 mm in May.
How many days a year does it rain in Brisbane?
On long-term average, Brisbane has about 78 days a year with at least 2 mm of rain or snow. The annual total is roughly 948 mm.

Weather in nearby cities