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Australia's weather extremes in 2024

Australia is known for having some of the most extreme weather in the world and 2024 had its fair share of sweltering heat, bitter cold and torrential rain. But where was the most extreme weather in the country this year?

Hottest

The highest temperature officially observed in Australia during 2024 was 49.9°C at Carnarvon Airport on February 18.

This was the equal 8th highest temperature on record in Australia, falling just 0.8°C short of the record of 50.7°C in Onslow, WA in 2022 and Oodnadatta, SA in 1960.

Image: Modelled maximum temperature on Sunday, February 18, 2024, according to the ECMWF-HRES model.

Coldest

The lowest temperature of 2024 was a teeth-chattering -13.5°C at Liawenee, Tas on July 4. This was the lowest temperature ever reliably recorded in Tasmania during July. On Australia’s mainland, the lowest temperature in 2024 was -11.1°C at Thredbo on July 3.

The weather got so cold in Tasmania during this July cold snap that trees became covered in a thick layer of ice known as glaze. There were also other types of frost and ice depositions across the state’s central highlands, including hoar frost near the Great Lake.

Images: Glaze on a tree next to the Highland Lakes Road on July 3, 2024. Source: @stephen.kettle / Instagram

Wettest

The Queensland town of Tully claimed the golden gumboot award of 2024 for the heaviest daily rainfall. The rain gauge at Tully Sugarmill received 488 mm during the 24 hours ending at 9am on February 24 as a tropical low soaked northeast Qld.

Tully is no stranger to heavy rain and has received as much as 606 mm in a single day at the Sugar Mill site. This equates to roughly half a year’s worth of rain for Sydney and close to the annual average for Melbourne.