The Weather at
Armidale NSW


A compilation of present and past weather at Armidale NSW Australia
Armidale is located on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, elevation 987 metres
All information from Bureau of Meteorology weather stations in Armidale

IMAGE:  An early morning fog blankets the lower part of the Armidale valley.
Photographed from Armidale Lookout by Don Parsons

Armidale Airport:  Current temperature and wind information from the airport HERE.
Note: The airport is 93 metres higher and five kilometres from the city weather station resulting in slightly different weather conditions occurring there. Winds are usually around 10 to 15 kms per hour stronger at the airport. Day temps are about one degree lower, and night and early morning temps can be around two to four degrees higher at the airport.

Armidale City Weather Station - click button below for current conditions:
   Note - this link is intermittently off-line
Note: If temperature is shown in degrees F, go to settings icon at top right of screen and select degrees C.                                                  
    

Latest maximum/minimum temps and 24 hour rainfall, updated daily 9.30-10am  (refresh page to update)

   Yesterday’s max 18 May:  17.5C     This morning’s min 19 May:  6.1C          

   Rainfall 24 hours to 9am today 19 May:  1.6mm

    Last Rain:  18 May     Next Rain:  19 May  (based on latest forecasts, may change)

  Armidale Forecast


Guyra Weather
   Guyra weather website


ARMIDALE LONG TERM AVERAGES & EXTREMES  Updated to 31st Dec 2024


RAINFALL CHART  for your farm/home rainfall recordings.  PDF format - printable.

This Month - May 2025
   Total Rainfall up to 9am on 18 May:
  16.8 mm   (average 43 mm)

This Year - 2025  up to 18 May:  
   Total Rainfall:  422.8 mm   (Jan-May av: 343 mm, annual av: 783 mm) 
   Highest Daily Rainfall:  41.8 mm on 27th Apr
   Highest Temperature:  33.4 on 28 Jan
   Lowest Temperature:  1.9C on 8 Apr
   Hot Days - Temp 30.0C or higher:  11   (average: 17 days)
   Cold Days - Maximum below 10.0C:  0   (average: 15 days)
   Cold Mornings with Frosts:  0   (average: 97)
 


Climate Change at Armidale



CLIMATE CHANGE AT EAST ARMIDALE

1ST GRAPH:  Average temperatures for the last 44 years. The dotted line is
the ten year average.

2ND GRAPH:  Average yearly summer temperatures for the last 44 years. The dotted lines show the linear trend.


Weather News 2025
(using information from Armidale City weather station)

APRIL RAINFALL:  104.4 mm on 11 days, 59 mm higher than the average. Most of the rain fell in two events - from the 1st to the 3rd (33 mm), and from the 21st to the 27th (69 mm), with the highest daily fall being 41.8 mm on the 27th.  April 2025 Weather Review.  April 2025 daily data table.

EVENING DOWNPOUR - 26th April - A low pressure trough over northern inland New South Wales combined with humid easterly winds off the Tasman Sea produced areas of heavy rain and thunderstorms over the north of the state. Armidale city recorded its highest daily fall of rain so far this year with 41.8 mm recorded for the 24 hours to 9am on the 27th. Most of this rain (approx 36 mm) fell between 5pm and 10pm on the 26th. Armidale airport recorded a slightly lower total for the 24 hours of 34.6 mm, and Guyra recorded 25 mm.

WET START TO APRIL - 1st-3rd April - A low pressure trough over inland Queensland moved south to the New South Wales border region on 1st April bringing moderate falls of rain to the north-east third of New South Wales on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Armidale recorded a total of 35.0 mm over this period, and Guyra recorded 39 mm.

MARCH RAINFALL:  104.4 mm on 17 days, 37 mm higher than the average. The highest daily fall was 24.8 mm on the 29th.  Details in the March 2025 Weather Review.  March 2025 daily data table.

RAIN EVENT - 28th-30th March - A low pressure system which formed over southern Queensland on Friday the 28th moved into New South Wales on the 29th moving rapidly through the inland of the state and out into the Tasman Sea off the south coast on the 30th. This system brought flooding rains to areas of both inland Queensland and New South Wales. In Armidale the total rain for the two days ending 9am on the 30th was 34.4 mm.

TROPICAL CYCLONE ALFRED - 8th-10th March - The cyclone crossed the Queensland coast just north of Brisbane on 9th March with heavy rainfall and strong winds. Severe flooding occurred in many areas including the New South Wales north coast. Some of the rain from the cyclone made its way onto the Northern Tablelands with Dorrigo recording over 800 mm on the 8th, 9th and 10th March. Armidale recorded 28 mm during this same period, and Guyra recorded 40 mm.

SUMMER OF 2024/2025 - Rainfall was close to average while temperatures were warmer than normal. Details in the Summer 2024/2025 Weather Review.

FEBRUARY RAINFALL:  50.2 mm on 6 days, 38 mm less than the average, most of it falling from thunderstorms. The highest daily fall was 24.6 mm on the 12th.
Details in the February 2025 Weather Review.  February 2025 daily data table.

JANUARY RAINFALL:  147.0 mm on 16 days, 46 mm higher than the average. Most of the rain fell during thunderstorms. The highest daily fall was 31.2 mm on the 29th.  Details in the January 2025 Weather Review.  January 2025 daily data table.

SEVERE HAILSTORM - 23rd January - A severe thunderstorm with large hail passed over Armidale from the south-west between 5.00 and 5.45pm. Large hailstones fell from 5.10 to 5.20pm. Most of the hailstones were around 30 mm diameter or less, but there were a number of hailstones measuring up to 40mm diameter or golf ball size. By the end of the storm 10 per cent to 90 per cent of the ground was covered by hail depending on which part of the city you live. Many of the smaller hailstones were spherical or egg shaped, but the larger ones over 30mm in diameter were irregular shaped, often a jagged conglomeration of several hailstones fused together while forming in the storm cloud. Cars, roofs, skylights, outdoor furniture and gardens all suffered damage in varying degrees. After the storm cleared Armidale it continued in a north-north-easterly direction depositing hail on rural properties and also Black Mountain village, before dissipating east of Guyra.  The severe storm was caused by a lingering intense low pressure trough over north-east New South Wales. Heavy rain accompanied the storm with the Armidale city weather station recording 19.4 mm of rain and melted hail between 4.50 and 5.25pm. Armidale airport recorded 10.2 mm for the same period.
This was the sixth severe hailstorm to hit Armidale in the last 30 years. Details of the previous five events here.

COOLEST JANUARY DAY FOR 9 YEARS - 17th January - The maximum temperature of 16.5C was 10C below the long term average, and was the lowest January maximum since 3rd January 2016 when it was 16.2C. The unusually chilly summer day was the result of cool south-easterly winds following a low pressure trough which moved through north-eastern New South Wales on the 16th.


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Weather News 2024
(using information from Armidale City weather station)

2024 - ARMIDALE’S WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD - While 2024 was Australia’s second warmest year on record, it was Armidale’s warmest on record (from 134 years of data commencing in 1891) with the mean temperature for the year exceeding the long term average by 2.07C. Temperatures were well above average in all months except July. The unusually warm conditions were caused by a higher than normal number of slow moving low pressure troughs over New South Wales bringing warm air into the state from central Australia. The excessive number of cloudy nights caused by these troughs also contributed to significantly milder than normal overnight minimum temperatures which in turn reduced the number of frosts to 65, lowest on record over the last 44 years.
Details in the 2024 YEARLY WEATHER REVIEW. Includes statistics table. (PDF format - printable)

2024 TOTAL RAINFALL:  865.4 mm, 83 mm higher than the average. April was the wettest month with 116.2 mm, and August was the driest with 36.4 mm. See graph at right.

DECEMBER RAINFALL:  74.2 mm on 8 days, 15 mm less than the average. The highest daily fall was 22.4 mm on the 4th.
Details on the December 2024 Weather Review.  December 2024 daily data table.

WARMEST DECEMBER NIGHT FOR 4 YEARS - 8th December - The overnight minimum temperature of 19.8C recorded at 6.20am was just 0.2C lower than the record high for the month of December which occurred on 11th December 1988 and again on 2nd December 2020. The unusually mild overnight conditions were caused by a low pressure trough drawing very warm air into New South Wales from central Australia.

NOVEMBER RAINFALL:  81.2 mm on 10 days, just one mm below the average, with the majority (77.8 mm) falling in the first half of the month. The highest daily fall was 20.4 mm on the 4th.  Details in the November 2024 Weather Review.  November 2024 daily data table.

OCTOBER RAINFALL:  62.2 mm on 11 days, 6 mm lower than the average. The highest daily fall was 13.6 mm on the 16th.
Details in the October 2024 Weather Review.  October 2024 daily data table.

SEPTEMBER RAINFALL:  60.4 mm on 6 days, 10 mm higher than the average, with 40 mm falling in one day - the 12th, and the remainder over the last five days of the month. Details in the September 2024 Weather Review.  September 2024 daily data table.

WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD - The winter of 2024 was Armidale’s warmest winter on record from 134 years of data. It was also unusually cloudy with fewer frosts than normal. Rainfall was slightly below average for the three winter months. Details in the Armidale. Details in the Winter 2024 Weather Review.

WARM LATE WINTER WEATHER - 21st-31st August - Unseasonably warm weather affected large areas of New South Wales including the Northern Tablelands. In Armidale temperatures exceeded 20.0C on nine of the eleven final days of the month with the warmest of 24.3C on the 30th being Armidale’s highest August temperature since 24th August 2009 when it reached 27.4C. Also the minimum on the 31st of 16.4C was the highest on record for the month of August. The previous highest was 14.8C on 25th August 2009.
The unusually warm end to winter was caused by a number of low pressure troughs and fast moving fronts bringing in warm air to northern New South Wales from central Australia.

AUGUST RAINFALL:  36.4 mm on 6 days, 11 mm less than the average. The rain fell in the first 15 days with the second half of the month remaining dry. The highest daily fall was 11.8 mm on the 6th. Details in the August 2024 Weather Review.  August 2024 daily data table.

STRONG WINDS - 28th August - A cold front moved rapidly through New South Wales bringing strong to galeforce winds to southern and central areas of the state. In Armidale winds gusted to 80 kms per hour at the Airport at around midday, and up to 50 kms per hour in the Armidale valley.

JULY RAINFALL:  59.8 mm on 18 days, 13 mm higher than the average. The heaviest daily fall was 17.8 mm on the 27th. Details in the July 2024 Weather Review.  July 2024 daily data table.

COLD OUTBREAK - 15th-17th July - A deep low pressure system near Tasmania directed cold air from the Southern Ocean into New South Wales from the 15th to the 17th. Upper level cold air combined with this system to produce very low temperatures and snowfalls over the Central Tablelands, Barrington Tops and Northern Tablelands, with some light snow also falling in southern Queensland.
Snow fell in Guyra and other highland areas of the Northern Tablelands intermittently over the three days. No snow fell in Armidale.
Minimum/Maximum temperatures in Armidale:
15th: 1.7C/8.5C, 16th: 1.5C/7.6C, 17th: 2.6C/6.2C.
Strong winds on the 16th caused wind chill temperatures to drop as low as -4C during the morning.
The maximum of 6.2C on the 17th was the lowest (or coldest day) in Armidale since 10th June 2021 (5.6C).

JUNE RAINFALL:  38.0 mm on 9 days, 16 mm less than the average. Most of the rain (35.0 mm) fell in the first two weeks with the remainder of the month almost dry.  Details in the June 2024 Weather Review.  June 2024 daily data table.

MAY RAINFALL:  78.8 mm on 12 days, 37 mm higher than the average. It was the wettest May since 2009 (87.6 mm) with most of the rain falling in the first half of the month. The highest daily fall was 29.0 mm on the 11th.
Details in the May 2024 Weather Review.  May 2024 daily data table.

FIRST FROST OF THE YEAR - 18th May - The first frost for 2024 with a minimum temperature of 0.7C was recorded at 5.50am, ending a 213 day frost-free period since the last frost on 17th October 2023.

WETTEST APRIL FOR 34 YEARS - The April total of 116.2 mm on 10 days was 72 mm higher than the average, and highest for the month of April since 1990 (167 mm). The highest daily fall was 36.4 mm on the 5th.  Details in the April 2024 Weather Review.  April 2024 daily data table.

MARCH RAINFALL:  72.0 mm on 14 days, 12 mm higher than the average. The highest daily fall was 37.2 mm on the 1st. Details in the March 2024 Weather Review.  March 2024 daily data table.

SUMMER OF 2023/2024 - It was a wet and cloudy summer with temperatures well above normal. Details in the Summer 2023/2024 Weather Review.

FEBRUARY RAINFALL:  102.4 mm on 10 days, 14 mm higher than the average. The highest daily fall was 56.2 mm on the 18th.
February 2024 Weather Review.  February 2024 daily data table.

JANUARY RAINFALL:  83.8 mm on 10 days, 17 mm lower than the average. Daily falls were light except for 17.2 mm on the 18th and 40.4 mm on the 29th. 
January 2024 Weather Review.  January 2024 daily data table.

HOTTEST WEATHER FOR 3 YEARS - 22nd to 27th January - The maximum temperatures of 34.5C on 22nd January and 34.8C on 25th January were the highest for any month since 2nd December 2020 when 36.4C was recorded. The hot conditions were caused by low pressure troughs developing over inland New South Wales drawing in very warm air from central Australia.
The overnight minimum on 27th January of 20.0C was the highest minimum temperature recorded for any month since 2nd December 2020, when 20.0C was also recorded.

FOR WEATHER NEWS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS go to the Weather News Archive.

TELEVISION REPORTING OF ARMIDALE’S WEATHER - Since 1st August 2015 when the Armidale city weather station ceased taking 3pm daily readings, all three television networks (ABC, NBN, Prime) in their evening weather reports report the day’s maximum and minimum temperatures from Armidale airport.
Unfortunately the airport temperatures are not as representative of conditions in the city due to its higher elevation. Overnight minimums in particular are often around 2 to 5 degrees colder at the city weather station which is located in the Armidale valley where temperature inversions are common on calm clear nights. More details on the reasons for temperatures differences between the two stations and a list of Armidale’s lowest temperatures here.
Temperatures recorded at the city weather station can be accessed from the Bureau of Meteorology after about 9.40am here: 
9am daily summary - scroll down to Northern Tablelands.
Also here after mid-afternoon:  Armidale daily observation tables.
The previous day’s maximum and the current day’s overnight minimum in the city are also shown at the top of this page after about 9.30am.


EVAPORATION - How much water is lost through evaporation every day/month/year from water storages on farms? During times of low rainfall, water loss through evaporation can be critical for the survival of pastures, crops and livestock. Evaporation readings have been taken at the East Armidale weather station since 1983, and this data has been used to build up a profile for the Armidale area of this important aspect of the weather. Details here:
Evaporation in Armidale.


IS ARMIDALE’S CLIMATE BECOMING WARMER?  Go to the bottom of this page for the 134 year Armidale temperature graph.

SNOW IMAGES - Gallery of snow photographs taken in various locations on the Northern Tablelands over the last 30 years:
Snow images 1984 to 2015.

EBOR FALLS ICE AND SNOW (Historic Event) - In July 2007, after several mornings of sub-zero temperatures, Ebor Falls, 80 kms east of Armidale, partly froze and a mini snowfield was created by spray at the base of the falls. Photographs of this amazing event here.


Forecast Rainfall
Where will it fall, when will it fall, and how much is likely to fall?
Click HERE to access the Bureau of Meteorology's four day rainfall predictions.


This Month’s Daily Data
Click HERE for daily data for this month compiled by the Bureau of Meteorology. Data is from the city weather station at East Armidale except for wind and pressure readings which sourced from the Armidale Airport weather station.
More detailed daily data can be found HERE.


May in Armidale - what can we expect?
Normal conditions in May…

Winter still hasn't quite arrived in May. The cool to mild autumn "golden days" continue, but nights are getting that real winter chill as the frost season sets in. Morning fogs are common, but are usually followed by pleasant sunny days. A cold snap may plunge us into winter conditions for a few days before becoming milder again. Winds are light westerlies, and rainfall is sporadic and light - May is normally the driest month of the year.
Very occasionally it snows in May. The last May snowfall was on 17th May 2008.
Average max temp:  16.4 deg                       Average min temp:  3.0 deg
Average rainfall:  42.5 mm on 8 days             Average fine sunny days: 15
Average days with thunderstorms:  1              Average frosts:  14
Average hours of sunshine per day:  4.8
Hottest:  24.8 deg on 8th May 2016        Coldest:  -8.8 deg on 23rd  May 1982

 

National Climate Centre outlook for May 2025:  
The El Nino Southern Oscillation is currently neutral and is expected to remain neutral until at least September 2025. El Nino events usually cause lower than normal rainfall over eastern Australia along with warmer than normal temperatures in the southern two thirds of the continent, while La Nina events can cause higher than normal rainfall.
The Indian Ocean Dipole is currently neutral and is expected to remain neutral until at least August 2025. A positive IOD usually leads to reduced rainfall over central and south-east Australia, while a negative IOD can lead to above average rainfall.
Armidale in May 2025 - Rainfall higher than the long term average.
Maximum temperatures higher than the long term average. Minimum temperatures higher than the long term average.

 

Armidale Weather

 

 

Weather at Nearby Locations & Links to Webcams & Automatic Weather Stations (AWS)

 

DO YOU HAVE ANY PHOTOGRAPHS OF ARMIDALE'S WEATHER?  I'm always on the lookout for good weather photos for this website. If you have any which you think look good (interesting clouds, sunsets, hail, frosts, snow, floods etc) in or around Armidale, please email them to me here.

Information and statistics in these pages referring to Armidale are sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology weather station in East Armidale, station number 56037. Some data is also used from the Bureau’s automatic weather station at Armidale airport, station number 56238.

Feedback or queries: here.

 

Armidale Yearly Rainfall 1878-2024



Armidale Yearly Temperatures 1891-2024




The above graph shows the average (mean of average max and average min) temperature for each year from 1891 to 2024.
The dotted line is the ten year average which shows periods of warming and cooling.
Until 1997 temperatures were recorded in Armidale’s CBD. Temperatures recorded since 1997 at the East Armidale site have been weighted to be compatible with the earlier recordings.