Australia - weather in January

January in Australia is the central month of summer, and it is a hot, muggy and rainy month in the north, scorching in the desert areas, and very mild or pleasantly warm in the south-east.

In the tropical north, in the Top End of the Northern Territory and in northern Queensland (see Darwin, Cairns), it is a hot, muggy and rainy month, with abundant rainfall.
On the east coast (see Brisbane, Sydney), it is a hot month as well, with quite frequent rain, but it is less rainy than in the north, and gradually less hot as you proceed south.
In the Outback, the vast arid or desert inland area (see Alice Springs, Oodnadatta), there is scorching heat and the sun shines, although every now and then a thunderstorm can break out.
In the south, in the areas where the climate is Mediterranean (see Perth, Adelaide), it is a hot month, but without the excesses of the desert areas, and sunny.
In the south-east, in the areas where the climate is oceanic (see Melbourne, Tasmania), the temperature is mild to pleasantly warm, and the weather is variable, sometimes cool and windy, with possible rains, although not very frequent.

As far as temperatures are concerned, January in Australia is the hottest month of the year almost everywhere. The daily average exceeds 30 °C (86 °F) in the hottest areas of the desert (see Oodnadatta), and also on the north-west coast (see Port Hedland), it is of 24/25 °C (75/77 °F) on the east coast (see Brisbane, Sydney) and in Perth, while it drops to 20 °C (68 °F) in Melbourne, in the south-east, and to 18 °C (64 °F) in Hobart, Tasmania.
Sometimes, on the central-southern coasts there may be heat waves from the desert, during which the temperature can exceed 40 °C (104 °F).
Instead, in the south, air masses of Antarctic origin can bring a bit of cold at night, with minimum temperatures below 10 °C (50 °F).

As for the rain, summer in Australia is the wettest season in the center-north, and January is on average the second rainiest month after February. However, the rains are very abundant only in the tropical north (see Darwin, Cairns), and are relatively abundant, often in the form of showers or thunderstorms, on the east coast (see Brisbane, Sydney), while in the Outback, only rare thunderstorms occur.
In the south, in the areas where the climate is Mediterranean (see Perth, Adelaide), summer is the dry season. In the south-east, with an oceanic climate (see Melbourne, Tasmania), summer is the relatively dry season, however, the rains are quite frequent, though not abundant.

In the warm season, central-northern Australia, especially the coasts, can be affected by tropical cyclones. Cyclones mainly affect the northern coasts, although they can sometimes penetrate inland (especially Western Australia), weakening along the way but still bringing heavy rainfall.
Cyclones typically form from mid-November to mid-May, but are more likely from January to mid-April.
In the following image, we can see the areas that were affected by cyclones in the period 1950-2005 (the points refer to the eye of the storm, so the affected area is larger).

In January, the sea in Australia is warm enough for swimming in the center-north. In the tropical north it is very warm, on the east coast it is quite warm approximately up to Wollongong (south of Sydney), on the western coast, it is a little cool but basically acceptable in Perth, while in the south, it is cold in Melbourne and very cold in Tasmania.

Australia is located at medium-low latitudes, however, in January the days are quite long in the south, where the sun remains above the horizon for 14 hours or more.

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Monthly climate averages - January

(from north to south)

















See also: Australia, the weather in December - February
The climate of Australia