Climate
Rockhampton experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa/Cwa). The city is situated on the Tropic of Capricorn and lies within the southeast trade wind belt, too far south to experience regular north west monsoonal influence, and too far north to gain much benefit from higher latitude cold fronts. Typical temperature ranges are 22 to 32 °C (72 to 90 °F) in the summer/wet season and 9 to 23 °C (48 to 73 °F) in the winter/dry season.
Rockhampton lies within the cyclone risk zone and the area is subject to summer thunderstorms. There is a high incidence of winter and early spring fogs. Maximum temperatures in the low to mid 40's have been recorded in October to March. The Fitzroy River at Rockhampton has a long and well documented history of flooding with flood records dating back to 1859. The highest recorded flood occurred in January 1918 and reached 10.11 m (33.2 ft) on the Rockhampton gauge. More recently, it was affected by the 2010–2011 Queensland floods as the Fitzroy runs through the centre of the city and poor conditions in other areas drove snakes and crocodiles into the city.
The highest recorded official temperature in Rockhampton was 45.3 °C (113.5 °F).
| Climate data for Rockhampton Airport | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 42.5 (108.5) |
43.3 (109.9) |
42.1 (107.8) |
35.4 (95.7) |
32.6 (90.7) |
32.3 (90.1) |
30.6 (87.1) |
35.1 (95.2) |
37.1 (98.8) |
41.1 (106.0) |
45.3 (113.5) |
41.3 (106.3) |
45.3 (113.5) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 31.9 (89.4) |
31.2 (88.2) |
30.5 (86.9) |
28.8 (83.8) |
26.0 (78.8) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.1 (73.6) |
24.8 (76.6) |
27.3 (81.1) |
29.6 (85.3) |
31.2 (88.2) |
32.1 (89.8) |
28.3 (82.9) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 22.1 (71.8) |
22.1 (71.8) |
20.8 (69.4) |
17.9 (64.2) |
14.2 (57.6) |
10.9 (51.6) |
9.5 (49.1) |
10.7 (51.3) |
13.6 (56.5) |
17.0 (62.6) |
19.5 (67.1) |
21.2 (70.2) |
16.6 (61.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 16.3 (61.3) |
16.2 (61.2) |
11.0 (51.8) |
4.7 (40.5) |
2.9 (37.2) |
−1 (30.2) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
3.4 (38.1) |
7.0 (44.6) |
9.4 (48.9) |
10.2 (50.4) |
−1 (30.2) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 126.5 (4.98) |
143.5 (5.65) |
99.2 (3.906) |
43.8 (1.724) |
46.8 (1.843) |
38.1 (1.5) |
28.7 (1.13) |
28.7 (1.13) |
24.2 (0.953) |
49.8 (1.961) |
69.9 (2.752) |
108.6 (4.276) |
804.8 (31.685) |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 1 mm) | 8.5 | 9.3 | 7.2 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 4.6 | 5.7 | 7.4 | 62.9 |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology | |||||||||||||
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