Cairns breaks hottest and coldest September records

Two records were broken in the space of 24 hours as the Far North marked its hottest September day in 21 years. Here’s how:

Brisbane tourist Kayla Fourie packed an umbrella for the rain, but still found the weather pleasant enough for a swim in the Esplanade lagoon. Picture: Brendan Radke

Cairns has recorded its hottest September day in 21 years, followed by its coldest September morning since 2019, 24 hours later.

Senior Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Felim Hannify confirmed Cairns recorded its highest September temperature of 33C on September 22, before recording its lowest minimum temperature the next day.

“Sunday last week saw Cairns airport hit 33C, the warmest September day since 2003,” Mr Hannify said.

“Then (Monday) saw Cairns Airport reach overnight minimum of 13.7C, the coolest record since 2019.”

Mr Hannify said the patchy conditions were being driven by a high pressure system around New South Wales and Victoria.

“It’s been mainly driven by a high pressure system in southern and southeastern states and is forming a ridge on the north tropical coast,” Mr Hannify said.

The weather pattern will repeat itself, with sunshine and scattered showers forecast for the rest of the week.

“It’s been pretty up and down in terms of the weather, with not much rainfall though,” he said.

“It’s a similar set up again although temperatures wont be quite as high, but it will be relatively settled into this weekend with more showers in the middle of the week.”

Mr Hannify said temperatures would remain slightly above average for September, sticking around the 31C mark.

“It’s 31.6C on the forecast for Cairns and 32C at Mareeba, which will be the warmest day for the North Tropical Coast (this week),” he said.

“The temperatures are expected to lower on Tuesday, still at 31C, which is 3C above average and on the warmer side, but you’re looking at 29C through the latter parts of the week.”

Scattered showers are expected to cool temperatures slightly.
“We’ll see a bit more showers around the north tropical coast but not significant amounts of rainfall,” he said.

“Showers ease basically once we get into the weekend.

“The mornings won’t be as cool, though we’ve still got a little bit of dry area around Cairns, so it won’t be as cold as what we saw last week.”

Originally published as Cairns breaks hottest and coldest September records