Cold outbreak in Australia, 2 to 11 August 2020

Name: Cold outbreak in Australia, 2 to 11 August 2020
Start: 2020-08-02
End: 2020-08-11
Location: Australia

Cold outbreak in Australia, 2 to 11 August 2020: 159 records at 90 stations, peak on 7 August 2020. Closed.

Data as of 2026-10-17. Last revised 17 October 2026 (2026-10-17).

Key Facts

Cold outbreak in Australia, 2 to 11 August 2020 set or tied 159 station records at 90 stations.
It ran from 2 August 2020 to 11 August 2020 (10 days) and its peak day was 7 August 2020.
Status: closed.
Adelaide West Terrace set a monthly record low minimum temperature of 0.8 C (33.4 F) on 5 August 2020.
The busiest day was 7 August 2020 with 38 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 131 years.

Footprint

2 to 11 August 2020

The area covered by Cold outbreak in Australia, 2 to 11 August 2020 is outlined, with 19 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.

Footprint of Cold outbreak in Australia, 2 to 11 August 2020: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Adelaide West Terrace	Record low minimum temperature	0.8 C (33.4 F)	2020-08-05
Parafield Airport	Record low minimum temperature	-2.0 C (28.4 F)	2020-08-05
Woomera Aerodrome	Record low maximum temperature	8.5 C (47.3 F)	2020-08-06
Launceston Airport	Record low maximum temperature	8.0 C (46.4 F)	2020-08-04
Ceduna Post Office	Record low maximum temperature	11.3 C (52.3 F)	2020-08-06
Gabo Island Lighthouse	Record low minimum temperature	3.2 C (37.8 F)	2020-08-05
Hawker	Record low maximum temperature	6.7 C (44.1 F)	2020-08-07
Lake Victoria Storage	Record low maximum temperature	8.0 C (46.4 F)	2020-08-07
Kyancutta	Record low maximum temperature	11.0 C (51.8 F)	2020-08-06
Broken Hill Airport AWS	Record low maximum temperature	6.7 C (44.1 F)	2020-08-07
Andamooka	Record low maximum temperature	10.2 C (50.4 F)	2020-08-07
Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse	Record low minimum temperature	3.1 C (37.6 F)	2020-08-05
Menindee Post Office	Record low maximum temperature	10.1 C (50.2 F)	2020-08-07
Mildura Airport	Record low maximum temperature	8.9 C (48.0 F)	2020-08-07
South West Rocks (Smoky Cape L	Record low maximum temperature	15.4 C (59.7 F)	2020-08-10
Eudunda	Record low minimum temperature	-1.2 C (29.8 F)	2020-08-05
Keith	Record low minimum temperature	-2.6 C (27.3 F)	2020-08-05
Yongala	Record low maximum temperature	5.7 C (42.3 F)	2020-08-07
Mount Barker	Record low maximum temperature	7.3 C (45.1 F)	2020-08-07

Records per Day

Peak day 38

Records set or tied each day from 2 August 2020 to 11 August 2020. The most in one day was 38 on 7 August 2020.

Records per day during Cold outbreak in Australia, 2 to 11 August 2020
Date	Records
2020-08-02	1
2020-08-03	1
2020-08-04	19
2020-08-05	25
2020-08-06	33
2020-08-07	38
2020-08-08	20
2020-08-09	11
2020-08-10	9
2020-08-11	2

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Cold outbreak in Australia, 2 to 11 August 2020 ranked by margin
Menindee Post Office, 08-07	3.3 C (5.9 F)
Woomera Aerodrome, 08-07	3.1 C (5.6 F)
Ceduna Post Office, 08-06	2.6 C (4.7 F)
Mildura Airport, 08-07	2.5 C (4.5 F)
Mount Barker, 08-07	2.5 C (4.5 F)
Gabo Island Lighthouse, 08-05	2.4 C (4.3 F)
Keith, 08-05	2.2 C (4.0 F)
Launceston Airport, 08-04	2.0 C (3.6 F)
Woomera Aerodrome, 08-06	1.9 C (3.4 F)
Eudunda, 08-05	1.9 C (3.4 F)
Andamooka, 08-07	1.8 C (3.2 F)
Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse, 08-05	1.3 C (2.3 F)
South West Rocks (Smoky Cape L, 08-10	1.3 C (2.3 F)
Yongala, 08-07	0.8 C (1.4 F)
Hawker, 08-07	0.7 C (1.3 F)

Margin is how far the new value is beyond the record it replaced. Ties are not shown.

Margin Against Age of the Broken Record

159 records plotted by how far they beat the old record (across) and how many years the old record had stood (up). Long standing records beaten by a wide margin sit in the top right.

Margin against age of the broken record in Cold outbreak in Australia, 2 to 11 August 2020
Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
0.1	131
0.1	81
1.9	59
2.6	77
2.0	69
0.7	31
2.4	58
0.5	31
0.7	82
0.2	27
1.8	45
1.3	57
3.1	49
3.3	47
1.3	59
2.5	52
0.8	35
2.5	49
1.9	55
2.2	55
1.9	57
1.2	59
0.2	40
0.7	49
1.3	34
2.5	49
1.3	50
0.8	58
2.5	35
0.2	33
1.8	50
2.0	42
0.8	58
0.1	54
1.9	42
0.7	54
2.2	46
1.2	52
0.4	59
2.3	34
0.4	58
2.3	42
0.2	57
0.9	54
2.1	42
0.1	58
1.7	35
0.3	55
0.8	53
2.4	32
1.8	42
2.3	34
0.4	55
1.0	22
0.1	17
2.9	24
3.4	22
2.0	35
0.7	42
0.5	49
0.1	50
0.3	44
0.8	43
0.7	16
0.2	23
0.8	46
0.4	46
0.4	46
0.8	39
1.0	34
0.5	37
0.4	42
1.6	28
0.8	39
0.8	39
0.5	42
1.0	35
0.3	42
0.1	46
0.8	37
1.0	31
0.4	42
0.2	46
1.1	28
1.2	25
1.4	21
0.6	31
2.6	26
0.4	6
1.6	32
1.8	26
0.6	36
1.1	28
0.8	0
1.3	28
1.3	28
0.9	32
0.2	34
0.5	35
1.5	24
1.0	35
0.8	0
0.8	31
1.1	21
0.5	32
0.3	31
0.9	26
0.3	1
0.7	35
1.0	17
1.8	10
1.3	22
0.1	32
0.8	28
0.6	24
0.4	31
1.5	5
0.3	26
0.1	26
1.2	15
0.6	25
0.3	32
1.4	10
1.1	10
0.3	21
2.0	5
0.3	23
1.8	8
0.2	23
0.8	10
0.6	22
0.8	12
1.7	6
2.0	5
1.8	5
1.2	5
0.3	14
0.7	19
2.0	1
0.5	15
0.9	6
1.0	5
1.4	4
0.9	7
0.4	8
0.1	6
0.8	8
0.2	19
0.6	1
0.2	9
0.2	6
0.6	1
0.1	14
0.4	12
0.1	5
0.8	5
0.6	5
0.9	3
0.2	5

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Cold outbreak in Australia, 2 to 11 August 2020 compared with similar events
Cold outbreak in United States and Mexico, 6 February to 5 March 2021	12,118 records
Cold outbreak in United States and Mexico, 13 October to 5 November 2020	9,841 records
Cold outbreak in United States and Mexico, 23 December 2017 to 8 January 2018	8,263 records
Cold outbreak in United States and Mexico, 3 to 23 January 2024	7,675 records
Cold outbreak in United States, 15 January to 10 February 2026	5,568 records
Cold outbreak in Australia, 2 to 11 August 2020 (this event)	159 records

Every Record Set

20 of 159

Every record set or tied during Cold outbreak in Australia, 2 to 11 August 2020, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2020-08-04	Launceston Airport	Record low maximum temperature	8.0 C (46.4 F)	2.0 C (3.6 F)	69	37 of 100 (Notable)
2020-08-05	Adelaide West Terrace	Record low minimum temperature	0.8 C (33.4 F)	0.1 C (0.2 F)	131	50 of 100 (Notable)
2020-08-05	Parafield Airport	Record low minimum temperature	-2.0 C (28.4 F)	0.1 C (0.2 F)	81	42 of 100 (Notable)
2020-08-05	Gabo Island Lighthouse	Record low minimum temperature	3.2 C (37.8 F)	2.4 C (4.3 F)	58	36 of 100 (Notable)
2020-08-05	Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse	Record low minimum temperature	3.1 C (37.6 F)	1.3 C (2.3 F)	57	30 of 100 (Routine)
2020-08-05	Eudunda	Record low minimum temperature	-1.2 C (29.8 F)	1.9 C (3.4 F)	55	28 of 100 (Routine)
2020-08-05	Keith	Record low minimum temperature	-2.6 C (27.3 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	55	28 of 100 (Routine)
2020-08-06	Woomera Aerodrome	Record low maximum temperature	8.5 C (47.3 F)	1.9 C (3.4 F)	59	39 of 100 (Notable)
2020-08-06	Ceduna Post Office	Record low maximum temperature	11.3 C (52.3 F)	2.6 C (4.7 F)	77	37 of 100 (Notable)
2020-08-06	Kyancutta	Record low maximum temperature	11.0 C (51.8 F)	0.7 C (1.3 F)	82	34 of 100 (Routine)
2020-08-07	Hawker	Record low maximum temperature	6.7 C (44.1 F)	0.7 C (1.3 F)	31	36 of 100 (Notable)
2020-08-07	Lake Victoria Storage	Record low maximum temperature	8.0 C (46.4 F)	0.5 C (0.9 F)	31	35 of 100 (Notable)
2020-08-07	Broken Hill Airport AWS	Record low maximum temperature	6.7 C (44.1 F)	0.2 C (0.4 F)	27	34 of 100 (Routine)
2020-08-07	Andamooka	Record low maximum temperature	10.2 C (50.4 F)	1.8 C (3.2 F)	45	33 of 100 (Routine)
2020-08-07	Woomera Aerodrome	Record low maximum temperature	9.7 C (49.5 F)	3.1 C (5.6 F)	49	29 of 100 (Routine)
2020-08-07	Menindee Post Office	Record low maximum temperature	10.1 C (50.2 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	47	29 of 100 (Routine)
2020-08-07	Mildura Airport	Record low maximum temperature	8.9 C (48.0 F)	2.5 C (4.5 F)	52	29 of 100 (Routine)
2020-08-07	Yongala	Record low maximum temperature	5.7 C (42.3 F)	0.8 C (1.4 F)	35	28 of 100 (Routine)
2020-08-07	Mount Barker	Record low maximum temperature	7.3 C (45.1 F)	2.5 C (4.5 F)	49	28 of 100 (Routine)
2020-08-10	South West Rocks (Smoky Cape L	Record low maximum temperature	15.4 C (59.7 F)	1.3 C (2.3 F)	59	29 of 100 (Routine)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 159 records the event counts. The counts above use the full total.

Related Headlines

Third party news, headline and link only

Download the Data

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Climatology Network Daily (GHCN-Daily). Records are computed by World Extreme Weather Monitor and are not official NOAA products. (US Government open data (NOAA NCEI)) Data as of 2026-10-17. Events are found by this site from station records and are not official designations. Records are provisional until reprocessed.

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
0.1	131
0.1	81
1.9	59
2.6	77
2.0	69
0.7	31
2.4	58
0.5	31
0.7	82
0.2	27
1.8	45
1.3	57
3.1	49
3.3	47
1.3	59
2.5	52
0.8	35
2.5	49
1.9	55
2.2	55
1.9	57
1.2	59
0.2	40
0.7	49
1.3	34
2.5	49
1.3	50
0.8	58
2.5	35
0.2	33
1.8	50
2.0	42
0.8	58
0.1	54
1.9	42
0.7	54
2.2	46
1.2	52
0.4	59
2.3	34
0.4	58
2.3	42
0.2	57
0.9	54
2.1	42
0.1	58
1.7	35
0.3	55
0.8	53
2.4	32
1.8	42
2.3	34
0.4	55
1.0	22
0.1	17
2.9	24
3.4	22
2.0	35
0.7	42
0.5	49
0.1	50
0.3	44
0.8	43
0.7	16
0.2	23
0.8	46
0.4	46
0.4	46
0.8	39
1.0	34
0.5	37
0.4	42
1.6	28
0.8	39
0.8	39
0.5	42
1.0	35
0.3	42
0.1	46
0.8	37
1.0	31
0.4	42
0.2	46
1.1	28
1.2	25
1.4	21
0.6	31
2.6	26
0.4	6
1.6	32
1.8	26
0.6	36
1.1	28
0.8	0
1.3	28
1.3	28
0.9	32
0.2	34
0.5	35
1.5	24
1.0	35
0.8	0
0.8	31
1.1	21
0.5	32
0.3	31
0.9	26
0.3	1
0.7	35
1.0	17
1.8	10
1.3	22
0.1	32
0.8	28
0.6	24
0.4	31
1.5	5
0.3	26
0.1	26
1.2	15
0.6	25
0.3	32
1.4	10
1.1	10
0.3	21
2.0	5
0.3	23
1.8	8
0.2	23
0.8	10
0.6	22
0.8	12
1.7	6
2.0	5
1.8	5
1.2	5
0.3	14
0.7	19
2.0	1
0.5	15
0.9	6
1.0	5
1.4	4
0.9	7
0.4	8
0.1	6
0.8	8
0.2	19
0.6	1
0.2	9
0.2	6
0.6	1
0.1	14
0.4	12
0.1	5
0.8	5
0.6	5
0.9	3
0.2	5

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
0.1	131
0.1	81
1.9	59
2.6	77
2.0	69
0.7	31
2.4	58
0.5	31
0.7	82
0.2	27
1.8	45
1.3	57
3.1	49
3.3	47
1.3	59
2.5	52
0.8	35
2.5	49
1.9	55
2.2	55
1.9	57
1.2	59
0.2	40
0.7	49
1.3	34
2.5	49
1.3	50
0.8	58
2.5	35
0.2	33
1.8	50
2.0	42
0.8	58
0.1	54
1.9	42
0.7	54
2.2	46
1.2	52
0.4	59
2.3	34
0.4	58
2.3	42
0.2	57
0.9	54
2.1	42
0.1	58
1.7	35
0.3	55
0.8	53
2.4	32
1.8	42
2.3	34
0.4	55
1.0	22
0.1	17
2.9	24
3.4	22
2.0	35
0.7	42
0.5	49
0.1	50
0.3	44
0.8	43
0.7	16
0.2	23
0.8	46
0.4	46
0.4	46
0.8	39
1.0	34
0.5	37
0.4	42
1.6	28
0.8	39
0.8	39
0.5	42
1.0	35
0.3	42
0.1	46
0.8	37
1.0	31
0.4	42
0.2	46
1.1	28
1.2	25
1.4	21
0.6	31
2.6	26
0.4	6
1.6	32
1.8	26
0.6	36
1.1	28
0.8	0
1.3	28
1.3	28
0.9	32
0.2	34
0.5	35
1.5	24
1.0	35
0.8	0
0.8	31
1.1	21
0.5	32
0.3	31
0.9	26
0.3	1
0.7	35
1.0	17
1.8	10
1.3	22
0.1	32
0.8	28
0.6	24
0.4	31
1.5	5
0.3	26
0.1	26
1.2	15
0.6	25
0.3	32
1.4	10
1.1	10
0.3	21
2.0	5
0.3	23
1.8	8
0.2	23
0.8	10
0.6	22
0.8	12
1.7	6
2.0	5
1.8	5
1.2	5
0.3	14
0.7	19
2.0	1
0.5	15
0.9	6
1.0	5
1.4	4
0.9	7
0.4	8
0.1	6
0.8	8
0.2	19
0.6	1
0.2	9
0.2	6
0.6	1
0.1	14
0.4	12
0.1	5
0.8	5
0.6	5
0.9	3
0.2	5

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
0.1	131
0.1	81
1.9	59
2.6	77
2.0	69
0.7	31
2.4	58
0.5	31
0.7	82
0.2	27
1.8	45
1.3	57
3.1	49
3.3	47
1.3	59
2.5	52
0.8	35
2.5	49
1.9	55
2.2	55
1.9	57
1.2	59
0.2	40
0.7	49
1.3	34
2.5	49
1.3	50
0.8	58
2.5	35
0.2	33
1.8	50
2.0	42
0.8	58
0.1	54
1.9	42
0.7	54
2.2	46
1.2	52
0.4	59
2.3	34
0.4	58
2.3	42
0.2	57
0.9	54
2.1	42
0.1	58
1.7	35
0.3	55
0.8	53
2.4	32
1.8	42
2.3	34
0.4	55
1.0	22
0.1	17
2.9	24
3.4	22
2.0	35
0.7	42
0.5	49
0.1	50
0.3	44
0.8	43
0.7	16
0.2	23
0.8	46
0.4	46
0.4	46
0.8	39
1.0	34
0.5	37
0.4	42
1.6	28
0.8	39
0.8	39
0.5	42
1.0	35
0.3	42
0.1	46
0.8	37
1.0	31
0.4	42
0.2	46
1.1	28
1.2	25
1.4	21
0.6	31
2.6	26
0.4	6
1.6	32
1.8	26
0.6	36
1.1	28
0.8	0
1.3	28
1.3	28
0.9	32
0.2	34
0.5	35
1.5	24
1.0	35
0.8	0
0.8	31
1.1	21
0.5	32
0.3	31
0.9	26
0.3	1
0.7	35
1.0	17
1.8	10
1.3	22
0.1	32
0.8	28
0.6	24
0.4	31
1.5	5
0.3	26
0.1	26
1.2	15
0.6	25
0.3	32
1.4	10
1.1	10
0.3	21
2.0	5
0.3	23
1.8	8
0.2	23
0.8	10
0.6	22
0.8	12
1.7	6
2.0	5
1.8	5
1.2	5
0.3	14
0.7	19
2.0	1
0.5	15
0.9	6
1.0	5
1.4	4
0.9	7
0.4	8
0.1	6
0.8	8
0.2	19
0.6	1
0.2	9
0.2	6
0.6	1
0.1	14
0.4	12
0.1	5
0.8	5
0.6	5
0.9	3
0.2	5