Built 2026-10-19 (19 October 2026)

Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020

Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020: 156 records at 26 stations, peak on 26 April 2020. Closed.

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

Key Facts

  • Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020 set or tied 156 station records at 26 stations.
  • It ran from 15 April 2020 to 1 May 2020 (17 days) and its peak day was 26 April 2020.
  • Status: closed.
  • Onslow Airport set a daily record high minimum temperature of 26.7 C (80.1 F) on 27 April 2020.
  • The busiest day was 26 April 2020 with 18 records.
  • The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 76 years.

Footprint

15 April to 1 May 2020
Footprint of Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020 The area covered by Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020 is outlined, with 10 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type.
The area covered by Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020 is outlined, with 10 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.
Footprint of Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020: stations that set records in the event
StationTypeValueDate
Onslow AirportRecord high minimum temperature26.7 C (80.1 F)2020-04-27
MardieRecord high minimum temperature27.2 C (81.0 F)2020-04-24
Darwin AirportRecord high minimum temperature26.5 C (79.7 F)2020-04-21
Broome AirportRecord high maximum temperature38.6 C (101.5 F)2020-04-29
MandoraRecord high minimum temperature25.5 C (77.9 F)2020-04-29
Halls Creek AirportRecord high maximum temperature38.4 C (101.1 F)2020-04-24
WarmunRecord high maximum temperature38.0 C (100.4 F)2020-04-29
Port Hedland AirportRecord high minimum temperature26.1 C (79.0 F)2020-04-23
Telfer AeroRecord high maximum temperature41.4 C (106.5 F)2020-04-25
Derby AeroRecord high minimum temperature26.9 C (80.4 F)2020-04-22

Records per Day

Peak day 18
Records per day during Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020 Records set or tied each day from 15 April 2020 to 1 May 2020. The most in one day was 18 on 26 April 2020. 0 5 10 15 20 04-1504-1704-1904-2104-2304-2504-2704-2905-01
Records set or tied each day from 15 April 2020 to 1 May 2020. The most in one day was 18 on 26 April 2020.
Records per day during Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020
DateRecords
2020-04-151
2020-04-163
2020-04-175
2020-04-185
2020-04-199
2020-04-207
2020-04-219
2020-04-2215
2020-04-2311
2020-04-2413
2020-04-2516
2020-04-2618
2020-04-2712
2020-04-286
2020-04-2911
2020-04-3013
2020-05-012

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced
Top records of Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020 ranked by margin
Telfer Aero, 04-255.9 C (10.6 F)
Telfer Aero, 04-253.4 C (6.1 F)
Telfer Aero, 04-243.4 C (6.1 F)
Mardie, 04-242.8 C (5.0 F)
Onslow Airport, 04-202.2 C (4.0 F)
Mandora, 04-292.2 C (4.0 F)
Onslow Airport, 04-272.1 C (3.8 F)
Onslow Airport, 04-302.1 C (3.8 F)
Broome Airport, 04-251.4 C (2.5 F)
Derby Aero, 04-221.4 C (2.5 F)
Mardie, 04-271.0 C (1.8 F)
Broome Airport, 04-290.9 C (1.6 F)
Warmun, 04-290.8 C (1.4 F)
Port Hedland Airport, 04-230.8 C (1.4 F)
Halls Creek Airport, 04-240.7 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

Margin against age of the broken record in Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020 156 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. 0 20 40 60 80 0.01.53.04.56.0 Margin (C) Years the old record stood
156 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 Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020
Margin (C)Years the old record stood
2.166
2.854
2.257
0.676
2.150
0.469
0.963
2.258
0.763
0.130
1.447
0.263
0.858
0.451
1.050
0.847
3.430
5.94
1.445
3.427
1.731
1.733
0.242
1.634
1.631
1.228
1.227
2.318
0.615
0.147
0.147
1.532
2.715
2.315
2.030
0.934
2.112
1.827
1.912
3.410
0.527
0.140
0.936
1.032
1.032
1.318
0.818
1.518
1.615
0.238
1.328
0.932
0.734
0.830
1.518
0.534
0.138
1.116
0.928
0.818
0.528
0.729
1.218
0.424
1.010
0.517
0.717
1.222
0.127
1.015
1.310
1.313
0.415
2.210
0.524
1.84
1.411
0.513
1.17
0.515
0.918
0.428
2.01
1.54
0.818
1.84
0.518
1.610
1.615
0.918
0.228
0.518
0.518
1.64
0.718
0.67
0.77
0.718
1.25
0.116
0.215
1.018
0.218
0.74
1.46
1.54
0.213
0.226
0.518
0.210
1.210
0.64
0.317
0.518
1.24
1.24
1.24
0.67
0.215
0.415
0.16
0.77
0.97
0.218
1.22
0.115
1.04
0.310
0.74
0.32
0.215
0.315
0.111
0.111
0.211
0.84
0.74
1.32
0.74
0.46
0.113
0.64
0.92
0.72
0.64
0.54
0.24
1.01
0.14
0.24
0.41
0.51
0.12
0.14
0.22
0.42

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event
Station records in Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020 compared with similar events
Heat wave in United States and Mexico, 16 January to 14 February 20249,869 records
Heat wave in United States, 28 January to 24 February 20266,528 records
Heat wave in United States and Mexico, 24 May to 19 June 20205,047 records
Heat wave in United States and Mexico, 26 March to 17 April 20213,669 records
Heat wave in Germany and 49 other countries, 18 December 2021 to 15 January 20223,626 records
Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020 (this event)156 records

Every Record Set

20 of 156
Every record set or tied during Heat wave in Australia, 15 April to 1 May 2020, in date order
DateStationRecordValueMarginYears stoodSignificance
2020-04-20Onslow AirportRecord high minimum temperature26.3 C (79.3 F)2.2 C (4.0 F)5732 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-21Darwin AirportRecord high minimum temperature26.5 C (79.7 F)0.4 C (0.7 F)6930 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-22Derby AeroRecord high minimum temperature26.9 C (80.4 F)1.4 C (2.5 F)4522 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-23Broome AirportRecord high maximum temperature41.1 C (106.0 F)0.1 C (0.2 F)3027 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-23Port Hedland AirportRecord high minimum temperature26.1 C (79.0 F)0.8 C (1.4 F)4723 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-24MardieRecord high minimum temperature27.2 C (81.0 F)2.8 C (5.0 F)5432 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-24Halls Creek AirportRecord high maximum temperature38.4 C (101.1 F)0.7 C (1.3 F)6327 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-24Telfer AeroRecord high minimum temperature26.9 C (80.4 F)3.4 C (6.1 F)2722 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-25Onslow AirportRecord high maximum temperature39.4 C (102.9 F)0.6 C (1.1 F)7631 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-25Broome AirportRecord high minimum temperature28.8 C (83.8 F)1.4 C (2.5 F)4726 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-25Halls Creek AirportRecord high maximum temperature38.0 C (100.4 F)0.2 C (0.4 F)6325 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-25Telfer AeroRecord high maximum temperature41.4 C (106.5 F)3.4 C (6.1 F)3023 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-25Telfer AeroRecord high minimum temperature29.3 C (84.7 F)5.9 C (10.6 F)423 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-27Onslow AirportRecord high minimum temperature26.7 C (80.1 F)2.1 C (3.8 F)6634 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-27MardieRecord high minimum temperature26.5 C (79.7 F)1.0 C (1.8 F)5024 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-29Broome AirportRecord high maximum temperature38.6 C (101.5 F)0.9 C (1.6 F)6329 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-29MandoraRecord high minimum temperature25.5 C (77.9 F)2.2 C (4.0 F)5828 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-29WarmunRecord high maximum temperature38.0 C (100.4 F)0.8 C (1.4 F)5825 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-30Onslow AirportRecord high minimum temperature25.7 C (78.3 F)2.1 C (3.8 F)5030 of 100 (Routine)
2020-04-30Darwin AirportRecord high maximum temperature35.8 C (96.4 F)0.4 C (0.7 F)5125 of 100 (Routine)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 156 records the event counts. The counts above use the full total.

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.