Heat wave in Australia, 6 to 12 September 2020

Name: Heat wave in Australia, 6 to 12 September 2020
Start: 2020-09-06
End: 2020-09-12
Location: Australia

Heat wave in Australia, 6 to 12 September 2020: 190 records at 101 stations, peak on 7 September 2020. Closed.

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

Key Facts

Heat wave in Australia, 6 to 12 September 2020 set or tied 190 station records at 101 stations.
It ran from 6 September 2020 to 12 September 2020 (7 days) and its peak day was 7 September 2020.
Status: closed.
Kyancutta set a daily record high minimum temperature of 20.0 C (68.0 F) on 11 September 2020.
The busiest day was 7 September 2020 with 70 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 106 years.

Footprint

6 to 12 September 2020

The area covered by Heat wave in Australia, 6 to 12 September 2020 is outlined, with 15 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.

Footprint of Heat wave in Australia, 6 to 12 September 2020: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Kyancutta	Record high minimum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	2020-09-11
Adelaide West Terrace	Record high minimum temperature	18.3 C (64.9 F)	2020-09-07
Ceduna AMO	Record high maximum temperature	37.9 C (100.2 F)	2020-09-07
Parafield Airport	Record high maximum temperature	29.8 C (85.6 F)	2020-09-07
Robe Comparison	Record high maximum temperature	22.4 C (72.3 F)	2020-09-07
Streaky Bay	Record high maximum temperature	33.4 C (92.1 F)	2020-09-07
Eucla	Record high maximum temperature	40.1 C (104.2 F)	2020-09-10
East Sale Comparison	Record high maximum temperature	25.9 C (78.6 F)	2020-09-08
Oodnadatta Airport	Record high maximum temperature	34.6 C (94.3 F)	2020-09-10
Walpeup Research	Record high minimum temperature	15.8 C (60.4 F)	2020-09-08
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	Record high minimum temperature	15.5 C (59.9 F)	2020-09-08
Andamooka	Record high minimum temperature	19.6 C (67.3 F)	2020-09-11
Woomera Aerodrome	Record high minimum temperature	18.4 C (65.1 F)	2020-09-11
Cleve	Record high minimum temperature	17.0 C (62.6 F)	2020-09-11
Maitland	Record high minimum temperature	15.5 C (59.9 F)	2020-09-11

Records per Day

Peak day 70

Records set or tied each day from 6 September 2020 to 12 September 2020. The most in one day was 70 on 7 September 2020.

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Heat wave in Australia, 6 to 12 September 2020 ranked by margin
Streaky Bay, 09-07	6.1 C (11.0 F)
Ceduna AMO, 09-07	5.7 C (10.3 F)
Kyancutta, 09-11	4.3 C (7.7 F)
Andamooka, 09-11	3.7 C (6.7 F)
Walpeup Research, 09-08	3.5 C (6.3 F)
Cape Bruny Lighthouse, 09-08	3.1 C (5.6 F)
Woomera Aerodrome, 09-11	2.8 C (5.0 F)
Kyancutta, 09-07	1.9 C (3.4 F)
Adelaide West Terrace, 09-11	1.5 C (2.7 F)
East Sale Comparison, 09-08	1.5 C (2.7 F)
Cleve, 09-11	1.4 C (2.5 F)
Ceduna AMO, 09-11	1.2 C (2.2 F)
Maitland, 09-11	1.1 C (2.0 F)
Adelaide West Terrace, 09-07	0.9 C (1.6 F)
Parafield Airport, 09-07	0.9 C (1.6 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

190 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, 6 to 12 September 2020
Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
4.3	80
0.9	99
5.7	76
0.1	106
0.9	80
0.7	71
0.1	58
1.9	70
6.1	40
1.2	74
0.9	74
1.5	61
1.5	67
3.7	47
3.5	50
3.1	39
2.8	47
1.4	61
1.1	61
0.1	70
0.5	39
5.1	29
4.0	39
1.7	50
2.0	42
3.0	39
2.4	39
2.4	35
1.7	47
2.7	40
2.5	39
1.0	55
2.7	39
2.3	39
1.9	39
2.8	30
1.4	45
2.7	29
2.4	40
2.9	29
3.1	36
1.9	39
5.5	6
0.1	29
1.0	42
3.8	27
3.0	27
2.1	40
1.2	39
0.7	40
1.6	35
1.4	39
1.5	39
2.7	29
3.6	27
0.3	50
1.6	39
1.0	40
1.6	39
2.1	15
0.9	39
3.3	29
0.9	39
1.3	27
2.4	29
0.6	40
4.1	8
1.2	39
0.8	40
1.2	39
1.1	39
0.4	40
4.1	12
1.9	32
1.0	39
3.6	15
1.2	27
1.6	27
1.8	19
0.5	39
3.7	6
0.6	29
1.2	29
3.1	15
1.3	29
1.9	27
0.4	39
1.6	29
1.4	29
1.5	29
2.3	11
0.2	29
1.0	27
0.6	39
0.2	40
1.1	29
0.8	29
1.2	17
1.6	30
0.7	32
0.9	29
2.8	3
2.2	22
2.4	15
0.8	29
0.9	29
0.8	29
0.8	27
2.5	15
1.1	14
2.2	6
2.0	13
0.4	29
3.9	4
2.0	27
1.4	15
1.7	29
4.1	3
0.4	29
0.3	32
0.8	29
0.5	29
1.4	15
0.2	29
0.5	27
1.6	15
1.7	4
1.6	15
0.6	27
0.1	29
0.2	29
1.4	29
0.1	29
1.0	32
1.8	11
1.1	19
2.2	15
1.0	24
0.2	27
0.2	27
0.4	27
0.9	29
0.1	29
0.3	30
2.6	7
0.5	27
0.7	11
1.4	13
2.2	4
1.5	16
1.5	7
2.1	15
0.4	29
1.4	17
2.0	1
1.4	12
0.1	29
1.1	4
1.6	7
1.3	4
0.8	15
0.7	13
0.7	11
1.7	1
0.6	13
0.1	19
0.3	11
0.3	15
0.6	4
1.2	6
0.5	11
3.3	6
0.3	16
0.3	16
0.3	15
2.0	4
0.9	6
1.5	1
0.8	4
1.0	4
0.5	13
0.3	5
0.1	7
0.1	7
0.3	4
1.5	3
0.3	4
1.2	1
0.1	4
0.1	2

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Heat wave in Australia, 6 to 12 September 2020 compared with similar events
Heat wave in United States and Mexico, 16 January to 14 February 2024	9,869 records
Heat wave in United States, 28 January to 24 February 2026	6,528 records
Heat wave in United States and Mexico, 24 May to 19 June 2020	5,047 records
Heat wave in United States and Mexico, 26 March to 17 April 2021	3,669 records
Heat wave in Germany and 49 other countries, 18 December 2021 to 15 January 2022	3,626 records
Heat wave in Australia, 6 to 12 September 2020 (this event)	190 records

Every Record Set

20 of 190

Every record set or tied during Heat wave in Australia, 6 to 12 September 2020, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2020-09-07	Adelaide West Terrace	Record high minimum temperature	18.3 C (64.9 F)	0.9 C (1.6 F)	99	42 of 100 (Notable)
2020-09-07	Ceduna AMO	Record high maximum temperature	37.9 C (100.2 F)	5.7 C (10.3 F)	76	40 of 100 (Notable)
2020-09-07	Adelaide West Terrace	Record high maximum temperature	29.0 C (84.2 F)	0.1 C (0.2 F)	106	40 of 100 (Notable)
2020-09-07	Parafield Airport	Record high maximum temperature	29.8 C (85.6 F)	0.9 C (1.6 F)	80	34 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-07	Robe Comparison	Record high maximum temperature	22.4 C (72.3 F)	0.7 C (1.3 F)	71	34 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-07	Kyancutta	Record high maximum temperature	33.5 C (92.3 F)	1.9 C (3.4 F)	70	33 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-07	Streaky Bay	Record high maximum temperature	33.4 C (92.1 F)	6.1 C (11.0 F)	40	33 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-07	East Sale Comparison	Record high maximum temperature	24.5 C (76.1 F)	0.1 C (0.2 F)	70	28 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-08	East Sale Comparison	Record high maximum temperature	25.9 C (78.6 F)	1.5 C (2.7 F)	67	31 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-08	Walpeup Research	Record high minimum temperature	15.8 C (60.4 F)	3.5 C (6.3 F)	50	30 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-08	Cape Bruny Lighthouse	Record high minimum temperature	15.5 C (59.9 F)	3.1 C (5.6 F)	39	30 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-10	Eucla	Record high maximum temperature	40.1 C (104.2 F)	0.1 C (0.2 F)	58	33 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-10	Oodnadatta Airport	Record high maximum temperature	34.6 C (94.3 F)	0.9 C (1.6 F)	74	31 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-11	Kyancutta	Record high minimum temperature	20.0 C (68.0 F)	4.3 C (7.7 F)	80	43 of 100 (Notable)
2020-09-11	Ceduna AMO	Record high minimum temperature	17.2 C (63.0 F)	1.2 C (2.2 F)	74	32 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-11	Adelaide West Terrace	Record high maximum temperature	29.3 C (84.7 F)	1.5 C (2.7 F)	61	31 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-11	Andamooka	Record high minimum temperature	19.6 C (67.3 F)	3.7 C (6.7 F)	47	30 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-11	Woomera Aerodrome	Record high minimum temperature	18.4 C (65.1 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	47	29 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-11	Cleve	Record high minimum temperature	17.0 C (62.6 F)	1.4 C (2.5 F)	61	28 of 100 (Routine)
2020-09-11	Maitland	Record high minimum temperature	15.5 C (59.9 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	61	28 of 100 (Routine)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 190 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.

Date	Records
2020-09-06	6
2020-09-07	70
2020-09-08	65
2020-09-09	7
2020-09-10	8
2020-09-11	26
2020-09-12	8

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
4.3	80
0.9	99
5.7	76
0.1	106
0.9	80
0.7	71
0.1	58
1.9	70
6.1	40
1.2	74
0.9	74
1.5	61
1.5	67
3.7	47
3.5	50
3.1	39
2.8	47
1.4	61
1.1	61
0.1	70
0.5	39
5.1	29
4.0	39
1.7	50
2.0	42
3.0	39
2.4	39
2.4	35
1.7	47
2.7	40
2.5	39
1.0	55
2.7	39
2.3	39
1.9	39
2.8	30
1.4	45
2.7	29
2.4	40
2.9	29
3.1	36
1.9	39
5.5	6
0.1	29
1.0	42
3.8	27
3.0	27
2.1	40
1.2	39
0.7	40
1.6	35
1.4	39
1.5	39
2.7	29
3.6	27
0.3	50
1.6	39
1.0	40
1.6	39
2.1	15
0.9	39
3.3	29
0.9	39
1.3	27
2.4	29
0.6	40
4.1	8
1.2	39
0.8	40
1.2	39
1.1	39
0.4	40
4.1	12
1.9	32
1.0	39
3.6	15
1.2	27
1.6	27
1.8	19
0.5	39
3.7	6
0.6	29
1.2	29
3.1	15
1.3	29
1.9	27
0.4	39
1.6	29
1.4	29
1.5	29
2.3	11
0.2	29
1.0	27
0.6	39
0.2	40
1.1	29
0.8	29
1.2	17
1.6	30
0.7	32
0.9	29
2.8	3
2.2	22
2.4	15
0.8	29
0.9	29
0.8	29
0.8	27
2.5	15
1.1	14
2.2	6
2.0	13
0.4	29
3.9	4
2.0	27
1.4	15
1.7	29
4.1	3
0.4	29
0.3	32
0.8	29
0.5	29
1.4	15
0.2	29
0.5	27
1.6	15
1.7	4
1.6	15
0.6	27
0.1	29
0.2	29
1.4	29
0.1	29
1.0	32
1.8	11
1.1	19
2.2	15
1.0	24
0.2	27
0.2	27
0.4	27
0.9	29
0.1	29
0.3	30
2.6	7
0.5	27
0.7	11
1.4	13
2.2	4
1.5	16
1.5	7
2.1	15
0.4	29
1.4	17
2.0	1
1.4	12
0.1	29
1.1	4
1.6	7
1.3	4
0.8	15
0.7	13
0.7	11
1.7	1
0.6	13
0.1	19
0.3	11
0.3	15
0.6	4
1.2	6
0.5	11
3.3	6
0.3	16
0.3	16
0.3	15
2.0	4
0.9	6
1.5	1
0.8	4
1.0	4
0.5	13
0.3	5
0.1	7
0.1	7
0.3	4
1.5	3
0.3	4
1.2	1
0.1	4
0.1	2

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
4.3	80
0.9	99
5.7	76
0.1	106
0.9	80
0.7	71
0.1	58
1.9	70
6.1	40
1.2	74
0.9	74
1.5	61
1.5	67
3.7	47
3.5	50
3.1	39
2.8	47
1.4	61
1.1	61
0.1	70
0.5	39
5.1	29
4.0	39
1.7	50
2.0	42
3.0	39
2.4	39
2.4	35
1.7	47
2.7	40
2.5	39
1.0	55
2.7	39
2.3	39
1.9	39
2.8	30
1.4	45
2.7	29
2.4	40
2.9	29
3.1	36
1.9	39
5.5	6
0.1	29
1.0	42
3.8	27
3.0	27
2.1	40
1.2	39
0.7	40
1.6	35
1.4	39
1.5	39
2.7	29
3.6	27
0.3	50
1.6	39
1.0	40
1.6	39
2.1	15
0.9	39
3.3	29
0.9	39
1.3	27
2.4	29
0.6	40
4.1	8
1.2	39
0.8	40
1.2	39
1.1	39
0.4	40
4.1	12
1.9	32
1.0	39
3.6	15
1.2	27
1.6	27
1.8	19
0.5	39
3.7	6
0.6	29
1.2	29
3.1	15
1.3	29
1.9	27
0.4	39
1.6	29
1.4	29
1.5	29
2.3	11
0.2	29
1.0	27
0.6	39
0.2	40
1.1	29
0.8	29
1.2	17
1.6	30
0.7	32
0.9	29
2.8	3
2.2	22
2.4	15
0.8	29
0.9	29
0.8	29
0.8	27
2.5	15
1.1	14
2.2	6
2.0	13
0.4	29
3.9	4
2.0	27
1.4	15
1.7	29
4.1	3
0.4	29
0.3	32
0.8	29
0.5	29
1.4	15
0.2	29
0.5	27
1.6	15
1.7	4
1.6	15
0.6	27
0.1	29
0.2	29
1.4	29
0.1	29
1.0	32
1.8	11
1.1	19
2.2	15
1.0	24
0.2	27
0.2	27
0.4	27
0.9	29
0.1	29
0.3	30
2.6	7
0.5	27
0.7	11
1.4	13
2.2	4
1.5	16
1.5	7
2.1	15
0.4	29
1.4	17
2.0	1
1.4	12
0.1	29
1.1	4
1.6	7
1.3	4
0.8	15
0.7	13
0.7	11
1.7	1
0.6	13
0.1	19
0.3	11
0.3	15
0.6	4
1.2	6
0.5	11
3.3	6
0.3	16
0.3	16
0.3	15
2.0	4
0.9	6
1.5	1
0.8	4
1.0	4
0.5	13
0.3	5
0.1	7
0.1	7
0.3	4
1.5	3
0.3	4
1.2	1
0.1	4
0.1	2