New data from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has confirmed Queensland copped a record-breaking drenching last month, recording its wettest October in five years and its eighth-wettest on record.
The month was characterised by extreme weather, with some places reporting their hottest-ever October night and others their coldest-ever October day.
The BOM said last month brought the biggest deluge to Queensland in more than 120 years.
The wettest place in the state was Tin Can Bay, south of the Fraser Coast, which copped more than 400 millimetres of rain and most of it was in just one day.
Around the central coast and south-east, nearly 30 sites experienced their wettest October on record, while about 50 others reported their wettest October in two decades.
Last month's rainfall was as intense as it was widespread – October daily records were set in 19 places, including Rainbow Beach, east of Gympie, which received nearly 300mm in just one day.
All the downpour resulted in Queensland experiencing its wettest October since 2017.
BOM forecaster Jonathan How said several drivers contributed to the October drenching, including La Niña weather patterns.
"We did see quite a few significant rainfall events coming through, particularly to the south and centre of the state," he said.
"Just off the waters of Queensland over the Coral Sea, they're now seeing some of the warmest sea surface temperatures on record.
"That's really fuelled a lot of moisture and humidity right across eastern parts of the state."
From pouring rain to blasting heat
Temperatures varied greatly across the state, bringing warmer days in the north but cooler days in the south.
It was a particularly chilly day at the beginning of the month for the south-east, as Brisbane reported its coldest October day on record at 18.5 degrees Celsius.
Parts of the Maranoa and Warrego, Darling Downs and Granite Belt had much cooler than average days last month, including Gympie, which recorded its coldest mean temperature in 30 years.
Applethorpe in the Southern Downs experienced the coolest days on average at 20C.
In contrast, the extreme heatwaves that blasted northern Queensland at the end of the month, raised the state's mean minimum temperature by 2C, making it the seventh-warmest October in more than a century.
It was especially hot around the Gulf Country and Cape York Peninsula, with five sites recording their highest October temperature, including Julia Creek Airport at 43.9C.
A dozen other places in the northern region had their highest October mean temperature, with Coconut Island recording the highest average at 30.6C.
But it was Bedourie residents in far-western Queensland that slept through the warmest night of the month at 29.7C.
Mr How said the state could expect to see more rain in coming months, with the La Nina season sticking around into early 2023, but he said some climate drivers are predicted to lessen.
"This negative Indian Ocean Dipole is expected to weaken off through December, so there'll be one climate driver less influencing the rainfall," he said.
"Of course, heading into November, this is now the official tropical cyclone season across northern Australia and this summer we are expecting a more active tropical cyclone season."
Extremes in October 2022 |
|
|---|---|
Hottest day |
43.9C at Julia Creek Airport on the 30th |
Warmest days on average |
38.1C at Kowanyama Airport |
Coolest days on average |
20C at Applethorpe |
Coldest day |
14.3C at Toowoomba Airport on the 2nd |
Coldest night |
3.4C at Applethorpe on the 3rd |
Coldest nights on average |
10.3C at Applethorpe |
Warmest nights on average |
26.7C at Sweers Island |
Warmest nights |
29.7C at Bedourie on the 31st |
Warmest on average overall |
31.6C at Normanton Airport |
Coolest on average overall |
15.2C at Applethorpe |
Wettest overall |
404mm at Tin Can Bay (Defence) |
Wettest day |
288.2mm at Tin Can Bay (Defence) on the 22nd |
Strongest wind gust |
131 km/h at The Monument Airport on the 31st |
