Cold outbreak in Australia, 21 to 28 May 2020

Name: Cold outbreak in Australia, 21 to 28 May 2020
Start: 2020-05-21
End: 2020-05-28
Location: Australia

Cold outbreak in Australia, 21 to 28 May 2020: 128 records at 62 stations, peak on 23 May 2020. Closed.

Data as of 2026-10-12. Last revised 12 October 2026 (2026-10-12).

Key Facts

Cold outbreak in Australia, 21 to 28 May 2020 set or tied 128 station records at 62 stations.
It ran from 21 May 2020 to 28 May 2020 (8 days) and its peak day was 23 May 2020.
Status: closed.
Cairns Post Office set a daily record low maximum temperature of 21.1 C (70.0 F) on 23 May 2020.
The busiest day was 23 May 2020 with 47 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 128 years.

Footprint

21 to 28 May 2020

The area covered by Cold outbreak in Australia, 21 to 28 May 2020 is outlined, with 17 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.

Footprint of Cold outbreak in Australia, 21 to 28 May 2020: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Cairns Post Office	Record low maximum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	2020-05-23
Palmerville	Record low maximum temperature	23.2 C (73.8 F)	2020-05-24
South Johnstone Exp STN	Record low maximum temperature	18.5 C (65.3 F)	2020-05-23
Double Island Point Lighthouse	Record low minimum temperature	9.6 C (49.3 F)	2020-05-24
Cape Moreton Lighthouse	Record low maximum temperature	13.5 C (56.3 F)	2020-05-23
Walkamin Research Station	Record low maximum temperature	18.0 C (64.4 F)	2020-05-23
Innisfail	Record low maximum temperature	18.8 C (65.8 F)	2020-05-23
Lady Elliot Island	Record low maximum temperature	18.8 C (65.8 F)	2020-05-24
Cairns Aero	Record low minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	2020-05-25
Mackay M.O	Record low maximum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	2020-05-23
Bundaberg Aero	Record low maximum temperature	13.2 C (55.8 F)	2020-05-23
Low Isles Lighthouse	Record low minimum temperature	18.9 C (66.0 F)	2020-05-24
Ayr Dpi Research STN	Record low maximum temperature	21.8 C (71.2 F)	2020-05-22
Monto Township	Record low maximum temperature	12.9 C (55.2 F)	2020-05-23
Archerfield Airport	Record low maximum temperature	15.2 C (59.4 F)	2020-05-23
Townsville Aero	Record low maximum temperature	23.5 C (74.3 F)	2020-05-22
Lucinda Point	Record low maximum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	2020-05-24

Records per Day

Peak day 47

Records set or tied each day from 21 May 2020 to 28 May 2020. The most in one day was 47 on 23 May 2020.

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Cold outbreak in Australia, 21 to 28 May 2020 ranked by margin
Palmerville, 05-24	4.0 C (7.2 F)
South Johnstone Exp STN, 05-23	3.7 C (6.7 F)
Double Island Point Lighthouse, 05-24	3.7 C (6.7 F)
Walkamin Research Station, 05-23	3.3 C (5.9 F)
Bundaberg Aero, 05-23	3.2 C (5.8 F)
Innisfail, 05-23	2.7 C (4.9 F)
Lucinda Point, 05-24	2.4 C (4.3 F)
Ayr Dpi Research STN, 05-22	2.2 C (4.0 F)
Cairns Post Office, 05-23	2.0 C (3.6 F)
Lady Elliot Island, 05-24	1.8 C (3.2 F)
Cairns Aero, 05-25	1.7 C (3.1 F)
Mackay M.O, 05-23	1.6 C (2.9 F)
Low Isles Lighthouse, 05-24	1.6 C (2.9 F)
Cape Moreton Lighthouse, 05-23	1.5 C (2.7 F)
Monto Township, 05-23	1.3 C (2.3 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

128 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, 21 to 28 May 2020
Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
2.0	128
4.0	59
0.2	123
3.7	50
3.7	63
1.5	52
3.3	48
2.7	48
1.7	67
1.8	61
1.6	29
3.2	7
0.7	73
1.6	44
0.9	42
2.2	40
1.3	42
1.2	29
0.5	66
2.4	35
0.7	45
0.6	42
3.4	53
1.7	52
1.5	29
4.9	28
0.1	45
2.2	53
0.7	61
3.3	46
2.5	49
2.4	53
0.9	63
0.9	57
2.6	53
0.2	29
0.6	63
1.8	46
0.2	3
1.4	19
3.2	22
2.0	53
3.9	23
2.8	7
0.9	44
2.9	19
2.7	23
1.1	7
0.7	56
0.3	61
0.2	29
1.8	46
2.4	40
0.6	19
0.2	63
0.3	63
1.5	53
1.4	35
0.7	52
1.6	46
0.8	52
1.1	52
0.5	48
0.7	19
1.0	46
2.5	30
2.7	32
0.3	53
0.5	52
0.6	52
1.3	28
1.5	28
0.7	38
0.8	46
0.4	46
0.7	7
3.5	11
0.5	46
0.7	46
0.6	46
0.5	46
0.1	19
2.8	5
0.4	30
0.2	46
1.6	28
1.2	34
1.2	34
0.3	36
1.3	2
1.8	5
1.7	34
0.4	28
1.3	19
0.3	39
0.2	35
0.4	30
0.8	28
1.5	7
0.3	30
2.5	7
1.2	28
1.5	11
0.2	28
1.8	7
0.8	23
1.9	7
0.6	19
0.8	15
3.0	7
1.7	7
2.0	5
0.9	18
1.3	5
0.5	19
0.7	12
0.2	18
0.9	9
0.8	7
0.6	22
1.0	14
1.2	7
0.4	14
0.9	7
0.9	7
0.2	7
0.3	5
0.4	9

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Cold outbreak in Australia, 21 to 28 May 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, 21 to 28 May 2020 (this event)	128 records

Every Record Set

20 of 128

Every record set or tied during Cold outbreak in Australia, 21 to 28 May 2020, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2020-05-22	Ayr Dpi Research STN	Record low maximum temperature	21.8 C (71.2 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	40	31 of 100 (Routine)
2020-05-22	Townsville Aero	Record low maximum temperature	23.5 C (74.3 F)	0.5 C (0.9 F)	66	30 of 100 (Routine)
2020-05-23	Cairns Post Office	Record low maximum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	2.0 C (3.6 F)	128	51 of 100 (Notable)
2020-05-23	South Johnstone Exp STN	Record low maximum temperature	18.5 C (65.3 F)	3.7 C (6.7 F)	50	40 of 100 (Notable)
2020-05-23	Cape Moreton Lighthouse	Record low maximum temperature	13.5 C (56.3 F)	1.5 C (2.7 F)	52	39 of 100 (Notable)
2020-05-23	Walkamin Research Station	Record low maximum temperature	18.0 C (64.4 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	48	36 of 100 (Notable)
2020-05-23	Innisfail	Record low maximum temperature	18.8 C (65.8 F)	2.7 C (4.9 F)	48	35 of 100 (Notable)
2020-05-23	Mackay M.O	Record low maximum temperature	14.4 C (57.9 F)	1.6 C (2.9 F)	29	33 of 100 (Routine)
2020-05-23	Bundaberg Aero	Record low maximum temperature	13.2 C (55.8 F)	3.2 C (5.8 F)	7	33 of 100 (Routine)
2020-05-23	Double Island Point Lighthouse	Record low maximum temperature	12.9 C (55.2 F)	0.9 C (1.6 F)	42	32 of 100 (Routine)
2020-05-23	Monto Township	Record low maximum temperature	12.9 C (55.2 F)	1.3 C (2.3 F)	42	31 of 100 (Routine)
2020-05-23	Archerfield Airport	Record low maximum temperature	15.2 C (59.4 F)	1.2 C (2.2 F)	29	31 of 100 (Routine)
2020-05-24	Palmerville	Record low maximum temperature	23.2 C (73.8 F)	4.0 C (7.2 F)	59	50 of 100 (Notable)
2020-05-24	Double Island Point Lighthouse	Record low minimum temperature	9.6 C (49.3 F)	3.7 C (6.7 F)	63	40 of 100 (Notable)
2020-05-24	Lady Elliot Island	Record low maximum temperature	18.8 C (65.8 F)	1.8 C (3.2 F)	61	34 of 100 (Routine)
2020-05-24	Cairns Aero	Record low maximum temperature	22.2 C (72.0 F)	0.7 C (1.3 F)	73	32 of 100 (Routine)
2020-05-24	Low Isles Lighthouse	Record low minimum temperature	18.9 C (66.0 F)	1.6 C (2.9 F)	44	32 of 100 (Routine)
2020-05-24	Lucinda Point	Record low maximum temperature	21.1 C (70.0 F)	2.4 C (4.3 F)	35	30 of 100 (Routine)
2020-05-25	Cairns Post Office	Record low minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	0.2 C (0.4 F)	123	40 of 100 (Notable)
2020-05-25	Cairns Aero	Record low minimum temperature	11.1 C (52.0 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	67	34 of 100 (Routine)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 128 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 2026-10-12. Events are found by this site from station records and are not official designations. Records are provisional until reprocessed.

Date	Records
2020-05-21	7
2020-05-22	26
2020-05-23	47
2020-05-24	31
2020-05-25	11
2020-05-26	3
2020-05-27	2
2020-05-28	1

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
2.0	128
4.0	59
0.2	123
3.7	50
3.7	63
1.5	52
3.3	48
2.7	48
1.7	67
1.8	61
1.6	29
3.2	7
0.7	73
1.6	44
0.9	42
2.2	40
1.3	42
1.2	29
0.5	66
2.4	35
0.7	45
0.6	42
3.4	53
1.7	52
1.5	29
4.9	28
0.1	45
2.2	53
0.7	61
3.3	46
2.5	49
2.4	53
0.9	63
0.9	57
2.6	53
0.2	29
0.6	63
1.8	46
0.2	3
1.4	19
3.2	22
2.0	53
3.9	23
2.8	7
0.9	44
2.9	19
2.7	23
1.1	7
0.7	56
0.3	61
0.2	29
1.8	46
2.4	40
0.6	19
0.2	63
0.3	63
1.5	53
1.4	35
0.7	52
1.6	46
0.8	52
1.1	52
0.5	48
0.7	19
1.0	46
2.5	30
2.7	32
0.3	53
0.5	52
0.6	52
1.3	28
1.5	28
0.7	38
0.8	46
0.4	46
0.7	7
3.5	11
0.5	46
0.7	46
0.6	46
0.5	46
0.1	19
2.8	5
0.4	30
0.2	46
1.6	28
1.2	34
1.2	34
0.3	36
1.3	2
1.8	5
1.7	34
0.4	28
1.3	19
0.3	39
0.2	35
0.4	30
0.8	28
1.5	7
0.3	30
2.5	7
1.2	28
1.5	11
0.2	28
1.8	7
0.8	23
1.9	7
0.6	19
0.8	15
3.0	7
1.7	7
2.0	5
0.9	18
1.3	5
0.5	19
0.7	12
0.2	18
0.9	9
0.8	7
0.6	22
1.0	14
1.2	7
0.4	14
0.9	7
0.9	7
0.2	7
0.3	5
0.4	9

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
2.0	128
4.0	59
0.2	123
3.7	50
3.7	63
1.5	52
3.3	48
2.7	48
1.7	67
1.8	61
1.6	29
3.2	7
0.7	73
1.6	44
0.9	42
2.2	40
1.3	42
1.2	29
0.5	66
2.4	35
0.7	45
0.6	42
3.4	53
1.7	52
1.5	29
4.9	28
0.1	45
2.2	53
0.7	61
3.3	46
2.5	49
2.4	53
0.9	63
0.9	57
2.6	53
0.2	29
0.6	63
1.8	46
0.2	3
1.4	19
3.2	22
2.0	53
3.9	23
2.8	7
0.9	44
2.9	19
2.7	23
1.1	7
0.7	56
0.3	61
0.2	29
1.8	46
2.4	40
0.6	19
0.2	63
0.3	63
1.5	53
1.4	35
0.7	52
1.6	46
0.8	52
1.1	52
0.5	48
0.7	19
1.0	46
2.5	30
2.7	32
0.3	53
0.5	52
0.6	52
1.3	28
1.5	28
0.7	38
0.8	46
0.4	46
0.7	7
3.5	11
0.5	46
0.7	46
0.6	46
0.5	46
0.1	19
2.8	5
0.4	30
0.2	46
1.6	28
1.2	34
1.2	34
0.3	36
1.3	2
1.8	5
1.7	34
0.4	28
1.3	19
0.3	39
0.2	35
0.4	30
0.8	28
1.5	7
0.3	30
2.5	7
1.2	28
1.5	11
0.2	28
1.8	7
0.8	23
1.9	7
0.6	19
0.8	15
3.0	7
1.7	7
2.0	5
0.9	18
1.3	5
0.5	19
0.7	12
0.2	18
0.9	9
0.8	7
0.6	22
1.0	14
1.2	7
0.4	14
0.9	7
0.9	7
0.2	7
0.3	5
0.4	9