Heat wave in Australia, 10 to 27 May 2018

Name: Heat wave in Australia, 10 to 27 May 2018
Start: 2018-05-10
End: 2018-05-27
Location: Australia

Heat wave in Australia, 10 to 27 May 2018: 143 records at 42 stations, peak on 23 May 2018. Closed.

Data as of 2026-10-18. Last revised 18 October 2026 (2026-10-18).

Key Facts

Heat wave in Australia, 10 to 27 May 2018 set or tied 143 station records at 42 stations.
It ran from 10 May 2018 to 27 May 2018 (18 days) and its peak day was 23 May 2018.
Status: closed.
Albany set a daily record high maximum temperature of 27.8 C (82.0 F) on 24 May 2018.
The busiest day was 23 May 2018 with 23 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 111 years.

Footprint

10 to 27 May 2018

The area covered by Heat wave in Australia, 10 to 27 May 2018 is outlined, with 11 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.

Footprint of Heat wave in Australia, 10 to 27 May 2018: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Albany	Record high maximum temperature	27.8 C (82.0 F)	2018-05-24
Cape Leeuwin	Record high maximum temperature	25.8 C (78.4 F)	2018-05-22
Mount Barker	Record high maximum temperature	24.6 C (76.3 F)	2018-05-22
Albany Airport	Record high maximum temperature	28.2 C (82.8 F)	2018-05-24
Donnybrook	Record high maximum temperature	25.9 C (78.6 F)	2018-05-24
Manjimup	Record high maximum temperature	26.3 C (79.3 F)	2018-05-23
Mullewa	Record high maximum temperature	31.0 C (87.8 F)	2018-05-14
Northam	Record high maximum temperature	32.7 C (90.9 F)	2018-05-12
Pearce Raaf	Record high maximum temperature	34.1 C (93.4 F)	2018-05-12
Pemberton	Record high maximum temperature	24.5 C (76.1 F)	2018-05-22
Narrogin	Record high maximum temperature	28.8 C (83.8 F)	2018-05-12

Records per Day

Peak day 23

Records set or tied each day from 10 May 2018 to 27 May 2018. The most in one day was 23 on 23 May 2018.

Records per day during Heat wave in Australia, 10 to 27 May 2018
Date	Records
2018-05-10	1
2018-05-11	12
2018-05-12	21
2018-05-13	14
2018-05-14	5
2018-05-15	10
2018-05-16	5
2018-05-18	1
2018-05-19	2
2018-05-21	2
2018-05-22	18
2018-05-23	23
2018-05-24	20
2018-05-25	8
2018-05-27	1

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Heat wave in Australia, 10 to 27 May 2018 ranked by margin
Albany Airport, 05-24	5.9 C (10.6 F)
Manjimup, 05-23	5.3 C (9.5 F)
Pearce Raaf, 05-12	4.2 C (7.6 F)
Albany, 05-24	3.9 C (7.0 F)
Northam, 05-12	3.7 C (6.7 F)
Pemberton, 05-22	2.8 C (5.0 F)
Narrogin, 05-12	2.5 C (4.5 F)
Cape Leeuwin, 05-22	2.2 C (4.0 F)
Albany, 05-12	2.1 C (3.8 F)
Mount Barker, 05-24	2.1 C (3.8 F)
Donnybrook, 05-24	1.5 C (2.7 F)
Cape Leeuwin, 05-24	1.5 C (2.7 F)
Cape Leeuwin, 05-23	1.4 C (2.5 F)
Donnybrook, 05-12	1.1 C (2.0 F)
Donnybrook, 05-11	1.1 C (2.0 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

143 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, 10 to 27 May 2018
Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
3.9	88
2.1	111
2.2	83
1.4	83
0.2	103
5.9	52
1.5	79
0.6	80
1.1	76
5.3	45
0.2	84
0.1	80
0.1	83
2.1	52
3.7	36
4.2	36
2.8	51
1.5	45
1.1	56
2.5	36
3.9	36
1.0	60
2.4	45
4.2	36
2.3	45
3.7	41
1.8	45
3.6	36
2.0	45
2.3	45
3.4	36
1.5	51
1.2	52
4.5	16
0.9	52
0.1	60
1.0	56
3.8	20
0.1	53
0.4	53
3.5	21
2.8	36
2.2	28
3.9	12
1.0	51
0.2	52
3.1	16
3.5	16
2.1	36
0.6	55
1.8	45
1.3	45
1.3	45
1.8	36
1.6	32
1.5	39
2.6	12
2.4	12
3.2	20
1.7	28
1.0	32
1.3	32
3.2	12
1.1	36
1.7	21
2.0	28
0.2	45
0.1	45
0.2	45
2.9	12
0.9	32
2.7	12
2.2	15
1.5	21
0.3	45
0.4	32
0.4	32
0.4	39
0.5	32
2.4	12
0.2	36
2.1	20
0.5	29
2.6	12
0.2	37
0.7	32
2.5	8
1.1	12
1.5	15
2.4	12
0.2	36
1.5	15
0.9	28
1.4	12
0.8	32
0.1	36
0.4	32
1.5	11
1.7	5
0.1	32
0.5	21
2.0	12
0.1	32
1.4	16
2.0	12
1.0	21
0.2	28
0.7	20
1.3	15
1.2	16
0.9	1
1.5	16
1.0	20
1.0	21
0.6	24
0.2	20
0.4	20
0.6	24
0.5	20
0.7	16
0.4	12
1.6	9
0.4	12
0.5	12
0.7	11
0.6	12
0.7	12
0.3	16
0.3	20
0.5	12
0.4	12
0.6	12
0.5	1
0.4	16
0.5	3
0.1	12
0.5	9
0.1	3
0.2	8
0.5	5
0.3	5
0.7	5
0.2	5

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Heat wave in Australia, 10 to 27 May 2018 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, 10 to 27 May 2018 (this event)	143 records

Every Record Set

20 of 143

Every record set or tied during Heat wave in Australia, 10 to 27 May 2018, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2018-05-11	Donnybrook	Record high maximum temperature	27.4 C (81.3 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	56	29 of 100 (Routine)
2018-05-12	Albany	Record high maximum temperature	29.0 C (84.2 F)	2.1 C (3.8 F)	111	47 of 100 (Notable)
2018-05-12	Donnybrook	Record high maximum temperature	30.0 C (86.0 F)	1.1 C (2.0 F)	76	36 of 100 (Notable)
2018-05-12	Northam	Record high maximum temperature	32.7 C (90.9 F)	3.7 C (6.7 F)	36	31 of 100 (Routine)
2018-05-12	Pearce Raaf	Record high maximum temperature	34.1 C (93.4 F)	4.2 C (7.6 F)	36	30 of 100 (Routine)
2018-05-12	Narrogin	Record high maximum temperature	28.8 C (83.8 F)	2.5 C (4.5 F)	36	28 of 100 (Routine)
2018-05-13	Albany	Record high minimum temperature	15.6 C (60.1 F)	0.6 C (1.1 F)	80	36 of 100 (Notable)
2018-05-14	Mullewa	Record high maximum temperature	31.0 C (87.8 F)	0.2 C (0.4 F)	84	34 of 100 (Routine)
2018-05-22	Cape Leeuwin	Record high maximum temperature	25.8 C (78.4 F)	2.2 C (4.0 F)	83	43 of 100 (Notable)
2018-05-22	Mount Barker	Record high maximum temperature	24.6 C (76.3 F)	0.2 C (0.4 F)	103	40 of 100 (Notable)
2018-05-22	Pemberton	Record high maximum temperature	24.5 C (76.1 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	51	30 of 100 (Routine)
2018-05-23	Cape Leeuwin	Record high maximum temperature	27.0 C (80.6 F)	1.4 C (2.5 F)	83	40 of 100 (Notable)
2018-05-23	Manjimup	Record high maximum temperature	26.3 C (79.3 F)	5.3 C (9.5 F)	45	36 of 100 (Notable)
2018-05-23	Cape Leeuwin	Record high minimum temperature	16.8 C (62.2 F)	0.1 C (0.2 F)	80	34 of 100 (Routine)
2018-05-23	Donnybrook	Record high maximum temperature	27.4 C (81.3 F)	0.1 C (0.2 F)	83	34 of 100 (Routine)
2018-05-24	Albany	Record high maximum temperature	27.8 C (82.0 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	88	49 of 100 (Notable)
2018-05-24	Albany Airport	Record high maximum temperature	28.2 C (82.8 F)	5.9 C (10.6 F)	52	40 of 100 (Notable)
2018-05-24	Donnybrook	Record high maximum temperature	25.9 C (78.6 F)	1.5 C (2.7 F)	79	38 of 100 (Notable)
2018-05-24	Mount Barker	Record high maximum temperature	26.0 C (78.8 F)	2.1 C (3.8 F)	52	31 of 100 (Routine)
2018-05-24	Cape Leeuwin	Record high maximum temperature	24.8 C (76.6 F)	1.5 C (2.7 F)	45	29 of 100 (Routine)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 143 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 2026-10-18. 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
3.9	88
2.1	111
2.2	83
1.4	83
0.2	103
5.9	52
1.5	79
0.6	80
1.1	76
5.3	45
0.2	84
0.1	80
0.1	83
2.1	52
3.7	36
4.2	36
2.8	51
1.5	45
1.1	56
2.5	36
3.9	36
1.0	60
2.4	45
4.2	36
2.3	45
3.7	41
1.8	45
3.6	36
2.0	45
2.3	45
3.4	36
1.5	51
1.2	52
4.5	16
0.9	52
0.1	60
1.0	56
3.8	20
0.1	53
0.4	53
3.5	21
2.8	36
2.2	28
3.9	12
1.0	51
0.2	52
3.1	16
3.5	16
2.1	36
0.6	55
1.8	45
1.3	45
1.3	45
1.8	36
1.6	32
1.5	39
2.6	12
2.4	12
3.2	20
1.7	28
1.0	32
1.3	32
3.2	12
1.1	36
1.7	21
2.0	28
0.2	45
0.1	45
0.2	45
2.9	12
0.9	32
2.7	12
2.2	15
1.5	21
0.3	45
0.4	32
0.4	32
0.4	39
0.5	32
2.4	12
0.2	36
2.1	20
0.5	29
2.6	12
0.2	37
0.7	32
2.5	8
1.1	12
1.5	15
2.4	12
0.2	36
1.5	15
0.9	28
1.4	12
0.8	32
0.1	36
0.4	32
1.5	11
1.7	5
0.1	32
0.5	21
2.0	12
0.1	32
1.4	16
2.0	12
1.0	21
0.2	28
0.7	20
1.3	15
1.2	16
0.9	1
1.5	16
1.0	20
1.0	21
0.6	24
0.2	20
0.4	20
0.6	24
0.5	20
0.7	16
0.4	12
1.6	9
0.4	12
0.5	12
0.7	11
0.6	12
0.7	12
0.3	16
0.3	20
0.5	12
0.4	12
0.6	12
0.5	1
0.4	16
0.5	3
0.1	12
0.5	9
0.1	3
0.2	8
0.5	5
0.3	5
0.7	5
0.2	5

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
3.9	88
2.1	111
2.2	83
1.4	83
0.2	103
5.9	52
1.5	79
0.6	80
1.1	76
5.3	45
0.2	84
0.1	80
0.1	83
2.1	52
3.7	36
4.2	36
2.8	51
1.5	45
1.1	56
2.5	36
3.9	36
1.0	60
2.4	45
4.2	36
2.3	45
3.7	41
1.8	45
3.6	36
2.0	45
2.3	45
3.4	36
1.5	51
1.2	52
4.5	16
0.9	52
0.1	60
1.0	56
3.8	20
0.1	53
0.4	53
3.5	21
2.8	36
2.2	28
3.9	12
1.0	51
0.2	52
3.1	16
3.5	16
2.1	36
0.6	55
1.8	45
1.3	45
1.3	45
1.8	36
1.6	32
1.5	39
2.6	12
2.4	12
3.2	20
1.7	28
1.0	32
1.3	32
3.2	12
1.1	36
1.7	21
2.0	28
0.2	45
0.1	45
0.2	45
2.9	12
0.9	32
2.7	12
2.2	15
1.5	21
0.3	45
0.4	32
0.4	32
0.4	39
0.5	32
2.4	12
0.2	36
2.1	20
0.5	29
2.6	12
0.2	37
0.7	32
2.5	8
1.1	12
1.5	15
2.4	12
0.2	36
1.5	15
0.9	28
1.4	12
0.8	32
0.1	36
0.4	32
1.5	11
1.7	5
0.1	32
0.5	21
2.0	12
0.1	32
1.4	16
2.0	12
1.0	21
0.2	28
0.7	20
1.3	15
1.2	16
0.9	1
1.5	16
1.0	20
1.0	21
0.6	24
0.2	20
0.4	20
0.6	24
0.5	20
0.7	16
0.4	12
1.6	9
0.4	12
0.5	12
0.7	11
0.6	12
0.7	12
0.3	16
0.3	20
0.5	12
0.4	12
0.6	12
0.5	1
0.4	16
0.5	3
0.1	12
0.5	9
0.1	3
0.2	8
0.5	5
0.3	5
0.7	5
0.2	5