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Built 2026-10-19 (19 October 2026)

Heat wave in Australia, 2 to 8 October 2020

Heat wave in Australia, 2 to 8 October 2020: 135 records at 85 stations, peak on 3 October 2020. Closed.

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

Key Facts

  • Heat wave in Australia, 2 to 8 October 2020 set or tied 135 station records at 85 stations.
  • It ran from 2 October 2020 to 8 October 2020 (7 days) and its peak day was 3 October 2020.
  • Status: closed.
  • Adelaide West Terrace set a daily record high minimum temperature of 23.9 C (75.0 F) on 3 October 2020.
  • The busiest day was 4 October 2020 with 44 records.
  • The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 81 years.

Footprint

2 to 8 October 2020
Footprint of Heat wave in Australia, 2 to 8 October 2020 The area covered by Heat wave in Australia, 2 to 8 October 2020 is outlined, with 19 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type.
The area covered by Heat wave in Australia, 2 to 8 October 2020 is outlined, with 19 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.
Footprint of Heat wave in Australia, 2 to 8 October 2020: stations that set records in the event
StationTypeValueDate
Adelaide West TerraceRecord high minimum temperature23.9 C (75.0 F)2020-10-03
Parafield AirportRecord high minimum temperature22.8 C (73.0 F)2020-10-03
KimbaRecord high minimum temperature22.2 C (72.0 F)2020-10-03
Cape WilloughbyRecord high minimum temperature19.9 C (67.8 F)2020-10-03
Menindee Post OfficeRecord high minimum temperature21.7 C (71.1 F)2020-10-04
Mildura AirportRecord high minimum temperature20.9 C (69.6 F)2020-10-04
Adelaide AirportRecord high minimum temperature23.4 C (74.1 F)2020-10-03
KyancuttaRecord high minimum temperature24.0 C (75.2 F)2020-10-03
Streaky BayRecord high minimum temperature21.3 C (70.3 F)2020-10-03
Griffith Airport AWSRecord high minimum temperature22.2 C (72.0 F)2020-10-04
Balranald (Rsl)Record high minimum temperature21.5 C (70.7 F)2020-10-04
Walpeup ResearchRecord high minimum temperature21.7 C (71.1 F)2020-10-04
Mount Gambier AeroRecord high minimum temperature16.4 C (61.5 F)2020-10-03
HawkerRecord high minimum temperature24.3 C (75.7 F)2020-10-04
Ceduna AMORecord high minimum temperature25.5 C (77.9 F)2020-10-03
YongalaRecord high minimum temperature13.8 C (56.8 F)2020-10-04
East Sale AirportRecord high maximum temperature31.6 C (88.9 F)2020-10-04
Murray Bridge ComparisonRecord high minimum temperature19.2 C (66.6 F)2020-10-03
MaryboroughRecord high minimum temperature15.4 C (59.7 F)2020-10-04

Records per Day

Peak day 43
Records per day during Heat wave in Australia, 2 to 8 October 2020 Records set or tied each day from 2 October 2020 to 8 October 2020. The most in one day was 44 on 4 October 2020. 0 13 25 38 50 10-0210-0310-0410-0510-0710-08
Records set or tied each day from 2 October 2020 to 8 October 2020. The most in one day was 44 on 4 October 2020.
Records per day during Heat wave in Australia, 2 to 8 October 2020
DateRecords
2020-10-0232
2020-10-0343
2020-10-0444
2020-10-053
2020-10-073
2020-10-0810

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced
Top records of Heat wave in Australia, 2 to 8 October 2020 ranked by margin
Kyancutta, 10-038.8 C (15.8 F)
Adelaide Airport, 10-038.6 C (15.5 F)
Kimba, 10-037.2 C (13.0 F)
Ceduna AMO, 10-036.8 C (12.2 F)
Walpeup Research, 10-046.1 C (11.0 F)
Hawker, 10-045.8 C (10.4 F)
Menindee Post Office, 10-045.6 C (10.1 F)
Murray Bridge Comparison, 10-035.0 C (9.0 F)
Streaky Bay, 10-034.9 C (8.8 F)
Griffith Airport AWS, 10-044.9 C (8.8 F)
Adelaide West Terrace, 10-034.7 C (8.5 F)
Cape Willoughby, 10-034.7 C (8.5 F)
Mildura Airport, 10-044.4 C (7.9 F)
Balranald (Rsl), 10-044.3 C (7.7 F)
Parafield Airport, 10-034.0 C (7.2 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, 2 to 8 October 2020 135 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 25 50 75 100 0.02.55.07.510.0 Margin (C) Years the old record stood
135 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, 2 to 8 October 2020
Margin (C)Years the old record stood
4.781
4.081
7.246
4.738
5.658
4.466
8.610
8.810
4.938
4.950
4.350
6.135
2.551
5.835
6.810
1.063
1.750
0.648
5.021
2.148
2.544
5.918
1.944
1.048
2.635
6.75
7.01
1.050
1.050
3.122
2.436
3.036
1.840
3.335
6.35
1.442
5.72
2.435
0.450
4.229
4.85
0.124
0.450
0.450
0.845
0.150
4.310
0.448
0.348
3.45
0.445
2.61
1.136
2.614
0.835
1.036
2.116
4.312
3.910
3.710
1.723
3.415
3.55
0.332
0.832
1.728
2.613
2.98
0.236
1.613
2.712
0.421
3.95
2.414
2.910
0.818
1.120
1.710
3.45
2.35
1.610
0.813
0.520
0.322
0.420
1.210
1.35
1.25
0.78
1.415
0.319
1.84
2.15
0.119
1.45
0.213
2.05
0.318
1.25
0.95
0.65
0.410
0.66
0.75
0.72
0.65
0.55
1.68
0.71
1.15
1.15
0.35
2.25
0.45
0.55
0.82
0.55
0.25
0.85
0.65
0.45
0.25
0.72
0.45
0.12
0.15
0.25
1.42
0.11
0.76
0.72
0.92
0.35
0.25
0.21

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event
Station records in Heat wave in Australia, 2 to 8 October 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, 2 to 8 October 2020 (this event)135 records

Every Record Set

20 of 135
Every record set or tied during Heat wave in Australia, 2 to 8 October 2020, in date order
DateStationRecordValueMarginYears stoodSignificance
2020-10-02Adelaide West TerraceRecord high maximum temperature31.3 C (88.3 F)0.6 C (1.1 F)4825 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-03Adelaide West TerraceRecord high minimum temperature23.9 C (75.0 F)4.7 C (8.5 F)8147 of 100 (Notable)
2020-10-03Parafield AirportRecord high minimum temperature22.8 C (73.0 F)4.0 C (7.2 F)8142 of 100 (Notable)
2020-10-03KimbaRecord high minimum temperature22.2 C (72.0 F)7.2 C (13.0 F)4638 of 100 (Notable)
2020-10-03Cape WilloughbyRecord high minimum temperature19.9 C (67.8 F)4.7 C (8.5 F)3838 of 100 (Notable)
2020-10-03Adelaide AirportRecord high minimum temperature23.4 C (74.1 F)8.6 C (15.5 F)1033 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-03KyancuttaRecord high minimum temperature24.0 C (75.2 F)8.8 C (15.8 F)1031 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-03Streaky BayRecord high minimum temperature21.3 C (70.3 F)4.9 C (8.8 F)3831 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-03Mount Gambier AeroRecord high minimum temperature16.4 C (61.5 F)2.5 C (4.5 F)5129 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-03Ceduna AMORecord high minimum temperature25.5 C (77.9 F)6.8 C (12.2 F)1026 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-03Murray Bridge ComparisonRecord high minimum temperature19.2 C (66.6 F)5.0 C (9.0 F)2125 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-04Menindee Post OfficeRecord high minimum temperature21.7 C (71.1 F)5.6 C (10.1 F)5837 of 100 (Notable)
2020-10-04Mildura AirportRecord high minimum temperature20.9 C (69.6 F)4.4 C (7.9 F)6637 of 100 (Notable)
2020-10-04Griffith Airport AWSRecord high minimum temperature22.2 C (72.0 F)4.9 C (8.8 F)5031 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-04Balranald (Rsl)Record high minimum temperature21.5 C (70.7 F)4.3 C (7.7 F)5030 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-04Walpeup ResearchRecord high minimum temperature21.7 C (71.1 F)6.1 C (11.0 F)3530 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-04HawkerRecord high minimum temperature24.3 C (75.7 F)5.8 C (10.4 F)3528 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-04YongalaRecord high minimum temperature13.8 C (56.8 F)1.0 C (1.8 F)6326 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-04East Sale AirportRecord high maximum temperature31.6 C (88.9 F)1.7 C (3.1 F)5026 of 100 (Routine)
2020-10-04MaryboroughRecord high minimum temperature15.4 C (59.7 F)2.1 C (3.8 F)4825 of 100 (Routine)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 135 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.