Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa), with wet, cool winters and hot dry summers.
In summer the average minimum is around 15.2 to 16.8 ðC and the average maximum is around 26.4 to 28.6 ðC, but there is considerable variation and Adelaide can usually expect several days a year where temperatures reach the mid/high 30s to low 40s. On a few rare occasions the temperature has reached the mid to high 40s. These high temperatures usually occur when hot northerly winds blow hot air down south from central Australia, causing the temperature to spike. However, like Melbourne, the summer weather can be rather changeable, as it is not uncommon to have summer days where the temperature peaks in the low 20s due to a cool south-westerly airmass off the Southern Ocean. Occasionally, the high may remain below 20 degrees, even in the peak of summer.
Rainfall is unreliable, light and infrequent throughout summer. The average in January and February is around 20mm, but completely rainless months are by no means uncommon.
In autumn, the weather is generally mild (though warm in March). Average minimum temperatures vary between 14.8 and 9.9 ðC, while maxima vary between 25.6 and 18.7 ðC.
There is very little rainfall until late Autumn.
In winter the average maximum is around 15.2 to 16.1 ðC and the average minimum around 7.4 to 8 ðC, although temperatures again can fluctuate. Note though that the temperature rarely drops below freezing or rises above 19 ðC. Frosts are common in the valleys of the Adelaide Hills, but rare elsewhere. Winter in Adelaide also sees quite a significant wind chill, which makes the apparent temperature seem colder than it actually is.
Winter has fairly reliable rainfall with June being the wettest month of the year, averaging around 80 mm. The city's dry summers are attributed to the Australian High on the Great Australian Bight.
Like Autumn, spring weather is mild, but with greater variation. Average maximum temperatures vary between 18.7 and 24.5 ðC. Despite the warmer days, with little cloud cover, overnight temperatures can drop quickly, minima varying between 9.4 and 13.6 ðC.
Rainfall tapers off quickly from winter into spring.
The weather station used for Adelaide's official temperatures was the West Terrace station from 1871 to 1977, and since 2017; and was the Kent Town station from 1977 to 2017; however the table below is for Adelaide Airport.
The below table is of the Kent Town site.
The below table demonstrates the effect of moderate elevation increase on Adelaide's climate.
Recorded extremes (records from West Tce weather station 1839âÂÂ1977 and 2017âÂÂ2025, Kent Town weather station 1977âÂÂ2025 and Airport M.O. weather station 1955âÂÂ2025):
A severe 7-day heatwave recorded at the official West Terrace weather station, began on January 13th with a maximum of 38.4ðC (101ðF). On January 14th, the temperature surged to 40.7ðC (105ðF) and remained above 40ðC for a total of six consecutive days. The month included 17 days exceeding 33ðC and 10 days above 40ðC (104ðF), with January 1908 setting the record for the most days over 40ðC in any January month in Adelaide's history.
The highest temperatures recorded that month were 43.4ðC, which occurred on both January 17th and January 19th.
The average daily maximum temperature in Adelaide for February 2007 was 32.9 ðC (91.2 ðF), making it the second hottest on record only behind February 1906. The month included 15 days above 33 ðC (91.4 ðF) and 8 above 37 ðC (98.6 ðF). The warmest day was the 17th with a temperature of 41.5 ðC (106.7 ðF).
On 30 August 2007, the temperature in the city hit 30.4 ðC (86.7 ðF) the first and only 30 ðC plus temperature recorded ever in winter, quite unusual for that time of year.
Between 3 March and 17 March 2008 Adelaide recorded 15 consecutive days of or above, and 13 consecutive days of or above â both records for an Australian capital city. (The record number of consecutive days of or above in any Australian city is held by Marble Bar in Western Australia, which experienced 160 consecutive days in 1923âÂÂ24.)
The hottest March day ever recorded was on 12 March 1861.
This heatwave is even more exceptional because it didn't occur in summer.
During January and February 2009 Adelaide was affected by the early 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave. The heatwave broke numerous records and affected all of south-eastern Australia, including Melbourne, where some outdoor games were cancelled during the 2009 Australian Open.
The heatwave commenced in Adelaide on 26 January 2009 (Australia Day), with a temperature of . From 27 January the temperature soared above degrees for 6 consecutive days, until 2 February where the temperature dropped to . This is the longest straight run of temperatures in Adelaide. On 28 January, the third day into the heatwave, the temperature reached , making it the third-hottest day on record in Adelaide. On that same night, the temperature only dipped to , making it the highest minimum temperature on record in South Australia (since surpassed). The maximum temperatures stayed higher than for another six days, including two more 40-degree-plus days (6 and 7 February) until dropping back to on 8 February 2009.
In November 2009 Adelaide was affected by the late 2009 southeastern Australia heatwave which occurred in the states of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. Daily maximum temperatures during the heat wave were roughly above average in many locations. Capital cities Adelaide and Melbourne recorded temperatures over and , respectively, which are unusual for November. Above-average temperatures in the region began in late October and persisted until mid-November 2009.
Temperature records for November in Adelaide set during the heatwave:
The summer of 2013âÂÂ2014 was the second-hottest on record. Records for Adelaide set during the 2013âÂÂ2014 summer heatwave (beginning in December) include:
Autumn 2014 was the fourth-warmest on record in South Australia, and included a record run of 16 consecutive days in May with maximum temperatures over 20 ðC within the city and metro areas.
In the 15 days from the 11th to 25 May the average maximum temperature was 24 ðC (75.2 ðF), compared with the usual 18.5 ðC (65.3 ðF) for that time of year.
October 2015 in Adelaide was the warmest on record for the city, continuing the trend of record breaking heat in the 2010s. The temperature was approximately degrees above the long term average. Rainfall was also scarce for the month with only being recorded.
November was also hotter than usual with daytime temperatures averaging and temperatures reaching on the 18th, the second earliest ever. Spring 2015 daytime maximum temperatures ended up averaging , the second highest on record just falling short of 1914.
In early December, Adelaide experienced its hottest December night since 1897 and another heatwaveâÂÂthe temperature did not drop below until 4am on 7 December.
Following one of Adelaide's hottest nights on record, in mid December 2015, temperatures soared above 40 ðC (104 ðF) for 4 consecutive days between the 16th and 19th, with the warmest being the 19th at 43.2 ðC (109.8 ðF). December 2015 ended up being the warmest on record with daily maximum temperatures averaging 32.5 ðC (90.5 ðF) and 7 days above 40 ðC (104 ðF). This continues the trend that Adelaide has experienced since the early 2000s of summer heat exceeding maximum temperatures and breaking records. The heatwave in December 2015 marked Adelaide's record of five heatwaves in six years.
In early March, Adelaide endured 9 consecutive days in which the temperature reached above . On 5, 6 and 8 March, the temperature approached maximums of and degrees. Rain during this period increased the humidity level in the city, and flash flooding was recorded in the suburbs, as temperatures dropped back into the high 20s on 9 March.
15 of the first 17 days of March 2016 recorded temperatures above 30 ðC (86 ðF), the second half of the month was quite cooler though.
On 25 December 2016, Adelaide experienced its hottest Christmas Day since 1941. The temperature reached . That following February, temperatures recorded in Adelaide climbed above for 3 consecutive days, with the minimum overnight temperature not dropping below on 9 February. Blackouts across the city complicated the conditions further.
Adelaide recorded its second driest June in recorded history, and the driest in 59 years. Less than 10mm fell in the entire month compared to the average of 71.2mm, with Adelaide city recording only 6mm, the equal lowest monthly rainfall total for any winter month in recorded history. Agricultural regions across South Australia were also affected, experiencing the third driest winter on record.
Summer 2017âÂÂ18 was another hot summer for Adelaide. Beginning on 15 January 2018, the daytime temperature in Adelaide did not drop below with forecasts of temperatures above up until 29 January. Two of these days, 18 January and 19 January, reached temperatures of above , while three days recorded temperatures at or above resulting in a heatwave. The last day of this heatwave, the 28th, reached 41.8 ðC (107.2 ðF) at the Adelaide (West Terrace) observation station and 44.1 ðC (111.4 ðF) at the Adelaide (Kent Town) station, located on the eastern side of the city.
Continuing the above average warmth of 2018, April 2018 was the second warmest of all time, with the average maximum temperature for the whole month being 26.6 ðC (79.9 ðF), well above the usual 22.8 â¢C (73 ðF). The unusual warmth also produced some of the highest April temperatures of all time, including a record equaling 36.9 ðC (98.5 ðF) on the 11th. The 9th and 10th were also exceptionally warm, registering 36.6 ðC (97.9 ðF) and 36.5 ðC (97.7 ðF) respectively.
On 24 January 2019 the official Adelaide weather observation station (West Terrace) reached a new record high temperature of , breaking the previous 1939 record of . As of January 2026, this remains Adelaide's hottest recorded temperature.
January 2019 was also one of the warmest months on record with an average daily maximum temperature of 33 ðC (91.4 ðF).
The first four months of 2019 were exceptionally dry, with only 17.8mm falling in the four months combined. January was completely dry and February had 6.6mm, March had 8mm and April had 3.2mm which is one of the driest of all time. Only 7 of the first 120 days of the year recorded over 1mm of rain with the highest daily total for the four months being 2.8mm on 13 February.
Between 17 and 20 December 2019, the official Adelaide weather observation station (West Terrace) recorded 4 consecutive days above 42 ðC (107.6 ðF). This heatwave also produced the hottest December day and night on record, on the 19th the temperature hit 45.3 ðC (113.6 ðF) at the West Terrace station, the following night the temperature didn't drop below 33.6 ðC (92.5 ðF) making it the 2nd warmest night on record. On the Eastern side of town, the Adelaide (Kent Town) weather station recorded 3 consecutive days of 45 ðC (113 ðF) or more.
In the second half of December 2019 (16th-31st) the average daily maximum was 36.4 ðC (97.5 ðF). This led to the whole month being the third warmest December on record for Adelaide.
On the morning of 5 August 2020 the temperature at the Adelaide (West Terrace) station dropped to 0.8 ðC (33.5 ðF). This reading is the lowest ever in August and the equal 3rd lowest temperature in history at the West Terrace station.
November 2020 was actually the warmest November on record for the Adelaide (West Terrace) observation station, with an average daily maximum of 28.8 ðC (83.9 ðF). The month had 15 days above 30 ðC (86 ðF) and 11 above 33 ðC (91.4 ðF). It also was the warmest month of 2020 for average daily maximums, beating January by 0.1 ðC.
The only other warmer November was in 2009 when the official weather observation station was Adelaide (Kent Town) not West Terrace.
On the night 26 January 2026, Adelaide recorded one of its highest minimums on record, with the temperature at the Adelaide (West Terrace) station dropping to 34.1 ðC (93.4 ðF).