The Weather at
Guyra NSW
A compilation of present and past weather at Guyra NSW Australia
Guyra is
located on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, elevation 1332 metres
This website has been prepared with information
supplied by Jeff Martin, Observer for Bureau of Meteorology at Guyra
Image: The biggest snowfall - Looking
west along Ollera Street across the snow covered
New England Highway and railway line on 4th July 1984. Image courtesy of Guyra Argus
The town of Guyra is at the top of the range on the
Northern Tablelands of New South Wales with the Great Divide running right
through the town itself. The Bureau of Meteorology weather station is located
in the grounds of the Guyra Hospital at an elevation of 1332 metres. This
station has been in operation since August 1981.
Prior to this the post office operated a weather station from 1911 to 1972 with
a number of gaps. Rainfall has been recorded for a longer period starting in
1886 at the post office.
Readings were taken twice daily at the hospital at 9am and 3pm until 1st August
2015 when it was reduced to 9am only.
RAINFALL CHART for your farm/home rainfall
recordings. PDF format - printable.
Current Weather Conditions
Present
temperature, humidity, wind and rainfall in Guyra here.
Note: This is a privately owned weather station in North Guyra. Data recorded
here varies slightly from the official station at the Guyra Hospital.
Conditions are updated every few minutes through the Weather Underground
website. If temperatures are displayed in Farenheit, go to the settings icon in
the top right corner of the screen and set to degrees C.
Recent Weather
Last three 9am observations from the Bureau weather
station at the Guyra Hospital here.
Monthly Data Files
Daily data for this month and the previous 12 months here.
Climate Averages
Climate averages and extremes for Guyra Post Office here.
This set of statistics uses rainfall data from 1886, but temperature
data is limited to the period 1911 to 1956 with a few missing years, and 1965
to 1972.
Climate averages and extremes for Guyra Hospital here.
This set of statistics uses rainfall and temperature data from 1981 which means
the rainfall averages are not reliable for such a relatively short period. It
is recommended that rainfall averages from the post office site be used for
greater accuracy.
About Guyra’s Weather
Guyra is the highest town on the Northern Tablelands and as such records the
lowest day time temperatures in the region. Overnight temperatures however,
particularly in the winter months, are frequently higher than nearby Armidale
and Glen Innes. This is because Guyra is at the top of an exposed plateau where
the wind may blow all night, whereas Armidale and Glen Innes are in protected
valleys where cold air drainage and temperature inversions are common events
allowing overnight temperatures to drop to lower levels.
If you want to see snow on the Northern Tablelands, Guyra is the place to be
with an average of five snowfalls per year. Most years Guyra manages at least
one good snowfall with snow several centimetres deep on the ground, easily
enough to build a good sized snow person! During such events the New England
Highway is often closed to the north and south of the town for a few hours
or maybe a full day.
Guyra's climate can be summed up as mild to warm in summer and cold in winter.
Temperature
extremes:
Highest maximum: 37.8C on 15th January 1939
Lowest maximum: -0.3C on 3rd July 1984
during heavy snowfalls
Lowest minimum: -7.8C on 26th June 1971
Guyra Weather News 2025
AUGUST SUMMARY (Long term
average in brackets)
Rainfall: 86.0 mm (53 mm) on 8 days
Average maximum temp: 11.7C (12.1C)
Average minimum temp: 1.4C (1.2C)
Highest: 18.5C on the 26th
Lowest maximum temp: 0.6C on the 2nd
Lowest: -4.3C on the 18th
Frosts: 16 (18)
Sunny days: 11 (18)
Days with thunder: 1 (1)
Days with snow: 1 (0.9)
Complete August
2025 data table (PDF
printable)
NORTHERN TABLELANDS HEAVY SNOWFALLS - 2nd August - Snow
fell over a wide area of the Northern Tablelands during the day. In Guyra the
snow started in the early hours and continued throughout the day, finally
stopping at around 5.30pm. The snow was at its heaviest from around 10am to 12
noon. By late afternoon snow covered the ground to a depth of about 30 cms. The
snow extended south to Walcha and the Moonbi Range, east along the Snowy Range
to Ebor, and north to Glen Innes and across the border to the Granite Belt
where there were light falls in the Stanthorpe area, and also west to Bundarra
and the Narrabri area. The New England Highway was closed north and south of
Guyra due to snow and fallen trees, and also the road east to Ebor. Many areas
also experienced loss of electricity for extended periods due to fallen trees
across power lines.
On 3rd August snow remained on the ground in Guyra before melting later in the
day.
The snowfalls were the result of upper level cold air over northern New South
Wales combined with moisture from the east along a surface low pressure trough
associated with an intense low pressure system off the New South Wales North
Coast.
This was estimated to be Guyra’s heaviest snowfalls since the big snow event on
3rd-4th July 1984.
Temperatures stayed around or below freezing for most of the 2nd, with the
maximum from 5am to midnight being 0.8C at 6.45am.
PHOTOGRAPHS NEEDED OF THIS EVENT - I need several good
photos of snow in Guyra from this event to add to these webpages with a credit
to yourself of course. Please email images to me here: enquiries@weatherarmidale.com
JULY SNOWFALL - 2nd July - Light
snowfalls occurred in the early hours of the morning, settling on the ground to
a depth of around 2 cms. The snow remained on the ground until around 11am when
it melted. Strong winds, cloud and drizzle persisted throughout the day with
the temperature reaching a maximum of 6.1C, although the winds made it feel
much colder. The snowfalls were produced by low surface temperatures and
showers being driven inland by an intense low pressure system off the New South
Wales Hunter coast.
COLD OUTBREAK AND SNOW - 9th June - Very cold, windy and showery
conditions affected the Northern Tablelands with light snowfalls in the higher
areas including Black Mountain, Guyra and Ben Lomond. In Guyra the heaviest
snow occurred in the morning around 10am with lighter intermittent falls during
the rest of the day. Due to the temperature not being quite low enough, and the
wet ground, the snow mostly did not settle. The snowy conditions were the
result of very cold south-westerly winds following a front and low pressure
trough combined with upper level cold air. After a minimum temperature of 0.7C,
the maximum for the day was only 4.9C, although the strong westerly winds made
it feel much colder. This temperature was the lowest June maximum for four
years.
ZERO FROSTS IN MAY CREATES NEW RECORD - Up to the end of May 2025
Guyra remained frost-free for the year. This created a new record for the month
of May with the previous lowest being one frost in May 1983 and also in 1991
(from 47 years of frost records). In Guyra the frost season usually starts in
late April or early May. The lack of frosts was the result of an unusually high
number of low pressure troughs affecting northern New South Wales during 2025
with cloudy conditions persisting during nights preventing the usual overnight
radiation cooling of temperatures to frost levels.
These cloudy nights also resulted in the May overnight minimum temperatures at
their highest levels on record. The average minimum for May 2025 was 6.9C. The
long term average is 3.8C (from 92 years of records). The previous highest was
6.7C in May 1989.
Guyra Weather News 2024
2024 MONTHLY STATISTICS TABLE here.
2024 - SECOND WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD - 2024 was
Australia’s second warmest year on record, and it was also Guyra’s second
warmest on record (from 86 complete years of data commencing in 1911) with the
mean temperature for the year exceeding the long term average by 1.26C.
Temperatures were above average in all months except July. The warmest year on
record was the drought year of 2019 with the mean temperature exceeding the
long term average by 1.50C.
See 2024 Yearly Statistics Table.
2024 RAINFALL: 826.6 mm, 51
mm lower than the average.
WARMEST AUGUST FOR 15 YEARS - RECORDS
BROKEN - Guyra, along with other regions in New South Wales,
experienced unseasonably warm conditions in the second half of August with
temperatures reaching 18.0C or higher on 9 days with the highest of 22.0C on
the 30th being the warmest for August for 15 years.
The unusually warm end to winter was caused by a number of low pressure troughs
and fast moving fronts bringing warm air into New South Wales from central
Australia.
The following new August records were created during August 2024:
Average maximum temperature 15.5C -
highest since 2009 when it was 16.2C
Average minimum 4.8C - highest on
record from 91 years of records
Daily maximum temperature of 22.0C on
the 30th - highest since 24th August 2009 when it was 25.2C
Daily minimum temperature (warmest
night) of 14.1C on the 31st - highest on record from 50 years of records.
Previous highest 12.6C on 25th August 2009
JULY SNOWFALLS - 15th-17th July - A deep low pressure system near
Tasmania directed cold air from the Southern Ocean into New South Wales from
the 15th to the 17th. Upper level cold air combined with this system to produce
very low temperatures and snowfalls over the Central Tablelands, Barrington
Tops and Northern Tablelands, with some light snow also falling in southern
Queensland.
In Guyra light snow fell in the early morning of the 15th with some settling on
the ground. On the 16th intermittent snow, moderate to heavy at times, and sago
snow (ice pellets) fell throughout the day with little or no settling. On the
17th intermittent small snowflakes fell throughout the day with no settling.
Minimum/Maximum temperatures: 15th: 1.0C/6.1C, 16th: -0.8C/4.6C, 17th:
0.9C/3.8C.
Strong winds on the 16th caused wind chill temperatures to drop as low as -6C
during the morning.
The maximum of 3.8C on the 17th was the lowest (coldest day) in Guyra since
10th June 2021 (2.5C).
HAIL AND SNOW - 18th May - A surface low
pressure trough combined with an upper level disturbance generated clusters of
thunderstorms over north-east New South Wales during the afternoon. Storms
passed over Guyra between 3 and 4pm with rain and hail which whitened the
ground. After the storms the temperature dropped to 1.5C with brief flurries of
snow which did not settle.
WETTEST APRIL FOR 21 YEARS - With
a total of 135 mm, 84 mm higher than the average, it was the wettest April
since 2003 which recorded 136 mm. The unusually high rainfall was caused by
numerous low pressure troughs developing over inland northern New South Wales
during the month.
Guyra Weather News Archive
Weather news from previous years here.
Yearly Statistics Tables
1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987
1988
1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Graph: CLIMATE CHANGE AT GUYRA -
Average yearly temperatures
since 1982. The dotted line is the 10 year average.
Snow Dates
Dates on which it has snowed in Guyra since 1982, including light
non-settling falls.
Annual average 4.6 snow days.
1982: 5 days:
21/6, 22/6, 19/7,
20/7, 30/9
1983: 5 days: 27/6,
8/7, 1/8, 28/8,
6/10
1984: 8 days: 29/6,
30/6, 3/7, 4/7,
5/7, 11/8, 12/8,
19/9
1985: 9 days: 20/5,
21/5, 5/6, 6/6,
21/6, 19/7, 8/8,
2/9, 3/9
1986: 3 days: 23/6,
9/7, 6/8
1987: 3 days: 28/5,
23/7, 1/9
1988: 2 days: 8/8,
20/9
1989: 11 days: 10/6,
11/6, 21/6, 22/6,
24/6, 17/7, 18/7,
23/7, 24/7, 8/8,
26/9
1990: 8 days: 28/6,
2/7, 3/7, 3/8, 10/8,
23/8, 26/8, 22/10
1991: 6 days: 13/6,
10/7, 11/7, 14/7,
24/8, 12/9
1992: 10 days: 11/6,
24/6, 25/6, 26/6,
10/7, 20/7, 8/8,
13/8, 16/9, 29/9
1993: 1 day: 4/8
1994: 8 days: 13/4,
28/6, 30/7, 31/7,
21/8, 21/9, 27/9,
8/10
1995: 4 days: 17/6,
21/6, 19/7, 28/7
1996: 8 days: 12/7,
13/7, 14/7, 15/7,
21/7, 30/7, 19/8,
3/9
1997: 0 days
1998: 5 days: 23/6,
30/6, 29/7, 30/7,
31/7
1999: 3 days: 16/6,
14/8, 15/8
2000: 10 days: 28/5,
29/5, 30/5, 31/5,
1/6, 30/6, 27/7,
28/7, 24/8, 25/8
2001: 4 days: 7/7,
8/7, 26/8, 27/8
2002: 0 days
2003: 2 days: 24/7,
26/7
2004: 6 days: 20/6,
8/7, 17/7, 18/7,
5/8, 18/8
2005: 4 days: 22/6,
23/6, 10/7, 17/9
2006: 3 days: 4/8,
7/9, 16/11
2007: 9 days: 8/6,
9/6, 19/6, 20/6,
27/6, 28/6, 8/7,
9/7, 10/7
2008: 9 days: 17/5,
18/5, 9/7, 27/7, 28/7, 5/8, 6/8, 23/8, 22/10
2009: 2 days: 10/6,
15/7
2010: 5 days: 3/7,
2/8, 12/8, 26/8,
16/10
2011: 5 days: 19/7,
9/8, 18/8, 10/9,
1/10
2012: 4 days: 5/6,
28/7, 1/8, 12/10
2013: 1 day: 25/6
2014: 5 days: 3/5,
4/5, 30/6, 18/7,
3/9
2015: 6 days: 5/6,
12/7, 13/7, 16/7,
17/7, 6/8
2016: 4 days: 24/6,
27/6, 5/7, 6/7
2017: 0 days
2018: 2 days: 18/6,
7/7
2019: 4 days: 4/6,
10/8, 11/8, 9/9
2020: 4 days: 2/6,
22/6, 13/7, 9/8
2021: 9 days: 9/6,
10/6, 11/6, 20/7,
21/7, 24/8, 25/8,
14/9, 21/9
2022: 2 days: 13/7,
23/8
2023: 0 days
2024: 4 days: 18/5,
15/7, 16/7, 17/7
2025: 3 days: 9/6,
2/7, 2/8
Details of Guyra Snowfalls
since 2006
Gallery of Northern
Tablelands snow photographs 1984 to 2015
The January 1939 Heatwave
During the middle of January 1939 a severe heatwave affected south-east
Australia with record high temperatures recorded in Sydney, Melbourne and
Adelaide as well as a number of towns in northern New South Wales.
The following maximum temperatures were recorded in Guyra:
January 10th: 33.9C, 11th: 34.4C, 12th: 33.9C,
13th: 35.0C, 14th: 35.6C, 15th:
37.8C, 16th: 35.6C, 17th: 33.3C.
The maximum of 37.8C on the 15th is the highest on record for Guyra.
On the same day nearby Armidale also recorded its highest temperature on record
of 39.7C.
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