Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Dorrigo Australia

In Dorrigo, the summers are comfortable, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are short, cold, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 35°F to 76°F and is rarely below 27°F or above 83°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Dorrigo for warm-weather activities is from mid December to late February.

The warm season lasts for 3.7 months, from November 20 to March 12, with an average daily high temperature above 72°F. The hottest month of the year in Dorrigo is January, with an average high of 75°F and low of 57°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.9 months, from May 25 to August 20, with an average daily high temperature below 60°F. The coldest month of the year in Dorrigo is July, with an average low of 35°F and high of 57°F.

In Dorrigo, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Dorrigo begins around June 27 and lasts for 3.6 months, ending around October 13.

The clearest month of the year in Dorrigo is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 82% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 13 and lasts for 8.4 months, ending around June 27.

The cloudiest month of the year in Dorrigo is November, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 36% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Dorrigo varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.6 months, from October 21 to May 9, with a greater than 27% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Dorrigo is February, with an average of 12.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.4 months, from May 9 to October 21. The month with the fewest wet days in Dorrigo is July, with an average of 3.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Dorrigo is February, with an average of 12.1 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 43% on February 19.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Dorrigo experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Dorrigo. The month with the most rain in Dorrigo is February, with an average rainfall of 6.4 inches.

The month with the least rain in Dorrigo is July, with an average rainfall of 1.5 inches.

The length of the day in Dorrigo varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 21, with 10 hours, 11 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 7 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:22 AM on October 5, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 40 minutes later at 7:02 AM on April 6. The earliest sunset is at 4:55 PM on June 10, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 0 minutes later at 7:55 PM on January 10.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Dorrigo during 2024, starting in the spring on October 6 and ending in the fall on April 7.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Dorrigo experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from December 10 to March 18, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 5% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Dorrigo is January, with 5.3 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Dorrigo is June, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Dorrigo does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 0.3 miles per hour of 4.6 miles per hour throughout.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Dorrigo varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 2.9 months, from June 10 to September 8, with a peak percentage of 43% on July 3. The wind is most often from the north for 3.5 months, from September 8 to December 23, with a peak percentage of 40% on December 3. The wind is most often from the east for 3.1 months, from December 23 to March 26, with a peak percentage of 39% on January 1.

Dorrigo is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.3 months, from January 3 to April 11, with an average temperature above 76°F. The month of the year in Dorrigo with the warmest water is February, with an average temperature of 78°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.6 months, from June 26 to October 14, with an average temperature below 70°F. The month of the year in Dorrigo with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 68°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Dorrigo throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Dorrigo for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid December to late February, with a peak score in the third week of January.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Dorrigo for hot-weather activities is from early January to early February, with a peak score in the third week of January.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Dorrigo typically lasts for 8.4 months (256 days), from around September 10 to around May 23, rarely starting before August 14 or after October 9, and rarely ending before April 27 or after June 19.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Dorrigo should appear around August 20, only rarely appearing before August 11 or after August 30.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from October 28 to February 15, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.6 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Dorrigo is December, with an average of 7.4 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from May 1 to August 1, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Dorrigo is June, with an average of 3.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Dorrigo are -30.341 deg latitude, 152.714 deg longitude, and 2,480 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Dorrigo contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 748 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,433 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (3,839 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (5,226 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Dorrigo is covered by cropland (50%) and trees (45%), within 10 miles by trees (83%) and cropland (16%), and within 50 miles by trees (71%) and water (20%).