Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Newcastle Airport Australia

At Newcastle Airport, the summers are warm and humid, the winters are short and cold, and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 45°F to 82°F and is rarely below 39°F or above 93°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Newcastle Airport for warm-weather activities is from late November to late March.

The warm season lasts for 3.6 months, from November 26 to March 15, with an average daily high temperature above 78°F. The hottest month of the year at Newcastle Airport is January, with an average high of 82°F and low of 65°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.8 months, from May 27 to August 20, with an average daily high temperature below 66°F. The coldest month of the year at Newcastle Airport is July, with an average low of 45°F and high of 62°F.

At Newcastle Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Newcastle Airport begins around June 29 and lasts for 3.5 months, ending around October 12.

The clearest month of the year at Newcastle Airport is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 79% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 12 and lasts for 8.6 months, ending around June 29.

The cloudiest month of the year at Newcastle Airport is November, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 37% 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 at Newcastle Airport varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 8.0 months, from October 21 to June 20, with a greater than 24% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Newcastle Airport is February, with an average of 8.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.0 months, from June 20 to October 21. The month with the fewest wet days at Newcastle Airport is September, with an average of 5.6 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 at Newcastle Airport is February, with an average of 8.6 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 32% on January 30.

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. Newcastle Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year at Newcastle Airport. The month with the most rain at Newcastle Airport is February, with an average rainfall of 4.2 inches.

The month with the least rain at Newcastle Airport is August, with an average rainfall of 1.8 inches.

The length of the day at Newcastle Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 21, with 9 hours, 59 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 14 hours, 19 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:24 AM on October 5, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 43 minutes later at 7:07 AM on April 6. The earliest sunset is at 4:52 PM on June 11, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 12 minutes later at 8:04 PM on January 9.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Newcastle Airport 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.

Newcastle Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from November 21 to April 3, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 12% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Newcastle Airport is February, with 12.2 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days at Newcastle Airport is August, 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 at Newcastle Airport experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from May 30 to September 20, with average wind speeds of more than 7.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Newcastle Airport is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.3 months, from September 20 to May 30. The calmest month of the year at Newcastle Airport is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.5 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Newcastle Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 1.1 months, from April 5 to May 8, with a peak percentage of 34% on April 20. The wind is most often from the west for 4.8 months, from May 8 to October 1, with a peak percentage of 53% on July 2. The wind is most often from the east for 5.6 months, from October 18 to April 5, with a peak percentage of 43% on January 1.

Newcastle Airport 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 3.6 months, from December 31 to April 16, with an average temperature above 72°F. The month of the year at Newcastle Airport with the warmest water is February, with an average temperature of 74°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.8 months, from June 25 to October 19, with an average temperature below 67°F. The month of the year at Newcastle Airport with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 65°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Newcastle Airport 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 Newcastle Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from late November to late March, with a peak score in the last week of December.

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 Newcastle Airport for hot-weather activities is from early January to late February, with a peak score in the last 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).

Temperatures at Newcastle Airport are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

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.

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 extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from November 3 to February 14, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Newcastle Airport is December, with an average of 7.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from April 30 to August 7, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.7 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Newcastle Airport is June, with an average of 2.7 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Newcastle Airport are -32.796 deg latitude, 151.834 deg longitude, and 26 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Newcastle Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 161 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 31 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (591 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (4,229 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Newcastle Airport is covered by trees (95%), within 10 miles by trees (51%) and water (28%), and within 50 miles by trees (49%) and water (41%).