The Wacky World of Weather Stations by State

Here are 328 Australian weather stations that are not compliant with Bureau of Meteorology specifications for siting.

Site compliance is important because temperature data from these stations is liberally reported in the media especially if hot or cold records are set. They also contribute to AWAP (the Australian Water Availability Project) and ADAM which produce maps of present and past temperatures. As well, data from these stations is used to homogenise data at stations in Australia’s ACORN-SAT network, which are used for showing trends since 1910. Finally, this data is exported to be used by international databases (GISS, CruTem4) for regional and global climate analysis. If the data is affected by site specific factors, e.g being too close to a road, this may affect the quality of the analysis.

I am agnostic as to the overall effect of these poorly sited stations. Maxima at some sites may be artificially low, or minima may be artificially high, and this may vary with seasons and rainfall. Analysis and comparison of temperatures will come later. My focus here is to show the large number of modern stations whose data may be unreliable.

The quality of these non-compliant stations varies. While some are truly horrendous, others are not nearly as bad, but all fail on one or more specifications.

Find your favourite station, click on it, and the link will take you to my assessment of its siting quality. Use the back arrow to return here.

South Australia	Victoria
Adelaide (SA)	Aireys Inlet (Vic)
Andamooka (SA)	Ararat (Vic)
Arkaroola (SA)	Avalon (Vic)
Cape Borda (SA)	Bairnsdale (Vic)
Cape Willoughby (SA)	Ben Nevis (Vic)
Cleve (SA)	Cape Nelson (Vic)
Cleve Airport (SA)	Cape Otway (Vic)
Cummins Airport (SA)	Castlemaine (Vic)
Edinburgh (SA)	Coldstream (Vic)
Edithburgh (SA)	Dartmouth (Vic)
Elliston (SA)	Echuca Airport (Vic)
Eudunda (SA)	Falls Creek (Vic)
Kadina (SA)	Ferny Creek (Vic)
Karoonda (SA)	Horsham (Vic)
Keith (SA)	Kerang (Vic)
Kimba (SA)	Lake Eildon (Vic)
Kingscote (SA)	Lakes Entrance (Vic)
Kuitpo (SA)	Latrobe Valley  (Vic)
Kyancutta (SA)	Longerenong (Vic)
Lameroo (SA)	Maryborough (Vic)
Loxton (SA)	Melbourne (Vic)
Maitland (SA)	Mildura (Vic)
Marree (SA)	Moorabbin (Vic)
Meningie (SA)	Mount Nowa Nowa (Vic)
Minlaton Aero (SA)	Mount William (Vic)
Minnipa (SA)	Omeo (Vic)
Mount Barker (SA)	Point Hicks (Vic)
Mount Lofty (SA)	Redesdale (Vic)
Murray Bridge (SA)	Rutherglen (Vic)
Naracoorte (SA)	Scoresby (Vic)
Nullarbor (SA)	Tatura (Vic)
Nuriootpa (SA)	Viewbank (Vic)
Padthaway (SA)	Walpeup (Vic)
Pallamana (SA)
Price (SA)	Wangaratta (Vic)
Robe (SA)	Warracknabeal (Vic)
Roseworthy (SA)	Warragul (Vic)
Snowtown (SA)	Warrnambool (Vic)
Streaky Bay (SA)	Westmere (Vic)
Warooka (SA)	Wilsons Promontory (Vic)
Whyalla (SA)	Wonthaggi (Vic)
Woomera (SA)
Yongala (SA)	Tasmania
	Bushy Park (Tas)
Northern Territory	Cape Bruny (Tas)
Black Point (NT)	Cape Bruny AWS (Tas)
Centre Island  (NT)	Cressy (Tas)
Charles Point (NT)	Dover (Tas)
Curtin Springs (NT)	Flinders Island Airport (Tas)
Jabiru (NT)	Friendly Beaches (Tas)
Kangaroo Flats (NT)	Hartz Mountain (Tas)
Kintore (NT)	Hobart (Tas)
Kulgera (NT)	Lake Leake (Tas)
Lajamanu Airport (NT)	Larapuna (Eddystone Pt) (Tas)
Murganella Airstrip (NT)	Launceston (Tas)
Pirlangimpi (NT)	Marrawah (Tas)
Point Fawcett (NT)	Maydena (Tas)
Point Stuart (NT)	Orford (Tas)
Territory Grape Farm (NT)	Ouse (Tas)
Yulara Airport (NT)	Scotts Peak (Tas)
	Strahan (Tas)
	Warra (Tas)
	Wynyard (Tas)
West Australia	New South Wales
Albany (WA)	Albury (NSW)
Albany Airport (WA)	Balranald (NSW)
Argyle (WA)	Bankstown (NSW)
Badgingarra (WA)	Barraba (NSW)
Barimunya (WA)	Bathurst Airport (NSW)
Beverley (WA)	Bombala (NSW)
Bickley (WA)	Bombala AWS (NSW)
Bidyadanga (WA)	Brewarrina (NSW)
Bridgetown (WA)	Burrinjuck Dam (NSW)
Busselton (WA)	Cape Byron (NSW)
Cape Leeuwin (WA)	Cobar Airport (NSW)
Cape Naturaliste (WA)	Coffs Harbour (NSW)
Carnamah (WA)	Collarenebri (NSW)
Carnegie (WA)	Coonabarabran (NSW)
Collie East (WA)	Coonabarabran Airport (NSW)
Corrigin (WA)	Cowra (NSW)
Cunderdin (WA)	Deniliquin (NSW)
Cygnet Bay (WA)	Dunedoo (NSW)
Dalwallinu (WA)	Forster (NSW)
Denham (WA)	Grafton Airport (NSW)
Donnybrook (WA)	Green Cape (NSW)
Eyre (WA)	Grafton AgRS (NSW)
Geraldton Airport (WA)	Griffith (NSW)
Giles (WA)	Gulgong (NSW)
Goomalling (WA)	Gundagai (NSW)
Gosnells City (WA)	Guyra (NSW)
Halls Ck (WA)	Hillston (NSW)
Hopetoun North (WA)	Holsworthy (Defence) (NSW)
Hyden (WA)	Katoomba (NSW)
Jacup (WA)	Lake Cargelligo (NSW)
Jarrahwood (WA)	Lake Victoria (NSW)
Jurien Bay (WA)	Lightning Ridge (NSW)
Kalbarri (WA)	Lismore Airport (NSW)
Kalumburu (WA)	Mangrove Mountain (NSW)
Karijini North (WA)	Menindee (NSW)
Karratha (WA)	Merimbula (NSW)
Kellerberrin (WA)	Montague Island (NSW)
Lake Grace (WA)	Moruya Heads (NSW)
Lancelin (WA)	Mount Seaview (NSW)
Leinster (WA)	Mungindi  (NSW)
Mandora (WA)	Murrurundi (NSW)
Mandurah (WA)	Murwillumbah (NSW)
Manjimup (WA)	Narooma (NSW)
Marble Bar (WA)	Nelson Bay (NSW)
Merredin (WA)	Newcastle (NSW)
Millendon (WA)	Newcastle Univ. (NSW)
Morawa (WA)	Norah Head (NSW)
Mount Elizabeth (WA)	Nyngan (NSW)
Mount Barker (WA)	Parkes (NSW)
Mullewa (WA)	Peak Hill (NSW)
Munglinup West (WA)	Penrith (NSW)
Murchison (WA)	Perisher Valley (NSW)
Narembeen (WA)	Pindari Dam (NSW)
Narrogin (WA)	Pooncarrie (NSW)
Newman Aero (WA)	Point Perpendicular (NSW)
Northam (WA)	Quirindi (NSW)
Ongerup (WA)	Scone (NSW)
Pemberton (WA)	Singleton (NSW)
Perth Metro (WA)	Smoky Cape (NSW)
Pingelly (WA)	Springwood (NSW)
Ravensthorpe (WA)	Sydney  (NSW)
Red Rocks Point (WA)	Sydney Airport (NSW)
Salmon Gums RS (WA)	Taralga  (NSW)
Shark Bay Airport (WA)	Tenterfield (NSW)
Southern Cross (WA)	Thredbo Village (NSW)
Swanbourne (WA)	Tocumwal (NSW)
Telfer (WA)	Tumbarumba (NSW)
Wagin (WA)	Ulladulla (NSW)
Warmun (WA)	Wanaaring (NSW)
Wiluna (WA)	Wellington (NSW)
Witchcliffe (WA)	Wilcannia Airport (NSW)
Wongan Hills (WA)	Yamba (NSW)
York (WA)	Yanco (NSW)
Wandering (WA)
Queensland
Alva Beach (Qld)	Low Isles (Qld)
Applethorpe (Qld)	Lucinda (Qld)
Ayr DPI (Qld)	Mackay MO (Qld)
Barcaldine (Qld)	Mareeba (Qld)
Beaudesert (Qld)	Miles (Qld)
Bedourie (Qld)	Mitchell (Qld)
Bollon (Qld)	Mornington Is Airport (Qld)
Cape Flattery (Qld)	Mount Isa  (Qld)
Cape Moreton (Qld)	Mount Stuart Defence (Qld)
Camooweal (Qld)	Point Lookout (Qld)
Cardwell (Qld)	Rainbow Beach (Qld)
Century Mine (Qld)	Redcliffe(Qld)
Charters Towers (Qld)	Richmond (Qld)
Coconut Island (Qld)	Rockhampton (Qld)
Collinsville (Qld)	Rolleston (Qld)
Cunnamulla (Qld)	Rundle Island (Qld)
Double Island Point (Qld)	Sandy Cape (Qld)
Emerald (Qld)	Seventeen Seventy (Qld)
Gladstone Airport (Qld)	Springsure (Qld)
Gladstone Radar (Qld)	Stanthorpe (Qld)
Gold Coast Seaway (Qld)	South Johnstone (Qld)
Greenbank (Qld)	Sunshine Coast Airport (Qld)
Gympie (Qld)	Surat (Qld)
Hervey Bay (Qld)	Tambo (Qld)
Ingham (Qld)	Taroom (Qld)
Injune (Qld)	Tewantin RSL Park (Qld)
Innisfail (Qld)	Texas (Qld)
Innisfail Aero (Qld)	Tin Can Bay (Qld)
Kowanyama Airport (QLD)	Townsville (Qld)
Lady Elliott Island (Qld)	Woolshed (Qld)
Logan City (Qld)	Yeppoon (Qld)
Longreach (Qld)

Tags: Acorn, adjustments, Australia, bom, temperature, weather