Christmas Weather Forecast: Here’s What the Experts Are Predicting

I regret to inform you that Christmas is just over a month away. No matter how you’re choosing to spend the Christmas season this year, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on the weather, particularly if you’re planning an outdoor gathering.

Christmas and Boxing Day weather can be hit or miss in Australia. Some years, we’ll get bloody hot summer’s days, and others, we’re kept indoors by loads of rain. With our old friend El Niño back this year, signs point to it being another boiling-hot summer.

Here’s how the holiday weather for 2023 is looking.

Christmas Day long-range weather predictions

We’re still a month out from Christmas, but we’ve got some up-to-date long-range forecasts from the bomb of all weather sources, the Bureau of Meteorology.

The climate outlook for November through January indicates that rainfall will likely be below average across southern, western and northern Australia, particularly Queensland. Good news for those planning a beach trip!

The forecast also predicts that both maximum and minimum temperatures will be higher for most of Australia. Unfortunately, the positive Indian Ocean Dipole and El Nino are impacting the weather to the point that the BOM expects temperatures to be 2.5 times more likely than normal to be unusually high (i.e. in the top 20 per cent of the climatological record).

So, basically, expect a very hot and dry Christmas season.

Australian capital city Christmas weather forecast

We have some more specific weather predictions from AccuWeather, but bear in mind these will likely change over the coming weeks.

Sydney Christmas weather

Christmas Eve:

• Temperature: 18-24°C
• Weather: Rain

Christmas Day: 

• Temperature: 18-28°C
• Weather: Partly cloudy

Boxing Day:

• Temperature: 18-28°C
• Weather: Mostly Sunny

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Brisbane weather

Christmas Eve:

• Temperature: 24-30°C
• Weather: Partly cloudy

Christmas Day:

• Temperature: 23-31°C
• Weather: Mostly Sunny

Boxing Day:

• Temperature: 23-31°C
• Weather: Mostly Sunny

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Melbourne Christmas weather

Christmas Eve:

• Temperature: 13-22°C
• Weather: Scattered cloud

Christmas Day:

• Temperature: 12-24°C
• Weather: Mostly Sunny

Boxing Day:

• Temperature: 13-24°C
• Weather: Scattered cloud

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Darwin weather

Christmas Eve:

• Temperature: 24-32°C
• Weather: Thunderstorms

Christmas Day:

• Temperature: 24-35°C
• Weather: Sunny, possible storms

Boxing Day:

• Temperature: 25-35°C
• Weather: Partly cloudy

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Adelaide Christmas weather

Christmas Eve:

• Temperature: 14-24°C
• Weather: Mostly Sunny

Christmas Day:

• Temperature: 14-26°C
• Weather: Mostly Sunny
  

Boxing Day:

• Temperature: 14-25°C
• Weather: Scattere cloud

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Hobart Christmas weather

Christmas Eve:

• Temperature: 11-18°C
• Weather: Cloudy

Christmas Day:

• Temperature: 11-20°C
• Weather: Rain
  

Boxing Day:

• Temperature: 11-19°C
• Weather: Rain

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Canberra weather

Christmas Eve:

• Temperature: 9-23°C
• Weather: Scattered cloud

Christmas Day:

• Temperature: 11-29°C
• Weather: Mostly Sunny

Boxing Day:

• Temperature: 9-29°C
• Weather: Mostly Sunny

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Perth Christmas weather

Christmas Eve:

• Temperature: 18-29°C
• Weather: Sunny

Christmas Day:

• Temperature: 18-29°C
• Weather: Mostly Sunny

Boxing Day:

• Temperature: 17-30°C
• Weather: Sunny

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Stay tuned to this article because we’ll be updating it regularly with the latest forecast in the lead-up to Christmas this year.

This article has been updated since its original publication date.

Lead Image Credit: iStock/Canva