Victoria Weather & Climate

Victoria's weather and climate is renowned for being as diverse as the state itself. The state's varied climate ranges from hot and semi-arid in the northwest to cooler, temperate weather along the coast. The Great Dividing Range, the main land feature of Victoria, also produces a cooler climate in the mountains at the centre of the state.

As the southernmost state of Australia's mainland, Victoria's weather is often wetter and cooler than Australia's other mainland territories and states. Located in the southern hemisphere, Australia's seasons are opposite to those of the northern hemisphere meaning Victoria enjoys summer from December to February, autumn from March to May, winter from June to August and spring from September to November.

Victoria is home to three separate climate zones including alpine which is cold, southern coastal which tends to be cooler and northern/western which is generally a little warmer. Melbourne, the state's capital and main city is particularly renowned for its unpredictable weather however the climate is generally warm in summer, mild in autumn, crisp in winter and pleasant in spring.

The varied climate of Victoria sees much of the state warming up from December to February and cooling down from March to May before getting really chilly from June to August and then warming up again from September to November. At the height of summer, the state can reach temperatures in the high 30's while the middle of winter can see temperatures drop to a rather chilly zero degrees.

January and February are Victoria's hottest months while July is the coldest. Melbourne also heats up in January and February with dry conditions and cool afternoon breezes from Port Phillip Bay. October is also the wettest month with Melbourne's average annual rainfall coming in at approximately 600mm.