Turbulent year for Queensland reflected in Bureau of Meteorology figures

The annual rainfall was 20 per cent below average for Queensland overall with large areas of inland southeast Queensland reporting their driest year on record.

It comes as Australia recorded its hottest and driest year on record but in Queensland heavy rain in the northern tropics and north west part of the state and the resulting devastating floods helped shape the broader picture.

In April, areas in the Darling Downs and Granite Belt reported rainfall totals in the lowest 10 pc of records and large parts of the Warrego, Maranoa, Darling Downs and Granite Belt reported their driest July to December period on record.

Queensland as a whole had its second-driest December on record.

The state's mean temperature for the year was 1.27 °C above average, and the sixth-warmest on record but a cool snap in May saw Stanthorpe, Applethorpe, Oakey, Warwick and Dalby all report their coldest May temperature on record on 31 May, with Stanthorpe dropping to -6.9 °C, the lowest recorded Queensland temperature for the month.

The year also saw dangerous fire weather conditions in Queensland throughout spring and right into December, with severe blazes continuing to take their toll across the nation.

Bureau of Meteorology head of climate monitoring Dr Karl Braganza said trends showed Australia was getting warmer, the fire season was getting longer and the conditions during the fire season were becoming more extreme.

"When we look at the projections that we do for climate change, certainly Australia should be preparing for those trends to continue," he said.

"The science has been quite clear that we're preparing for an increase in the risk... so an increase in the risk from heat waves and bush fires, from extreme temperatures and also an increase in the risks of drought.

"While the natural drivers such as the changes in the Indian Ocean would normally mean a drier and warmer year, when you add climate change on top, that's when you break the records the way we've seen."

Birdsville was the driest town in Queensland for 2019, with just 40.4mm of rain recorded at Birdsville Airport for the year.

It also recorded the hottest day, hitting 49.3°C on Christmas Eve, falling just shy of the 49.5 C record set in 1972.

But the figures only tell part of the story, with dry flooding that hit the region following the north west rain event reinvigorating pastures.

Diamantina Shire mayor and cattle producer Geoff Morton said his property Roseberth Station was also an official recording station and had just 23mm of rain last year, making it the driest in the state.

The average for Roseberth Station is 152mm.

"Fortunately we had the dry flood and that's given us plenty of ground cover to sustain us through until February," he said.

"February and March are the wettest months of the season so hopefully something might come through then.

"It's not as grim as the figures make out... the dry flood saved us as it did a lot of people along river country."

Mr Morton said he was hoping for a wetter 2020.

"We've had three shocking years of rainfall," he said.

"We had 82mm in 2018 and 42mm in 2017 so in the last three years we haven't even hit one year's average.

"2011 and 2016 are the last two years that it's not been below average."