Brisbane has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot, humid summers and dry, mild winters. From November through March, thunderstorms are common over Brisbane, with the more severe events accompanied by large damaging hail stones, torrential rain and destructive winds.
The city's highest recorded temperature was 43.2 °C (110 °F) on 26 January 1940. On 19 July 2007, Brisbane's temperature fell below the freezing point for the first time since records began, registering -0.1 °C (31.8 °F) at the airport. In 2009 Brisbane recorded its hottest winter day at 35.4 °C (95.7 °F) on August 24.
Brisbane's wettest day was 21 January 1887, when 465 millimetres (18.3 in) of rain fell on the city, the highest maximum daily rainfall of Australia's capital cities.
From 2001 until 2008, Brisbane and surrounding temperate areas had been experiencing the most severe drought in over a century, with dam levels dropping to 16.9% of their capacity on August 10, 2007. Residents were mandated by local laws to observe level 6 water restrictions on gardening and other outdoor water usage. Per capita water usage is below 140 litres per day, giving Brisbane one of the lowest per capita usages of water of any Western city in the world. A reversal of fortune in early 2008 has seen Brisbane's water storage climb to over 98% of maximum capacity.Water restrictions have been replaced with water conservation measures that aim at a target of 200 litres per day/per person, but consumption is rarely over 160 litres.
Dust storms in Brisbane are extremely rare; on 23 September 2009, however, a severe dust storm blanketed Brisbane, as well as other parts of eastern Australia.
Brisbane also lies in the Tropical Cyclone risk area. Although cyclones hitting Brisbane are rare, they have happened in the past. The last cyclone to affect Brisbane but not directly cross the city was T
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