It's official: 2010 was Queensland's wettest year on record, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
In its Annual Climate Summary released today, the Bureau of Meteorology said "exceptional" weather saw the state's average rainfall nearly double that of a normal year.
Queensland also had its wettest spring on record, as well as wettest September and December, while every month from August to December ranked in their respective top 10s.
Climate services manager Jeff Fabburg said if the state had not had such a wet spring it might have been saved from the devastating floods of the past month.
"Having all that rain early, then going into the summer period – and the highest rainfall is traditionally January and February – that's topped up everything to the point where a lot of it is going into run off," he said.
The average annual rainfall across the state was 1109.73 millimetres in 2010, exceeding the previous record of 1103.77 millimetres in 1950. Records began in 1900.
The long term average, taken from 1961-1990, is 623.34 millimetres.
Australia-wide, it was the third wettest year on record, with the mean rainfall total of 690 millimetres well above the long-term average of 465 millimetres.
Some 77 recording stations around the state had record rainfall in 2010.
Some areas of the tropical east coast, between Cooktown and Yeppoon and along the southern Gulf of Carpentaria coast, recorded more than 1200 millimetres of rain above the long-term average.
The wettest place overall in Queensland last year was Bellenden Ker Top Station with more than 12 metres of rain - 12,438.4 millimetres - followed by Babinda Post Office with 6893.6 millimetres.
Temperatures for the year were unusually cool during the day, but unusually warm at night.
The Bureau said extensive cloud cover associated with the high rainfall had a marked effect on moderating temperatures.
The coldest night was at Oakey with -6 degrees on June 28, and the three hottest days were recorded at Birdsville Airport, with the peak at 45.4 degrees on January 24.
Overall, it was Australia's coolest year since 2001, but the mean temperature was still above average at 22 degrees, 0.19 degrees above the 1961 - 1990 average.
It was the eighth-warmest year on record for minimum temperatures.
Mr Fabburg said the La Nina ocean system, the main cause of widespread flooding and heavy rain in 2010, was expected to continue for at least the first quarter of 2011.
But hot, dry weather may return later in the year if an El Nino system takes over.
"What happens after the La Nina ends is the real question," he said.
"Probability wise there is a 40 per cent chance of this La Nina going into an El Nino and a 50 per cent chance of this La Nina going into another La Nina."
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