Sydney Climate Summary - NSW Regional Office 

December 2003 Rainfall: The total December rainfall for Sydney was 59.6 mm, which was well below the average December value of 78.1 mm.  However, October and November values were well above average, and this month concludes a much wetter year than 2002. See Map 1.

The highest daily total for December was  21.0 mm recorded in the 24 hrs to 9am on the 5th, and was due to thunderstorms associated with a front and trough system crossing the region.  Rain fell on 9 days in December (2 below average),  5 of these were the period between the 2nd and the 6th inclusive.

December 2003 Temperatures, sunshine:  Temperatures during December were slightly above average.  The hottest day was on the 19th, with a temperature of  36.9°C, and hot northwesterly winds.  The coldest day, on the 7th, recorded a maximum temperature of 19.6°C. The mean daily sunshine  for December is  6.3 hours per day which was well  below the average value of 8.0 for December .

Year 2003 Rainfall: The year 2003 in Sydney saw a return to near  average rainfall. Though the December rainfall total of 59.6mm was well below average, most Metropolitan areas other than Observatory Hill recorded higher totals with the majority of northern and western suburbs receiving over 70mm, much closer to the December average. In addition, 5 months (March, April, May, October and November) during Autumn and Spring recorded totals well above average, pushing the annual total to 1207.6 mm. This is only 13.5 mm below average, and well up on last years total of 860 mm.  Of particular note is the month of May, when 348.6 mm of rain fell, nearly 3 times the average May value of 124.1mm.  The period June to November recorded 402.2mm (75 % of average) as compared to 132 mm (24% of average) last year. Rain fell on 135 days, very close to the average value of 138 days.

Year 2003 Temperatures And Sunshine: The mean temperature recorded for Sydney this year was 18.6°C, 0.9°C above average and only 0.3°C below last years second warmest on record 18.9°C. The average maximum temperature for the year was 22.7°C, down from the previous two year's record values of 23.1°C, but still the fourth highest on record.   The average minimum temperature was 14.6°C, slightly higher than last year. Sydney recorded 108 days with temperatures below 20°C, up on last years record breaking 93, but still well below the average of 145.  The highest temperature for the  year was 39.0°C on the 18th of January, when bushfires were burning throughout NSW and the ACT.  The coldest temperature was 4.9°C recorded on 28th of July. The hours of sunshine average for the year was slightly below average at 7.1

Year 2003 Thunderstorms and Other Phenomena:There were 16 thunderstorms reported at Observatory Hill during 2003. No major damage was reported in the Metropolitan area due to thunderstorms this year.

Further information:
Climate and Consultancy Section, tel: (02) 9296 1555, e-mail: reqnsw@bom.gov.au, website: www.bom.gov.au

Climate summary for Sydney,  December 2003 and Year 2003
 

	December			Year 2003
	2003	Average	2002	2003	Average	2002
Average maximum temperature (°C)	26.0	25.2*	25.4	22.7	21.6*	23.1
Average minimum temperature (°C)	18.9	17.8*	18.0	14.5	13.7*	14.6
Mean temperature (°C)	22.4	21.5*	21.7	18.6	17.7*	18.8
Rain (mm)	59.8	78.2#	75.0	1207.6	1221.0+	860.0
Number of rain days	10	11	10	135	138	119
Average daily sunshine (hours)	6.3	7.9	8.2	7.1	7.2	7.5

* Long-term temperature averages calculated since 1947.
# Median December rainfall is 57.7 mm
+ Median annual rainfall is 1175.2

Map 1.  Metropolitan Monthly Rainfall (mm)
Hold mouse over dots to reveal suburb names

Note: monthly rainfall totals on this map are yet to be quality controlled.   

Table 2.

 *  wind recorded at Fort Denison.