Sydney Climate Summary - NSW Regional Office.

Equal warmest year on record for Sydney

Temperatures:    In 2005 Sydney (Observatory Hill) experienced its equal warmest year since records commenced in 1859.  The annual mean temperature for the year (average of the daily maximum and minimum temperatures) was 19.1°C or 1°C above the historic average*, and the same as 2004. The next warmest year on record was 1988 with an annual mean temperature of 19.0°C. Eight out of the top 10 warmest years have now occurred since 1988. Day-time maximum temperatures for the year were also the equal warmest on record with an average maximum temperature of 23.4°C or 1.3°C above the historic average and the same as 2004. Night-time temperatures were also warmer than average though not a record with an average minimum temperature of 14.8°C, or 0.6°C above the historic average. There were 48 days during the year when the temperature did not drop below 20°C overnight (the historic average is 25 days).

April was particularly out of the ordinary, with Sydney (Observatory Hill) recording its warmest April on record with an average mean temperatureof 20.9°C, or nearly 2°C above the historic average. Also, for the first time in 147 years of record, the average maximum temperature for April (25.1°C) was higher than March (24.3°C).  December was also particularly warm with daytime temperatures being equal highest on record.  The average maximum of 28.6°C was 3.4°C above the historic average and the same as 1990.

The highest temperature recorded during the year in Sydney (Observatory Hill) was 39.0°C on 7 December while the coldest night was 5.1°C on 13 August.  Temperatures in the Greater Sydney Region ranged from 44.3°C at Penrith on 14 January to a low of -4°C at Richmond on 7 August.

Rainfall:  The annual rainfall for Sydney (Observatory Hill) of 816mm was well below the historic annual average of 1219mm and ranked 15th driest in 146 years of record.  It was the driest year since 1980 when 736mm was recorded.  Half the total rainfall was recorded in just 3 months, February, March and November with all other months recording well below average rainfall. The August rainfall of only 1.6mm was the 3rd lowest on record.  One of Sydney's longest dry spells was recorded from 17 July to 31 August with only 1.6mm recorded in the 46 days.  The number of rain days, 114 days, was also well below the historic average of 138 rain days.  The wettest day for 2005 was on 23 March with 73mm recorded and accompanied by gale force winds reaching 100 km/h and 11 metre waves off the coast.  The wettest suburb during the year was Belrose in Sydney's north with a total of 1015mm.  The lowest yearly rainfall total was 604mm at Willmot in Sydney's far west.

Other phenomena:   Plentiful sunshine was recorded in Sydney during the year with an average daily total of 7.7 hours or 0.5 hours longer than the historic average and the sunniest since 1980.  It was the second sunniest year for the relatively short record of 27 years at Sydney Airport.  December 2005 was the sunniest month ever recorded in Sydney averaging 10.4 hours of sunshine per day (records since 1931). The previous sunniest was 10.1 hours in September 1980.  There were 19 thunderstorms reported during the year compared to an average of 23 thunderstorms.  The most severe was on 2 February with heavy rain, strong winds, a possible tornado and 6cm hail reported in some suburbs, causing flash flooding and considerable property damage. There was a noticeable absence of fog this year with only one recorded on 4 June in the CBD area, against an annual average of 8 fogs. Sydney Airport also recorded only one fog (historic average 10) while Prospect Dam in Sydney's west reported 5 fogs (historic average 14).

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

Climate summary for Sydney, Year 2005.

* Long-term temperature averages calculated since last site change in 1947.
# Median annual rainfall is 1169.6mm.

Climate averages for Sydney calculated on whole period of recored (1858-2005) are available, here. 

Use Weather by Fax for updates and other products: 
NSW Directory 1800 061 439
Sydney Monthly Weather Summary 1902 935 225 
NSW Monthly Weather Summary 1902 935 224 
Australian 3-month Climate Outlook 1902 935 251 
NSW Daily Rainfall Bulletin 1902 935 223

Bureau's web site:   www.bom.gov.au