Wednesday, 3 January 2007 - Annual Climate Summary for New South Wales - Product code IDCKGC35R0

New South Wales in 2006
El Niño brings an exceptionally hot and very dry year

Main Points:

• Ninth driest year since statewide average records began in 1900
• Third driest year on record for the Murray Darling Basin (MDB)
• Fifth warmest year on record for statewide averaged mean temperatures
• Second warmest day-time temperatures the state has recorded (behind the El Niño year 2002)
• 2006 is a record tenth consecutive year with above average maximum temperatures for the state
• 2006 is a record tenth consecutive year of above average statewide minimum temperatures
• The diurnal temperature range experienced this year was the sixth highest on record across the state and seventh highest for the MDB

The Bureau of Meteorology expects to issue a climate summary for New South Wales covering December 2006 on the afternoon of Wednesday 3 January 2007.

The latest New South Wales annual climate summary contains much more detail on the weather across New South Wales during 2006, and the latest New South Wales seasonal climate summary details the weather for all of spring.

These climate summaries have replaced media releases as the Bureau of Meteorology's main collation of such information. The summaries will normally be issued on the first working day of each month, once all the relevant observations are received (for example, maximum temperatures for the last day of the month are not available before the thermometers are checked at 9 am on the 1st). The summaries will cover what has happened across the whole state. An archive of earlier months will be kept at www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/month/nsw/archive/, with an archive of earlier seasons at www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/season/nsw/archive/

 

Further information

Clinton Rakich
NSW Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (02) 9296 1610
Email reqnsw@bom.gov.au

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