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Thursday, 1 September 2005
MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY - SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL OFFICE August temperatures above averageRainfall for August, 2005 was mostly below average in the north and near average in the south while temperatures were mostly above normal. Winter rainfall (June to August) was average to above average over most of the State.August rainfall Pastoral Districts:With the exception of the western and north-eastern border region of South Australia where rainfall totals were above average, much of the Pastoral Districts reported rainfall totals that were below to very much below average. Southern parts of the Pastoral Districts reported rainfall totals that were near average.Rainfall totals over 25 mm were confined to two stations, Blinman in the Far North district with 26mm and the highest reported total of 33mm at Yardea in the North West district. Several centres throughout the Pastoral Districts reported totals between 10 and 25mm however many centres reported totals below 10mm with some places recording no rainfall for the month. Agricultural Districts: Rainfall over the Agricultural districts was mostly near average. There were areas of below average rainfall that extended into the Western Agricultural, Upper North and Upper Murray Valley districts from the adjacent Pastoral districts. An isolated pocket of above average rainfall was confined to the Flats and Lower Basin district, east of Adelaide. Rainfall totals over 100 mm were confined to the highest parts of the Mount Lofty Ranges and isolated pockets in the Western Agricultural, Kangaroo Island and Adelaide Plains districts. Most of the remaining Mount Lofty Ranges, and most of the Upper and Lower Southeast, Kangaroo Island, County Light and Adelaide Plains districts recorded rainfall totals between 50 and 100mm. Rainfall totals below 50mm were confined to remaining districts; the Riverland District reported totals below 25mm. The highest rainfall reported in the Agricultural Districts was recorded at Woodhouse, in the Mount Lofty Ranges district with 177mm.
Winter rainfall Pastoral Districts:Rainfall totals over the Pastoral Districts during winter were generally average to above average with areas of very much above average rainfall in all three Pastoral Districts. An isolated pocket of below average rainfall was reported from an area around Mount Eba Station, in the North West Pastoral district.Rainfall totals over 100mm were reported at two centres, in the North East district at Gluepot Station, with 107mm and in the Far North district at Blinman, with 131mm. Totals were mainly between 50 and 100mm over the Far North and North East districts and mostly below 50mm in the North West district. Mount Eba Station, in the North West Pastoral district, only recorded 17mm for winter. Agricultural Districts:Rainfall totals over the Agricultural Districts were generally average to above average. A large area over the Flats and Lower Basin and Murray Mallee districts recorded rainfall totals that were very much above average; Murray Bridge recorded its highest winter rainfall on record with 228mm. An isolated pocket of below average rainfall was confined to an area in the Lower Southeast District adjacent to the border with Victoria. Most districts recorded rainfall totals over 100mm; falls between 200 and 400mm were common. Most parts of the Mount Lofty Ranges recorded totals over 400mm with several gaugings in the higher parts in excess of 500mm for winter. Woodhouse, near Mount Lofty, recorded a winter total of 540mm. August temperatures Maximum: August maximum temperatures were more than 1°C above normal over an area extending across the State from Marla in the Northwest Pastoral district to Renmark, in the Riverland, and extending as far south as the southern tips of the Eyre, Yorke and Fluerieu Peninsulas. Over the remainder of the State temperatures were within 1°C of normal.Mean maximum temperatures over the Pastoral districts ranged from 18.3°C at Yunta, in the North East district to 23.3°C at Marla, in the North West district. The highest recorded maximum temperature for August in the Pastoral districts was 32.9°C at Oodnadatta on the 30th. Mean maximum temperatures over the Agricultural districts ranged from 13.2°C at Parawa AWS, in the Mt. Lofty Ranges, to 21.0°C at Port Augusta Airport, in the Western Agricultural district. The highest recorded maximum temperature for August in the Agricultural districts was 30.1°C at Port Augusta Airport on the 29th. Minimum: Minimum temperatures were generally within 1°C of normal over much of the agricultural areas of the state; temperatures in excess of 1°C of normal were confined to an area extending from the west coast near Nullarbor to Moomba in the northeast interiors of the State and also isolated pockets east of Ernabella, northwest of Ceduna and much of the coast between Robe and Mount Gambier, in the Lower Southeast. Mean minimum temperatures over the Pastoral districts ranged from 4.3°C at Gluepot Station, in the Northeast district to 8.2°C at Oodnadatta, in the Far North district, and also Coober Pedy, in the North West district. The lowest recorded minimum temperature for August in the Pastoral districts was –3.4°C at Glue Pot station, in the North East district on the 6th. Mean minimum temperatures over the Agricultural districts ranged from 3.2°C at Yongala, in the Upper North district, to 11.9°C on Neptune Island. The lowest recorded minimum temperature for August in the Agricultural districts was –3.6°C at Yongala, on the 6th. A few centres over the State recorded their highest August minimum temperature.
Significant August weather Thunderstorms:During the evening of the 30th, a house in Meadows was set alight when struck by lightning.Severe Winds:On the 14th a vigorous cold front moved across the state with squally conditions near and following the front, producing gale force northwest winds and severe gusts on parts of Kangaroo Island, Mount Lofty Ranges and the Lower South East. The highest recorded wind gusts were 115 km/h at Cape Willoughby and 96 km/h at Sellicks Hill. Tuesday the 30th was the gustiest August day for at least the last 20 years with very strong to gale force and squally winds resulting in widespread damage over the Agricultural Areas. The windiest places were near coasts with Port Lincoln Airport automatic weather station (AWS) recording gale force winds from 12:30pm to 3pm, peaking at 85 km/h with a gust to 113 km/h at 1:25pm. Some other locations to record very windy conditions included Cape Willoughby with a gust to 124 km/h, Sellicks Hill with a gust to 111 km/h, Coles Point with a gust to 104 km/h, Hindmarsh Island with average wind of 82 km/h and gust to 102 km/h, Minlaton with average wind of 76 km/h and gust to 100 km/h and Mount Crawford with a gust to 100 km/h.
August weather in Adelaide Rainfall: Adelaide’s rainfall for August 2005 was 90.8 mm, recorded on 14 days. This is 21.7 mm above the average of 69.1 mm on 17 days. Last year, 94.0 mm was recorded in August on 18 days. The wettest August on record occurred in 1852 when 157.7 mm was recorded.The total rainfall for winter 2005 was 275.4 on 43 days. Last year 294.0 mm of rain was recorded over 60 days during winter. The average winter rainfall is 229.9 mm. The wettest winter on record occurred in 1916 when 403.7mm was recorded. TThe total rainfall for the first eight months of 2005 was 345.8 mm. Last year 414.8 mm was recorded over the same period. The average rainfall for the first eight months is 395.6 mm. Temperatures: The mean maximum temperature for August 2005 was 17.8°C, which is 1.3°C above the average August mean maximum of 16.5°C. The mean August maximum last year was 16.8°C. This has been the warmest August maximum since 1993. Winter, 2005 average maximum temperature was 17.1°C which is 1.2°C above the long term winter average maximum of 15.9°C. This has been the warmest winter since 1921 and the fourth warmest on record. The average maximum temperature for the first 8 months of the year was 22.6°C which is the warmest temperature for this period since 1939. The mean minimum temperature for August 2005 was 8.8°C, which is 0.6°C above the average August mean minimum of 8.2°C. This has been the warmest August minimum since 1993. Last August, the mean minimum was 8.5°C. Winter, 2005 average minimum temperature was 8.5°C, which is 0.6°C above the long-term winter average minimum of 8.0°C.
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