Rainfall well above average: The city received 52.2 millimetres of rainfall over 9 days in March compared with the average of 19 mm over 4 days. Historically, March rainfall has ranged from 0.0 mm, recorded in 6 years, to 145.2 mm in 1934. Last March Perth recorded zero rainfall. Total rainfall for January to March this year was 55.2 mm compared with the average of 42 mm. The highest daily rainfall in March 2005 occurred on the 28th with 37.6 mm, making it the sixth wettest March day on record.

Mean daily maximum temperature above average: Perth's mean daily maximum temperature in March was 30.5 degrees Celsius making it the highest mean maximum temperature for March since the 30.6 degrees in 1998. The average is 29.2 degrees. Daily maxima ranged from a cool 19.1 degrees on the 31st to a very hot 41.9 degrees on the 23rd, the third hottest March day on record. March was hotter than the three previous months of summer, each of which had mean maxima of exactly 30.0 degrees.

Mean daily minimum temperature well above average: Perth's mean daily minimum temperature in March was 18.4 degrees Celsius, the highest for March since the 18.5 degrees in 1990. The average is 16.3 degrees. Minima ranged from a mild 12.3 degrees on the 31st to a warm 23.4 degrees on the 17th. The mean daily minimum this March was also above the figure for any of the summer months.

Mean daily sunshine hours well below average: Perth's mean daily sunshine hours in March came to 7.3 hours, the least sunshine for March since the 6.9 hours in 1943. The average is 9.5 hours.

March monthly mean temperature and sunshine
Element	2005	Long- term Average	Highest	Year	Lowest	Year	Records Commence
Maximum Temperature (°C)	30.5	29.2	31.8	1978	24.4	1927	1897
Minimum Temperature (°C)	18.4	16.3	20.0	1988	13.5	1900	1897
Sunshine (hours per day)	7.3	9.5	10.6	2001	5.5	1927	1898
March monthly rainfall and rain days
Element	2005	Long-term Average	Highest	Year	Lowest	Year	Records Commence
Rainfall (mm)	52.2	19	145.2	1934	0.0	6 years	1876
Rain days	9	4	10	1915	0	6 years	1876

March daily extremes
Element	2005	Date	Extreme	Date	Records Commence
Highest daily maximum (°C)	41.9	23/03/2005	42.3	05/03/1990	1897
Lowest daily maximum (°C)	19.1	31/03/2005	16.4	27/03/1968	1897
Highest daily minimum (°C)	23.4	17/03/2005	28.3	02/03/1934	1897
Lowest daily minimum (°C)	12.3	31/03/2005	7.6	24/03/2001	1897
Wettest 24 hours to 9am (mm)	37.6	28/03/2005	77.0	09/03/1934	1876

Sunny and pleasantly mild days are common in April in the transition period between summer and winter. Wet weather does occur, especially later in the month, and mean rainfall and rain days are about double those of March.

Hot days in April: On average, Perth can expect two hot days when the maximum temperature is 32 degrees or higher. The greatest number of such hot days in April was eight in 1991.

Latest 35-degree day of the season: The latest maximum temperature of 35.0 degrees of the season occurred on 22 April 1989, with 35.2 degrees.

Cold days in April: Since 1897, Perth has recorded six cold days when the maximum temperature was 15 degrees or lower. They were in 1900, 1919, 1931, 1963 and two days in 1970. The earliest such cold day occurred on 15 April 1900, with just 14.5 degrees recorded.

Note: Official Perth observations have been recorded at several different sites with varying instrumentation over the years, and these changes can affect the continuity of the climate record. For the current Mt Lawley site, the most significant changes of this kind relate to temperature and rain days. For that reason, current mean temperature and rain-day data quoted here are based only on readings from the Mt Lawley site, which commenced observations in 1993. Sunshine recordings are from Perth Airport and for similar reasons current means use only Perth Airport data, which commenced in 1993.

Further information:
John Relf (JR), or John Cramb tel: (08) 9263 2222.