Thursday, 9 January 2020 - Annual Climate Summary for New South Wales - Product code IDCKGC55R0

New South Wales in 2019: record warm and record dry

2019 was the driest and warmest year on record for New South Wales. Despite some rain in some months, most of the State received much less rainfall than usual, with the northeast and far west particularly dry. Heatwaves in January brought very high temperatures, and large fires from September onward caused extensive damage and persistent smoke.

A record dry year

• Total rainfall for New South Wales was the lowest on record, at 55% below average; well below the previous driest year of 1944
• The northeast quarter and the far west of the State were especially dry, with numerous locations having their driest year on record and many of those more than 40% below the previous driest year; some locations had less than a quarter of their average annual rainfall
• For much of the east away from the coast, March was the only month with above-average rain, and much of that fell over just a few days
• Although there was rain into the western districts in April, May and November, annual totals were below average there
• Localised moderate to heavy falls near the coast (including around Sydney) in June, August and September were not enough to compensate for the many months of below-average rain
• This dry year continues a period of below-average rainfall across much of New South Wales that extends back to at least early 2017, as discussed in the Special Climate Statement Drought conditions in eastern Australia and impact on water resources in the Murray–Darling Basin

A record warm year with record hot days, but some cold nights

• It was the warmest year on record for New South Wales as a whole, with the mean temperature 1.95 °C above average and 0.27 °C warmer than the previous warmest, 2018
• The five warmest years on record for New South Wales are now 2019, 2018, 2014, 2017 and 2009
• Days were especially warm in 2019, with the State mean maximum temperature record high at 2.44 °C above average, 0.31 °C warmer than the previous record from 2018
• The State mean minimum temperature was also record high at 1.45 °C above average, just a little warmer than 2016; only a small patch in the southwest corner had cooler than average nights
• Dozens of sites, particularly in the eastern half of the State, had their highest mean daily maximum temperature on record and many had their highest mean temperature on record
• Heatwaves in January saw many sites have their highest temperature on record or their warmest night on record, as discussed in the Special Climate Statement Widespread heatwaves during December 2018 and January 2019
• Wanaaring (Borrona Downs AWS) had a minimum temperature of 36.6 °C on 26 January, an Australian record for high minimum temperature
• Over almost all of New South Wales, January was the warmest of any month on record; the State's mean temperature was 5.86 °C above average and more than two degrees warmer than the next-warmest month, January 1939
• There were significant heatwaves in December, with numerous sites having their highest temperature on record leading to a record high mean maximum temperature for the month
• Despite the generally warm days, there was a marked cold outbreak in August that saw snow to low levels
• Overnight temperatures were above average over much of the State in most months, particularly in the first half of the year, but cold nights were common in June, August and September
• Dry, warm weather, combined with low humidity and strong winds saw a prolonged period of bushfires affecting the northeast from September, as discussed in  the Special Climate Statements Severe fire weather conditions in southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales in September 2019 and Dangerous bushfire weather and heat in spring 2019; by December large fires were affecting many areas
• Large and dangerous fires, as well as causing widespread and significant damage, brought persistent smoke to many communities in the east through November and December

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Maps
	Observed	Anomaly	Decile rank
Total rainfall
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

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Monthly maps
	Rainfall rank	Maximum temperature rank	Minimum temperature rank
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

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* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a lower value has gone unreported

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top