Thursday, 5 January 2017 - Annual Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC53R0

South Australia in 2016: a wet year, variable temperatures

Several heavy rain events brought flooding to parts of South Australia during the year. Temperatures were above average overall, though strong southwesterly winds and several vigorous cold frontal systems brought much cooler days and nights for many districts during winter and spring.

Heavy rain and flooding, and a wet year overall

• There were numerous occasions when severe thunderstorms resulted in very heavy rainfall that led to flooding across parts of the State
• Heavy rain resulted in some sites reporting their wettest day on record and several locations reported their wettest year on record or their wettest year for many decades
• Total rain for South Australia was 63% above average, the fourth-wettest calendar year on record, and the wettest year since 2010
• Uraidla in the Adelaide Hills, registered 1790.6 mm, the highest annual total recorded at any South Australian station since 1917
• During September, major flood levels were reached in number of catchments as heavy rain fell over the Yorke Peninsula, Mount Lofty Ranges and Adelaide metropolitan districts
• The year finished with storms and record breaking heavy rainfall at the end December

A warm autumn, cool spring, warm overall

• Temperatures varied markedly during 2016, with a warm first half of the year that included the State's fifth-warmest autumn on record, then a near-average winter but a cool spring that included the ninth-coolest September days on record
• Northern and eastern districts were affected by an extended period of heat that resulted in several locations having their warmest March nights on record
• South Australia's mean temperature for 2016 was 0.58 °C above average, but the coolest year overall since 2012
• Despite cooler nights during spring, the State's mean minimum for 2016 was equal seventh warmest at 0.73 °C above average
• The mean maximum for 2016 was 0.43 °C above average, but after several exceptionally warm years, it was the the coolest days overall since 2011

Severe thunderstorms, flooding and strong winds

• In early May a significant storm surge occurred in Gulf waters as a deep low pressure system affected southern parts of South Australia
• Central and eastern districts were impacted by severe thunderstorms and a tornado outbreak that caused widespread damage in late September
• Southern coasts and elevated regions across agricultural areas experienced persistent and strong westerly winds on many days during October, intensified by several squally and vigorous cold fronts that crossed the State
• Storms at the end of December caused widespread power outages and damage to properties across the Adelaide Hills as well as flash flooding in the hills and metropolitan region
• On 7 December, a wind gust of 141 km/h was observed at Moonta (Warburto Point) as thunderstorms crossed the State, this is the highest wind speed to be recorded in the State since 31 December 2009

Adelaide: plenty of rain, mild temperatures

• April and November were relatively dry but most other months were quite wet, especially in winter and early spring
• With a total of 820.8 mm of rainfall for 2016, Adelaide recorded its second-wettest year on record and the wettest since 1992 (883.2 mm) for the city (including observations from both Kent Town and West Terrace)
• Adelaide's mean temperature for the year was 17.6 °C, just 0.3 °C above the long-term average
• Nights were generally mild in Adelaide, with a mean daily minimum temperature of 12.4 °C, just 0.1 °C above average
• Daytime temperatures were also mild in Adelaide, with a mean daily maximum of 22.9 °C coming in 0.5 °C above average, but overall, days were the coolest since 2012

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Extremes in 2016
Hottest day	45.9 °C at Oodnadatta Airport on 1 Dec
Warmest days on average	29.2 °C at Moomba Airport 29.2 °C at Oodnadatta Airport
Coolest days on average	17.0 °C at Mount Lofty
Coldest day	4.6 °C at Mount Lofty on 12 Jul
Coldest night	-5.0 °C at Yunta Airstrip on 16 Jul
Coolest nights on average	8.6 °C at Keith (Munkora)
Warmest nights on average	16.1 °C at Moomba Airport
Warmest night	31.8 °C at Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome) on 13 Jan 31.8 °C at Moomba Airport on 27 Dec
Warmest on average overall	22.6 °C at Moomba Airport
Coolest on average overall	12.9 °C at Mount Lofty
Wettest overall	1790.6 mm at Uraidla
Wettest day	130.8 mm at Kalamurina on 1 Jan
Strongest wind gust	141 km/h at Moonta (Warburto Point) on 7 Dec

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

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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

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

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Record highest daily rainfall
	New record (mm)		Old record		Years of record
Aldgate	100.6	on 28 Dec	90.0	on 23 May 2011	48
Port Parham	86.2	on 28 Dec	81.0	on 7 Feb 1997	48
Victor Harbor (Berrima)	95.4	on 6 Jul	70.0	on 24 Oct 1975	43
Coffin Bay	75.8	on 2 Feb	54.4	on 13 Jun 2014	32
Mintabie	83.0	on 27 Dec	=83.0	on 15 Oct 2005	25
McLaren Vale (Pirramimma Winery)	46.4	on 5 Jul	42.0	on 1 Mar 2012	24

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Record highest annual total rainfall
	New record (mm)	Old record		Years of record	Annual average
Bute	696.0	656.1	in 1917	127	396.7
Hahndorf	1356.4	1301.1	in 1923	126	853.4
Macclesfield	1109.6	1090.9	in 1917	126	735.9
Uraidla	1790.6	1759.2	in 1909	121	1085.3
Cherry Gardens	1378.5	1373.5	in 1923	112	924.7
Penneshaw	704.9	694.7	in 1992	101	505.2
Myponga	1187.5	1075.5	in 1974	87	756.3
Inman Valley	1123.2	1105.6	in 1992	77	747.3
Mount Bold Reservoir	1215.6	1180.6	in 1992	77	772.8
Tarcoola (Mobella)	380.1	366.1	in 1973	50	174.6
Parndana (Turkey Lane)	1067.6	1055.4	in 1992	49	720.3
Aldgate	1657.8	1556.0	in 1992	40	1088.7
Burnside	949.0	921.2	in 1917	34	615.1
Kalamurina	434.2	416.2	in 2010	25	179.9
Heathfield Works Depot	1584.9	1467.7	in 1992	24	1038.0
Cape Jaffa (The Limestone)	726.4	706.4	in 2000	22	500.2
Clare High School	821.8	708.4	in 2000	22	558.2
Coulta (Coles Point)	556.6	550.0	in 2010	22	368.2
Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS)	1153.0	1093.2	in 2001	22	839.9
Coober Pedy Airport	308.2	253.0	in 2011	21	140.4
Mount Crawford AWS	958.8	894.6	in 2003	21	660.9

Highest annual total rainfall for at least 20 years
	Observed (mm)	Most recent higher		Annual average
Moonta	597.1	681.1	in 1889*	371.3
Nairne	1024.2	1087.7	in 1917*	680.4
Adelaide (Morphett Vale)	846.4	872.2	in 1906*	571.2
Meadows	1224.5	1302.3	in 1923*	874.9
Mintaro	900.0	1136.1	in 1917*	599.0
Maitland	760.3	779.3	in 1916*	506.0
Penola Post Office	859.6	907.0	in 1947*	657.5
Kingston SE	734.2	794.4	in 1947*	586.6
Finniss	747.6	781.5	in 1946*	492.8
Keith	616.6	636.8	in 1974	460.9
Mount Schank (Jethia)	961.0	978.0	in 1971*	744.7
Parafield Airport	616.6	649.8	in 1974*	453.5
Port Wakefield	485.8	584.3	in 1974*	332.6
Kalangadoo	905.6	910.9	in 1973*	743.5
Wolseley	663.8	680.0	in 1974*	476.2
Port Clinton (Yararoo)	617.3	654.3	in 1974*	392.4
Prospect Hill	1215.6	1231.8	in 1971*	845.8
Port Parham	563.1	570.9	in 1974*	363.2
Padthaway (Marcollat)	674.5	684.8	in 1983*	516.7
Woodside	1094.8	1147.4	in 1971*	810.3
Adelaide (Kent Town)	820.8	883.2	in 1992	551.0
Ceduna AMO	363.8	522.2	in 1992	295.5
Coober Pedy	311.9	391.6	in 1989*	158.0
Darke Peak	480.2	584.9	in 1992	380.8
Eudunda	642.8	817.8	in 1992	448.9
Freeling	747.7	834.0	in 1992	490.5
Hilltown	689.0	716.1	in 1974*	476.1
Redhill	606.0	697.3	in 1992	419.1
Woomera Aerodrome	278.6	363.0	in 1992	183.6
Adelaide (Hope Valley Reservoir)	843.0	918.4	in 1992*	591.9
Adelaide Airport	642.8	730.8	in 1992*	442.6
Brinkworth (Bungaree)	816.8	904.4	in 1992*	579.3
Coulta	656.8	849.8	in 1992*	520.4
Kapunda	722.7	756.6	in 1992*	494.3
Kimba	481.6	513.2	in 1993	348.2
Laura	642.3	861.9	in 1992*	459.0
Mount Barker	1128.0	1147.1	in 1992*	765.1
Parachilna (Motpena)	390.4	450.8	in 1992*	234.9
Port Germein	447.2	528.4	in 1992*	326.9
Streaky Bay	485.5	633.4	in 1992*	378.5
Tanunda	743.4	872.6	in 1992*	548.5
Victor Harbor (Rivington Grange)	1037.8	1040.2	in 1992*	699.5
Wilmington	601.8	818.3	in 1992*	441.4
Yorketown	516.0	690.6	in 1992*	419.8
Appila	613.4	706.4	in 1992*	386.1
Edinburgh RAAF	622.0	674.2	in 1992*	434.6
Farrell Flat	700.4	755.3	in 1992*	474.4
Frances	654.0	718.7	in 1992*	518.4
Jamestown	734.5	830.4	in 1992*	464.6
Jamestown Pirsa	650.0	799.2	in 1992*	454.5
Koolunga	564.3	670.8	in 1992*	393.8
Langhorne Creek	486.0	623.4	in 1992*	388.7
Lenswood Research Centre	1461.8	1609.0	in 1992*	1015.3
Marrabel	677.6	892.7	in 1992*	521.2
North Adelaide	737.0	832.0	in 1992*	540.2
Orroroo (Black Rock)	484.5	596.1	in 1992*	310.0
Parawa (Sharon)	1371.4	1379.0	in 1992*	946.9
Quorn	483.4	647.9	in 1992*	332.0
Spalding	575.4	685.6	in 1992*	436.8
Tarlee	767.1	795.8	in 1992*	472.3
Truro	761.9	1048.0	in 1992*	495.6
Wirrulla	423.2	538.3	in 1992*	304.2
Birdwood	1054.0	1189.0	in 1992*	721.6
Caltowie	624.2	720.1	in 1992*	447.2
Cowell (Winter Springs)	543.4	591.4	in 1992*	345.7
Cudlee Creek (Millbrook Reservoir)	1202.6	1288.0	in 1992*	859.5
Loxton Research Centre	337.8	414.1	in 1992*	262.5
Lyndoch	804.4	892.2	in 1992*	559.9
Minlaton	505.2	718.4	in 1992*	430.4
Orroroo	482.2	621.6	in 1992*	342.9
Point Pass	663.9	701.2	in 1992*	448.3
Strathalbyn	725.7	879.4	in 1992*	492.5
Adelaide (Salisbury Bowling Club)	642.3	723.8	in 1992*	467.3
Booleroo Centre	594.5	681.0	in 1992*	393.9
Booleroo Centre (Willowie)	439.4	524.6	in 1992*	317.1
Coonalpyn	635.8	655.4	in 1992*	451.2
Crystal Brook	567.6	619.5	in 1992*	400.0
Cummins	515.4	686.0	in 1992*	424.6
Gladstone	613.2	690.2	in 1992*	418.1
Huddleston (Willow Ponds)	652.4	705.2	in 1992*	444.5
Karoonda	581.9	601.4	in 1992*	343.2
Lobethal	1292.4	1421.4	in 1992*	887.2
Minlaton (Eversley)	567.8	739.6	in 1992*	444.1
Mount Hope (Fairview)	656.4	706.2	in 1992*	418.5
Port Broughton	468.6	551.6	in 1992*	351.6
Purnong (Claypans)	477.8	508.8	in 1992*	308.6
Rosedale (Turretfield Research Centre)	633.2	814.4	in 1992*	468.4
Waddikee	446.0	542.5	in 1992*	336.0

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

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Record lowest daily maximum temperature
	New record (°C)		Old record		Years of record	Annual average
Kingscote Aero	9.3	on 12 Jul	10.7	on 28 Jul 1998	23	21.0

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Lowest annual mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years
	Observed (°C)	Most recent lower		Annual average
Elliston	21.3	21.0	in 1995	21.5

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Record lowest temperature
	New record (°C)		Old record		Years of record	Annual average
North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS)	-0.3	on 16 Jul	0.1	on 27 Sep 1994	25	11.4

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Record highest annual mean daily minimum temperature
	New record (°C)	Old record		Years of record	Annual average
Coonawarra	8.9	= 8.9	in 1988	30	8.0
Moomba Airport	16.1	= 16.1	in 2009	20	15.5

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for 2016
	Maximum temperatures (°C)				Minimum temperatures (°C)				Rainfall (millimetres)
	Mean for 2016	Diff from average	Highest for 2016		Mean for 2016	Diff from average	Lowest for 2016		Total for 2016	Average annual total	Rank of 2016	Fraction of annual average
Northwest (district 16)
Andamooka	27.7	+0.1	45.0	12 Jan	14.5	+0.7	0.5	17 Jul	274.8	194.2	high	142%
Coober Pedy Airport	27.6	-0.1	44.2	23 Feb	14.4	+0.2	1.5	17 Jul	308.2	140.4	highest	220%
Ernabella (Pukatja)	26.6	-0.9	40.5	13 Feb	13.4	+0.2	-0.6	26 Jul	544.6	276.7	high	197%
Mount Ive	25.5		42.5	12 Jan			0.0	15 Jul	331.6	240.4	high	138%
Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome)	27.6	-0.1	44.5	12 Jan	13.2	+0.6	-2.0	15 Jul
Tarcoola Aero	27.1	-0.6	44.4	12 Jan	12.2	0.0	-1.4	16 Jul	307.2	179.9	high	171%
Woomera Aerodrome	26.5	+0.7	43.9	22 Feb	13.4	+0.7	1.6	16 Jul	278.6	183.6	high	152%
Far North (district 17)
Leigh Creek Airport	26.6	+0.2	43.6	12 Jan	13.2	+0.4	-1.1	15 Jul	390.6	230.1	v high	170%
Marree Aero	28.8	-0.3	44.2	24 Feb	14.1	+0.1	-0.2	16 Jul	^	149.7
Moomba Airport	29.2	-0.3	44.9	4 Dec	16.1	+0.6	2.8	7 Jul	270.0	177.7	high	152%
Oodnadatta Airport	29.2	+0.1	45.9	1 Dec	15.4	+0.8	0.0	16 Jul	288.0	176.4	high	163%
Western Agricultural (district 18)
Ceduna AMO	23.5	0.0	43.6	12 Dec	10.9	+0.5	-1.2	16 Jul	363.8	295.5	high	123%
Cleve	22.1	0.0	41.0	25 Dec	11.8	+0.4	3.2	14 Jul	589.2	402.2	v high	146%
Cleve Aerodrome	22.1	-0.5	42.0	25 Dec	11.1	-0.4	1.4	24 Aug	492.2	359.6	high	137%
Coulta (Coles Point)	21.4	-0.2	39.9	19 Jan	10.9	-0.3	1.7	16 Jul	556.6	368.2	highest	151%
Cummins Aero	22.5		40.9	25 Dec	9.5		-0.2	6 Jul	527.2
Elliston	21.3	-0.2	39.1	25 Dec			2.1	16 Jul	543.9	427.1	v high	127%
Kimba			40.5	26 Dec	10.4	0.0	0.0	16 Jul	481.6	348.2	high	138%
Kyancutta	25.6	+0.4	42.1	22 Feb	9.6	+0.3	-2.6	26 Aug	333.3	313.2	average	106%
Minnipa Pirsa	24.2	-0.5	41.9	25 Dec	10.9	-0.2	0.8	21 Sep	378.0	279.5	v high	135%
North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS)	21.2	-0.1	38.5	23 Dec	11.2	-0.2	-0.3	16 Jul	497.4	394.6	high	126%
Nullarbor	23.5	-0.3	45.5	12 Jan	10.9	+0.1	0.3	16 Jul	384.6	251.1	v high	153%
Streaky Bay	22.9	-0.2	39.2	12 Jan	12.5	+0.3	3.8	25 Aug	485.5	378.5	v high	128%
Whyalla Aero	23.8	+0.1	42.0	13 Jan	11.8	+0.3	-1.0	15 Jul	363.4	266.8	v high	136%
Wudinna Aero	25.2	-0.2	43.3	25 Dec			-2.0	26 Aug	278.4	274.4	average	101%
Upper North (district 19)
Hawker	25.5	+0.3	42.0	23 Feb			-3.5	15 Jul	411.7	309.7	high	133%
Northeast (district 20)
Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot)	25.2	-0.1	44.6	23 Feb	9.5	+0.2	-4.0	16 Jul	425.3	285.5	high	149%
Yunta Airstrip	24.6	0.0	42.6	23 Feb	9.8	+0.3	-5.0	16 Jul	255.0	207.6	average	123%
Lower North (district 21)
Clare High School	21.3	0.0	40.0	25 Dec	9.2	+0.2	-2.0	15 Jul	821.8	558.2	highest	147%
Port Pirie Aerodrome AWS	24.7		42.8	25 Dec	11.1		-0.7	16 Jul	457.2
Snowtown (Rayville Park)	23.6	-0.6	42.2	25 Dec	9.3	+0.3	-1.5	15 Jul	641.8	380.6	v high	169%
Yorke Peninsula (district 22A)
Kadina AWS	23.2	-0.6	41.6	25 Dec	9.9	+0.1	-1.7	16 Jul	526.6	348.0	v high	151%
Minlaton Aero	22.5	-0.1	41.3	25 Dec	10.8	-0.1	1.7	19 Oct	410.4	357.7	average	115%
Stenhouse Bay	20.2	-0.2	38.0	12 Dec	12.8	-0.2	4.1	16 Jul	544.8	443.7	high	123%
Warooka	21.1	-0.1	38.4	25 Dec	12.0	+0.5	4.2	16 Jul	515.8	444.2	high	116%
Kangaroo Island (district 22B)
Cape Borda	18.8	-0.4	34.6	25 Dec	11.4	-0.2	4.8	13 Jul	746.7	564.4	v high	132%
Kingscote Aero	20.6	-0.4	36.6	10 Jan	9.4	+0.4	-0.9	16 Jul	682.8	454.8	v high	150%
Parndana Cfs AWS	19.2		38.6	25 Dec	9.6		2.2	25 Jun	746.2
Adelaide Plains (district 23A)
Adelaide (Kent Town)	22.9	+0.5	41.3	25 Dec	12.4	+0.1	2.0	16 Jul	820.8	551.0	v high	149%
Adelaide Airport	21.8	+0.3	38.9	25 Dec	12.3	+0.9	2.3	6 Aug	642.8	442.6	v high	145%
Edinburgh RAAF	22.8	+0.2	41.0	25 Dec	11.3	+0.2	1.8	16 Jul	622.0	434.6	v high	143%
Parafield Airport	23.1	+0.7	41.3	25 Dec	11.2	0.0	-0.2	16 Jul	616.6	453.5	v high	136%
Roseworthy AWS	23.1	-0.6	41.7	25 Dec	10.1	+0.4	-0.2	25 Aug	601.6	389.0	v high	155%
County Light (district 23B)
Nuriootpa Pirsa	21.4	-0.2	40.1	25 Dec	9.3	+0.1	-1.8	16 Jul	754.2	482.3	v high	156%
Rosedale (Turretfield Research Centre)	22.8	+0.2	41.5	25 Dec	9.8	-0.2	-0.1	25 Aug	633.2	468.4	v high	135%
Mount Lofty Ranges (district 23C)
Hindmarsh Island AWS	20.5	-0.3	37.1	23 Dec	11.9	+0.1	2.3	13 Jun	522.4	394.8	v high	132%
Kuitpo Forest Reserve	19.1	-0.2	36.6	25 Dec	10.3	0.0	2.3	13 Jun
Mount Crawford AWS	19.0	0.0	37.5	25 Dec	9.6	-0.1	1.1	13 Jul	958.8	660.9	highest	145%
Mount Lofty	17.0	+1.8	35.4	25 Dec	8.8	+0.2	0.6	5 Jul	1570.4
Noarlunga	21.5	-0.2	38.9	25 Dec	12.7	0.0	4.0	17 Jul	618.6	460.9	v high	134%
Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS)	17.4	-0.1	36.0	25 Dec	10.4	+0.2	3.1	13 Jul	1153.0	839.9	highest	137%
Victor Harbor (Encounter Bay)	20.3	-0.3	37.8	19 Jan	10.2	0.0	-1.0	17 Jul	819.8	549.2	v high	149%
Upper Murray Valley (district 24A)
Loxton Research Centre	24.4	+0.4	43.7	23 Feb	9.8	+0.8	-2.1	13 Jun	337.8	262.5	v high	129%
Renmark Aero	24.9	0.0	44.9	23 Feb	10.1	+0.4	-3.8	13 Jun	*	241.6
Lower Murray Valley (district 24B)
Eudunda	21.2	+0.1	39.2	23 Feb	9.5	+0.2	0.3	16 Jul	642.8	448.9	v high	143%
Meningie	20.9	+0.1	38.9	25 Dec	10.9	+0.6	0.6	17 Jul	587.6	469.1	high	125%
Murray Bridge (Pallamana Aerodrome)	22.9		42.2	25 Dec	9.1		-1.8	27 Aug	423.6	332.7	high	127%
Strathalbyn Racecourse	21.4	-0.2	39.2	25 Dec	10.5	+0.3	0.4	16 Jul	657.8	423.0	v high	156%
Murray Mallee (district 25A)
Karoonda	23.1	-0.5	42.4	13 Jan	9.2	-0.1	0.0	16 Jul	581.9	343.2	v high	170%
Upper Southeast (district 25B)
Keith	22.4	+0.1	41.0	8 Mar	9.7	+0.5	0.0	25 Aug	616.6	460.9	v high	134%
Keith (Munkora)	22.4	-0.5	41.8	8 Mar	8.6	+0.7	-1.6	25 Aug	591.2	408.1	v high	145%
Lameroo (Austin Plains)	22.9	-0.5	41.7	13 Jan	9.0	+0.2	-0.5	25 Aug	408.4	318.5	high	128%
Lower Southeast (district 26)
Cape Jaffa (The Limestone)	18.9	-0.4	34.9	23 Dec	10.8	+0.5	2.3	4 Jun	726.4	500.2	highest	145%
Coonawarra	20.5	0.0	38.4	8 Mar	8.9	+0.9	-0.2	19 Jun
Mount Gambier Aero	19.5	+0.5	38.4	13 Jan	9.0	+0.9	0.2	23 Aug	864.4	710.5	v high	122%
Naracoorte Aerodrome	21.2	-0.5	40.3	19 Jan	8.8	+0.8	-0.6	24 Aug	660.6	484.0	v high	136%
Padthaway South	21.3	-0.3	39.6	8 Mar	8.9	+0.4	-0.9	16 Jul	593.2	453.8	high	131%
Robe Airfield	19.3	-0.4	35.5	19 Jan	9.9	+0.4	0.1	15 Jun	870.2	603.6	v high	144%

Note: ^ a previously published value for Marree is believed to be incorrect.
* a previously published value for Renmark is believed to be incorrect; the annual total is at least 299 mm but most likely higher.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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