Tuesday, 9 January 2018 - Annual Climate Summary for Western Australia - Product code IDCKGC51R0

Western Australia in 2017: a very wet year with above average temperatures

Rainfall in 2017 was very much above average for Western Australia and the ninth-wettest year on record. Temperatures were above average overall, with the State mean maximum temperature the eighth-warmest on record.

Wet for much of the north and east; dry along the west coast

• WA annual rainfall was 42% above average and the ninth-highest since comparable records commenced in 1900
• Above average rainfall was recorded in northern and eastern parts of WA, with Lake Argyle Resort in the east Kimberley recording its wettest year
• Below average rainfall was confined to areas near the west coast; annual rainfall was less than 100 mm at Weedarrah in the Gascoyne and Exmouth Town in the west Pilbara, their driest years for more than 20 years
• Above average rainfall was reported in central and southeastern parts of the South West Land Division (SWLD) with several sites observing their highest annual rainfall on record or highest for at least 30 years
• Two tropical cyclones, Blanche and 22U, as well as six tropical lows impacted Western Australia between January and April 2017, whilst tropical cyclone Hilda also brought significant rainfall to the west Kimberley at the year's end
• Cygnet Bay recorded the State's highest daily rainfall in 2017 with 291.5 mm on 27 December during the passage of tropical cyclone Hilda
• Two tropical lows and associated cloudbands produced notable heavy rainfall in the Pilbara and the SWLD at the end of January and early February with many sites reporting daily rainfall records, resulting in significant flooding in parts of the SWLD
• Thunderstorms in central and southwest WA produced heavy rainfall between 22 and 24 April with Mettler (South Coastal) reporting a record high 155.0 mm in the 24 hours to 9am on 23 April
• Seasonal thunderstorm activity produced localised heavy rainfall in the Kimberley in mid-January; Christmas Creek Homestead recorded a 53 year daily rainfall record on the 17th
• A cut-off low pressure system produced moderate to heavy rainfall in southwest WA on 22 and 23 June; Wandering registered its highest June daily rainfall with 130.8 mm on the 23rd, and the second-highest daily fall for any month when combining the current and old site records

Above average daytime and overnight temperatures

• WA's annual mean maximum temperature was 0.87 °C above average, the eighth-warmest year since comparable records commenced in 1910
• Most of WA recorded above average mean maximum temperatures in 2017, with only parts of the east Pilbara coast recording below average day-time temperatures
• The annual mean minimum temperature for WA was 0.32 °C above average
• Parts of the east Kimberley and eastern Northern Interior, and small parts of the southern Goldfields and Eucla seeing below average overnight temperatures
• Onslow Airport recorded the State's highest temperature in 2017 with 46.7 °C on 24 December
• The SWLD experienced cold conditions on 1 July, and 9 August, with a few sites recording maximum temperatures below 10 °C and setting records for low maximum temperatures
• Rocky Gully recorded a maximum temperature 7.3 °C on 9 August, which was the lowest maximum in WA for 27 years since 23 July 1990 when 7.0 °C was recorded at Mount Barker
• Days of clear skies and light winds over much of WA in early July following bursts of cool southerly air led to a few low temperature records in the Goldfields, Southern Interior, and Pilbara

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 higher value has gone unreported

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

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top