ACT Monthly Climate Summary: November 2006
Hottest Spring on record in Canberra

Friday 1 December, 2006

In Brief

Spring 2006 - Main Points:

• Record mean daily and mean maximum temperatures during Spring in Canberra.
• Both October and November had record number of consecutive days of above 30°C.
• Second driest Spring on record.
• Record amount of sunshine.

November 2006 - Main Points:

• Cool/wet start and a hot/dry finish to November in Canberra.
• Average maximum temperature (26.5°C) was well above average.
• Well above average sunshine.

Spring 2006

Rainfall: Canberra Airport experienced its second lowest  total rainfall on record for Spring with a total of 64.0 mm (average 181.3 mm)  with the lowest occurring in 1957 when 46.1 mm was recorded. There were 16 rain days during Spring which was well below the historic average of  30 rain days. Rainfall across the A.C.T. varied from a high of  71.8 mm at Ainslie to a low of  32.8 mm at Mawson.

Temperatures:   The trend of above average temperatures continued during Spring, with the hottest Spring on record.  The mean daily temperature (the average of daytime and night-time temperatures) was 14.9°C which was well above the long term average of 12.6°C (the previous record was 14.6°C in 1944).

Day-time temperatures were particularly hot with the average maximum temperature of  23.4°C (long term average 19.3°C) the highest ever recorded (previous record was 22.2°C in 1944). Night time temperatures (average minimum) were slightly above average at 6.5°C (historic average 6.0°C).  Spring had 14 days equal to or greater than 30°C, which equals the previous record of 14 days in 1982. The highest temperature at Canberra Airport during Spring was 36.2°C on 21st of November, while the coldest night (lowest temperature) was −1.2°C on 22nd of October.

Other phenomena:   Canberra had a record amount of sunshine during Spring, averaging 10.1 hours per day (previous record 9.4 hours per day in 1980) and well above the historic average of 8.3 hours per day. There were 27 frosts this Spring, slightly above the average of 21 frosts.  There were 3 fogs during the season, well below the average of 6 fogs. It was also less windy with an average wind run of 135km/day compared to the long term average of 215.7km/day.  However, there was nearly double the number of strong wind days with 15 days recorded (average 8 days). The average pressure of 1018.9 hPa was substantially above the average of 1015.2hPa, indicating the persistence of high pressure systems during Spring.  Evaporation was 638.4 (average 463.6 mm).

November 2006

Rainfall:    The monthly rainfall total of 41.8 mm was well below the historic November average of 64.1 mm and the lowest since 2002 when 10.4 mm was recorded (the driest November was 2.0 mm in 1994). There were 7 rain days, just below the average of 10 rain days.  A.C.T. rainfall totals ranged from  51.0 mm at Ainslie to 18.4 mm at Tharwa.

Temperatures:    November had a cool start and hot finish, the average daily temperature (the average of daytime and night-time temperatures) of 18.3°C was well above the average of 15.7°C and the warmest since 2002 when 19.3°C was recorded.  The average maximum temperature at Canberra Airport was a very warm 26.5°C, well above the historic average of 22.6°C. There were 11 days with a maximum temperature of 30.0°C or greater which is the third highest ever recorded.  The highest was 14 days in 1982. There were also 11 consective days (19th to 29th) with a maximum temperature of 30.0°C or greater.  This is a new record; the previous highest was 7 days (23rd to 29th) in 1997.  

Nights were slightly warmer at Canberra Airport, the average minimum temperature of 10.0°C was 1.2°C above the historic average of 8.8°C.  There was one exceptionally warm night on the 22nd with a minimum temperature of 23.5°C, the second highest minimum temperature ever record for November (the highest was 26.0 on 6/11/1946). The highest temperature at Canberra Airport during November was 36.2°C on the 21st while the lowest was 1.4°C on the 16th.

Other phenomena:   Canberra recorded plentiful sunshine during November with an average of 10.2 hours per day (historic average 8.9 hrs/day).  There were 3 frosts (average of 2 frosts) but no fogs (average 1).  It was slightly windier than usual with an average wind run of 216km per day (long term average 206km/day) with 4 strong wind days (average 2).  Air pressure was above average at 1014.0 hPa (historic average 1013.1hPa), indicative of the persistence of high pressure systems over the region during November. Evaporation for the month was 249.6 mm well above the average of 193.2 mm.