Monday, 3 May 2010 - Monthly Climate Summary for ACT Monthly Summary - Product code IDCKGC25R0
ACT in April 2010: Canberra returns to warm, dry conditions
- Below average rainfall
- Above average minimum temperatures
- Well above average maximum temperatures
An archive of previous monthly summaries for ACT Monthly Summary is also available, as are summaries for other states and many other climate summaries and diagnostics.
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Rainfall
As a contrast to the high rainfall recorded in February and March, Canberra recorded well below average rainfall in April 2010. The total rainfall at Canberra Airport was 20mm, less than half the average monthly rainfall of 46mm, with the highest rainfall total in the Canberra region just 58.6mm at Canberra (Australian National Botanical Gardens).
The rain was spread over 8 rain days, approximately equal to the average of 7 rain days. However, six of these were less than 2mm, with the only significant total of 12.8mm recorded at Canberra Airport on the 25th, associated with the passage of a cold front. High totals were also recorded in some suburbs on the 21st associated with an isolated thunderstorm, with a maximum of 37.8mm recorded at Canberra (Australian National Botanical Gardens) but no rain recorded at Canberra Airport.
Temperature
The mean daily temperature in Canberra during April 2010 was 14.3°C, 1°C above the historical average of 13.3°C, which is the warmest April since 2007. This was due to both above average minimum and maximum temperatures, associated with the generally clear conditions and low rainfall during the month, in addition to prevailing westerly winds.
Maximum temperatures at Canberra Airport were 21.1°C during April 2010, 1.1°C above the historical average of 20.0°C. The highest temperature recorded during the month at Canberra Airport was 25.4°C on the 22nd, with the highest temperatures recorded anywhere in Canberra 25.5°C at Tuggeranong on the 21st and 22nd. 21 days during the month had temperatures above 20°C, well above the April average of 15 days, associated with clear conditions and above average sunshine.
Minimum temperatures were also above average at Canberra Airport, with 7.5°C on average during April 2010, 0.8°C above the historical average of 6.7°C. Nights were warmer in Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, with 7.9°C on average during April and a maximum night-time temperature of 15.0°C on the 8th, its equal warmest night on record. The coldest temperature recorded anywhere in Canberra was -2.6°C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 12th.
Some sites had their warmest April night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record.
Wind
W-NW winds prevailed in Canberra during April 2010, forming 70% of afternoon flow. This was well above the average of 45% from this direction, contributing to the warm and dry conditions experienced during the month. The highest wind gust recorded at Canberra Airport was 61km/h on the 11th, with the highest gust anywhere in Canberra 80km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the same day. No strong wind days were recorded at Canberra Airport, below the average of 1.6 days.
Other phenomena
Only one thunderstorm was recorded in the ACT during April, on the 21st, with none reported at Canberra Airport, below the April average of 1.3 days. Sunshine averaged 8.2 hours per day during April, well above the April average of 7.3 hours per day. Average 3pm humidity was 46%, approximately average for April.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
Extremes
| Hottest day Highest temperature |
25.5 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 20th 25.5 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 21st |
|---|---|
| Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature | 21.4 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature | 20.1 °C at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve |
| Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature | 4.6 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 27th |
| Coldest night Lowest temperature |
-2.6 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 12th 0.0 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 13th |
| Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature | 7.5 °C at Canberra Airport |
| Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature | 7.9 °C at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve |
| Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature | 15.5 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 8th |
| Wettest overall Highest total rainfall | 58.6 mm at Canberra (Australian National Botanic Ga |
| Wettest day Highest daily rainfall | 37.8 mm at Canberra (Australian National Botanic Ga on the 21st |
| Highest wind gust | 80 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 11th |
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Records
| Record highest April daily minimum temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest daily minimum temperature in April 2010 (°C) |
Previous highest for April |
Years of record |
Average for April |
|||
| Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve | 15.0 | on the 8th | = 15.0 | on the 3rd in 2009 | 25 | 6.5 |
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Summaries
This table is very wide and may not fit if printed.
| Summary statistics for April 2010 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures for April (°C) |
Minimum temperatures for April (°C) |
Rainfall for April (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for April 2010 |
Diff from average |
Highest for April 2010 |
Mean for April 2010 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for April 2010 |
Total for April 2010 |
Average for April |
Rank of April 2010 |
Fraction of April average |
|||
| Canberra Airport | 21.1 | +1.1 | 25.4 | 22nd | 7.5 | +0.8 | 0.2 | 13th | 20.0 | 46.0 | low | 43% |
| Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve | 20.1 | +1.1 | 24.5 | 23rd | 7.9 | +1.4 | 1.0 | 13th | 34.8 | 65.1 | average | 53% |
| Tuggeranong | 21.4 | 25.5 | 21st | 7.6 | 0.0 | 13th | 21.4 | |||||
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Notes
As of March 2010, the official station for Canberra is 70351 'Canberra Airport'. Averages from the previous site, 70014 Canberra Airport Comparison, are used for comparisons.
A Monthly Climate Summary is prepared to list the main features of the weather in ACT Monthly Summary using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. Later information, including data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review, usually published in the fourth week of the month.
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 9 am on Monday 3 May 2010. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
Averages are long-term means based on observations from
all available years of record, which vary widely from site to site.
They are not shown for sites with less than 20 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median
is sometimes more representative than the
mean
of long-term average rain.
The Rank indicates how rainfall this time compares with the climate record for the site,
based on the
decile ranking
(very low rainfall is in decile 1, low in decile 2 or 3,
average in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9
and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of average shows how much rain has fallen this time as a
percentage of the long-term mean.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
Unless otherwise noted, all maps, graphs and diagrams in this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
