Tuesday, 4 January 2011 - Monthly Climate Summary for ACT Monthly Summary - Product code IDCKGC35R0
Canberra in December 2010: 2nd wettest December on record
- 2nd wettest December on record.
- Wettest start to December on record.
- Wettest December day on record (3rd).
- Foggiest December since 1960.
Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top
Rainfall
Canberra Airport experienced its 2nd wettest December on record (records since 1939), with a total of 198.4 mm during December. This is well above the historical average of 53.8 mm, and the wettest December since 1947 (215.2 mm, wettest on record). The rain fell on 12 days, with the most significant falls on the 1st - 5th , totalling 138.8 mm. This was the wettest start to December on record for Canberra, with the wettest December day ever recorded at Canberra Airport on the 3rd (87.0 mm). The 3rd was also the wettest day (in any month) in Canberra since January 21st 1995, when 93.8 mm was recorded.
Throughout the ACT, December totals were as high as 253.4mm at Tuggeranong, with daily rainfall reaching 93.4mm at Nicholls on the 3rd. Additionally, Tharwa General Store and the Canberra Botanical Gardens experienced their wettest December on record during 2010. The heavy rainfall resulted in flooding in the ACT region, including the inundation of the nearby city of Queanbeyan.
Some sites had their highest total December rainfall on record.Temperature
The average maximum temperature for Canberra Airport was 25.0°C , which is below the historical average of 26.1°C and the coolest December since 1999 (24.5°C). Temperatures were consistently cool until the last days of the month, with the only two days above 30°C (average 7 days) occuring on the 30th and 31st, reaching 34.8°C at Tuggeranong on the latter. Temperatures were particularly cold on the 20th, with a maximum of just 17.7°C, the coldest December day since 2006 (17.3°C).
The average minimum temperature for Canberra Airport was 11.7°C, which is slightly above the historical average of 11.4°C but significantly cooler than the December 2009 average of 12.5°C. The warmest night was just 18.3°C on the 9th, with no other days exceeding 17°C. Night-time temperatures were coolest on the night of the 18th, when Canberra Airport recorded a minimum temperature of 4.7°C - the lowest December minimum since 2004 (4.1°C on the 29th).
Wind
Canberra Airport experienced prevailing northwesterly winds during December, with a frequency of 58% from this direction at 3pm, close to average for December. The highest wind gust at Canberra Airport was 76 km/hr on the 8th, with no strong wind days reported during December, the first December without strong winds since 1995 (historical average 3 days).
Other phenomena
Canberra Airport averaged 9 hours of sunshine per day during December 2010, slightly below the historical average of 9.4 hours. Six thunderstorms were reported at the airport, slightly above the historical average of 4 thunderstorms, with 12 reported in the whole ACT region, including hail on the 2nd. Six fogs were also reported, well above the December average of one fog and the foggiest December since 1960 (6 fogs).
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
| Extremes in December 2010 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day |
34.8 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 31st |
| Warmest days on average |
25.0 °C at Canberra Airport |
| Coolest days on average |
15.6 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Coldest day |
5.2 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 20th |
| Coldest night |
-1.3 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 20th 4.7 °C at Canberra Airport on the 19th |
| Coolest nights on average |
6.4 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Warmest nights on average |
12.1 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Warmest night |
18.5 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 9th |
| Warmest on average overall |
18.5 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Coolest on average overall |
11.0 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Wettest overall |
253.4 mm at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Wettest day |
93.4 mm at Nicholls (Gungahlin Lakes) on the 3rd 93.0 mm at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 9th |
| Highest wind gust |
87 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 18th 76 km/h at Canberra Airport on the 8th |
Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Record highest total December rainfall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total rainfall for December 2010 (mm) |
Previous wettest for December |
Years of record |
Average for December |
||
| Tharwa General Store | 220.4 | 159.6 | in 1961 | 66 | 52.0 |
| Canberra (Australian National Botanic Ga | 145.0 | 143.6 | in 1999 | 43 | 57.8 |
Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for December 2010 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures for December (°C) |
Minimum temperatures for December (°C) |
Rainfall for December (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for December 2010 |
Diff from average |
Highest for December 2010 |
Mean for December 2010 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for December 2010 |
Total for December 2010 |
Average for December |
Rank of December 2010 |
Fraction of December average |
|||
| Canberra Airport | 25.0 | -1.1 | 33.9 | 31st | 11.7 | +0.3 | 4.7 | 19th | 198.4 | 53.8 | v high | |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 15.6 | 25.8 | 31st | 6.4 | -1.3 | 20th | 242.6 | |||||
| Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve | 22.9 | -2.2 | 28.0 | 26th | 11.3 | +0.5 | 5.5 | 19th | 132.9 | 64.3 | high | 207% |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 24.9 | 34.8 | 31st | 12.1 | 5.4 | 19th | 253.4 | |||||
Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top
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 (all years of record).
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 12 pm on Tuesday 4 January 2011. 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
