Tuesday, 1 November 2011 - Monthly Climate Summary for ACT Monthly Summary - Product code IDCKGC15R0

Canberra in October 2011: Warm, dry month for the ACT

  • Below average rainfall.
  • Above average maximum temperatures.
  • Below average minimum temperatures.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Canberra Airport did not have complete records for rain during October 2011. Rainfall was generally below average near Canberra, with 18 mm at nearby Queanbeyan Bowling Club (NSW), the driest since October 2006 and the 17th lowest on record. Rainfall was slightly higher at Tuggeranong, with 41 mm during the month, with the highest rainfall anywhere in the ACT reaching 59 mm at Mt Ginini AWS.

Temperature

The average maximum temperature at Canberra Airport during October was 20.6 °C, 1.2 °C above the historical average. The warmest day reached 30 °C on the 24th, the first 30 °C day in October since 2008. There were five days below 15 °C, slightly above the historical average of 4 days, reaching 13.9 °C on both the 25th and 26th.

The average minimum temperature was 5.7 °C, below the historical average of 6.1 °C and the coolest for October since 2006 (5.5 °C). Three nights were below 0 °C during the month, the most since 2002, reaching -1.7 °C on the 12th, the coldest October night since -2 °C on October 28th 1998.

Wind

Winds were generally W to NW during the month, forming 60% of 3pm winds, normal for October. The windiest days anywhere in the ACT reached 61 km/hr at Mt Ginini AWS on the 11th and 24th.

Other phenomena

No thunderstorms were reported at Canberra Airport during the month, with three thunderstorms reported in the ACT.

Further information

Climate Officer
NSW Climate Services Centre
NSW Regional Office
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (02) 9296 1555
Email climate.nsw@bom.gov.au

Extremes in October 2011
Hottest day 30.0 °C at Canberra Airport on the 24th
Warmest days on average 20.6 °C at Canberra Airport
Coolest days on average 11.2 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Coldest day 2.1 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 1st
Coldest night -3.4 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 3rd
Coolest nights on average 2.4 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Warmest nights on average 6.5 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
Warmest night 13.2 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 29th
Warmest on average overall 13.4 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
Coolest on average overall 6.8 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Wettest overall 59.0 mm at Mount Ginini AWS
Wettest day 21.4 mm at Mount Ginini AWS on the 25th
Highest wind gust 61 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 11th
61 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 24th

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for October 2011
Maximum temperatures
for October
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for October
(°C)		 Rainfall
for October
(millimetres)
Mean for
October
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
October
2011		 Mean for
October
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
October
2011		 Total for
October
2011		 Average
for
October		 Rank of
October
2011		 Fraction of
October
average
Canberra Airport 20.6 +1.2 30.0 24th 5.7 -0.4 -1.7 12th 17.0 62.4 low 27%
Mount Ginini AWS 11.2   19.9 23rd 2.4   -3.4 3rd 59.0
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 20.3   28.9 23rd 6.5   0.1 12th 41.0

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 10 am on Tuesday 1 November 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

Climate Officer
NSW Climate Services Centre
NSW Regional Office
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (02) 9296 1555
Email climate.nsw@bom.gov.au