Thursday, 1 December 2011 - Monthly Climate Summary for ACT Monthly Summary - Product code IDCKGC25R0

Canberra in November 2011: Wet end to spring

  • Above average rainfall, 8th wettest on record.
  • 8th warmest maximum temperatures on record.
  • Warmer than average minimum temperatures.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Canberra Airport recorded 116.4 mm of rainfall during November, well above the historical average of 64.4 mm. This was the 8th wettest November on record for Canberra, but not as wet as November 2010 (121.4 mm). The rain fell on 11 days (average 10 days), with the largest daily fall of 45.0 mm on the 26th, associated with the passage of a broad low pressure trough. Tuggeranong recorded 91.6 mm on this day, which is the highest daily total recorded during the month, with the wettest conditions in the southwest of the ACT. Mount Ginini recorded a monthly total of 258.0 mm, which is the highest November total at this site since it commenced observations in 2004. It is also the second highest monthly total of any month in its record (behind October 2010, 275.2 mm).

Some sites had their highest total November rainfall on record. Some sites had their highest November daily rainfall on record.

Temperature

The average maximum temperature for Canberra during November was 25.4 °C, which was above the average of 22.7 °C and the 8th warmest on record, although well below the 29.4 °C recorded in November 2009. Canberra experienced 5 days where the temperature exceeded 30°C (average 2.5 days), with the warmest day reaching 32.7°C on the 19th. The coolest day at Canberra Airport was 16.2°C, recorded on the 25th. Mount Ginini recorded the coolest day across the ACT, with the maximum temperature reaching only 9.7 °C on the 25th.

The average minimum temperature at Canberra Airport was 10.4 °C. This is above the average of 8.8 °C and the equal 9th warmest on record, but again cooler than that experienced in November 2009 (12.2°C). The coolest night recorded at Canberra was 4.5°C on the 5th, only the 7th November on record with no nights below 4.5 °C. The coolest night recorded anywhere across the ACT was 0.8 °C at Mount Ginini on the 24th.

Wind

Winds were predominantly from the NW during November, forming 56% of the wind at 3pm, which is above average for this time of year (44% from NW). The highest daily wind gust at the Airport was 74 hm/hr on the 14th. Mount Ginini recorded the highest wind gust across the ACT, with 76km/hr recorded on the 27th.

Further information

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Extremes in November 2011
Hottest day 32.7 °C at Canberra Airport on the 19th
Warmest days on average 25.2 °C at Canberra Airport
Coolest days on average 15.8 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Coldest day 9.7 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 25th
Coldest night 0.8 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 24th
Coolest nights on average 6.7 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Warmest nights on average 11.0 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
Warmest night 19.5 °C at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve on the 8th
Warmest on average overall 18.0 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
Coolest on average overall 11.3 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Wettest overall 258.0 mm at Mount Ginini AWS
Wettest day 91.6 mm at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 26th
Highest wind gust 76 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 27th
76 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 30th

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Record highest November daily rainfall
Highest daily rainfall
in November 2011 (mm) 		Previous wettest
for November		 Years of
record
Tharwa General Store 86.6 on the 26th 78.0 on the 7th in 1989 69


Record highest total November rainfall
Total rainfall
for November 2011 (mm) 		Previous wettest
for November		 Years of
record		 Average for
November
Tharwa General Store 173.6 150.4 in 1989 68 68.2


Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for November 2011
Maximum temperatures
for November
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for November
(°C)		 Rainfall
for November
(millimetres)
Mean for
November
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
November
2011		 Mean for
November
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
November
2011		 Total for
November
2011		 Average
for
November		 Rank of
November
2011		 Fraction of
November
average
Canberra Airport 25.4 +2.7 32.7 19th 10.4 +1.6 4.5 5th 116.4 64.4 v high 181%
Mount Ginini AWS 15.8   21.6 19th 6.7   0.8 24th 258.0
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 25.0   32.1 19th 11.0   5.3 21st 190.2

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 11 am on Thursday 1 December 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
(03) 9669 4057
Enquiries

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