Wednesday, 1 February 2012 - Monthly Climate Summary for ACT Monthly Summary - Product code IDCKGC25R0

ACT in January 2012: Coldest January since 2000

• Below average rain.
• Below average maximum and minimum temperatures, coolest since 2000.
• Coldest January night on record.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Canberra Airport recorded 46.8 mm of rain during January 2012, below the historical average of 58.5 mm. The rain fell over 8 rain days, normal for January, with most of the rain during the month associated with thunderstorms on the 21st, with further moderate falls on the 30th. Across the ACT, rainfall was highest at Tidbinbilla with 131.4 mm, while the wettest day reached 50 mm at Tharwa on the 21st.

Temperature

The average maximum temperature at Canberra Airport was 27.5 °C during January, 0.5 °C below the historical average. This is the coolest January in Canberra since 2000, when the average maximum temperature was just 24.5 °C. There were ten days above 30 °C during the month, close to the historical average of eleven days, with a maximum temperature of 34.7 °C recorded on the 3rd. This was the first January since 2002 with no days in Canberra reaching 35 °C. The coolest day was on the 11th when temperatures reached just 18.6 °C, the coldest January day since 2006.

Minimum temperatures were also slightly below average during January, with 12.6 °C at the Airport, 0.6 °C below average, the coolest January since 2000. Temperatures were particularly cold on the 12th and 13th, with two consecutive nights below 5 °C. This is the first such event since 2000, and only the 6th time on record for Canberra. The coldest night was the 12th at just 1.6 °C, the coldest January night on record for Canberra, following lows of 1.8 °C and 2 °C on the 1st and 2nd of January in 1956.

Other Phenomena

The prevailing wind at Canberra Airport during January was easterly, forming 50% of 3pm winds, while 43% were northwesterly. This was a much larger proportion of easterly winds than typical for January (~15%), with a relative absence of the westerly winds that typically occur on more than 20% of January afternoons. The strongest wind gust was on the 11th, reaching 72 km/hr at Canberra Airport and 80 km/hr at Mt Ginini, while gusts on the 30th reached 70 km/hr at the Airport and 81 km/hr at Mt Ginini.

There were ten thunderstorms reported across the ACT during January.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top