Monday, 2 November 2015 - Monthly Climate Summary for Canberra - Product code IDCKGC15L0
Canberra in October 2015: Warmest October days on record
October 2015 was the warmest on record for maximum temperatures at Canberra Airport, and the second-warmest for minimum temperatures. Temperatures were persistently warm throughout the month, with an early-season heatwave at the start of the month. Rainfall was below average.
- Warmest October on record for maximum temperatures
- Second-warmest October on record for minimum temperatures
- Heatwave breaks early-season temperature records
- Longest spell of nights above 5 °C on record for October
- Below-average rainfall
Maximum temperatures were the warmest on record for October at Canberra Airport, 5.4 °C above average. Temperatures were well above average throughout the month, with 17 days reaching at least 25 °C, well above the average of 3 days and the previous record of 14 days. The warmest temperatures occurred at the start of the month, when a severe heatwave affected much of southern Australia (see Special Climate Statement 52). Temperatures reached 31.7 °C on the 5th and 31.8 °C on the 6th, both early-season records; no day with temperatures above 31 °C has previously been recorded earlier than 13 October.
Minimum temperatures were also well above average at Canberra Airport (+2.2 °C), the second-warmest October on record following October 1973. Only four nights recorded temperatures of 5 °C or lower, the second-fewest on record (the average is 13 nights). There were 21 consecutive nights above 5 °C between the 4th and 24th, the longest spell of warm October nights on record.
Rainfall was below average in Canberra during October, with only four days recording at least 1 mm of rain (the average is eight days). Most of the rain was associated with thunderstorms on the 9th, with small hail reported at Tuggeranong, as well as showers across the ACT on the 21st.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
Extremes Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Extremes in October 2015 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day | 32.7 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 5th |
| Warmest days on average |
24.8 °C at Canberra Airport 24.8 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Coolest days on average | 16.5 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Coldest day | 8.1 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 23rd |
| Coldest night | -2.0 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 28th |
| Coolest nights on average | 6.2 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Warmest nights on average | 9.0 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Warmest night | 15.5 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 21st |
| Warmest on average overall | 16.9 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Coolest on average overall | 11.3 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Wettest overall | 31.4 mm at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Driest overall | 17.8 mm at Canberra (Australian National Botanic Gardens |
| Wettest day | 17.4 mm at Tharwa General Store on the 10th |
| Strongest wind gust | 67 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 6th |
Extremes Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Record highest October temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for October |
|||
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 32.7 | on the 5th | 31.8 | on the 13th in 2006 | 20 | 20.8 |
| Record highest October daily minimum temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for October |
|||
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 15.5 | on the 21st | 15.4 | on the 3rd in 1998 | 20 | 6.2 |
Extremes Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for October 2015 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for October 2015 |
Diff from average |
Highest for October 2015 |
Mean for October 2015 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for October 2015 |
Total for October 2015 |
Average for October |
Rank of October 2015 |
Fraction of October average |
|||
| Canberra Airport | 24.8 | +5.4 | 31.8 | 6th | 8.3 | +2.2 | 0.9 | 2nd | 26.6 | 62.4 | low | 43% |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 16.5 | +3.9 | 23.3 | 5th | 6.2 | +3.4 | -2.0 | 28th | 19.8 | 69.7 | v low | 28% |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 24.8 | +4.0 | 32.7 | 5th | 9.0 | +2.8 | 2.4 | 2nd | 31.4 | 52.5 | low | 60% |
|
Note:
Observations for “Canberra Airport” are taken from the current site
(Bureau number 070351), which opened in late 2008.
Comparisons are made against data from the previous site Canberra Airport Comparison (070014), which ran from 1939 to 2010. | ||||||||||||
Extremes Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Daily maximum temperatures for October 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
| Canberra Airport | 23.1 | 24.9 | 26.5 | 28.3 | 31.7 | 31.8 | 18.6 | 20.0 | 27.1 | 27.4 | 22.1 | 25.0 | 21.3 | 26.1 | 28.5 | 30.1 | 27.8 | 21.6 | 27.6 | 29.5 | 23.8 | 19.0 | 16.7 | 23.1 | 26.5 | 27.0 | 17.4 | 22.5 | 25.3 | 25.0 | 22.5 |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 13.8 | 18.9 | 20.4 | 21.1 | 23.3 | 22.2 | 17.3 | 14.8 | 18.8 | 18.6 | 13.5 | 16.0 | 12.3 | 17.8 | 19.6 | 21.2 | 18.0 | 17.0 | 19.2 | 19.9 | 11.1 | 9.4 | 8.1 | 14.0 | 17.9 | 17.4 | 10.6 | 14.9 | 15.4 | 15.8 | 12.0 |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 23.3 | 24.8 | 27.5 | 28.5 | 32.7 | 31.5 | 17.9 | 26.0 | 27.0 | 23.0 | 25.2 | 20.5 | 26.0 | 28.6 | 30.0 | 27.3 | 21.3 | 28.1 | 29.1 | 23.8 | 19.7 | 16.5 | 22.4 | 26.5 | 26.7 | 17.3 | 22.3 | 24.9 | 24.7 | 21.0 | |
|
Values are the maximum temperature, usually in the 24 hours from 9 am on the day indicated, and typically occurred in the afternoon of that day. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Temperatures coloured according to their difference from the long-term average for the period |
-10.0 | -9.0 | -8.0 | -7.0 | -6.0 | -5.0 | -4.0 | -3.0 | -2.0 | -1.0 | 0.0 | +1.0 | +2.0 | +3.0 | +4.0 | +5.0 | +6.0 | +7.0 | +8.0 | +9.0 | +10.0 | °C | Grey outline marks highest and lowest for the period |
||||||||
| Daily minimum temperatures for October 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
| Canberra Airport | 11.1 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 6.7 | 9.1 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 8.5 | 7.6 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 7.7 | 11.3 | 11.0 | 7.7 | 8.2 | 11.1 | 11.5 | 12.1 | 9.4 | 15.0 | 12.4 | 9.8 | 6.8 | 4.7 | 7.6 | 9.6 | 8.0 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 8.9 |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 2.6 | 5.0 | 8.9 | 9.1 | 12.1 | 13.3 | 12.2 | -0.5 | 1.9 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 8.3 | 10.3 | 11.0 | 6.1 | 8.1 | 9.8 | 9.1 | 5.4 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 6.3 | 9.6 | -1.5 | -2.0 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 7.0 |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 11.5 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 7.1 | 10.5 | 6.7 | 7.9 | 9.8 | 8.5 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 8.6 | 10.6 | 10.6 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 13.1 | 10.5 | 14.1 | 10.9 | 15.5 | 12.8 | 10.7 | 9.3 | 5.4 | 9.2 | 9.3 | 8.4 | 5.2 | 7.0 | 9.5 |
|
Values are the minimum temperature, usually in the 24 hours to 9 am on the day indicated, and typically occurred that morning. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Temperatures coloured according to their difference from the long-term average for the period |
-10.0 | -9.0 | -8.0 | -7.0 | -6.0 | -5.0 | -4.0 | -3.0 | -2.0 | -1.0 | 0.0 | +1.0 | +2.0 | +3.0 | +4.0 | +5.0 | +6.0 | +7.0 | +8.0 | +9.0 | +10.0 | °C | Grey outline marks highest and lowest for the period |
||||||||
| Daily rainfall for October 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | ||
| Canberra (Australian National Botanic Ga | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.4 | - | - | 3.8 | 9.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Canberra Airport | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 8.6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.8 | 0.2 | - | 2.6 | 13.0 | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| Mount Ginini AWS | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.6 | 1.6 | 0.4 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.6 | 0.2 | - | 8.8 | 5.6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Nicholls (Gungahlin Lakes) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | - | 0.8 | - | - | - | - | - | 2.8 | - | - | 3.0 | 14.2 | ||||||||||
| Tharwa General Store | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 17.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 8.8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Torrens (Darke St) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.8 | ||||||||||||||
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 10.0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.2 | - | - | 5.2 | 13.0 | 0.8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
|
Most values are the precipitation in the 24 hours to 9 am on the day indicated.
Days marked with → are part of a longer accumulation, which is shown on the final day. Values over 100 mm have been rounded to the nearest whole millimetre. Days marked with - have a rainfall report of zero; days left blank have no rainfall report (which often indicates no rain fell). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rainfalls coloured according to the amount |
0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 | 15.0 | 25.0 | 50.0 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 600 | millimetres | ||||||||||||||||||
Extremes Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
Notes
The Monthly climate summary lists the main features of the weather in Canberra 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.
A climate summary is generally published on the first working day of each month.
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 9 am on Monday 2 November 2015. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
Averages for individual sites 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 10 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median
is sometimes more representative than the
mean
of long-term average rain.
Observations for “Canberra Airport” are taken from the current site
(Bureau number 070351), which opened in late 2008.
Comparisons are made against data from the previous site
Canberra Airport Comparison (070014),
which ran from 1939 to 2010.
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.
The ACORN-SAT dataset is used for temperature area averages.
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
