Wednesday, 6 January 2016 - Monthly Climate Summary for Canberra - Product code IDCKGC15L0
Canberra in December 2015: Warmest December days since 2009
Canberra experienced its equal fifth-warmest December mean maximum temperatures on record. Night-time temperatures were average for December, associated with clear, dry conditions during the month.
- Equal fifth-warmest mean maximum temperatures on record
- Well below average rainfall
The mean maximum temperature was 3.2 °C above normal for Canberra Airport during December. This was the equal fifth-warmest December on record, and the warmest December for Canberra since 2009. There were 14 days with temperatures of 30 °C or higher during the month, twice the historical average, with 3 reaching at least 35 °C (average 1 day). In comparison, the mean minimum temperature was equal to the historical average.
There was 34.6 mm of rain recorded at the airport, well below the December average of 53.8 mm. The rain fell over 6 days (average 8 days), with the heaviest rain falling during thunderstorms on the evening of the 16th and the passage of a cold front on the 26th. Daily totals reached 30 mm at Nicholls for the 24 hours to 9 am on the 27th.
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 December 2015 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day | 37.0 °C at Canberra Airport on the 20th |
| Warmest days on average | 29.3 °C at Canberra Airport |
| Coolest days on average | 19.1 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Coldest day | 12.5 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 26th |
| Coldest night | 1.0 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 12th |
| Coolest nights on average | 8.0 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Warmest nights on average | 12.0 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Warmest night | 20.0 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 21st |
| Warmest on average overall |
20.3 °C at Canberra Airport 20.3 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Coolest on average overall | 13.5 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Wettest overall | 45.8 mm at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Driest overall | 29.6 mm at Tharwa General Store |
| Wettest day | 30.2 mm at Mount Ginini AWS on the 27th |
| Strongest wind gust | 81 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 1st |
Extremes Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for December 2015 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for December 2015 |
Diff from average |
Highest for December 2015 |
Mean for December 2015 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for December 2015 |
Total for December 2015 |
Average for December |
Rank of December 2015 |
Fraction of December average |
|||
| Canberra Airport | 29.3 | +3.2 | 37.0 | 20th | 11.4 | +0.0 | 3.8 | 12th | 34.8 | 53.8 | average | 65% |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 19.1 | +1.5 | 26.6 | 20th | 8.0 | +1.0 | 1.0 | 12th | 45.8 | 102.9 | low | 45% |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 28.6 | +1.6 | 36.6 | 20th | 12.0 | -0.1 | 6.0 | 3rd | 30.8 | 65.6 | average | 47% |
|
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 December 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 | 35.0 | 23.2 | 26.8 | 29.8 | 32.0 | 32.7 | 28.8 | 28.2 | 30.6 | 31.6 | 27.4 | 26.1 | 27.7 | 32.2 | 30.3 | 27.0 | 30.2 | 33.6 | 36.3 | 37.0 | 27.9 | 24.9 | 25.4 | 26.2 | 28.7 | 22.0 | 24.0 | 24.7 | 30.2 | 32.4 | 34.0 |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 23.1 | 13.4 | 17.0 | 19.3 | 20.8 | 23.5 | 19.7 | 17.4 | 18.6 | 19.9 | 15.7 | 16.9 | 17.8 | 21.7 | 19.9 | 17.9 | 20.9 | 24.3 | 25.5 | 26.6 | 17.3 | 15.6 | 14.2 | 16.8 | 17.9 | 12.5 | 13.7 | 15.9 | 20.6 | 23.6 | 24.9 |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 33.4 | 22.7 | 26.5 | 29.9 | 30.8 | 32.4 | 26.5 | 27.3 | 29.9 | 30.6 | 26.3 | 26.2 | 27.0 | 31.8 | 30.1 | 25.1 | 29.6 | 33.4 | 35.7 | 36.6 | 27.5 | 23.9 | 25.1 | 25.4 | 28.0 | 22.2 | 22.9 | 24.5 | 30.1 | 31.7 | 33.4 |
|
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 December 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 | 10.4 | 12.0 | 6.6 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 11.2 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 17.2 | 12.2 | 10.8 | 3.8 | 7.3 | 6.5 | 12.4 | 13.1 | 10.4 | 13.6 | 15.4 | 16.2 | 19.3 | 14.0 | 13.6 | 10.9 | 9.2 | 11.4 | 11.0 | 6.4 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 11.4 |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 9.8 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 6.6 | 9.4 | 11.3 | 10.9 | 10.6 | 10.9 | 9.1 | 9.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 7.7 | 10.5 | 9.6 | 6.3 | 9.5 | 14.9 | 15.8 | 11.9 | 7.4 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 4.5 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 6.8 | 10.5 | 12.2 |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 10.0 | 12.1 | 6.0 | 10.5 | 9.1 | 10.8 | 16.4 | 18.0 | 18.1 | 12.4 | 10.5 | 6.3 | 12.2 | 6.4 | 10.6 | 13.6 | 10.7 | 13.7 | 15.3 | 14.9 | 20.0 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 12.3 | 9.8 | 12.5 | 11.9 | 7.5 | 10.1 | 10.3 | 11.7 |
|
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 December 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 | - | 0.8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.8 | - | - | - | - | 0.4 | - | 4.2 | - | - | 23.0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Canberra Airport | - | 1.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 16.0 | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | - | 0.8 | - | - | 16.0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Mount Ginini AWS | - | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.6 | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.6 | - | - | - | 3.8 | - | - | 1.2 | - | - | 30.2 | - | - | - | - | |
| Nicholls (Gungahlin Lakes) | - | 1.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.2 | - | - | - | - | 0.6 | - | - | 1.0 | - | - | 30.0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Tharwa General Store | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.6 | - | - | 24.6 | |||||
| Torrens (Darke St) | - | 0.4 | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | - | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.2 | - | - | - | 0.6 | - | - | 4.0 | - | - | 18.2 | - | - | - | - | |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.4 | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0.2 | - | 0.8 | - | - | 22.2 | - | - | - | - | |
|
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 8 am on Wednesday 6 January 2016. 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
