Thursday, 1 August 2019 - Monthly Climate Summary for Australian Capital Territory - Product code IDCKGC15L0

Australian Capital Territory in July 2019: very dry and warmest days on record

It was a very warm and dry July in the ACT. Average maximum temperatures were the highest on record for Canberra, and rainfall was well below average.

A very dry month

  • Rainfall was well below average throughout the ACT, with most lowland sites having less than 20% of their average July rainfall

Temperatures well above average

  • Maximum temperatures were well above average throughout the ACT, and were the warmest on record for both lowland sites
  • Minimum temperatures were also generally 0.5 to 1.0 °C above average, although well short of record high levels
  • Tuggeranong had its highest July mean daily maximum temperature on record

Canberra Airport

  • Total rainfall for Canberra Airport was 5.0 mm, which is 12% of the long-term average of 40.5 mm. This is the third-lowest July total on record and the lowest since 1982
  • The mean daily maximum temperature for Canberra Airport was 13.7 °C, which is 2.2 °C above the long-term average of 11.5 °C. This was the highest mean maximum temperature on record across the Canberra Airport sites, breaking the previous record of 13.4 °C set in 2013. The warmest day was 17.3 °C on the 22nd, and the coolest day was on the 14th when the temperature reached 8.6 °C. There were 11 days when the temperature reached 15 °C or higher, which is also a record
  • The mean daily minimum temperature for Canberra Airport was 0.7 °C, which is 0.8 °C above the long-term average of -0.1 °C. The coldest morning was -5.1 °C on the 25th, and the warmest morning was on the 24th when the minimum temperature was 7.8 °C
  • Mean maximum temperatures for 2019 to date have been 2.4 °C above average, the highest on record at this stage of the year, while mean minimum temperatures have been 0.9 °C above average. Rainfall has been 23% below average, although it has not been as dry as 2017 or 2018

Cold outbreak in mid-month

  • A cold outbreak occurred over the weekend of the 13th and 14th, with the maximum temperature failing to reach 9 °C on either day. Snow flurries were reported locally in elevated suburbs. Four days with maximum temperatures below 10 °C have occurred so far in 2019, well below the long-term average of 14 at this stage in the year

Further information

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Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Extremes in July 2019
Hottest day 17.3 °C at Canberra Airport on the 22nd
17.1 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 22nd
16.2 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 8th
16.2 °C at Canberra Airport on the 27th
Warmest days on average 13.7 °C at Canberra Airport
13.6 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
3.6 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Coolest days on average 3.6 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
13.6 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
13.7 °C at Canberra Airport
Coldest day -3.5 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 13th
-1.3 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 14th
-0.4 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 15th
Coldest night -6.5 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 14th
-5.7 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 13th
-5.6 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 15th
Coolest nights on average -2.0 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
0.4 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
0.7 °C at Canberra Airport
Warmest nights on average 0.7 °C at Canberra Airport
0.4 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
-2.0 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Warmest night 8.2 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 8th
7.8 °C at Canberra Airport on the 24th
7.7 °C at Canberra Airport on the 12th
Warmest on average overall 7.2 °C at Canberra Airport
7.0 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
0.8 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Coolest on average overall 0.8 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
7.0 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
7.2 °C at Canberra Airport
Wettest overall 51.2 mm at Mount Ginini AWS
9.2 mm at Bruce (Australian Institute of Sport)
8.6 mm at Torrens (Darke St)
Driest overall 5.0 mm at Canberra Airport
7.0 mm at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
8.6 mm at Torrens (Darke St)
Wettest day 17.8 mm at Mount Ginini AWS on the 13th
6.2 mm at Mount Ginini AWS on the 11th
5.6 mm at Mount Ginini AWS on the 15th
Strongest wind gust 91 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 12th
89 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 11th
89 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 14th
78 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 24th

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Record highest July mean daily maximum temperature
New record
(°C)		 Old
record		 Years of
record		 Average for
July
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 13.6 13.3 in 2018 23 12.3


Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Summary statistics for July 2019
Maximum temperatures
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
(°C)		 Rainfall
(millimetres)
Mean for
July
2019		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
July
2019		 Mean for
July
2019		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
July
2019		 Total for
July
2019		 Average
for
July		 Rank of
July
2019		 Fraction of
July
average
Canberra Airport 13.7 +2.2 17.3 22nd 0.7 +0.8 -5.1 25th 5.0 40.5 v low 12%
Mount Ginini AWS 3.6 +1.2 9.9 25th -2.0 +0.5 -6.5 14th 51.2 95.1 v low 54%
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 13.6 +1.3 17.1 22nd 0.4 +0.5 -5.2 1st 7.0 38.0 v low 18%
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,
combined with the current site from March 2010 onwards.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Daily maximum temperatures for July 2019
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Canberra Airport12.515.015.613.315.815.615.315.913.410.810.613.18.78.612.814.012.513.013.312.715.817.316.013.515.711.116.214.314.213.613.7
Mount Ginini AWS5.27.14.83.04.37.96.13.91.60.40.31.2-3.5-1.3-0.40.1-0.31.04.17.14.77.04.05.29.95.24.84.92.54.25.7
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS11.914.714.813.514.114.715.416.213.911.511.212.39.09.213.715.512.514.513.311.315.617.115.814.015.410.515.214.512.912.714.0
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 July 2019
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Canberra Airport-4.7-3.6-3.12.50.04.60.27.3-1.23.96.07.73.21.04.6-2.14.45.92.3-0.7-4.7-1.6-2.47.8-5.1-1.80.2-3.3-2.4-1.4-2.8
Mount Ginini AWS-5.0-0.7-0.7-0.3-0.30.80.22.2-2.3-2.3-3.8-3.3-5.7-6.5-5.6-3.4-2.0-2.9-4.9-1.3-1.00.7-0.7-3.2-2.81.0-0.2-1.8-0.9-2.1-3.4
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS-5.2-3.9-3.23.9-0.84.40.98.2-3.11.46.97.53.90.75.0-1.7-2.71.10.7-0.9-2.7-2.40.37.4-4.2-1.21.1-3.5-2.4-1.9-2.0
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 July 2019
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Bruce (Australian Institute of Sport) - - - - - - - 0.6 - - 0.2 4.0 → → 4.4
Canberra (Australian National Botanic Ga - - - - - 0.5 - 0.2 - 0.3 1.6 - 4.0 0.4 0.4 - -













Canberra Airport 0.2 - - - - 0.2 0.2 - - - 0.8 - 2.8 - 0.2 - - - - - - - - - - - 0.2 - - 0.2 0.2
Ginninderra (Charnwood (ACT)) 0.2 - 0.2 - - - - 0.4 0.2 0.2 2.0 - 2.8 0.2 - - - - - - - 0.2 0.2 0.2 - - - - 0.4 0.6 -
Mount Ginini AWS 1.4 - - - - - 0.2 3.2 0.2 0.2 6.2 4.0 17.8 5.2 5.6 1.2 - 1.4 - - - - - 4.2 - - - - - 0.4 -
Torrens (Darke St) - - - - - 0.4 - 0.8 - - 1.8 - 3.8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1.8
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS - - - - - - - 0.6 - - 1.6 - 4.2 0.4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0.2 -
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 Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Notes

The Monthly climate summary, generally published on the first working day of each month, lists the main features of the weather in Australian Capital Territory using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. More extensive discussion of significant weather events, along with later information and data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review.

This summary includes data from observing sites in or near the Australian Capital Territory “Greater Capital City Statistical Area” (GCCSA). The Australian Bureau of Statistics designed the GCCSAs to “include the population within the urban area of the city, as well as people who regularly socialise, shop or work within the city, and live in small towns and rural areas surrounding the city. It is important to note that GCCSAs do not define the built up edge of the city. They provide a stable definition for these cities and are designed for the output of a range of social and economic survey data.”

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Thursday 1 August 2019. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

In some situations, some or all of the rainfall is in the form of hail or snow. In these cases the totals given are for the water equivalent: the depth of liquid water that results from melting any frozen precipitation. There can be significant 'undercatch' of snow in strong winds, meaning the true precipitation can be higher than that reported.

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.

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.

Where temperature area averages are mentioned, they are derived from the ACORN-SAT dataset.

Further information

Media
(03) 9669 4057
Enquiries

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