Friday, 1 May 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for Australian Capital Territory - Product code IDCKGC15L0

Australian Capital Territory in April 2020: cool days and above average rain

Cool days predominated in Canberra in April with Canberra Airport having its lowest April average maximum temperature since 1999. Rainfall was above average throughout the ACT.

Rainfall above average

  • Rainfall was above average at all ACT sites
  • The bulk of the rain fell early and late in the month, with widespread rain on 2-3 April and again on the 30th

Cool days and mild nights

  • Average maximum temperatures were below average at all ACT sites
  • Overnight minimum temperatures were generally slightly above average in metropolitan Canberra, and near average at Mount Ginini
  • The month was marked by a lack of warm days, with significantly above-average temperatures occurring only on the 1st and in mid-month
  • Tuggeranong had its coldest April day (lowest maximum temperature) on record

Canberra Airport

  • Total rainfall for Canberra Airport was 71.6 mm, which is 162% of the long-term average of 44.2 mm
  • The mean daily maximum temperature for Canberra Airport was 18.9 °C, which is 1.2 °C below the long-term average of 20.1 °C
  • The warmest day was 25.8 °C on the 1st, and the coolest day was on the 30th when the temperature reached 9.7 °C
  • The mean daily minimum temperature for Canberra Airport was 7.9 °C, which is 1.2 °C above the long-term average of 6.7 °C
  • The coldest morning was 0.6 °C on the 12th, and the warmest morning was on the 16th when the minimum temperature was 14.1 °C

Cold at end of the month

  • A major cold outbreak began to affect the ACT on the 30th, with snow falling on higher ground
  • Canberra Airport's maximum of 9.7 °C on the 30th was the coldest April day, and the earliest date in autumn with a maximum below 10 °C, since 1952

Further information

Media
(03) 9669 4057

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Extremes in April 2020
Hottest day 25.8 °C at Canberra Airport on the 1st
Warmest days on average 19.0 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
Coolest days on average 10.3 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Coldest day 0.1 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 30th
Coldest night -2.3 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 12th
Coolest nights on average 3.7 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Warmest nights on average 7.9 °C at Canberra Airport
Warmest night 15.2 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 2nd
Warmest on average overall 13.4 °C at Canberra Airport
13.4 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
Coolest on average overall 7.0 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Wettest overall 130.2 mm at Mount Ginini AWS
Driest overall 9.6 mm at Canberra Parliament House
Wettest day 35.8 mm at Mount Ginini AWS on the 30th
Strongest wind gust 83 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 11th

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Record lowest April daily maximum temperature
New record
(°C)		 Old
record		 Years of
record		 Average for
April
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 9.3 on the 30th 10.0 on the 28th in 2008 24 21.1


Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Summary statistics for April 2020
Maximum temperatures
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
(°C)		 Rainfall
(millimetres)
Mean for
April
2020		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
April
2020		 Mean for
April
2020		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
April
2020		 Total for
April
2020		 Average
for
April		 Rank of
April
2020		 Fraction of
April
average
Canberra Airport 18.9 -1.2 25.8 1st 7.9 +1.2 0.6 12th 71.6 44.2 high 162%
Mount Ginini AWS 10.3 -1.7 17.7 15th 3.7 -0.3 -2.3 12th 130.2 61.6 high 211%
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 19.0 -2.1 25.7 1st 7.8 +0.9 0.3 12th 80.4 34.4 high 234%
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 April 2020
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Canberra Airport25.820.016.916.614.318.518.018.920.518.517.017.117.420.324.422.618.818.517.918.220.820.718.722.320.817.518.521.916.89.7
Mount Ginini AWS14.810.38.86.44.68.78.88.810.810.45.710.412.215.617.710.810.312.110.47.410.611.411.612.313.89.112.412.29.10.1
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS25.720.016.816.114.218.918.018.720.418.517.217.117.019.424.722.521.718.918.118.220.521.020.022.521.417.618.121.316.29.3
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 April 2020
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Canberra Airport10.113.811.312.89.010.36.112.210.312.511.10.63.43.77.114.110.07.41.37.74.16.51.46.93.18.27.24.111.48.9
Mount Ginini AWS7.07.84.36.2-1.2-0.82.54.03.35.03.7-2.33.37.110.58.11.40.91.11.12.22.83.05.16.16.31.43.96.00.0
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS12.915.210.312.39.810.110.212.39.311.410.90.33.23.77.212.59.42.22.58.33.26.20.78.02.68.84.65.512.38.8
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 April 2020
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Bruce (Australian Institute of Sport) - - 24.6 - - 9.6 0.6 - - - - - 16.6
Canberra Airport - 1.4 20.0 8.2 1.4 - - - - 12.0 2.0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0.4 0.2 1.6 24.4
Canberra Parliament House - - - → → 9.6























Ginninderra (Charnwood (ACT)) - 2.0 27.6 6.8 0.2 0.2 0.2 - -
5.4

0.2 - -
- - - - - - - 0.2 - 1.6 - 2.8 32.4
Mount Ginini AWS - 6.4 14.6 8.6 15.2 10.4 0.4 - 1.6 2.4 0.4 2.8 - - - - 1.0 - - - - - - - - 2.6 9.6 - 18.4 35.8
Torrens (Darke St) - 1.2



























Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS - 1.4 23.2 6.2 0.4 0.2 - - - 16.8 5.6 0.4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.0 24.2
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 Friday 1 May 2020. 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

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