Monday, 1 June 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for Australian Capital Territory - Product code IDCKGC15L0

Australian Capital Territory in May 2020: coolest days since 1979

Daytime maximum temperatures were below average in the ACT in May. Overnight minimum temperatures were near average, while rainfall was relatively close to average.

Rainfall close to average

  • Rainfall was relatively close to average
  • Most sites in metropolitan Canberra had rainfall near or slightly below average
  • In the Brindabellas it was slightly wetter than average. Most of this fell as snow on the first two days of the month

Daytime temperatures below average

  • Daytime temperatures were significantly below average at all locations
  • Minimum temperatures were close to average at low-elevation sites, but below average at Mount Ginini

Canberra Airport

  • Total rainfall for Canberra Airport was 26.8 mm, which is 64% of the long-term average of 42.2 mm
  • The mean daily maximum temperature for Canberra Airport was 15.0 °C, which is 0.7 °C below the long-term average of 15.7 °C and the lowest for May since 1979. The warmest day was 19.8 °C on the 8th, and the coolest day was on the 1st when the temperature reached 9.4 °C
  • The mean daily minimum temperature for Canberra Airport was 2.8 °C, which is 0.2 °C below the long-term average of 3.0 °C. The coldest morning was -3.0 °C on the 11th, and the warmest morning was on the 9th when the minimum temperature was 8.2 °C

Cold outbreak at start of month

  • A significant cold outbreak affected the ACT at the start of the month, with widespread snow in the Brindabellas
  • Canberra Airport's maximum of 9.4 °C on the 1st was the lowest so early in autumn since 1952

Further information

Media
(03) 9669 4057

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Extremes in May 2020
Hottest day 19.8 °C at Canberra Airport on the 8th
19.8 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 8th
Warmest days on average 15.1 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
Coolest days on average 5.3 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Coldest day -1.8 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 1st
Coldest night -5.0 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 10th
Coolest nights on average -0.2 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Warmest nights on average 2.8 °C at Canberra Airport
2.8 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
Warmest night 9.1 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 9th
Warmest on average overall 9.0 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
Coolest on average overall 2.6 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Wettest overall 79.8 mm at Mount Ginini AWS
Driest overall 22.8 mm at Torrens (Darke St)
Wettest day 30.0 mm at Mount Ginini AWS on the 2nd
Strongest wind gust 74 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 9th

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Lowest May mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years
Observed
(°C)		 Most recent
lower		 Average for
May
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 15.1 =15.1 in 2000 16.6


Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Summary statistics for May 2020
Maximum temperatures
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
(°C)		 Rainfall
(millimetres)
Mean for
May
2020		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
May
2020		 Mean for
May
2020		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
May
2020		 Total for
May
2020		 Average
for
May		 Rank of
May
2020		 Fraction of
May
average
Canberra Airport 15.0 -0.7 19.8 8th 2.8 -0.2 -3.0 11th 26.8 42.2 average 64%
Mount Ginini AWS 5.3 -2.4 9.5 5th -0.2 -1.3 -5.0 10th 79.8 62.6 average 127%
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 15.1 -1.5 19.8 8th 2.8 +0.3 -3.2 11th 23.4 24.7 average 95%
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 May 2020
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Canberra Airport9.410.814.215.417.218.018.819.816.411.613.814.215.015.015.016.117.117.317.415.314.312.911.314.113.615.214.316.614.615.516.0
Mount Ginini AWS-1.8-1.04.86.79.58.36.89.05.61.55.85.75.36.25.97.08.06.06.64.84.92.43.93.23.95.46.47.57.16.33.4
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS8.511.614.815.217.418.619.219.816.513.014.114.315.515.014.715.716.916.917.615.214.011.612.114.513.014.714.716.315.415.316.1
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 May 2020
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Canberra Airport4.65.20.4-1.40.40.12.56.78.23.6-3.0-2.23.42.40.82.2-0.50.32.75.35.86.07.57.83.83.83.13.1-0.10.52.5
Mount Ginini AWS-3.5-3.0-3.2-2.60.92.72.14.13.3-5.0-4.4-0.3-1.0-0.9-1.7-0.50.80.51.53.6-0.5-2.7-1.00.0-1.2-0.6-0.11.70.71.32.3
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS5.05.50.6-1.4-0.50.41.96.39.11.8-3.2-1.92.62.2-0.8-0.4-0.9-0.26.27.55.36.37.95.17.08.43.32.3-1.60.33.2
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 May 2020
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Aranda (Bindaga St) 11.0
Bruce (Australian Institute of Sport) 12.4 - - 6.4 - - - - - - 4.0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6.4





Canberra (Australian National Botanic Ga 10.8 4.6 - - - - - - 3.2 4.5 - - - - - - - - - 0.1 0.5 - - 1.0






Canberra Airport 10.6 2.8 - - 0.2 - - - 1.8 4.6 - 0.2 - - - - - - - 0.2 - - 3.2 3.0 - - - - - - 0.2
Ginninderra (Charnwood (ACT)) 13.2 3.4
- 0.4 - - - 2.4 2.6 - - - - 0.2 - - - - - 0.6 - 5.8 1.4 - - - - -

Mount Ginini AWS 26.6 30.0 8.0 1.2 - - - - 3.8 5.8 - - - - - - - - - 1.0 2.6 - 0.4 0.4 - - - - - - -
Sutton (Uba) 13.8 2.8 - - - - - - 1.8 1.4 - - - - - - - - - - 1.3 - 3.4 2.8






Torrens (Darke St) 11.6 3.8 - - - - - - 1.6 1.6 - - - - - - - - - - 1.0 - 2.0 1.2






Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 11.8 4.2 - - - 0.2 - - 1.2 1.4 - - - - - - - - - - 1.4 - 2.6 0.6 - - - - - - -
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 11 am on Monday 1 June 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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