Monday, 2 November 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for Australian Capital Territory - Product code IDCKGC15L0
Australian Capital Territory in October 2020: Canberra's wettest month since 2016
October was a very wet month throughout the ACT. Minimum temperatures were well above average, while daytime maximum temperatures were close to average.
A very wet month
- Rainfall was well above average at all ACT locations, with most sites receiving at least double their long-term average.
- Tuggeranong had its highest total October rainfall on record.
- Some sites had their highest total October rainfall for at least 20 years.
- There were numerous significant rain events during the month. There were 7 days with 10 mm or more at Canberra Airport, equalling the record for any month set in December 1947, March 1950 and February 2002, while 10 days with 5 mm or more was the most in any month since March 1956.
- October rainfall is for the month ending at 9 a.m. on the 31st: rain recorded after 9 a.m. on the 31st will be counted in November's figures.
Warm nights, days near average
- Night-time minimum temperatures were well above average.
- There was a persistent run of warm nights from the 14th to the 24th.
- Tuggeranong had its warmest October night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record.
- Daytime maximum temperatures were close to average.
Canberra Airport
- Total rainfall for Canberra Airport was 133.6 mm, which is 224% of the long-term average of 59.7 mm
- This is the wettest month at Canberra Airport since September 2016, and the wettest October since 1976.
- The mean daily maximum temperature for Canberra Airport was 20.3 °C, which is 0.6 °C above the long-term average of 19.7 °C.
- The warmest day was 26.4 °C on the 23rd, and the coolest day was on the 26th when the temperature reached 12.8 °C.
- The mean daily minimum temperature for Canberra Airport was 8.8 °C, which is 2.8 °C above the long-term average of 6.0 °C, and the second-warmest on record after 9.0 °C in 1973.
- The coldest morning was 1.2 °C on the 2nd, the first October since 2005 when it has not fallen below 1 °C, and the warmest morning was on the 24th when the minimum temperature was 15.5 °C.
A month of thunderstorms
- There were frequent thunderstorms during the month, particularly from the 15th to the 17th and from the 23rd onwards, although most of the storms did not reach severe criteria.
- Canberra has now exceeded its average annual rainfall, with 655.4 mm to the end of October. The total for the year to date is 33% above average, but slightly below the 666.8 mm recorded to the end of October in 2016.
- Maximum temperatures at Canberra Airport for the year-to-date are 0.5 °C above average, the lowest since 2011, while minimum temperatures are 1.1 °C above average.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Extremes in October 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day | 26.4 °C at Canberra Airport on the 23rd |
| Warmest days on average | 20.5 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Coolest days on average | 12.0 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Coldest day | 1.6 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 26th |
| Coldest night | -0.9 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 26th |
| Coolest nights on average | 4.2 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Warmest nights on average |
8.8 °C at Canberra Airport 8.8 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Warmest night | 15.7 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 24th |
| Warmest on average overall | 14.7 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Coolest on average overall | 8.1 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Wettest overall | 189.6 mm at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Driest overall | 119.6 mm at Sutton (Uba) |
| Wettest day | 27.0 mm at Mount Ginini AWS on the 24th |
| Strongest wind gust | 76 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 8th |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Record highest October total rainfall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for October |
||
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 164.8 | 151.6 | in 2010 | 25 | 53.9 |
| Highest October total rainfall for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (mm) |
Most recent higher |
Average for October |
|||
| Sutton (Uba) | 119.3 | 123.4 | in 1999 | 59.0 | |
| Aranda (Bindaga St) | 131.4 | 152.8 | in 1999* | 58.5 | |
| Nicholls (Gungahlin Lakes) | 130.8 | 149.1 | in 1999* | 56.3 | |
* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported
| Record highest October daily minimum temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for October |
|||
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 15.7 | on the 24th | 15.5 | on the 21st in 2015 | 25 | 6.4 |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for October 2020 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for October 2020 |
Diff from average |
Highest for October 2020 |
Mean for October 2020 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for October 2020 |
Total for October 2020 |
Average for October |
Rank of October 2020 |
Fraction of October average |
|||
| Canberra Airport | 20.3 | +0.6 | 26.4 | 23rd | 8.8 | +2.8 | 1.2 | 2nd | 133.6 | 59.7 | v high | 224% |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 12.0 | -0.8 | 19.3 | 4th | 4.2 | +1.2 | -0.9 | 26th | 189.6 | 77.3 | high | 245% |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 20.5 | -0.6 | 26.0 | 23rd | 8.8 | +2.4 | 0.8 | 2nd | 164.8 | 53.9 | highest | 306% |
|
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 October 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 17.2 | 22.0 | 24.0 | 25.3 | 24.3 | 16.8 | 16.3 | 18.6 | 15.4 | 19.0 | 21.5 | 22.5 | 25.2 | 21.2 | 25.3 | 21.2 | 20.5 | 20.5 | 19.7 | 21.0 | 23.3 | 24.4 | 26.4 | 20.3 | 13.5 | 12.8 | 16.1 | 19.5 | 20.4 | 20.9 | 14.2 |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 8.3 | 15.5 | 18.3 | 19.3 | 16.3 | 9.8 | 9.5 | 8.5 | 2.9 | 7.8 | 12.5 | 14.5 | 17.2 | 15.4 | 17.3 | 14.8 | 11.4 | 12.1 | 12.0 | 12.4 | 16.2 | 15.6 | 17.4 | 10.4 | 5.8 | 1.6 | 7.0 | 11.6 | 11.3 | 13.3 | 6.2 |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 17.2 | 23.7 | 24.7 | 25.6 | 25.2 | 15.9 | 15.8 | 18.6 | 15.0 | 19.1 | 21.3 | 23.2 | 25.3 | 21.3 | 26.0 | 22.5 | 22.3 | 20.9 | 20.1 | 20.8 | 23.8 | 24.3 | 26.0 | 20.7 | 13.4 | 12.5 | 16.2 | 19.5 | 20.1 | 21.3 | 14.3 |
|
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 October 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 9.2 | 1.2 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 7.8 | 11.5 | 11.9 | 12.5 | 10.1 | 6.5 | 2.1 | 10.5 | 4.7 | 12.0 | 11.7 | 13.5 | 10.2 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 8.7 | 9.7 | 15.5 | 6.4 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 6.7 | 11.9 |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 1.1 | -0.1 | 7.9 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 7.6 | 0.4 | -0.5 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 6.5 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 4.4 | 6.9 | 8.2 | 8.6 | 0.6 | -0.9 | -0.8 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 3.7 |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 9.1 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 5.2 | 9.3 | 10.4 | 10.9 | 13.1 | 10.3 | 4.3 | 2.8 | 9.3 | 5.0 | 12.2 | 12.9 | 14.1 | 10.2 | 11.5 | 7.8 | 11.4 | 11.7 | 8.3 | 9.9 | 15.7 | 5.8 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.3 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 11.8 |
|
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 October 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| Aranda (Bindaga St) | 10.8 | - | - | - | - | 19.6 | 4.2 | 15.0 | 2.0 | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | - | 0.4 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | 16.4 | 20.0 | 9.2 | 7.2 | 0.2 | 14.2 | |||
| Bruce (Australian Institute of Sport) | 13.6 | - | - | - | - | 15.0 | 7.0 | 14.0 | 4.0 | - | - | 11.8 | 4.8 | 0.4 | 6.0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 19.4 | 14.2 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Canberra (Australian National Botanic Ga | 13.8 | - | - | - | - | 20.8 | 4.0 | 16.2 | 4.4 | 1.0 | - | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | 5.2 | 8.8 | - | - | - | - | - | 21.5 | ||||||||
| Canberra Airport | 11.8 | - | - | - | - | 20.4 | 3.4 | 12.6 | 2.0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 18.8 | 7.0 | - | - | - | - | - | 16.4 | 10.6 | 5.6 | 7.0 | - | 2.4 | 12.0 | 3.4 | |
| Canberra Parliament House | 9.2 | - | - | - | - | 14.8 | 5.2 | 15.4 | 3.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ginninderra (Charnwood (ACT)) | 10.4 | - | - | - | 18.4 | 3.4 | 17.2 | 2.8 | 0.2 | - | - | - | 20.4 | - | - | 7.8 | 4.8 | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | 13.8 | 19.4 | 8.0 | 11.8 | 0.4 | 6.2 | 0.8 | 14.0 | ||
| Mount Ginini AWS | 21.6 | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | 6.6 | 22.6 | 4.2 | 2.8 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.6 | 12.2 | 24.6 | 1.4 | - | - | - | - | 27.0 | 20.8 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 8.2 | 5.0 | 22.2 | |
| Nicholls (Gungahlin Lakes) | 8.0 | - | - | - | - | 16.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6.0 | - | - | - | - | - | 13.6 | 13.2 | 10.0 | 15.0 | - | 2.0 | 4.0 | 12.0 | |
| Sutton (Uba) | 8.6 | - | - | - | - | 17.4 | 4.6 | 10.5 | 3.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.4 | 8.4 | 6.8 | - | - | - | - | - | 12.2 | 11.0 | 7.4 | 22.8 | - | 0.4 | 3.0 | 2.6 | |
| Torrens (Darke St) | 16.8 | - | - | - | - | 10.2 | 6.0 | 15.8 | 4.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.8 | 7.6 | - | - | - | - | - | 21.4 | 16.4 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 2.4 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 15.6 | |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 20.6 | - | - | - | - | 7.6 | 6.4 | 17.2 | 3.6 | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 21.0 | 7.2 | - | - | - | - | - | 18.8 | 18.6 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 12.6 | 5.4 | 16.4 | |
|
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 Monday 2 November 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
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
Unless otherwise noted, all maps, graphs and diagrams in this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
