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Monday, 2 December 2013 - Monthly Climate Summary for Canberra - Product code IDCKGC15R0

Canberra in November 2013: Heavy rain, cool nights

  • Well above average rainfall; most heavy rain events on record for November
  • Coldest November minimum temperatures since 1999
  • Severe thunderstorm hits Canberra

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall - Heavy rain in Canberra

Canberra airport recorded 105.6 mm of rain during November, well above the historical average of 64.4 mm. The rain fell over eleven days, close to the November average of 10 rain days, most of which recorded less than 2 mm. However, three days recorded at least 25 mm of rain, the most heavy rain days on record for November.

There were two main rain events during the month. Canberra Airport recorded a two-day total of 65.8 mm to 9am on the 12th associated with a complex surface trough over the state. Later in the month, severe thunderstorms on the 21st caused totals of 26.6 mm at the airport to 9am on the 22nd, most of which fell between 6:30 and 7 pm, including 13.4 mm in just 5 minutes.

Temperature - Warm days, cold nights

The average maximum temperature at Canberra airport during November was 23.8 °C, 1.1 °C above the historical average. Only four days dropped below 20 °C during the month (average 9 days), with two consecutive days above 30 °C on the 7th and 8th and a third 30 °C day on the 28th (average 2-3 days).

The average minimum temperature was 6.7 °C, 2.1 °C below the historical average. This is the equal-seventh-coldest November on record for Canberra, and the coldest since 1999. Only five nights remained above 10 °C during the month (average 12 nights), with nine nights dropping below 5 °C (average 5 nights). Two consecutive nights fell below 0 °C during clear conditions and cold southerly winds on the 4th and 5th, the second such event on record for November, with temperatures dropping to -1.5 °C on the 4th.

Thunderstorms

A fast-moving severe thunderstorm impacted Canberra on the afternoon of the 21st, with localised heavy rain, small hail, and strong wind gusts of 93 km/h at the airport. The storm resulted in some power outages and downed trees but no major damage.

Further information

Climate Officer
NSW Climate Services Centre
NSW Regional Office
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (02) 9296 1555
Email climate.nsw@bom.gov.au
Extremes in November 2013
Hottest day 32.0 °C at Canberra Airport on the 8th
Warmest days on average 23.8 °C at Canberra Airport
Coolest days on average 14.9 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Coldest day 3.0 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 10th
Coldest night -4.8 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 4th
Coolest nights on average 4.1 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Warmest nights on average 7.5 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
Warmest night 14.2 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on the 22nd
Warmest on average overall 15.6 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
Coolest on average overall 9.5 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Wettest overall 105.6 mm at Canberra Airport
Wettest day 50.4 mm at Nicholls (Gungahlin Lakes) on the 12th
Highest wind gust 93 km/h at Canberra Airport on the 21st

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for November 2013
Maximum temperatures
for November
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for November
(°C)		 Rainfall
for November
(millimetres)
Mean for
November
2013		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
November
2013		 Mean for
November
2013		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
November
2013		 Total for
November
2013		 Average
for
November		 Rank of
November
2013		 Fraction of
November
average
Canberra Airport 23.8 +1.1 32.0 8th 6.7 -2.1 -1.5 4th 105.6 64.4 high 164%
Mount Ginini AWS 14.9   21.6 20th 4.1   -4.8 4th 61.8
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 23.7   31.7 28th 7.5   1.2 4th 80.4

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Notes

As of March 2010, the official station for Canberra is 70351 'Canberra Airport'. Averages from the previous site, 70014 Canberra Airport Comparison, are used for comparisons (all years of record).

A Monthly Climate Summary is prepared to list 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, usually published in the fourth week of the month.

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 8 am on Monday 2 December 2013. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

Averages 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 20 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.

The ACORN-SAT dataset is being used for temperature area averages from December 2012 onwards. The major change from earlier datasets is that the ACORN-SAT dataset commences in 1910, rather than 1950, and hence rankings are calculated using a larger set of years.

Further information

Climate Officer
NSW Climate Services Centre
NSW Regional Office
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (02) 9296 1555
Email climate.nsw@bom.gov.au