Thursday, 1 September 2022 - Monthly Climate Summary for Australian Capital Territory - Product code IDCKGC15L0

Australian Capital Territory in August 2022: A very wet end to winter

August 2022 was a very wet month for the Australian Capital Territory, with monthly totals more than twice their average across many sites. Mean monthly minimum temperatures were generally 1 to 2 °C above average while mean monthly maximum temperatures were close to average.

A very wet August

Warmer than average nights

  • Mean monthly maximum temperatures were generally close to their long-term monthly averages while minimum temperatures were 1 to 2 °C above their monthly average.
  • The coldest day and night occurred on the 23rd and 24th, after a cold front moved through the territory and resulted in temperatures more than 6 °C below the monthly average.

Canberra Airport

  • Total rainfall for Canberra Airport was 116.4 mm, which is 226% of the average at the current site of 51.5 mm, or 251% of the average over all years of 46.3 mm.
  • The monthly total was the highest August total recorded since 1998.
  • The mean daily maximum temperature for Canberra Airport was 14.1 °C, equal to the average at the current site, or 0.9 °C above the average over all years of 13.2 °C.
  • The warmest day was 18.7 °C on the 28th, and the coolest day was on the 23rd when the temperature reached 6.8 °C.
  • The mean daily minimum temperature for Canberra Airport was 2.6 °C, which is 1.7 °C above the average at the current site of 0.9 °C, or 1.6 °C above the average over all years of 1.0 °C.
  • The coldest morning was -6.3 °C on the 24th, and the warmest morning was on the 4th when the minimum temperature was 9.1 °C.
    • Note: Observations for “Canberra Airport” are taken from the current site Canberra Airport (070351) which opened in late 2008. Comparisons and averages over all years 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.

Further information

Media
(03) 9669 4057

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Extremes in August 2022
Hottest day 18.7 °C at Canberra Airport on the 28th
Warmest days on average 14.1 °C at Canberra Airport
Coolest days on average 3.2 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Coldest day -1.1 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 23rd
Coldest night -6.3 °C at Canberra Airport on the 24th
Coolest nights on average -1.3 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Warmest nights on average 2.8 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS
Warmest night 9.1 °C at Canberra Airport on the 4th
Warmest on average overall 8.4 °C at Canberra Airport
Coolest on average overall 0.9 °C at Mount Ginini AWS
Wettest overall 223.4 mm at Mount Ginini AWS
Wettest day 66.6 mm at Nicholls (Gungahlin Lakes) on the 5th
Strongest wind gust 94 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 4th

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Record highest August daily rainfall
New record
(mm)		 Old
record		 Years of
record
Canberra (Australian National Botanic Ga 54.8 on the 5th 49.4 on the 28th in 1974 55
Bruce (Australian Institute of Sport) 58.2 on the 5th 38.8 on the 15th in 1985 41
Torrens (Darke St) 64.2 on the 5th 40.4 on the 2nd in 2015 39
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 57.2 on the 5th 47.0 on the 18th in 2011 27


Record highest August total rainfall
New record
(mm)		 Old
record		 Years of
record		 Average for
August
Torrens (Darke St) 136.6 132.4 in 1998 39 52.6
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 130.8 122.6 in 1998 26 51.2
Nicholls (Gungahlin Lakes) 167.1 152.4 in 2020 24 62.4

Highest August total rainfall for at least 20 years
Observed
(mm)		 Most recent
higher		 Average for
August
Aranda (Bindaga St) 139.2 143.7 in 1974* 55.1
Canberra (Australian National Botanic Ga 122.3 127.0 in 1998 56.0

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported



Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Summary statistics for August 2022
Maximum temperatures
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
(°C)		 Rainfall
(millimetres)
Mean for
August
2022		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
August
2022		 Mean for
August
2022		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
August
2022		 Total for
August
2022		 Average
for
August		 Rank of
August
2022		 Fraction of
August
average
Canberra Airport 14.1 0.0 18.7 28th 2.6 +1.7 -6.3 24th 116.4 51.5 v high 226%
Mount Ginini AWS 3.2 -0.7 8.6 31st -1.3 +0.8 -6.2 24th 223.4 99.9 v high 224%
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 13.8 -0.3 18.3 28th 2.8 +1.9 -5.0 24th 130.8 51.2 highest 255%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Daily maximum temperatures for August 2022
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Canberra Airport12.814.117.514.115.911.713.313.513.414.110.615.214.210.512.714.813.715.914.113.014.215.46.813.415.416.916.218.713.315.616.7
Mount Ginini AWS-0.43.67.96.23.4-0.21.02.43.14.01.32.63.5-0.8-0.92.35.73.51.71.74.31.6-1.11.94.76.36.27.25.92.28.6
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS12.314.116.013.415.612.312.213.113.113.510.813.714.310.512.513.712.816.113.213.614.515.06.913.815.516.716.618.313.015.016.9
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 August 2022
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Canberra Airport-0.5-0.62.49.16.66.93.8-2.4-2.5-2.20.54.34.55.16.62.91.02.18.54.40.44.34.4-6.32.3-1.3-2.46.61.67.52.9
Mount Ginini AWS-1.5-2.4-1.33.21.0-1.8-2.6-2.8-4.0-2.7-0.8-0.2-0.8-2.1-2.4-3.1-1.60.80.2-3.2-3.5-2.6-1.2-6.2-2.7-1.70.31.12.20.40.5
Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS-0.21.83.09.06.17.02.5-2.1-1.4-3.41.44.84.65.56.72.51.42.48.94.2-0.4-1.43.5-5.01.62.5-0.17.71.57.04.2
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 August 2022
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Aranda (Bindaga St) 12.6 - 2.0 30.4 52.4 - 3.2 - - - - 9.2 5.8 0.2 1.2 - 1.2 - 0.6 1.0 - - 6.4 2.2 - - - - - 10.8 -
Bruce (Australian Institute of Sport) 13.4 - - 25.8 58.2 → → 4.2 1.0 - 1.0 9.6 → → 5.8 - 2.0 - 1.0











Canberra (Australian National Botanic Ga 13.0 - 2.0 26.4 54.8 0.3 1.7 0.1 - - - 9.2 5.8 - - 2.0 - 0.4 0.6 - - 4.4 1.6 - - - -



Canberra Airport 10.8 - 0.4 23.4 43.8 0.2 0.8 - 0.2 - - 5.4 10.8 1.2 - - 2.8 0.2 0.2 1.0 - - 3.4 2.2 - - 0.2 - - 9.2 0.2
Ginninderra (Charnwood (ACT)) 12.8 - 3.0 26.8 57.8 0.2 3.6 - 0.6 - - 11.8 2.2 0.4 3.4 0.2 0.4 20.0 0.8 - - - 3.2 3.0 - 0.2 - - - 11.4 -
Mount Ginini AWS 26.4 1.6 7.6 19.2 47.2 3.0 3.6 0.6 12.2 0.2 0.8 29.8 1.0 6.4 13.6 3.0 0.2 - 4.2 2.4 2.0 - 15.6 3.8 - - - - 0.4 18.6 -
Nicholls (Gungahlin Lakes) 16.6 - 2.4 30.4 66.6 - 3.2 - - - - 13.0 7.0 1.0 3.0 - 1.0 - 1.5 1.4 - - 3.4 2.0 - - - - - 14.6
Torrens (Darke St) 10.0 - 1.4 34.6 64.2 - - - 0.4 - - 6.4 5.0 0.2 0.4 2.8 - 0.4 - - - - 10.8







Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS 9.4 - 1.4 25.4 57.2 - - - 0.2 - - 5.6 4.0 - - - 2.6 0.6 - 3.0 - - 8.6 3.2 - - - - - 9.6 -
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 9 am on Thursday 1 September 2022. 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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