Thursday, 1 September, 2011 — Monthly Climate Summary for Australia — Product Code IDCKGC1A00

Australia in August 2011

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

In Brief

A particularly warm August was recorded across southern parts of the country, with approximately half of Australia recording maximum temperatures very much above the long-term average. Rainfall across Australia was generally below average, with the exception of eastern coastal regions where rainfall was mostly above average.

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Temperatures

Maximum temperatures averaged across Australia for August were 1.75 °C warmer than usual, the fifth highest on record. Daytime temperatures averaged across each state and territory all ranked in the top 10, with Tasmania recording its warmest August days on record and Victoria its third warmest.

Maximum temperatures across the southern half of Australia were generally 2-3 °C above average, with a large area up to 4 °C warmer than usual spanning most of inland New South Wales, southwest Queensland and northern parts of South Australia. The exceptionally warm daytime temperatures extended through central Australia to the Gascoyne district in Western Australia, where daytime temperatures were also up to 4 °C warmer than the long-term average for the month.

Southern parts of Australia enjoyed an early introduction to spring-like temperatures, with average to very much above average daytime and night-time temperatures recorded for August. The west coast of Tasmania and a small area of Western Australia near Broome recorded their highest August daytime temperatures on record.

Overnight temperatures were generally closer to the long-term average in the southern half of mainland Australia, although they were still mostly above normal. However, Tasmania recorded its warmest August nights on record with records set almost state-wide, and temperatures more than 2 °C above normal. Another area where records were set was on and near the west coast of Western Australia between Carnarvon and Onslow.

Most northern parts of the country experienced close to average August maximum temperatures, whilst minimum temperatures in this area were below average, particularly in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and adjacent parts of the Northern Territory. Throughout northern Australia night-time temperatures were well below average, with pockets of the Kimberley in Western Australia, the Victoria River region in the Northern Territory and Cape York Peninsula in Queensland recording average temperatures for August more than 3 °C cooler than normal.

Areal average temperatures
	Maximum Temperature			Minimum Temperature
	Rank (out of 62)	Anomaly* (°C)	Comment	Rank (out of 62)	Anomaly* (°C)	Comment
Australia	58	+1.75		37	+0.14
Queensland	58	+1.16		26	−0.55
New South Wales	57	+2.53		57	+1.09
Victoria	60	+2.07	3rd highest; record is +3.48 (1982)	54	+0.59
Tasmania	62	+2.22	Highest; previous record +1.90 (1982)	62	+2.63	Highest; previous record is +2.21 (2009)
South Australia	58	+2.74		58	+1.34
Western Australia	59	+1.82	4th highest; record is +3.00 (2006)	42	+0.44
Northern Territory	54	+1.07		14	−1.23

^*Anomaly is the departure from the long-term (1961-1990) average.

Temperature maps
	Mean	Anomaly	Deciles
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Rainfall

Rainfall averaged over Australia was 18% below normal (49th driest in 112 years of record), with most of the country observing close to average conditions this month.

Much of the east coast of Australia, especially the Queensland coast from Mackay southwards, received above average falls this month. The Gippsland district in Victoria and northeast Tasmania were also wetter than normal, much of the month’s rain falling as a result of an east coast low between the 8th and the 11th. This event caused some flooding and was responsible for this month’s highest daily rainfall totals with over 130 mm recorded at stations in both states.

Rainfall in most remaining areas of southeastern and southwestern Australia was fairly close to normal, although there was an area of lower than average rainfall in southern Victoria centred on Melbourne. Most of tropical and central Australia was seasonally dry, with no rain recorded this month at most locations in the Northern Territory, the western half of Queensland, the northern half of Western Australia and northernmost parts of South Australia.

Areal average rainfall
	Rank (out of 112)	Average (mm)	Departure from mean*	Comment
Australia	49	15.3	−18%
Queensland	67	12.1	−11%
New South Wales	63	37.3	−1%
Victoria	40	60.7	−18%
Tasmania	72	163.2	+8%
South Australia	28	11.0	−39%
Western Australia	42.5	12.1	−20%
Northern Territory	24.5	0.1	−97%
Murray-Darling Basin	51	32.2	−15%

^*The mean is calculated for the 1961-1990 reference period.

Rainfall maps
	Totals	Percentages	Deciles
Total rainfall

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Australian weather extremes in August 2011
Hottest day	37.5 °C at Noonamah (NT) on the 30th
Coldest day	−2.1 °C at Mount Hotham (VIC) on the 9th
Coldest night	−11.0 °C at Charlotte Pass (NSW) on the 10th
Warmest night	25.1 °C at Lockhart River(QLD) on the 29th
Wettest day	141.4 mm at Mount Victoria (TAS) on the 9th

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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