Wednesday 2 January, 2012 — Monthly Climate Summary for Australia — Product Code IDCKGC1A00

Australia in December 2012

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

In Brief

December rainfall was below average across most of the eastern States as well as the Top End and southern South Australia. Above-average rainfall was recorded in the central Northern Territory and most of Western Australia. For Australia as a whole, the monthly rainfall total was somewhat below average. Maximum temperatures were above to very much above average for most of Australia during December, with isolated parts of the far northern coasts observing record high maxima. Below-average daytime temperatures were recorded around the Pilbara and Gascoyne in WA, as well as isolated areas in the northern inland of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Minimum temperatures were generally above average for Australia, although parts of the southeast recorded near-average monthly minima and parts of the north observed cooler-than-average nights.

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Temperatures

The December-averaged maximum temperature was the fourth-highest on record for Australia as a whole. The national anomaly was +1.23 °C; no State or Territory recorded a negative monthly anomaly for maxima. Queensland's monthly anomaly was its fifth highest (+1.70 °C), and South Australia's its fourth highest and the largest anomaly for any State (+2.17 °C).

Maximum temperatures were above to very much above average across central and southern Australia during December, as well as around the extreme northern coasts. An arc extending from the Pilbara coast through the northern inland to central Queensland generally observed near-average maxima, with below-average daytime temperatures recorded around the Pilbara and Gascoyne in Western Australia, as well as isolated areas in the northern inland of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Much of the north of the Cape York Peninsula observed record-high December maxima, as did the coast of the western Top End, and a small area around Broome. Monthly temperatures were 2 to 4 °C above average across much of inland Queensland and adjacent parts of New South Wales and South Australia.

Minima were also consistently above average for all States and the Northern Territory. The national-average monthly minimum temperature was 0.92 °C above average. Western Australia recorded its third-highest December minimum temperature anomaly.

Minimum temperatures were above average for most of mainland Australia, with much of Western Australia and central Australia in the highest 10 per cent of records. Minima were near average for most of Tasmania, southern South Australia, northwestern Victoria, and eastern Victoria extending into the tablelands of New South Wales. Small areas near Uluru and on the Pilbara coast recorded highest-on-record December minima. Eastern Queensland generally recorded near-average minima, with small areas inland of Cooktown and Rockhampton recording below-average minima. Nights were also cooler than average in the central Northern Territory and Kimberley. Minimum monthly anomalies of +2 to 4 °C were recorded in much of central Australia.

Areal average temperatures
	Maximum Temperature			Minimum Temperature
	Rank (out of 103)	Anomaly* (°C)	Comment	Rank (out of 103)	Anomaly* (°C)	Comment
Australia	100	+1.23	fourth highest, highest since 1979	98	+0.92
Queensland	99	+1.70	fifth highest	90	+0.82
New South Wales	92	+1.89		92	+1.47
Victoria	86	+1.49		83	+0.77
Tasmania	77.5	+0.90		63	+0.19
South Australia	100	+2.17	fourth highest	95.5	+1.34
Western Australia	89	+0.65		101	+0.84	third highest, highest since 1977
Northern Territory	82.5	+0.54		87.5	+0.62

^*Anomaly is the departure from the long-term (1961–1990) average.
A fractional rank indicates that the value is tied for that rank.

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

December rainfall was below average across the Queensland coast and ranges, and most of inland New South Wales; small parts of this area recorded their lowest December total on record. Rainfall was also below average across discontinuous parts of the Top End, southern South Australia, large parts of Victoria, and western Tasmania. The western half of Western Australia, the Kimberley, and central Northern Territory recorded above-average rainfall. Much of the Pilbara, Gascoyne, and coast further south recorded rainfall in the highest 10 per cent of records, with totals more than 50 mm above the December average widespread. For Australia as a whole, the monthly rainfall total was somewhat below average, at 45.3 mm compared to the long-term average of 52.3 mm. Western Australia recorded December rainfall 58 per cent above average, the Northern Territory near-average, and the other mainland States between 37 and 48 per cent below average.

Area-average rainfall
	Rank (out of 113)	Average (mm)	Departure from mean*	Comment
Australia	41	45.3	−13%
Queensland	22	43.4	−47%
New South Wales	34	32.0	−41%
Victoria	33	30.1	−37%
Tasmania	47	85.1	−18%
South Australia	34	9.6	−48%	lowest since 1994
Western Australia	88	50.1	+58%
Northern Territory	59	74.6	0%
Murray-Darling Basin	37	30.3	−38%

^*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 December 2012
Hottest day	47.3 °C at Emu Creek (WA) on 23 December
Coldest day	−0.2 °C at Mount Baw Baw (Vic) on 4 December
Coldest night	−5.3 °C at Perisher Valley (NSW) on 10 December
Warmest night	32.7 °C at Emu Creek (WA) on 24 December
Wettest day	210.8 mm at Yourdamung Lake (WA) on 13 December

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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