Monday, 3 November, 2014 — Monthly Summary for Australia — Product Code IDCKGC1A00

Australia in October 2014

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

In Brief

October was a very warm, and generally dry, month for Australia. Maximum temperatures during October were warmer than average across nearly the entire continent and highest on record across parts of the southern mainland. All States and the Northern Territory, except Tasmania, observed monthly maxima in the top ten records for October. Minimum temperatures were cooler than average for large parts of northern Australia, especially in the Top End, and warmer than average elsewhere; with a large area of southeastern Western Australia recording its warmest October monthly minima. The national maximum temperature anomaly of +2.76 °C was the highest on record for October (previous record +2.63 °C in 1988), while minimum temperatures were the eighth-warmest on record at 1.06 °C warmer than average. This yielded Australia's second-warmest October on record in terms of mean temperatures, with an anomaly of +2.13 °C.

Rainfall was below average over all mainland States except Western Australia and also below average for parts of Tasmania. Nationally, it was the seventh-driest October on record (area-averaged rainfall 59% below mean). It was especially dry across South Australia, which recorded its driest October on record, while large areas of central Australia and the southeastern mainland recorded October rainfall in the lowest 10% of records.

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Temperatures

After commencing with temperatures generally near average, October developed into an unusually warm month with well-above-average temperatures recorded across nearly all of Australia, except for parts of the far north. The warmth was notable more for the area of Australia affected and the persistence of above-average temperatures rather than for absolute values, although a number of records were set during the month for individual daily temperature records for the month of October, monthly temperatures, earliest warm days, runs of warm days and the warmest October day on record for Australia as a whole. Please see the individual regional summaries for tables of station records.

Maximum temperatures for October were very much warmer than average across all of Australia, except for the north and central coast of Queensland where maxima were near-average. For 81% of Australia maxima were in the highest 10% of records (decile 1), with 23% of Australia recording its warmest October days since at least 1911. October maxima were the warmest on record for Australia nationally (+2.76 °C), highest on record for New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia, second-highest on record for Victoria and the Northern Territory, and seventh-highest on record for Queensland.

Minimum temperatures were below average for the eastern Kimberley in Western Australia and the Victoria River district of the Northern Territory, and also along the coast from the Top End through far northern Queensland to the Capricornia coast. Minima were in the lowest 10% of record for the Top End and areas of and the central coast of Queensland north and inland of Rockhampton. Minima were above average across the remainder of Western Australia, South Australia, southern and western Queensland, most of Tasmania, and the remaining mainland southeast, except for an area inland of the Great Dividing Range where temperatures were near-average. Minima were in decile 1 to highest on record for 38% of Australia, primarily in Western Australia south of the Kimberley, western South Australia and southern Victoria. Western Australia recorded the largest departure from mean with nights on average 2.05 °C warmer than average for their warmest October on record. Minimum temperatures were the third-warmest on record for October for South Australia.

Areal average temperatures
	Maximum Temperature			Minimum Temperature			Mean Temperature
	Rank (of 105)	Anomaly (°C)	Comment	Rank (of 105)	Anomaly (°C)	Comment	Rank (of 105)	Anomaly (°C)	Comment
Australia	105	+2.76	highest (was +2.63 °C in 1988)	98	+1.06	8th highest	104	+1.91	2nd highest (record +2.13 °C in 1988)
Queensland	99	+1.77	7th highest	= 72	+0.34		94	+1.05
New South Wales	105	+4.03	highest (was +3.36 °C in 2006)	90	+1.09		105	+2.56	highest (was +2.28 °C in 2006)
Victoria	104	+3.38	2nd highest (record +4.98 °C in 1914)	89	+0.58		104	+1.98	2nd highest (record +2.98 °C in 1914)
Tasmania	82	+0.59		= 88	+0.45		92	+0.52
South Australia	105	+4.13	highest (was +3.23 °C in 1988)	103	+1.47	3rd highest (record +1.92 °C in 1940)	105	+2.80	highest (was +2.38 °C in 1940)
Western Australia	105	+2.87	highest (was +2.47 °C in 2004)	105	+2.05	highest (was +1.92 °C in 1991)	105	+2.46	highest (was +2.14 °C in 2004)
Northern Territory	104	+2.02	2nd highest (record +2.58 °C in 1988)	= 56	−0.09		89	+0.96

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 105 (highest). A rank marked with ’=‘ indicates the value is tied for that rank. Anomaly is the departure from the long-term (1961–1990) average.

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

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Rainfall

Nationally-averaged rainfall during October was 59% below the long-term mean for Australia's seventh-driest October on record. Western Australia was the only State to record a positive anomaly; 7% above mean area-averaged rainfall for October. The Northern Territory and South Australia recorded the largest anomalies at 94% and 92% below average respectively. It was South Australia's driest October on record, the Northern Territory's fourth-driest and Queensland's ninth-driest. Rainfall was below-average across the eastern mainland States, the Northern Territory, South Australia, areas of Western Australia along the eastern border and the coast of the South West Land Division, and also in parts of eastern and northwestern Tasmania. Rainfall was in the lowest 10% of records (decile 1) for most of the Top End, central Australia, southern and eastern South Australia, the west of both Victoria and New South Wales, extending along northern New South Wales into southeastern Queensland. In total, October rainfall over 32% of Australia was in decile 1, with small areas of lowest-on-record October rainfall. Please see the individual regional summaries for tables of records.

October rainfall was above average for large parts of Western Australia away from the west coast and eastern border. Some parts of the interior recorded more than twice their monthly average rainfall for October with 19% of Western Australia recording rainfall totals in the highest 10% of records for October.

Area-average rainfall
	Rank (of 115)	Average (mm)	Departure from mean	Comment
Australia	7	9.6	−59%	7th lowest; lowest since 2002
Queensland	9	6.0	−77%	9th lowest
New South Wales	12	15.3	−66%
Victoria	12	27.7	−57%
Tasmania	52	115.3	−7%
South Australia	1	1.5	−92%	lowest
Western Australia	78	13.6	+7%
Northern Territory	4	1.1	−94%	4th lowest (record 0.8 mm in 1946)
Murray-Darling Basin	8	12.1	−70%	8th lowest

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 115 (highest). A rank marked with ’=‘ indicates the value is tied for that rank. Departure from mean is relative to the long-term (1961–1990) average.

Rainfall maps
	Totals	Percentages	Deciles
Total rainfall

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Australian weather extremes during October 2014
Hottest day	45.2 °C at Bidyadanga on 9 October (WA)
Coldest day	−0.1 °C at Mount Baw Baw (Vic.) on 1 October
Coldest night	−5.9 °C at Thredbo AWS (NSW) on 1 October
Warmest night	30.3 °C at Telfer Aero (WA) on 31 October
Wettest day	146.8 mm at Ulladulla AWS (Vic.) on 15 October

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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