Australia in November 2019

In brief

  • Tenth-warmest November on record for Australia
  • Mean maximum temperature above average for western, northern, and east coast Australia; warmest on record for Western Australia, third-warmest for Queensland and fifth-warmest for the Northern Territory
  • Mean minimum temperature above average for most of Western Australia and parts of the north, but cooler than average for much of the central third of Australia between the Kimberley and western Victoria
  • November rainfall below to very much below average for most of Australia; driest November for the country as a whole
  • Amongst the ten driest Novembers on record for Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory
  • Above average November rainfall for part of the Pilbara, an area of central northern New South Wales, and western Tasmania
  • It has been the second-warmest January–November on record for Australia (spanning 110 years), with rainfall the second-lowest on record for Australia as a whole (spanning 120 years)

Temperatures

November was warmer than average for Australia as a whole, with the national mean temperature tenth-warmest on record at 1.22 °C above average. Both the mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures for the month were much warmer than average for November, with the mean maximum coming in as the sixth-warmest on record for November at +2.09 °C, while the mean minimum was 0.36 °C warmer than average.

The November mean maximum temperature was amongst the ten warmest on record for Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.

Maximum temperatures for November were above to very much above average for much of Australia, but near average for central and eastern South Australia, much of Victoria except East Gippsland, central and western New South Wales, and much of Tasmania. Maximum temperatures were warmest on record for November for parts of the west of Western Australia and parts of northern Australia. Some sites in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia set records for warmest mean daily maximum temperature for November, as did some in the Northern Territory. Conversely, some sites in western Tasmania observed their lowest November mean daily maximum temperature on record, or lowest for at least 20 years.

A very warm period between the 16th and 21st saw many high temperature records set across southern Australia, including in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia. A few sites in South Australia and Western Australia also observed record high daily minimum temperature during the event, while a few other sites in both States observed record high November mean daily minimum temperatures for the month as a whole.

The very high temperatures and very dry air coupled with a cool change with very strong and gusty winds led to a worsening of the fire situation in New South Wales and Queensland, in addition to dry lightning igniting fires across Victoria on the 21st.

The mean minimum temperature for the month was above to very much above average for most of Western Australia except the Kimberley and the south coast; for the northwestern Northern Territory; Queensland's Gulf Country; areas of Queensland's Capricornia, Central Highlands, and southeast districts; and for an area of central eastern New South Wales. Mean minimum temperatures for the month were cooler than average for the much of the Kimberley; eastern Central Australia through parts of central South Australia; across southern South Australia, western to central Victoria, and far southwestern New South Wales; the west coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria; and areas of Queensland's Central coast and eastern Cape York Peninsula.

A few sites in South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania observed their lowest mean minimum temperature on record for November, or for at least 20 years.

The year to date has been very warm for the country as a whole; Australia observed its second-warmest mean temperature on record for January–November. The mean maximum temperature was highest on record for Australia over the same period, with mean minimum temperature also very warm at seventh-highest on record. Both mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures for the period were warmest on record for New South Wales, with mean maximum temperature amongst the ten warmest on record for all other States and the Northern Territory, except for Tasmania which fell just outside the top ten.


Areal average temperatures
Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Mean Temperature
Rank
(of 110)
Anomaly
(°C)
Comment Rank
(of 110)
Anomaly
(°C)
Comment Rank
(of 110)
Anomaly
(°C)
Comment
Australia 105 +2.09 6th highest 75 +0.36 101 +1.22 10th highest
Queensland 108 +2.13 3rd highest (record +2.98 °C in 2014) 84 +0.54 102 +1.34 9th highest
New South Wales 87 +1.77 76 +0.85 85 +1.31
Victoria 54 +0.01 50 −0.28 54 −0.13
Tasmania 32 −0.75 49 −0.53 = 39 −0.63
South Australia 75 +0.75 23 −0.99 55 −0.11
Western Australia 110 +3.00 highest (was +2.54 °C in 2006) = 84 +0.62 108 +1.81 3rd highest (record +2.20 °C in 2006)
Northern Territory 106 +2.00 5th highest 82 +0.50 101 +1.25 10th highest

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 110 (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
MeanAnomalyDeciles
Mean
daily
maximum
temperatures
Map of mean daily maximum temperature Map of mean daily maximum temperature anomalies Map of mean daily maximum temperature deciles
Mean
daily
minimum
temperatures
Map of mean daily minimum temperature Map of mean daily minimum temperature anomalies Map of mean daily minimum temperature deciles
Mean
daily
temperatures
Map of mean daily temperature Map of mean daily temperature anomalies Map of mean daily temperature deciles

Rainfall

Nationally, November rainfall was very much below average, the driest on record out of 120 Novembers since 1900. Rainfall for the month was amongst the ten lowest on record for November for Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.

Rainfall was below to very much below average across most of Australia, including eastern New South Wales; eastern, northern, and far western Queensland; most of the Northern Territory and South Australia; and most of Western Australia except some parts of the northwest and west coast.

Above average rainfall was restricted to small areas, including western Tasmania, part of the Pilbara coast, and an area of central northern New South Wales. Above average rainfall in central northern New South Wales was mostly due to storms in the first days of the month, with the remainder of November being generally dry.

The very dry November has added to ongoing serious or severe rainfall deficiencies which have affected large parts of Australia. A large number of sites in New South Wales and Queensland, some in the Northern Territory and South Australia had their lowest November total rainfall on record, or for at least 20 years.

For the year to date (January–November), rainfall has been below to very much below average over much of Australia. For Australia as a whole, it was the second-driest January–November on record, coming in behind January–November 1902. It was the driest January–November on record for South Australia, and amongst the three driest on record for New South Wales, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.


Area-average rainfall
Rank
(of 120)
Average
(mm)
Departure
from mean
Comment
Australia 1 11.9 −64% lowest
Queensland 4 10.8 −76% 4th lowest (record 7.7 mm in 1919)
New South Wales 28 25.0 −44%
Victoria 49 44.1 −15%
Tasmania 84 124.9 +21%
South Australia 16 4.8 −69%
Western Australia 3 5.2 −71% 3rd lowest (record 5.0 mm in 1960)
Northern Territory 3 12.0 −71% 3rd lowest (record 10.2 mm in 1901)
Murray-Darling Basin 30 23.8 −41%

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 120 (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
TotalsPercentagesDeciles
Total
rainfall
Map of total rainfall Map of percentage of normal rain Map of rainfall deciles


Australian weather extremes during November 2019
Hottest day 47.1 °C    at Mandora (WA) on the 14th
Coldest day −0.6 °C    at Mount Buller (Vic.) on the 8th
Coldest night −7.4 °C    at Thredbo AWS (NSW) on the 9th
Warmest night 31.9 °C    at Argyle Aerodrome (WA) on the 20th
Wettest day 118.4 mm at Point Stuart (NT) on the 5th


Notes

The Monthly Climate Summary is prepared to list the main features of the weather in Australia 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 following month.

Climate Summaries are usually published on the first working day of each month.

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 1 pm EST on Monday 2 December 2019. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available, especially for rainfall where much more data becomes available as returns are received from volunteers.

Long-term averages in this statement and associated tables are for the period 1961 to 1990 unless otherwise specified. Temperature area averages are derived from the ACORN-SAT version 2 dataset. Rainfall area averages, along with rainfall and temperature maps, are derived from the AWAP dataset.


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