Thursday 1 March 2007 - Monthly Climate Summary for Sydney - Product code IDCKGC15L0

Sydney has mild, wet February

Heavy rain in western suburbs while the east received much lighter falls. Mild temperatures.

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Main points:

Rainfall

The total monthly rainfall of 107.6 mm at Sydney Observatory Hill was close to the historic February average of 117.0 mm.  There were 11 rain days, which is slightly below the historic average of 12 rain days.   In a reversal of the usual pattern, Metropolitan rainfall totals were highest in the south-western suburbs and lowest in the east. February totals ranged from 257.8 mm at Campbelltown (Kentlyn) in Sydney's south-west to 101 mm at Avalon on the northern beaches.  Most of this rain was from thunderstorm and shower activity.  It has been at least 25 years since monthly rainfall totals over such a wide area of the western suburbs have exceeded monthly totals for coastal suburbs by such a great amount.

Heavy rain fell in the lower Warragamba Dam catchment during February, with Warragamba Dam recording 175 mm for the month.  However, the upper catchment received lighter falls with monthly totals of 50−100 mm in the Goulburn area.   Recent rainfall in Sydney's catchments can be found on the Sydney Catchment Authority web site at: http://www.sca.nsw.gov.au/dams/rainfall.html

Temperature

Coastal Sydney experienced mild daytime temperatures during February. The average maximum (daytime) temperature at Observatory Hill was 26.0°C, or 0.2°C below the historic average¹of 26.2°C.  This is the lowest for February since 2002 when 25.2°C was recorded.  There was a noticeable absence of hot days (temperature exceeding 30°C) with nil recorded during February compared to the historic average of 2 hot days. The cooling affect of prevailing south-east to north-east sea-breezes contributed towards the mild temperatures along the coast.  Slightly warmer daytime temperatures were experienced in the western suburbs where average maximum temperatures were about 2−3°C higher than coastal suburbs.

Nights were mild to warm and humid, especially in coastal Sydney during February. The average minimum temperature at Sydney (Observatory Hill) of 20.6°C was 1.3°C above the historic February average¹. This is the 4th highest on record for February and the highest since 20.8°C in 1998.   The far west and lower Blue Mountains recorded minimum temperatures about 3−4°C cooler than coastal suburbs.  At Springwood (elevation 362 metres) the average minimum was 16.6°C, the lowest in the Sydney area.

The highest temperature at Sydney (Observatory Hill) during February was only 27.7°C on the 10th. This is the first time since 1957that the temperature has failed to exceed 28°C in February.  The lowest temperature was 17.7°C on the 13th. Corresponding extremes in the Sydney area ranged from 34.7°C at Penrith on the 3rd to 14.1°C at Springwood on the 15th.

Other phenomena

Sunshine hours were above average during February with an average of 7.8 hours per day compared to the historic February average of  7.3 hours per day.  Four thunderstorms were recorded at Sydney Observatory Hill (average 2 storms).  On the last day of the month the Campbelltown area experienced flash flooding for the second time in February after thunderstorms caused heavy rain which flooded roads and buildings.  Several people had to be rescued from cars swept away by flood waters. Lightning strikes injured several people and damaged railway signalling equipment.

Further information

Mike De Salis
NSW Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (02) 9296 1542
Email reqnsw@bom.gov.au

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Extremes

Hottest day Highest temperature	34.7°C at Penrith on the 3rd
Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature	29.3°C at Penrith
Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature	26.0°C at Sydney (Observatory Hill)
Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature	18.2°C at Springwood on the 12th
Coldest night Lowest temperature	14.1°C at Springwood on the 15th
Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature	16.6°C at Springwood
Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature	20.6°C at Sydney (Observatory Hill)
Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature	22.6°C at Sydney (Observatory Hill) on the 11th
Wettest overall Highest total rainfall	257.8 mm at Campbelltown (Kentlyn)
Driest overall Lowest total rainfall	101 mm at Avalon
Wettest day Highest daily rainfall	103.6 mm at Badgerys Creek on the 12th
Highest wind gust	104 km/h at Penrith on the 24th

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Summaries 

Summary statistics for February 2007
	Maximum temperatures February 2007 (°C)				Minimum temperatures February 2007 (°C)				Rainfall February 2007 (millimetres)
	Mean for February	Diff from normal	Highest for February		Mean for February	Diff from normal	Lowest for February		Total for February	Normal for February	Rank of February	Fraction of February normal
Sydney (Observatory Hill)	26.0	−0.2	27.7	10th	20.6	+1.3	17.7	13th	107.6	117.0	normal	92%
Parramatta	28.1	+0.2	32.9	24th	18.2	+0.7	16.0	14th	214.2	123.4	very high	174%
Richmond	28.6	normal	33.9	24th	18.2	+0.7	15.9	15th	189.0	105.6	high	179%
Camden	28.6	normal	33.9	3rd	17.8	+1.1	14.6	14th	203.4	95.9	high	212%
Springwood*	26.3		31.0	24th	16.6		14.1	15th	189.2	136.3	high	139%

Summary phenomena for Sydney (Observatory Hill) for February
	February 2007	Normal for February
Number of rain days	11	12
Average sunshine hours per day*	7.8	7.3
Average humidity at 3pm (%)	66	64
Number of thunderstorms	4	2
Number of windy days*	3	5

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Notes

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