Tuesday, 1 November 2011 - Monthly Climate Summary for Sydney - Greater Sydney - Product code IDCKGC25L0

Sydney in October 2011: Dry, cloudy month for Sydney

• Below average rainfall
• Average maximum temperatures; below average in western Sydney
• Above average minimum temperatures

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Sydney Observatory Hill recorded 37.4 mm during October 2011, below the historical average of 77.4 mm. Only two days exceeded 5 mm during the month, reaching just 9.8 mm on the 2nd and 7.2 mm on the 15th, compared to an average of 4 days. Rainfall was average to below average throughout the Metropolitan region, with heaviest totals on the coast, reaching 88 mm at Avalon on the Northern Beaches and 117 mm at Cronulla in the Eastern Suburbs. The high monthly total at Cronulla was mostly due to isolated heavy rainfall on the 15th, with 24-hour totals of 78 mm.

Temperature

The average maximum temperature at Sydney Observatory Hill was 22.2 °C, close to the historical average of 22.1 °C, associated with generally cloudy conditions during the month. Temperatures were below average throughout the rest of the Metropolitan region, including 1.2 °C below average at Parramatta North, similar to conditions in October 2010. Two days reached 30 °C at Sydney Observatory Hill during the month, average for October, reaching 34.3 °C on the 24th.

The average minimum temperature at Observatory Hill during October was 14.4 °C, 0.8 °C above the historical average, with temperatures generally above average in eastern parts of the city and closer to average in the west. The average temperature was consequently 18.3 °C, slightly above average for October.

Wind

Winds were predominantly easterly at Sydney Airport during the month, with 90% of 3pm winds between NNE and SSE, typical for October. There were 2 strong wind days during the month, well below the historical average of 6-7 days, and the fewest since October 1988. The strongest wind gust at the Airport was 74 km/hr on the 30th, with the strongest winds anywhere in the Metropolitan region reaching 80 km/hr at Port Botany on the same day.

Other phenomena

Sydney Airport recorded 6.7 hours of sunshine during October, below the historical average of 7.8 hours. Only five clear days were reported at the Airport, below the historical average of 8 days and the fewest since October 2003 (3 days). No thunderstorms were reported at Sydney Airport, with 7 reported in the Metropolitan region.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Most values are the precipitation in the 24 hours to 9 am on the day indicated. Days marked with »» are part of a longer accumulation, which is marked like this on the final day. Values over 100 mm have been rounded to the nearest whole millimetre. Days marked with - have a rainfall report of zero; days left blank have no rainfall report (which often indicates no rain fell).
This table is very wide; you may have to scroll sideways to see all the days, and you may need to set the paper to 'landscape' to print.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top