Monday, 3 December 2012 - Monthly Climate Summary for Sydney  - Product code IDCKGC25L0

Sydney in November 2012: Dry, warm end to spring

• Dry month, but above average rain days and below average sunshine
• Warm days and nights across the city

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall - Dry month across the city

Sydney Observatory Hill recorded 52 mm of rain during November, below the historical average of 83.8 mm, with rainfall below average across the city. The rain fell over fourteen days, close to the historical average (12 days), but only five recorded at least 2 mm (average 7 days).

Most of the rain during the month was associated with coastal surface troughs, which generated rain and thunderstorms across the city. Falls at Sydney Observatory Hill were close to 10 mm on the 9th, 10th, 17th and 28th, while locally heavier falls reached 37 mm at Campbelltown on the 9th.

Temperature - Warm end to spring

Sydney Observatory Hill recorded an average maximum temperature of 24.1 °C during November, 0.5 °C above the historical average, with above average daytime temperatures across the city. Two days reached 30 °C during the month, normal for November, with the warmest day falling on the 1st of the month. Mid-month there was an unusual spell of mild days, with no days reaching 25 °C between the 10th and 23rd; this is the first such spell in November since 2000. However, only two days dropped below 20 °C during the month, well below the historical average of 5 cool days.

The average minimum temperature at Sydney Observatory Hill during November was 16.8 °C, 1.2 °C above the historical average, with nights well above average across the city. Only six nights dropped below 15 °C during the month, well below the historical average of 12 nights, with the coolest night reaching 12.8 °C on the 19th. Nights were warmest at the end of the month, with six consecutive nights above 18 °C.

The average temperature in Sydney was consequently 0.9 °C above the historical average.

Other phenomena

The prevailing wind direction at Sydney Airport during November was easterly, with 50% of 3pm winds between E and NE and 47% between S and SE, normal for November. There were 12 strong wind days reported at Sydney Airport, with the strongest wind gust reaching 89 km/hr at the Airport and 102 km/hr at Port Botany during a cool change on the 18th.

Sydney Airport recorded an average of 6.8 hours of bright sunshine, below the historical average of 7.6 hours, with 16 cloudy days (average 12 days). There were three thunderstorms reported at Sydney Airport, and ten days had thunderstorms reported anywhere in the Sydney Metropolitan region. Thunderstorms were particularly strong on the 8th and 9th, with widespread reports of small hail and gusts of up to 107 km/hr at Penrith on the 8th.

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