Wednesday, 2 January 2013 - Monthly Climate Summary for Sydney  - Product code IDCKGC15L0

Sydney in December 2012: A warm, dry end to the year.

• Warmest and driest December since 2005
• Below average sunshine

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Sydney Observatory Hill recorded 45.2 mm of rain during December, below the historical average of 77.9 mm. This was the driest December for Sydney since 25.2 mm was recorded in 2005, with rainfall below average across the city. The rain fell over 11 rain days, normal for Sydney, but only two reached at least 5 mm, half the historical average and the fewest wet days since 2005.

Most of the rain fell over the Christmas period, associated with a coastal trough and widespread thunderstorm activity. Sydney Observatory Hill recorded a 48-hour total of 30.8 mm to 9am on the 26th, with up to 41 mm at Avalon.

Temperature

Sydney Observatory Hill recorded an average maximum temperature of 26 °C during December, 0.8 °C above the historical average, with warmer than average temperatures recorded across the city. This is the warmest December in Sydney since 2005, and significantly warmer than December 2011 (23.1 °C). Five days reached at least 30 °C during the month (average 3 days), the most since 5 days in December 2008, with no days dropping below 20 °C.

Nights were also warm during December, with Sydney Observatory Hill recording an average minimum temperature of 18.6 °C, 1.1 °C above the historical average. Only two nights were cooler than 15 °C (average 4 nights), with the coldest night reaching 14 °C on the 6th, while ten nights recorded at least 20 °C (average 4 nights).

The mean daily temperature at Sydney Observatory Hill was consequently 22.3 °C, 0.9 °C above the historical average, with temperatures above average throughout the city.

Other phenomena

The prevailing wind direction at Sydney Airport was easterly, with 55% of 3pm winds between E-NNE, while 39% of 3pm winds were ESE-S, normal for December. There were thirteen strong wind days at the airport, with the maximum wind gust reaching 87 km/h on the 9th.

Sydney Airport recorded an average of 6.9 hours of bright sunshine during December, well below the historical average but sunnier than December 2011 (6.7 hours). There was one thunderstorm reported at the airport, with four storms reported throughout 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