Friday, 1 November 2013 - Monthly Climate Summary for Sydney - Product code IDCKGC25L0

Sydney in October 2013: A hot, dry October for Sydney

• Very dry October in western Sydney; local flash floods in the east
• Second-warmest October on record for maximum temperatures
• Severe bushfire activity in the Blue Mountains

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall - Dry October but local flash floods

Sydney Observatory Hill recorded 42.2 mm of rain during October, below the historical average of 76.9 mm. Rainfall was below average across the city, with particularly dry conditions in the Blue Mountains, with the driest October since 1988 at Springwood and the driest October on record at Katoomba. This is a continuation of recent dry conditions, with Sydney Observatory Hill recording July-October rainfall in the driest 10% of years, while Richmond experienced its driest July-October period on record.

There were only five rain days recorded at Sydney Observatory Hill, well below the October average of 12 days and the fewest since 2007. Most of the rain fell on the 28th, when localised storms caused heavy rain in the eastern suburbs, reaching 28.2 mm at Observatory Hill and 47.4 mm at Mona Vale. Most of the rain fell in the early morning, with 21.4 mm at Observatory Hill between 4:30 and 5:30 am, causing localised flash flooding in the eastern suburbs.

Temperature - Second warmest October on record

Sydney Observatory Hill recorded an average maximum temperature of 25.7 °C, 3.6 °C above the historical average. This was the second-warmest October on record for Sydney, following 26.2 °C in October 1988, with all Sydney stations experiencing their warmest October since at least 1988. The July-October period is the warmest on record for Sydney, with maximum temperatures 3.6 °C above the historical average and 1.2 °C above the previous record, also set in 1988.

The warm temperatures were associated with well below average rainfall during recent months and several exceptionally warm days, particularly during the first half of the month. Only one day during October dropped below 20 °C, the equal-fewest on record with 1988 (average 11 days). Five days reached at least 32 °C, the equal-highest on record with 1926 (average 1 day), with two reaching at least 35 °C. This included a maximum of 37.3 °C on the 10th, the third-warmest October day on record for Sydney.

Minimum temperatures were closer to normal during October, with an average minimum temperature of 15 °C at Observatory Hill, 1.4 °C above the historical average. The mean temperature was consequently 20.3 °C, 2.4 °C above the historical average and the third-warmest October on record.

See a list of October temperature records.

Wind - Strong winds in the city

The prevailing wind direction at Sydney Airport during October was easterly, with 58% of 3 pm winds between NE and SE; 19% of 3 pm winds were between W and NW, above average for October, contributing to warm conditions during the month.

There were several damaging wind events during the month, with gusts of 80 km/h or more at the airport on six occasions. Gusts reached 91 km/h at Badgerys Creek and Port Botany on the 1st, 94 km/h at Bankstown on the 17th and 94 km/h at Sydney Airport on the 29th. These strong winds were associated with downed trees and powerlines and some roof damage, as well as impacting bushfire activity.

Other phenomena - Major bushfires in the Blue Mountains

Sydney Airport recorded an average of 9.4 hours of bright sunshine during October, well above the historical average of 7.8 hours and the sunniest October since 2001. There was one thunderstorm reported at the airport, on the 23rd.

The warm, dry conditions over recent months as well as several very hot, dry days contributed to major bushfire activity during October. This included a fire which destroyed 43 cars at Olympic Park on the 13th, before major bushfires developed in the Blue Mountains from the 17th, destroying more than 200 homes and burning over 50000 hectares, as well as widespread road closures and damage to power, rail and tourism infrastructure. The fires also caused severe air pollution across the Sydney basin from smoke on the 17th.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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