Thursday, 1 October 2009 - Monthly Climate Summary for Brisbane Metro - Product code IDCKGC24R0

Brisbane Metro in September 2009

Warm, dry and a duststorm

  • Mean maximum temperatures were higher than average
  • Duststorm during the 23rd

An archive of previous monthly summaries for Brisbane Metro is also available, as are summaries for other states and many other climate summaries and diagnostics.

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Duststorm

A strong front moved across southern and western Queensland preceded by hot and gusty north-westerly winds and followed by a vigorous west to south-westerly change that developed widespread duststorms over southern and western areas of the state. The thick dust arrived in the Brisbane area during the 23rd with the marked reductions in visibility making the day rather blustery and eerie.  The severe conditions also caused respiratory problems for many people and affected public transport systems with delays to road traffic and the cancellation of river ferry services.  Air traffic was also disrupted through the south-east, including hampering helicopter fire fighting operations.  Few residents would ever recall such thick dust in Brisbane.

A frontal passage during the 26th and 27th again whipped up widespread dust across southern districts, though this event was much less severe.

Rainfall

Rainfall was close to average in the metropolitan area following a drier than usual July and August. 

Whilst low rainfall is normal in the July to September period, the last 3 months have been especially so with Archerfield recording 32 mm for the 3 months, this being the 2nd lowest since the rain record commenced in 1929. The lowest was recorded in 1972 with 29.3 mm.  Brisbane Aero with 16.4 mm was the driest since 1995.  

Most of the September rainfall was recorded as daily totals to 9am on the 5th and 8th as thundery rain bands swept through the south-east coast district.

The wettest overall was 31.2 mm at Logan City Water Treatment, followed by 30.8 mm at Amberley AMO and 25.4 mm at Archerfield Airport.

The driest overall was 10.6 mm at Brisbane Aero, followed by 22.2 mm at Redcliffe and 23.4 mm at Brisbane.

The wettest single day was recorded at Logan City Water Treatment on the 8th with 21.8 mm, followed by 19.2 mm at Amberley AMO on the 5th and 15.2 mm at Brisbane on the 8th.

See a map of total rainfall. See a map of rainfall deciles.

Maximum temperature

Mean daily maximum temperatures were near 2 °C higher than the long term average through the south-east coast area.

Although not in the Brisbane area, nearby Cape Moreton Lighthouse and Coolangatta recorded their highest mean monthly maximum temperatures with 23.7 °C and 24.8 °C respectively.

Daily maximum temperatures were close to average during the first half of September but later in the month between the 18th and 26th many days were 4 to 8 °C above average. 

The hottest day was 34.2 °C at Brisbane on the 26th, followed by 33.8 °C at Amberley AMO on the 21st and at Archerfield Airport on the 26th and 33.7 °C at Amberley AMO on the 26th.

The warmest days on average were 27.7 °C at Amberley AMO, followed by 27.0 °C at Logan City Water Treatment and 26.9 °C at Archerfield Airport.

The coolest days on average were 25.2 °C at Redcliffe, followed by 25.7 °C at Brisbane Aero, followed by 26.7 °C at Brisbane.

The coldest day was the 1st with 21.2 °C at Redcliffe, 22.1 °C at Brisbane Aero and 22.6 °C at Logan City Water Treatment. 

See a map of mean maximum temperatures. See a map of maximum temperature anomalies.

Minimum temperature

Mean daily minimum temperatures were near average through the south-east coast region. 

A hot north-west wind caused record high overnight temperatures at Archerfield on the 22nd with 35 years of record and Logan City on the 23rd with 17 years of record prior to the big duststorm arriving. Other sites were within a couple of degrees of the September record.

The coldest nights were recorded at Amberley AMO with 1.7 °C on the 1st, followed by 2.8 °C on the 29th and 3.3 °C on the 10th.

The coolest nights on average were 8.5 °C at Amberley AMO, followed by 11.6 °C at Archerfield Airport and 12.4 °C at Logan City Water Treatment.

The warmest nights on average were 14.3 °C at Redcliffe, followed by 13.6 °C at Brisbane and 12.6 °C at Brisbane Aero.

The warmest night was 21.0 °C at Brisbane on the 22nd, followed by 20.9 °C at Brisbane Aero on the 22nd, followed by 20.4 °C at Archerfield Airport on the 22nd and Brisbane Aero on the 23rd.

Some sites had their warmest September night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record.

See a map of mean minimum temperatures. See a map of minimum temperature anomalies.

Wind

The strongest wind gusts coincided with the north-west to southwesterly wind change with the duststorm during the 23rd. The strong winds and hot temperatures caused bush fires to develop around southeast Queensland.  Some trees were also blown over causing local disruptions to traffic and power outages. 

The strongest wind gust was 72 km/h at Archerfield Airport on the 23rd, followed by 65 km/h at Amberley AMO on the 23rd, followed by 63 km/h at Archerfield Airport on the 7th.

Further information

Queensland Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (07) 3239 8700
Email climate.qld@bom.gov.au

Extremes

Hottest day
Highest temperature		 34.2 °C at Brisbane on the 26th
33.8 °C at Amberley AMO on the 21st
33.8 °C at Archerfield Airport on the 26th
33.7 °C at Amberley AMO on the 26th
Warmest days on average
Highest mean daily maximum temperature		 27.7 °C at Amberley AMO
27.0 °C at Logan City Water Treatment
26.9 °C at Archerfield Airport
Coolest days on average
Lowest mean daily maximum temperature		 25.2 °C at Redcliffe
25.7 °C at Brisbane Aero
26.7 °C at Brisbane
Coldest day
Lowest daily maximum temperature		 21.2 °C at Redcliffe on the 1st
22.1 °C at Brisbane Aero on the 1st
22.6 °C at Logan City Water Treatment on the 1st
Coldest night
Lowest temperature		 1.7 °C at Amberley AMO on the 1st
2.8 °C at Amberley AMO on the 29th
3.3 °C at Amberley AMO on the 10th
Coolest nights on average
Lowest mean daily minimum temperature		 8.5 °C at Amberley AMO
11.6 °C at Archerfield Airport
12.4 °C at Logan City Water Treatment
Warmest nights on average
Highest mean daily minimum temperature		 14.3 °C at Redcliffe
13.6 °C at Brisbane
12.6 °C at Brisbane Aero
Warmest night
Highest daily minimum temperature		 21.0 °C at Brisbane on the 22nd
20.9 °C at Brisbane Aero on the 22nd
20.4 °C at Archerfield Airport on the 22nd
20.4 °C at Brisbane Aero on the 23rd
Wettest overall
Highest total rainfall		 31.2 mm at Logan City Water Treatment
30.8 mm at Amberley AMO
25.4 mm at Archerfield Airport
Driest overall
Lowest total rainfall		 10.6 mm at Brisbane Aero
22.2 mm at Redcliffe
23.4 mm at Brisbane
Wettest day
Highest daily rainfall		 21.8 mm at Logan City Water Treatment on the 8th
19.2 mm at Amberley AMO on the 5th
15.2 mm at Brisbane on the 8th
Highest wind gust
 72 km/h at Archerfield Airport on the 23rd
65 km/h at Amberley AMO on the 23rd
63 km/h at Archerfield Airport on the 7th

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Records

Record highest September daily minimum temperature
Highest daily minimum
temperature
in September 2009 (°C) 		Previous highest
for September		 Years of
record		 Average for
September
Archerfield Airport 20.4 on the 22nd 20.3 on the 27th in 2004 35 10.9


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Summaries

In this table, key sites have been highlighted to make them easier to find. This table is very wide and may not fit if printed.

Summary statistics for September 2009
Maximum temperatures
for September
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for September
(°C)		 Rainfall
for September
(millimetres)
Mean for
September
2009		 Riff
from
average		 Highest for
September
2009		 Mean for
September
2009		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
September
2009		 Total for
September
2009		 Average
for
September		 Rank of
September
2009		 Fraction of
September
average
Moreton South Coast (district 40)
Amberley AMO 27.7 +2.2 33.8 21st 8.5 -1.0 1.7 1st 30.8 33.1 average 93%
Archerfield Airport 26.9 +1.9 33.8 26th 11.6 +0.7 4.9 1st 25.4 35.8 average 71%
Brisbane* 26.7 +2.7  34.2 26th 13.6 +0.7  8.5 1st 23.4 45.7 low 51%
Brisbane Aero* 25.7 +1.9 29.4 24th 12.6 +0.1 5.2 1st 10.6 34.9 low 30%
Logan City Water Treatment 27.0 +2.1 31.8 21st 12.4 +0.1 7.0 28th 31.2 46.3 average 67%
Redcliffe* 25.2 +1.2  32.8 26th 14.3 +0.4  8.9 1st 22.2 30.2average 73%

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Notes

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 12 pm on Thursday 1 October 2009. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

Averages are long-term means based on observations from all available years of record, which vary widely from site to site. They are not shown for sites with less than 10 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median is sometimes more representative than the mean of long-term average rain.

The Rank indicates how rainfall this time compares with the climate record for the site, based on the decile ranking (very low rainfall is in decile 1, low in decile 2 or 3, average in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9 and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of average shows how much rain has fallen this time as a percentage of the long-term mean.

* These sites use a nearby station for long term comparison.

Further information

Queensland Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (07) 3239 8700
Email climate.qld@bom.gov.au