Wednesday, 1 June 2016 - Monthly Climate Summary for Brisbane - Product code IDCKGC14L0

Brisbane in May 2016: Very warm days with little rainfall

Very warm days were experienced in Brisbane during May, along with above average night time temperatures at most locations. May rainfall was well below average across the metropolitan area. 

  • Warmest daytime temperatures on record for Brisbane
  • Very warm daytime temperatures across the metropolitan
  • Above average overnight temperatures; cooler at the end of month
  • A very dry month in Brisbane

Rainfall was well below average across the metropolitan area, with Logan City Water Treatment Plant receiving its lowest May rainfall on record. Much of the May rainfall was recorded at the start of the month. A weak surface trough lingered about eastern parts of the State, with showers and a moist onshore flow producing rainfall totals up to 10 mm. Thunderstorms and showers formed near the surface trough on the 2nd and 3rd, resulting in light to moderate rainfall totals at all metropolitan sites. Some onshore showers on the 8th produced light falls, but not at all locations. The remainder of the month was dry.

Both mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures were very warm during May. 

Mean maximum temperatures were more than 2 °C above the long-term average at all metropolitan sites. The warmth was persistent throughout most of the month. This resulted  in Brisbane City, and some other locations, having their warmest mean daily maximum temperature on record. The warm daytime temperatures eased near the end of the month, as cool air penetrated southern parts of the State and tempered the hot days.

Mean minimum temperatures were above average at all metropolitan sites, except Amberley. Brisbane Aero had its highest May mean daily maximum temperature on record. Warmer than average nights persisted across the metropolitan area during the first half of the month, before a cool and dry airmass extended through much of the State on the 12th. The cool change saw overnight temperatures drop well below average, with some locations reporting minima up to 8 °C below the May average. The cold spell was short-lived and a return to near- and above-average night time temperatures was recorded in the third week of May. This was followed by colder nights to the end of the month.

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Extremes Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Extremes in May 2016
Hottest day 31.2 °C at Amberley AMO on the 26th
Warmest days on average 27.6 °C at Amberley AMO
Coolest days on average 25.5 °C at Redcliffe
Coldest day 20.8 °C at Redcliffe on the 29th
Coldest night 0.4 °C at Amberley AMO on the 30th
Coolest nights on average 9.6 °C at Amberley AMO
Warmest nights on average 15.6 °C at Redcliffe
Warmest night 21.9 °C at Brisbane and Brisbane Aero, both on the 1st
Warmest on average overall 21.0 °C at Brisbane
Coolest on average overall 18.6 °C at Amberley AMO
Wettest overall 42.0 mm at Hilltop Gardens
Driest overall 12.6 mm at Amberley AMO
Wettest day 19.2 mm at Brisbane Aero on the 3rd
Strongest wind gust 65 km/h at Brisbane Aero on the 27th
65 km/h at Archerfield Airport on the 28th

Extremes Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Record lowest May total rainfall
New record
(mm)		 Old
record		 Years of
record		 Average for
May
Logan City Water Treatment Plant 15.3 17.1 in 2006 24 107.0


Record highest May mean daily maximum temperature
New record
(°C)		 Old
record		 Years of
record		 Average for
May
Brisbane City^27.026.5in 200711523.2
Amberley AMO 27.6 27.3 in 2007 74 24.0
Archerfield Airport 27.2 26.8 in 2007 42 23.9
Logan City Water Treatment Plant 26.8 25.9 in 2007 23 23.9
Brisbane Aero 25.6 25.3 in 2007 21 23.5
^Record is from comparing both the new (open) and old (closed) stations in Brisbane City

Record highest May daily minimum temperature
New record
(°C)		 Old
record		 Years of
record		 Average for
May
Brisbane Aero 21.9 on the 1st 21.2 on the 6th in 1996 22 12.8


Extremes Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Summary statistics for May 2016
Maximum temperatures
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
(°C)		 Rainfall
(millimetres)
Mean for
May
2016		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
May
2016		 Mean for
May
2016		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
May
2016		 Total for
May
2016		 Average
for
May		 Rank of
May
2016		 Fraction of
May
average
Amberley AMO 27.6 +3.6 31.2 26th 9.6 -0.4 0.4 30th 12.6 53.5 low 24%
Archerfield Airport 27.2 +3.3 29.3 3rd 12.8 +0.9 4.9 26th 15.6 74.1 low 21%
Brisbane 27.0 +2.6 29.6 3rd 15.0 +1.4 9.3 12th 27.6 67.9 low 41%
Brisbane Aero 25.6 +2.1 28.8 3rd 14.1 +1.3 7.0 30th 29.8 104.4 low 29%
Logan City Water Treatment Plant 26.8 +2.9 30.0 3rd 13.4 +0.9 6.4 30th 15.3 107.0 lowest 14%
Redcliffe 25.5 +2.2 29.5 10th 15.6 +1.5 9.5 30th 17.6 70.9 v low 25%

Extremes Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Daily maximum temperatures for May 2016
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Amberley AMO25.827.929.928.828.528.327.828.330.129.226.927.327.126.727.828.529.429.527.329.428.026.828.728.026.931.225.523.424.223.723.7
Archerfield Airport24.627.529.328.428.127.928.027.928.928.925.726.727.426.827.728.228.428.827.028.828.226.628.527.426.128.525.923.623.624.024.6
Brisbane24.627.429.628.928.028.527.727.328.228.425.626.427.026.927.328.128.027.727.729.226.626.528.127.425.628.225.623.623.823.724.9
Brisbane Aero22.926.228.827.225.926.125.926.026.528.624.526.424.725.125.925.826.125.827.627.225.525.425.525.424.025.725.723.523.022.423.7
Logan City Water Treatment Plant26.626.430.027.127.326.826.628.529.925.228.026.326.227.827.328.628.225.927.329.127.325.527.426.023.723.423.523.7
Redcliffe23.326.127.927.425.625.725.626.226.929.524.626.624.825.626.025.426.126.025.827.025.525.025.525.023.927.126.123.920.821.823.7
Values are the maximum temperature, usually in the 24 hours from 9 am on the day indicated,
and typically occurred in the afternoon of that day.
Temperatures coloured according to their difference
from the long-term average for the period		 -10.0 -9.0 -8.0 -7.0 -6.0 -5.0 -4.0 -3.0 -2.0 -1.0 0.0 +1.0 +2.0 +3.0 +4.0 +5.0 +6.0 +7.0 +8.0 +9.0 +10.0 °C Grey outline marks highest
and lowest for the period
Daily minimum temperatures for May 2016
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Amberley AMO18.418.318.114.010.611.612.910.513.918.215.31.94.88.57.86.28.18.39.65.68.114.38.98.30.62.212.35.87.90.45.0
Archerfield Airport21.618.619.216.813.814.413.613.516.319.316.77.08.812.79.99.310.611.213.112.611.215.912.013.310.64.916.010.610.15.98.0
Brisbane21.919.319.217.416.016.417.116.118.120.918.69.312.014.713.613.114.614.315.813.014.917.614.715.611.79.616.811.211.99.611.3
Brisbane Aero21.918.919.116.115.515.916.315.517.720.717.47.811.614.012.612.313.614.214.112.014.616.713.713.88.57.917.410.311.17.09.6
Logan City Water Treatment Plant20.819.018.816.014.215.414.616.818.817.57.110.413.412.811.813.513.414.413.214.713.37.67.914.79.68.66.410.5
Redcliffe21.319.720.219.317.017.217.317.218.521.518.111.212.415.314.413.014.714.615.114.016.818.715.516.19.710.116.213.613.19.512.4
Values are the minimum temperature, usually in the 24 hours to 9 am on the day indicated,
and typically occurred that morning.
Temperatures coloured according to their difference
from the long-term average for the period		 -10.0 -9.0 -8.0 -7.0 -6.0 -5.0 -4.0 -3.0 -2.0 -1.0 0.0 +1.0 +2.0 +3.0 +4.0 +5.0 +6.0 +7.0 +8.0 +9.0 +10.0 °C Grey outline marks highest
and lowest for the period
Daily rainfall for May 2016
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Alderley → 14.0 16.4
Amberley AMO 4.2 0.8 7.2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - 0.4 - - - -
Archerfield Airport 2.0 5.8 7.6 - - - - - 0.2 - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
Boondall 10.0 13.2 2.4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Brisbane 1.4 15.0 10.6 - - - - - 0.6 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Brisbane Aero 0.6 9.8 19.2 - - - - - - - - - - - - 0.2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-Tha 2.4 11.3 10.4



























Hilltop Gardens → → → → → → → → 42.0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Logan City Water Treatment Plant 2.6 10.3 2.2 - - - - - 0.2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Redcliffe 2.6 12.8 2.0 - - - - - 0.2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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 shown 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).
Rainfalls coloured
according to the amount		 0 1.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 25.0 50.0 100 150 200 300 400 600 millimetres

Extremes Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top

Notes

The Monthly climate summary lists the main features of the weather in Brisbane using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. Later information, including data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review.

A climate summary is generally published on the first working day of each month.

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 9 am on Wednesday 1 June 2016. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

Averages for individual sites 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.

The ACORN-SAT dataset is used for temperature area averages.

Further information

Media
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