Tuesday, 1 September 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for Remote Islands and Antarctica - Product code IDCKGC1RR0
Remote Islands and Antarctica in August 2020
Jump to a map of the areas covered in this summary
Australia's Indian Ocean islands: warm days and nights
- Cocos Island Airport recorded 289.4 mm for the month, which was more than double its August monthly average rainfall and its highest total August precipitation since 1996.
- August is typically a relatively dry month for Christmas Island, but it still only received 70% of its monthly average rainfall.
- Both daytime and night-time temperatures were generally warmer than average at Cocos Island Airport and Christmas Island Aero.
- On the 14th, Cocos Island Airport had its highest August temperature on record, contributing to its highest August mean temperature since 1999.
Australia's Pacific Ocean islands: some warm days and nights
- Rainfall was below average at Lord Howe Island Aero, receiving just 59% of its August average rainfall.
- Norfolk Island Aero was slightly drier than average for the month, receiving 93% of its August average rainfall.
- Both daytime and night-time temperatures in August were warmer than average at Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island.
- Lord Howe Island Aero equalled its highest August mean daily maximum temperature on record.
Australia's Antarctic and sub-Antarctic territories: severe winds at Mawson and Davis, wet at Macquarie Island
- The month began with maximum wind gusts of 172 km/h at Davis and 157 km/h at Mawson on the 1st.
- There were even stronger winds on the 9th, but the strongest gust was 206 km/h at Mawson on the morning of the 30th, the site's strongest in August since 2004.
- Total wind run for August was above average at Mawson and Davis, but slightly below average at Casey.
- Both mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures were several degrees above average at Mawson and Davis, but below average at Casey.
- The coldest recorded temperature was -31.8 °C at Casey on the 24th.
- Macquarie island had several cold days, with maximum temperatures just above zero, contributing to a cooler than average month for both maximum and minimum temperatures.
- Precipitation at Macquarie Island was above average, 137% of the August average.
- On the 19th, Macquarie Island recorded 27.0 mm, its highest August daily precipitation on record.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Record highest August daily precipitation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
||||
| Macquarie Island | 27.0 | on the 19th | 26.7 | on the 2nd in 1968 | 73 | |
| Highest August total precipitation for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (mm) |
Most recent higher |
Average for August |
|||
| Cocos Island Airport | 289.4 | 349.2 | in 1996* | 120.9 | |
* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported
| Record highest August temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for August |
|||
| Cocos Island Airport | 30.6 | on the 14th | 30.3 | on the 28th in 2010 | 69 | 28.0 |
| Record highest August mean daily maximum temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for August |
||
| Lord Howe Island Aero | 19.8 | = 19.8 | in 2013 | 31 | 19.0 |
| Highest August mean temperature for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (°C) |
Most recent higher |
Average for August |
|||
| Cocos Island Airport | 26.9 | 27.3 | in 1999 | 26.0 | |
Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for August 2020 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Precipitation (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for August 2020 |
Diff from average |
Highest for August 2020 |
Mean for August 2020 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for August 2020 |
Total for August 2020 |
Average for August |
Rank of August 2020 |
Fraction of August average |
|||
| Offshore Islands (district 200) | ||||||||||||
| Christmas Island Aero | 26.4 | +0.3 | 27.1 | 28th | 22.9 | +0.7 | 21.0 | 10th | 28.6 | 40.9 | average | 70% |
| Cocos Island Airport | 28.7 | +0.7 | 30.6 | 14th | 25.1 | +1.2 | 22.8 | 20th | 289.4 | 120.9 | v high | 239% |
| Lord Howe Island Aero | 19.8 | +0.8 | 22.1 | 19th | 13.7 | +0.2 | 7.9 | 28th | 64.8 | 109.2 | low | 59% |
| Norfolk Island Aero | 18.9 | +0.6 | 21.4 | 20th | 14.2 | +0.9 | 10.2 | 28th | 116.2 | 125.2 | average | 93% |
| Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300) | ||||||||||||
| Casey | -12.6 | -1.8 | -4.2 | 20th | -21.5 | -3.0 | -31.8 | 24th | 16.1 | 19.8 | average | 81% |
| Davis | -10.4 | +3.6 | -3.2 | 19th | -17.7 | +3.0 | -28.1 | 23rd | 2.4 | 6.7 | low | 36% |
| Macquarie Island | 4.6 | -0.5 | 7.0 | 2nd | 0.7 | -0.9 | -3.5 | 13th | 127.2 | 75.5 | v high | 168% |
| Mawson | -10.8 | +4.6 | -4.9 | 24th | -17.6 | +4.0 | -25.0 | 7th | ||||
| Note: Precipitation values from Casey and Davis should be used with caution. | ||||||||||||
Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Daily maximum temperatures for August 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offshore Islands (200) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| Christmas Island Aero | 26.2 | 25.7 | 26.2 | 26.5 | 26.8 | 25.3 | 26.2 | 26.5 | 27.0 | 26.5 | 26.7 | 26.6 | 25.3 | 26.3 | 26.5 | 26.8 | 25.1 | 25.8 | 26.7 | 26.6 | 25.8 | 26.9 | 26.8 | 26.9 | 26.9 | 26.7 | 26.8 | 27.1 | 26.4 | 27.0 | 26.8 |
| Cocos Island Airport | 28.8 | 29.0 | 29.2 | 29.4 | 29.8 | 30.3 | 30.3 | 27.9 | 28.1 | 27.5 | 29.5 | 29.8 | 29.9 | 30.6 | 29.1 | 29.3 | 29.3 | 29.0 | 25.7 | 24.9 | 27.1 | 29.0 | 28.9 | 28.8 | 28.4 | 28.3 | 28.6 | 28.4 | 28.4 | 28.8 | 28.7 |
| Lord Howe Island Aero | 18.9 | 18.3 | 18.9 | 20.5 | 22.1 | 19.4 | 19.5 | 19.3 | 20.5 | 19.5 | 19.8 | 19.5 | 20.0 | 21.4 | 21.6 | 20.6 | 20.4 | 21.2 | 22.1 | 20.6 | 19.9 | 19.6 | 18.0 | 17.6 | 18.3 | 17.8 | 18.7 | 20.0 | 18.5 | 20.5 | 21.6 |
| Norfolk Island Aero | 17.6 | 18.7 | 18.9 | 18.9 | 19.8 | 20.1 | 19.5 | 18.2 | 18.8 | 19.3 | 19.2 | 18.4 | 17.6 | 18.2 | 18.1 | 18.4 | 19.4 | 19.0 | 19.8 | 21.4 | 20.1 | 20.6 | 19.1 | 20.1 | 19.1 | 17.8 | 17.5 | 18.0 | 18.0 | 18.3 | 19.5 |
| Antarctica and Macquarie Island (300) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| Casey | -11.0 | -10.8 | -5.4 | -8.0 | -6.4 | -5.5 | -10.2 | -20.0 | -23.3 | -20.8 | -8.3 | -6.2 | -8.4 | -9.8 | -13.3 | -10.7 | -10.0 | -11.0 | -9.9 | -4.2 | -8.4 | -11.5 | -25.2 | -22.3 | -9.6 | -12.5 | -16.0 | -19.3 | -21.3 | -16.7 | -14.7 |
| Davis | -6.2 | -8.8 | -11.6 | -10.7 | -10.2 | -17.1 | -8.1 | -8.8 | -7.7 | -12.1 | -5.7 | -7.8 | -12.8 | -15.3 | -7.7 | -5.2 | -4.1 | -5.7 | -3.2 | -3.8 | -8.9 | -16.8 | -16.9 | -20.5 | -11.9 | -12.8 | -14.7 | -16.7 | -13.2 | -6.9 | -10.4 |
| Macquarie Island | 6.6 | 7.0 | 5.1 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 0.1 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 6.9 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 5.1 |
| Mawson | -10.4 | -12.9 | -11.3 | -7.2 | -11.3 | -14.6 | -13.2 | -12.3 | -6.1 | -5.0 | -8.9 | -7.2 | -8.5 | -12.0 | -19.8 | -14.2 | -10.9 | -6.4 | -7.3 | -7.7 | -11.3 | -10.6 | -6.7 | -4.9 | -16.6 | -15.9 | -15.1 | -13.4 | -13.8 | -10.4 | -9.5 |
|
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 August 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offshore Islands (200) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| Christmas Island Aero | 22.2 | 22.2 | 22.3 | 22.9 | 22.4 | 23.2 | 21.8 | 22.9 | 22.1 | 21.0 | 23.1 | 23.2 | 23.7 | 23.1 | 23.4 | 23.2 | 22.9 | 22.2 | 22.9 | 23.1 | 23.5 | 23.5 | 23.3 | 23.0 | 23.4 | 23.5 | 23.4 | 23.1 | 22.5 | 23.2 | 23.0 |
| Cocos Island Airport | 24.2 | 25.6 | 25.6 | 23.8 | 24.6 | 26.3 | 25.9 | 25.5 | 24.0 | 24.1 | 23.9 | 25.3 | 26.1 | 26.2 | 25.9 | 25.0 | 25.9 | 24.4 | 23.5 | 22.8 | 23.3 | 23.4 | 25.8 | 26.5 | 25.7 | 24.4 | 25.4 | 25.4 | 25.9 | 26.2 | 26.1 |
| Lord Howe Island Aero | 14.8 | 15.6 | 14.7 | 14.4 | 16.1 | 15.0 | 16.2 | 10.3 | 15.3 | 12.6 | 9.6 | 14.4 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 13.7 | 14.5 | 11.5 | 16.8 | 17.1 | 18.9 | 15.3 | 13.9 | 11.8 | 11.2 | 13.3 | 11.0 | 9.2 | 7.9 | 12.8 | 14.1 | 15.0 |
| Norfolk Island Aero | 15.3 | 14.1 | 16.2 | 15.6 | 13.4 | 15.3 | 13.3 | 15.0 | 12.0 | 13.7 | 14.2 | 14.1 | 11.7 | 12.3 | 12.2 | 13.4 | 15.9 | 14.2 | 15.6 | 17.3 | 16.7 | 16.0 | 16.7 | 15.4 | 14.2 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 10.2 | 12.2 | 13.2 | 14.1 |
| Antarctica and Macquarie Island (300) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| Casey | -28.1 | -27.1 | -17.0 | -15.0 | -12.2 | -12.0 | -12.3 | -21.8 | -29.6 | -30.2 | -26.5 | -22.7 | -13.2 | -14.4 | -18.3 | -18.8 | -20.9 | -15.6 | -18.1 | -17.9 | -13.6 | -13.9 | -27.9 | -31.8 | -30.4 | -28.8 | -24.6 | -26.4 | -26.9 | -27.2 | -24.6 |
| Davis | -14.0 | -10.3 | -13.2 | -15.3 | -15.9 | -17.2 | -24.7 | -18.7 | -12.7 | -20.9 | -23.6 | -13.5 | -14.6 | -21.5 | -24.1 | -16.5 | -9.1 | -9.0 | -9.4 | -7.8 | -12.6 | -24.1 | -28.1 | -25.2 | -26.4 | -24.4 | -20.4 | -21.6 | -21.3 | -19.8 | -14.1 |
| Macquarie Island | 3.8 | 5.0 | 3.2 | -0.3 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 1.3 | -0.1 | -1.1 | -1.7 | -3.0 | -3.5 | 0.0 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3.5 | -1.2 | -0.5 | -1.5 | -1.7 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 1.4 | -1.3 |
| Mawson | -17.5 | -13.7 | -21.9 | -16.3 | -15.4 | -24.6 | -25.0 | -17.9 | -14.1 | -13.7 | -18.4 | -18.4 | -11.3 | -15.5 | -21.7 | -23.4 | -22.0 | -18.7 | -12.5 | -12.5 | -14.2 | -16.2 | -17.8 | -12.9 | -18.2 | -24.5 | -22.9 | -17.1 | -15.9 | -16.1 | -16.3 |
|
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 precipitation for August 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offshore Islands (200) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
| Christmas Island Aero | 0.4 | 11.0 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 6.4 | - | - | - | - | - | 0.6 | 0.2 | - | - | - | 6.4 | 1.4 | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.6 | - | - | |||||
| Cocos Island Airport | 1.6 | 0.2 | - | - | 3.8 | 0.2 | - | - | 16.4 | 0.4 | 14.2 | 4.6 | 1.2 | - | - | 0.4 | - | 5.4 | 20.8 | 56.2 | 158 | 2.4 | 2.4 | - | - | 1.4 | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | |
| Lord Howe Island (Milky Way) | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.8 | 15.0 | 2.6 | 4.4 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 9.0 | 50.4 | 4.0 | - | 2.4 | - | 0.8 | 3.6 | 9.0 | 9.2 | - | 0.2 | - | 0.4 | 6.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | |
| Lord Howe Island Aero | 0.4 | - | - | - | 0.2 | - | - | 1.0 | 17.4 | 2.4 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 7.0 | - | - | 1.0 | 2.0 | 6.2 | 8.4 | 1.6 | 0.6 | - | 0.2 | 6.2 | - | - | ||||
| Norfolk Island Aero | 8.4 | 0.8 | 0.6 | - | 1.0 | 1.4 | - | - | 0.2 | 6.2 | 17.0 | 1.4 | - | - | - | - | 44.8 | 7.2 | - | - | 11.6 | - | - | 1.2 | 6.4 | - | - | 0.4 | 5.8 | 1.8 | - | |
| Antarctica and Macquarie Island (300) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
| Casey | 0.2 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.6 | - | - | - | - | 0.8 | 1.9 | 5.8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Davis | - | - | 0.4 | 0.4 | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 1.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Macquarie Island | 1.8 | 17.0 | 5.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 4.8 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.8 | - | 0.6 | 6.0 | 27.0 | 11.8 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.8 | - | 2.6 | 1.2 | 4.2 | 14.6 | 4.4 | 1.8 | |
|
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 precipitation report of zero; days left blank have no precipitation report (which often indicates no precipitation fell). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Precipitations 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 | ||||||||||||||||||
Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
Notes
The Monthly climate summary, generally published on the first working day of each month, lists the main features of the weather in Remote Islands and Antarctica using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. More extensive discussion of significant weather events, along with later information and data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review.
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 2 pm on Tuesday 1 September 2020. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
In some situations, some or all of the precipitation is in the form of hail or snow. In these cases the totals given are for the water equivalent: the depth of liquid water that results from melting any frozen precipitation. There can be significant 'undercatch' of snow in strong winds, meaning the true precipitation can be higher than that reported.
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 precipitation.
The Rank indicates how precipitation this time compares with the climate record for the site,
based on the
decile ranking
(very low precipitation 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 precipitation has fallen this time as a
percentage of the long-term mean.
Where temperature area averages are mentioned, they are derived from the ACORN-SAT dataset.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
