Monday, 2 November 2009 - Monthly Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC23R0

South Australia in October 2009
Average Temperatures but Below Average Rainfall.

Summary

  • A warm end of the month brings the state-wide temperature up to average.
  • Whilst the rainfall across most of the agricultural areas was below average for October, the growing season (April to October) rainfall has been slightly above average in most areas.

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

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Rainfall

Pastoral Districts

Rainfall totals were mostly below average in the north-eastern area of the Far North pastoral district. Some parts of this area received less than 5 mm which is very much below the average.

Over the remaining pastoral districts rainfall totals were mainly near average for October with some locations, in the central southern areas of the pastoral districts, receiving above average rainfall amounts.

Rainfall totals were predominantly between 5 mm and 15 mm with some totals as high as 30 mm, with Nonning's total of 32.0 mm being the highest.

Agricultural Districts

Large areas of the agricultural districts received near or above average rainfall totals during October, however below average totals were recorded over much of the Lower Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, the Upper Southeast district and the far western parts of the Eyre Peninsula. Parts of the Upper and Lower North districts recorded above average rainfall totals.

Rainfall totals of more than 50 mm were recorded over parts of the Lower Southeast, Mount Lofty Ranges and the Upper and Lower North districts. The far western coastal regions generally recorded less than 10 mm during October. Rainfall recordings in the remainder of the agricultural districts were generally in the 20 to 50 millimetre range. Forreston (Millers Creek), in the Mount Lofty Ranges, recorded the highest total of 92.6 mm.

Across the longer term, rainfall for the growing season (April to October) is generally average or above average across all of the agricultural districts.

The year to date rainfall is generally near average across most of the agricultural districts except in the Upper Murray Valley, Murray Mallee and eastern parts of the Upper Southeast districts where the rainfall is below average for the year so far. The rainfall over Far North pastoral district is below average while most of the Northwest pastoral areas have received average rainfall to the end of October.

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

Temperature

Looking at the October records since 1950; state-wide the monthly mean October temperature (the average of the maximum and minimum temperatures) was 0.4°C above the average for the South Australian agricultural areas. For South Australia as a whole the monthly mean October 2009 temperature is the coolest since 2003.

Maximum

The mean maximum temperatures for October over the state was mostly below average with areas in the Eyre Peninsula, Far North districts and the western and eastern fringes of the state slightly above average.

In the Pastoral districts the mean maximum temperatures ranged from 24.0°C at the Yunta Airstrip to 30.7°C at the Oodnadatta Airport. Mean maximum temperatures over the Agricultural districts ranged from 15.5°C at Mount Lofty in the Mount Lofty Ranges to 25.6°C at Wudinna.

The highest maximum recorded during October was 41.1°C at Oodnadatta Airport on the 24th. The lowest was 9.8°C at Mount Crawford on the 13th of October.

Minimum

The mean minimum temperatures in the state for October were within 1°C above or below average.

Mean minimum temperatures in the pastoral areas ranged from 8.9°C at the Gluepot Reserve to 14.9°C at the Oodnadatta Airport. Over the agricultural districts mean monthly minimum temperatures ranged from 5.2°C at Keith (Munkora) to 12.3°C on Neptune Island.

The lowest minimum temperature recorded during October was −1.9°C at Keith (Munkora) in the Upper Southeast district on the 8th. Oodnadatta Airport recorded the warmest overnight temperature with 26.5°C on the 25th of October.

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

Some sites had their lowest October temperature on record.

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

Further information

South Australian Regional Office
South Australian Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8366 2600
Email climate.sa@bom.gov.au

Extremes

Hottest day
Highest temperature		 41.1°C at Oodnadatta Airport on the 24th
Warmest days on average
Highest mean daily maximum temperature		 30.7°C at Oodnadatta Airport
Coolest days on average
Lowest mean daily maximum temperature		 16.0°C at Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS)
Coldest day
Lowest daily maximum temperature		 9.8°C at Mount Crawford Fire Tower on the 13th
Coldest night
Lowest temperature		 −1.9°C at Keith (Munkora) on the 8th
Coolest nights on average
Lowest mean daily minimum temperature		 5.2°C at Keith (Munkora)
Warmest nights on average
Highest mean daily minimum temperature		 14.9°C at Oodnadatta Airport
Warmest night
Highest daily minimum temperature		 26.5°C at Oodnadatta Airport on the 25th
Wettest overall
Highest total rainfall		 92.6 mm at Forreston (Millers Creek)
Highest wind gust
 102 km/h at Cape Willoughby on the 12th

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Records

Record lowest October temperature
Lowest temperature
in October 2009 (°C) 		Previous lowest
for October		 Years of
record		 Average for
October
Edinburgh RAAF 1.6 on the 7th 2.0 on the 9th in 2003 37 10.0


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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 October 2009
Maximum temperatures
for October
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for October
(°C)		 Rainfall
for October
(millimetres)
Mean for
October
2009		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
October
2009		 Mean for
October
2009		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
October
2009		 Total for
October
2009		 Average
for
October		 Rank of
October
2009		 Fraction of
October
average
Northwest (district 16)
Andamooka 28.0 −0.1 39.4 31st 13.9 +0.5 8.0 4th 1.8 19.4 low 9%
Coober Pedy Airport 27.9   39.4 31st 14.1   8.9 2nd 19.0
Ernabella 28.6   37.9 24th 13.4   6.6 4th 15.6
Marla Police Station 28.9 −1.1 39.9 27th 12.5 −1.9 6.7 3rd 3.6 16.9 low 21%
Nonning 24.8 −0.3 36.5 31st 10.2 +0.7 3.5 4th 32.0 22.6 high 142%
Roxby Downs 27.5   39.1 31st 13.2   7.2 4th 2.6
Tarcoola Aero 27.8   39.4 23rd 12.2   5.3 16th 26.6
Woomera Aerodrome 26.5 +0.3 39.2 31st 12.6 +0.3 7.2 4th 14.2 15.7 average 90%
Far North (district 17)
Arkaroola 26.0 −0.6 37.2 31st 12.0 +0.4 5.5 4th 2.5 19.0 low 13%
Leigh Creek Airport 27.0 +0.3 38.5 23rd 13.2 +0.9 6.2 4th 3.2 17.6 low 18%
Marree Aero 29.4   39.4 31st 13.8   7.0 4th 1.6
Marree Comparison 30.0 +0.6 40.5 31st 13.6 +0.2 6.7 8th 1.0 13.2 low 8%
Moomba Airport 29.6   40.4 24th 14.7   8.0 4th 0
Oodnadatta Airport 30.7 +0.4 41.1 24th 14.9 −0.2 8.9 9th 0.8 13.5 low 6%
Western Agricultural (district 18)
Ceduna AMO 24.3 +0.5 36.6 23rd 10.3 +0.5 1.7 18th 3.8 25.4 low 15%
Cleve 21.0 −1.3 34.1 29th 10.2 +0.1 6.6 16th 17.2 36.1 low 48%
Cleve Aerodrome 21.2   35.1 29th 9.7   5.5 9th 12.8 28.1 low 46%
Coulta 20.7   33.2 29th 9.6   4.1 8th 11.2
Cummins Aero 21.5   34.6 29th 8.1   1.2 4th 15.4
Elliston 21.7 +0.2 33.5 29th 11.1 0.0 4.2 4th 19.8 30.1 average 66%
Kimba 23.4 −0.4 35.5 31st 9.0 −0.1 3.5 16th 23.2 30.5 average 76%
Kyancutta 25.4 +0.2 35.8 29th 7.9 −0.3 1.0 7th 12.4 26.1 average 48%
Minnipa DPI 25.2   35.8 20th 9.3   2.2 4th 6.6
Neptune Island 17.2 −0.3 22.7 29th 12.3 0.0 8.3 13th 17.6 26.9 average 65%
North Shields 19.2   30.0 19th 10.2   4.6 4th 23.6
Nullarbor 23.7 −0.7 35.3 19th 10.8 +0.7 3.4 3rd 5.0 18.1 low 28%
Port Augusta Aero 25.3   37.0 30th 12.0   5.4 4th 27.2
Streaky Bay 24.3 +1.5 35.2 29th 11.9 +0.6 6.0 7th 22.5 26.1 average 86%
Whyalla Aero 22.2 −1.7 35.0 29th 11.1 +0.7 4.9 4th 27.0 23.2 average 116%
Wudinna Aero 25.6   36.1 31st 7.9   −0.1 17th 8.2
Upper North (district 19)
Hawker 25.0 −0.7 37.3 31st 10.4 +0.7 3.8 4th 15.8 24.5 average 64%
Yongala 20.7 −1.0 35.0 31st 6.1 0.0 0.6 4th 64.0 33.7 high 190%
Northeast (district 20)
Gluepot Reserve 24.5   38.5 31st 8.9   1.7 8th 14.1
Yunta Airstrip 24.0   37.2 31st 9.5   2.9 16th 19.0
Lower North (district 21)
Clare High School 19.7   32.4 31st 7.8   1.2 4th 32.4
Port Pirie Aerodrome 23.8   35.0 31st 9.6   3.8 4th 35.8
Port Pirie Nyrstar Comparison 24.3 −0.2 35.5 31st 11.5 −0.4 6.5 4th 39.9 33.0 high 121%
Yorke Peninsula (district 22A)
Edithburgh 19.1   33.0 29th 10.9   4.0 4th 18.6
Kadina AWS 22.8   34.2 29th 7.9   0.9 4th 23.0
Maitland 20.9 −0.4 32.3 29th 9.7 −0.3 5.2 7th 31.6 42.4 average 75%
Minlaton Aero 21.8   33.4 29th 8.5   1.7 7th 12.4
Stenhouse Bay 18.7   33.8 29th 11.5   7.5 18th 28.8
Warooka 19.7 −0.9 30.6 29th 10.0 −0.1 5.5 16th 17.2 35.8 low 48%
Kangaroo Island (district 22B)
Cape Borda 17.6   25.9 29th 9.5   5.6 8th 24.4
Cape Willoughby 16.5 −1.1 30.3 29th 11.8 +0.4 9.2 13th 35.6 42.5 average 84%
Kingscote Aero 18.9   31.2 29th 7.5   2.8 19th 16.8
Adelaide Plains (district 23A)
Adelaide 21.9 +0.1 33.7 29th 11.5 +0.1 6.0 6th 18.4 44.3 low 42%
Adelaide Airport 21.3 +0.4 32.8 29th 10.7 +0.1 5.2 18th 20.0 38.2 low 52%
Edinburgh RAAF 22.6 +0.6 34.5 29th 9.3 −0.7 1.6 7th 16.2 39.8 low 41%
Parafield Airport 22.5 +0.8 34.5 29th 9.4 −0.7 2.5 6th 24.6 42.5 average 58%
Roseworthy AWS 23.9   36.4 30th 8.0   −0.8 8th 20.6
County Light (district 23B)
Nuriootpa Viticultural 20.0   33.1 31st 7.9   2.5 6th 33.8
Rosedale 21.5 −0.3 34.5 30th 7.5 −0.8 0.5 7th 33.4 44.4 average 75%
Mount Lofty Ranges (district 23°C)
Kuitpo Forest Reserve 17.5   30.0 29th 8.7   4.8 9th 56.6
Mount Barker 19.8 +0.5 31.0 30th 7.0 −0.1 1.3 18th 65.0 67.1 average 97%
Mount Crawford Fire Tower 17.2   29.3 30th 7.8   2.5 7th 70.2
Noarlunga 20.3   31.9 29th 10.7   5.0 9th 18.8
Parawa 16.0   28.3 29th 8.7   5.6 18th 79.2
Victor Harbor 18.2   32.8 29th 9.2   3.5 10th 53.0
Upper Murray Valley (district 24A)
Loxton Research Centre 23.9 −0.2 37.8 31st 9.0 +0.8 3.1 8th 12.0 25.7 average 47%
Renmark Aero 24.3   38.4 31st 9.7   4.1 10th 14.2
Lower Murray Valley (district 24B)
Eudunda 20.3 −0.3 34.2 31st 7.5 −0.5 2.2 8th 46.6 40.5 average 115%
Meningie 19.7 −0.8 32.8 29th 8.8 −0.6 2.4 8th 39.5 39.3 average 101%
Murray Bridge 22.0   35.5 30th 7.5   0.9 7th 18.8
Murray Bridge Comparison 22.9 +0.2 36.0 30th 8.9 0.0 2.8 18th 21.8 33.8 average 64%
Strathalbyn Racecourse 19.7   32.8 29th 8.1   1.9 8th 34.2
Murray Mallee (district 25A)
Karoonda 22.6   37.2 30th 8.2   2.3 18th 21.5 32.6 average 66%
Upper Southeast (district 25B)
Keith 21.1 −0.4 36.4 30th 7.3 −0.9 −1.0 7th 19.6 42.6 low 46%
Keith 21.5   37.2 30th 5.2   −1.9 8th 16.4
Lameroo 22.3   36.3 30th 7.2   −0.3 7th 18.6
Lameroo Comparison 22.7 +0.1 36.1 31st 8.3 +0.6 1.3 7th 19.8 37.2 average 53%
Lower Southeast (district 26)
Cape Jaffa 17.6   30.2 29th 8.9   4.2 7th 26.0
Coonawarra 19.0 −0.3 32.3 30th 7.2 +0.1 1.6 9th 37.8 46.3 low 82%
Mount Gambier Aero 17.8 −0.1 30.5 30th 7.2 +0.1 2.0 9th 74.4 61.7 average 121%
Naracoorte Aerodrome 19.6   33.1 30th 5.7   −0.9 9th 36.6
Padthaway South 19.5   32.9 30th 7.2   0.3 7th 39.2
Robe Airfield 17.9   30.2 29th 8.6   3.7 9th 33.6
Robe Comparison 17.6 +0.1 29.1 29th 10.1 −0.1 5.6 9th 35.2 44.3 average 79%

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Notes

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 8 am on Monday 2 November 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 20 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.

Further information

South Australian Regional Office
South Australian Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8366 2600
Email climate.sa@bom.gov.au