Monday, 30 November 2009 - Monthly Climate Summary for Adelaide Metro & Hills - Product code IDCKGC13R0

Adelaide Metro & Hills in November 2009: Heatwave conditions, with a wet & windy finish!!

This statement was prepared before all data for the period were available. This may affect some of the statistics presented.
  • An extended period of heat produced Adelaide’s first November heatwave in the record going back to 1887, and a record warmest November day on the 19th.
  • After a very dry first 3 weeks, several significant rainfall events towards the end of the month resulted in rainfall being generally above average across Adelaide and the hills for the month as a whole, tending below average in the northern suburbs.

Details Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

The South Australian Regional Office (Kent Town) rainfall for November 2009 was 42.2mm, recorded on 7 days, which is above the Kent Town average of 31.4mm on 8 days. (The South Australian Regional Office rainfall total is from the manually observed 203mm rain gauge. This may differ from totals on the Bureau’s webpage as these may be from the automatic tipping bucket rain gauge).

The total rainfall for the first 11 months of 2009 at the South Australian Regional Office was 499mm, which is 22.8mm below the long-term average of 521.8mm. In 2008 362.0mm was recorded over the same period.

The rainfall amounts recorded in the metropolitan area for November 2009 were generally above average, ranging from about 25mm in coastal areas, up to 45mm in areas near the foothills. In the Adelaide Hills the rainfall totals were mainly between 40mm and 75mm. The highest reading was 83.0mm at Uraidla.

Overall the water storage for Adelaide is at 86% of maximum capacity. At the end of November last year the overall storage was 92%. Some reservoirs are near maximum capacity.

See a map of rainfall deciles.

Temperature

An extended period of well above average temperatures across the first 3 weeks of the month resulted in record November mean maximum temperatures being observed at most sites in the Adelaide region, with previous record November mean monthly temperatures being exceeded by very significant margins of 2 to 3°C.

Utilising the standard heatwave criteria applied by the South Australian Regional Forecasting Centre for Adelaide of 5 consecutive days of maximum temperatures of 35°C or more or 3 consecutive days of 40°C or more, Adelaide experienced its first ever November and Spring heatwave in the whole record, which goes back to 1887.

Adelaide temperatures, as recorded at the Kent Town Regional Office site, recorded a maximum temperature of 43.0°C degrees on the 19th, a record reading for both the Kent Town and West Tce sites, beating the previous November record at West Tce of 42.7°C on the 30th November 1962. Given the shift in sites of the Regional office record in 1977, it is difficult to determine if the figure recorded on 19th November 2009 is a true record across both sites, though record warmest November daily temperatures were also recorded at the Adelaide Airport and Parafield Airport sites. For more information about the heatwave event, and the extended period of above average temperatures see the South Australian Special Climate Statement here and the National Climate Centre Special Climate Statements: here

The mean maximum temperature for November 2009 was in the range of 25.2°C in the Adelaide Hills, to 32.4°C in the northern suburbs, which is more than 6°C above the normal November mean maximum temperature and 2 to 3°C above the previous November record.

The coldest daytime maximum temperature recorded at the South Australian Regional Office was 19.3°C on the 4th November with a warmest November maximum on record of 43.0°C on the 19th.

The highest daily maximum temperature of 44.5°C was recorded at Edinburgh, in the northern suburbs, on the 19th, whilst the coolest daytime temperature was 12.4°C at Mount Lofty, in the Adelaide Hills, on the 28th.

November’s mean daily minimum temperatures in the suburbs and adjacent hills varied from 3°C to 4°C above average. The mean minimum temperature ranged from 12.0°C, in the hills, to 18.0°C in the central suburbs.

The lowest daily minimum temperature recorded at the South Australian Regional Office was 10.4°C on the morning of the 5th.

In the metropolitan and hills areas the lowest daily minimum temperature of 5.6°C was recorded at Mount Barker on the morning of the 6th, whilst the warmest night was 26.2°C at Noarlunga on the 12th.

Some sites had their highest November temperature on record. Some sites had their highest November mean daily maximum temperature on record. Some sites had their highest November mean daily minimum temperature on record.

Further information

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Extremes in November 2009
Hottest day 44.5 °C at Edinburgh RAAF on the 19th
Warmest days on average 32.4 °C at Parafield Airport
Coolest days on average 25.2 °C at Mount Lofty
Coldest day 12.4 °C at Mount Lofty on the 28th
Coldest night 5.6 °C at Mount Barker on the 6th
Coolest nights on average 12.0 °C at Mount Barker
Warmest nights on average 18.0 °C at Adelaide (Kent Town)
Warmest night 26.2 °C at Noarlunga on the 12th
Wettest overall 83.2 mm at Uraidla
Highest wind gust 89 km/h at Adelaide Airport on the 28th

Details Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Record highest November temperature
Highest temperature
in November 2009 (°C) 		Previous highest
for November		 Years of
record		 Average for
November
Adelaide Airport 43.1 on the 19th 41.9 on the 30th in 1962 55 23.8
Parafield Airport 44.1 on the 19th = 44.1 on the 30th in 1993 53 25.0
Edinburgh RAAF 44.5 on the 19th 44.3 on the 30th in 1993 38 25.5
Adelaide (Kent Town) 43.0 on the 19th 42.0 on the 30th in 1993 33 24.9


Record highest November mean daily maximum temperature
Mean daily maximum
temperature
for November 2009 (°C) 		Previous highest
for November		 Years of
record		 Average for
November
Mount Barker 28.8 26.8 in 1982 107 22.5
Adelaide Airport 30.1 26.9 in 2003 54 23.8
Parafield Airport 32.4 28.9 in 2007 52 25.0
Edinburgh RAAF 32.3 28.9 in 2000 37 25.5
Adelaide (Kent Town) 31.1 28.0 in 2007 32 24.9


Record highest November mean daily minimum temperature
Mean daily minimum
temperature
for November 2009 (°C) 		Previous highest
for November		 Years of
record		 Average for
November
Adelaide Airport 16.7 16.3 in 2000 54 12.7
Parafield Airport 16.4 15.4 in 2000 52 12.7
Edinburgh RAAF 16.7 15.7 in 2000 37 12.7
Adelaide (Kent Town) 18.0 17.1 in 2000 32 13.9


Details Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for November 2009
Maximum temperatures
for November
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for November
(°C)		 Rainfall
for November
(millimetres)
Mean for
November
2009		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
November
2009		 Mean for
November
2009		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
November
2009		 Total for
November
2009		 Average
for
November		 Rank of
November
2009		 Fraction of
November
average
Adelaide Plains (district 23A)
Adelaide (Kent Town) 31.1 +6.2 43.0 19th 18.0 +4.1 10.4 5th 43.6 31.8 high 137%
Adelaide Airport 30.1 +6.3 43.1 19th 16.7 +4.0 10.0 5th 31.4 25.6 average 123%
Edinburgh RAAF 32.3 +6.7 44.5 19th 16.7 +4.0 8.3 5th 25.4 25.2 average 101%
Parafield Airport 32.4 +7.4 44.1 19th 16.4 +3.7 7.7 24th 30.2 27.3 average 111%
Mount Lofty Ranges (district 23C)
Mount Barker 28.8 +6.3 39.5 19th 12.0 +3.2 5.6 6th 73.8 40.2 high 184%
Mount Lofty 25.2   37.1 19th 14.0   6.1 5th 81.0
Noarlunga 29.8   41.8 19th 17.6   9.7 5th 22.2

Details Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Notes

This statement was prepared before all data for the period were available. This may affect some of the statistics presented.

A Monthly Climate Summary is prepared to list the main features of the weather in Adelaide Metro & Hills 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, usually published in the fourth week of the month.

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 3 pm on Monday 30 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

Media
(03) 9669 4057
Enquiries

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