Friday, 30 April 2010 - Monthly Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC13R0

South Australia in April 2010

Warmer than normal throughout, with above average rainfall across the pastorals.

• Above to well above average rainfall over the pastoral districts, and over parts of the southeast, with record April rainfall in the southeast of the Northwest Pastoral District.
• Warmer than average across the state, with a warmer than average year so far.
• Record warm April minimums over South Australian agricultural areas.

Details Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Rainfall values have been above average across most of the north and east of the state, with some rainfall records set in the Northwest Pastoral District. Along the coasts, rainfall totals were generally close to average.

So far this year, rainfall totals have been above average across most of the state, apart from a band of close to average falls stretching from the northwest corner down toward Adelaide. Year to date rainfall totals exceed 50mm across most of the state, with large areas in the north and east greater than 100mm. In the northeast totals exceed 200mm, due to heavy rainfall in February and March associated with the low pressure system approaching from the Northern Territory.

Pastoral Districts

Intense areas of rain and thunderstorms ahead of the upper trough caused localised flooding in the southeast Northwest Pastoral District on the 9th, with record rainfalls set at several locations. Roxby Downs Station had 124.0 mm to 9am on the 9th, Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome) had 86.0 mm, Andamooka 85mm,Yardea 80.0 mm, Leigh Creek Airport 67.4mm, Beltana Roadhouse 54.2mm, Parachilna (Motpena) 30.0 mm and Tarcoola Aero 27.0 mm. Note that those stations with less than 25 years of record are not listed in the record table.

Most rainfall totals recorded in the pastoral districts were above average, and generally ranged from 30 to 100mm. The highest monthly total of 156.0mm was recorded at Andamooka. The lowest of 18.0 mm was recorded at Coober Pedy Airport.

Agricultural Districts

Rainfall over the agricultural districts was generally close to average, tending above average in the east. Rainfall totals ranged from about 30 to 60mm in the Southeast, Lower Murray Valley and East Central districts, from 20 to 40mm over the West Central and Upper and Lower North districts, 15 to 30mm over the Western Agricultural, Murray Mallee and Upper Murray Valley. The highest total of 82.6mm was recorded at Mount Lofty. The lowest of 5.4 mm was recorded at Port Augusta.

Some sites had their highest total 1 April to 30 April rainfall on record.

Some sites had their highest total 1 April to 30 April rainfall for at least 25 years.

Some sites had their highest 1 April to 30 April daily rainfall on record.

Temperature

Maximum

Mean maximum temperatures were warmer than average across South Australia this April, with temperatures generally 1 to 2°C warmer than the long term mean.

Over the pastoral districts, mean maximum temperatures ranged from 24.9°C at Yunta Airstrip to 29.4°C at Oodnadatta Airport in the Far North District. The highest recorded maximum temperature in the pastoral districts for April was 35.9°C at Moomba Airport on the 7th of the month, with the lowest being 16.8°C at Ernabella (Pukatja) on the 11th.

Over the agricultural districts mean maximum temperatures ranged from 18.3°C at Mount Lofty to 28.1°C at Port Augusta Aero. The highest recorded daily maximum temperature for April in the agricultural areas was 35.4°C at Ceduna AMO on the 4th of the month, with the lowest 12.2°C at Mount Lofty on the 28th.

Mean maximum temperatures have been well above average across the state this year so far, apart from the northeast corner which grades from average to below average in the far northeast. Mean maximum temperature were between 1.5 and 2°C warmer than the long-term average across parts of the south for the January to April period this year, and between 1 and 1.5°C warmer across the rest of the south and west.

Some sites have recorded their warmest mean maximum temperatures for the January to April period. Adelaide (Kent Town) recorded a mean maximum temperature of 28.7°C, which just exceeds the previous record of 28.6°C set in 2007 at Kent Town. Rosedale recorded a mean maximum temperature of 29.6°C, exceeding the previous record of 29.1°C set in 2007. Mount Barker recorded a mean maximum of 27.8°C, exceeding its previous record January to April man maximum record of 27.6°C set in 2009.

Minimum

Mean monthly overnight minimum temperatures were much warmer than average throughout in April, with anomalies of between 1 to 3°C across the state.

In the pastoral districts these ranged from 10.7°C at Gluepot Reserve to 16.9°C at Moomba Airport in the Far North District. The lowest recorded daily minimum temperature for April in the pastoral districts was 2.8°C at the Yunta Airstrip on the 16th of the month, the warmest being 23.4°C at Marla Police Station on the 7th.

Across the agricultural areas the mean minimum temperatures this month ranged from 9.3°C at Yongala to 15.9°C at Neptune Island in the Western Agricultural. The lowest recorded daily minimum temperature for April was 2.0°C at Yongala on the 28th, whilst the warmest minimum was 22.0°C at Port Pirie Nyrstar Comparison on the 5th.

Mean minimum temperatures have also been much warmer than normal across South Australia this year so far, with temperatures generally between 1 and 2°C warmer throughout. The Agricultural districts have had their record warmest minimum temperatures for the January to April period in the area averaged record going back to 1950, exceeding 1961 as the previous warmest period.

Some sites have recorded their warmest mean minimum temperatures for the January to April period. Adelaide (Kent Town) recorded a mean minimum temperature of 16.9°C, which equals the previous record of 16.9°C set in 2007 at Kent Town, but not the previous record set at the West Terrace site, which had a mean minimum temperature of 18.0°C for January to April 1968. Loxton Research Centre has also set a new record mean minimum temperature for this period, with 14.0°C just exceeding the previous record of 13.9°C set in 2007.

One site had their warmest 1 April to 30 April night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record.

Some sites had their highest 1 April to 30 April mean daily minimum temperature on record.

Some sites had their highest 1 April to 30 April mean daily minimum temperature for at least 25 years.

Details Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Details Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Details Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top