Monday, 31 October 2011 - Monthly Climate Summary for Adelaide Metro & Hills - Product code IDCKGC13R0

Adelaide Metro & Hills in October 2011: Warm with below average rainfall.

This statement was prepared before all data for the period were available. This may affect some of the statistics presented.
  • Despite mild conditions for much of the month, warmer temperatures mid month took the average for the whole month to slightly above average for maximum temperatures, and well above average for night time temperatures.
  • Warmest October nights for 38 years for Adelaide.
  • Rainfall was generally below average, typically 70 to 80% of October average rainfall.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Rainfall totals in the Adelaide region were generally below average for October 2011. A series of weak cold frontal systems moved across the region during the month with no significant tropical moisture associated with these systems until the last week of the month

Adelaide (Kent Town) rainfall for October 2011 was 42.6mm recorded on 12 days, 1.2mm below the long term average for October for this site of 43.8mm occurring on average over 10 days of rain (this rainfall total is from the manually observed 203mm rain gauge making up the long term rainfall record. This may differ from totals on the Bureau's webpage as these may be from the automatic tipping bucket rain gauge). Median rainfall for October is 37.0mm. October rainfall total recorded at Adelaide (Kent Town) has not been above average since October 2005 when 88.4mm was recorded. The wettest October on record at this site was in 1980 with 105.0 mm.

Rainfall totals across the Adelaide metropolitan were also generally below, ranging from about 20 mm to 40mm. In the Adelaide Hills rainfall totals were generally also below average and between 40 to 60mm. The highest reading was 66.0mm at Crafers (Mt Lofty). These rainfall totals are about 70 to 80% of average October rainfall.

For the first 10 months of 2011, Adelaide (Kent Town) recorded 494.4mm which is 9.7 mm above the long-term average of 484.7 mm. Last year 489.5mm was recorded over the same period. Rainfall totals are near average across the Adelaide Hills and Metropolitan area for this year so far, despite the well above average for the first 3 months of the year, reflecting generally drier than average conditions since April 2011.

Some sites had their highest 1 October to 31 October mean daily minimum temperature on record.

Temperatures

The month started and ended with relatively mild temperatures, with a burst of warmer weather in the middle of the month that meant maximum temperatures averaged across the month slightly warmer than average, and well above average minimum temperatures.

Mean maximum temperatures were generally up to 1°C warmer than average, being about 22 °C across the Adelaide plains, and 3 to 4°C cooler in hills locations. The mean maximum temperature at Adelaide (Kent Town) was 22.2°C which is 0.4°C above the long-term October average of 21.8°C. In 2010 the October average was 21.4°C. The coldest October on record at the Kent Town site was in 2001 when 18.8°C was recorded.

Adelaide had two days this month that had a maximum temperature that exceeded 30°C, where on average three might be expected, and five or more have been experienced in most recent Octobers. The coldest day was the 5th with 17.0°C, while the warmest was the 19th with 34.5°C.

The highest daily maximum temperature in the Adelaide and Adelaide Hills region, of 35.2°C was recorded at Edinburgh Airport, in the northern suburbs, on the 19th, whilst the lowest daytime temperature was 10.7°C at Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills, on the 10th.

Minimum temperatures were very much above average this October, typically by 1.5 to 2 °C. The mean minimum temperature at Adelaide (Kent Town) was 13.0°C, 1.5°C above the long-term October average of 11.5°C, and the warmest October nights since 1973 for the Adelaide Regional Office readings (West Terrace and Kent Town sites). Edinburgh Airport did have record warmest October minimum temperatures, while Adelaide Airport had equal record highest. The lowest daily minimum temperature recorded at Adelaide (Kent Town) was 7.1°C recorded on both the 1st and 2nd of the month.

Across the metropolitan and hills areas the lowest daily minimum temperature of 1.7°C recorded at Mount Barker on the morning of the 3rd, whilst the warmest night was 22.1°C at Adelaide (Kent Town) on the 20th.

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 in 1 October to 31 October 2011
Hottest day 35.2 °C at Edinburgh RAAF on the 19th
Warmest days on average 22.9 °C at Parafield Airport
Coolest days on average 16.2 °C at Mount Lofty
Coldest day 10.7 °C at Mount Lofty on the 10th
Coldest night 1.7 °C at Mount Barker on the 3rd
Coolest nights on average 8.3 °C at Mount Lofty
Warmest nights on average 13.0 °C at Adelaide (Kent Town)
Warmest night 22.1 °C at Adelaide (Kent Town) on the 20th
Warmest on average overall 17.7 °C at Adelaide (Kent Town)
Coolest on average overall 12.3 °C at Mount Lofty
Wettest overall 66.0 mm at Crafers (Mt Lofty)
Highest wind gust 89 km/h at Parafield Airport on the 14th

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Record highest 1 October to 31 October mean daily minimum temperature
Mean daily minimum
temperature
for 1 October to 31 October 2011 (°C) 		Previous warmest
for 1 October to 31 October		 Years of
record		 Average for
1 October to 31 October
Adelaide Airport 12.5 = 12.5 in 1999 57 10.6
Edinburgh RAAF 11.7 11.5 in 1977 36 10.0
Adelaide (Kent Town) 13.0 12.8 in 1999 35 11.5


Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for 1 October to 31 October 2011
Maximum temperatures
for 1 October
to 31 October
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for 1 October
to 31 October
(°C)		 Rainfall
for 1 October
to 31 October
(millimetres)
Mean for
1 October
to 31 October
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
1 October
to 31 October
2011		 Mean for
1 October
to 31 October
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
1 October
to 31 October
2011		 Total for
1 October
to 31 October
2011		 Average
for
1 October
to 31 October		 Rank of
1 October
to 31 October
2011		 Fraction of
1 October
to 31 October
average
Adelaide (Kent Town) 22.2 +0.4 34.5 19th 13.0 +1.5 7.1 1st 42.6 43.8 average 97%
Adelaide Airport 21.2 +0.2 33.6 19th 12.5 +1.9 5.3 2nd 23.2 37.8 average 61%
Edinburgh RAAF 22.3 +0.3 35.2 19th 11.7 +1.7 4.4 2nd 35.0 39.7 average 88%
Mount Barker 19.4 -0.1 31.2 19th 8.8 +1.4 1.7 3rd 41.8 66.5 low 63%
Mount Lofty 16.2   27.2 19th 8.3   2.6 2nd 61.0
Noarlunga 20.8   33.3 19th 12.4   6.5 2nd 27.8
Parafield Airport 22.9 +1.2 34.3 19th 11.8 +1.7 4.8 12th 32.0 42.7 average 75%

Extremes 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 31 October 2011. 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