Friday, 30 November 2012 - Monthly Climate Summary for Adelaide Metro & Hills - Product code IDCKGC16L0

Adelaide Metro & Hills in November 2012: Drier than average and a hot finish.

This statement was prepared on the afternoon of the 30th November before all data for the period were available. This may affect some of the statistics presented.
  • Rainfall was very much below average with many locations receiving less than half of long term November average rainfall.
  • A cool start and hot finish to a warm month.
  • Second longest run of November days above 30°C for Adelaide.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

The November 2012 rainfall total at Adelaide (Kent Town) was 17.6mm received on 8 rain days. This is 56% of the long term November average of 31.3 mm usually received on 10 or more rain days. The rainfall total this month is the driest November for Adelaide since 2003 when only 12mm was observed. The long term median November rainfall for Adelaide (Kent Town) is 30.0 mm, last time exceeded in November 2009 when 42.2 mm was observed. The driest November at Adelaide (Kent Town) was observed in 1996 when just 1.0mm was recorded.

Much of the rainfall during November for the Adelaide and Hills region was observed between the 5th and 9th. The wettest day for Adelaide and Hills region was on the 6th ; Kent Town recorded 7.6 mm to 9am, with falls up to about 15mm in the hills.

Most locations received less than half of the long term November average with monthly rainfall totals typically ranging between 5 to 15mm on the Adelaide Plains, with higher totals in the 15 to 20mm range through the Adelaide Hills. The wettest location across the region was at Birdwood where 22.5 mm was recorded for the month.

Note that the Adelaide official climate rainfall record is taken from the manually observed 203mm rain gauge at the Kent Town site in Adelaide. These figures may differ from totals on some Bureau of Meteorology web pages as these may be from automatic tipping bucket rain gauge readings.

Some sites had their lowest total November rainfall for at least 25 years.

Temperature

The average maximum temperature recorded at Adelaide (Kent Town) for November 2012 was 27.7°C, 2.6°C above the long term average November maximum temperature. By comparison, November 2011 saw average maximum temperatures of 26.8°C at Adelaide (Kent Town). The record warmest November average maximum in Adelaide is 30.8°C, observed in 2009.

High pressure systems, clear skies and above average sunshine hours dominated the weather throughout the month. The last week or so of the month saw a hotter period with temperatures more than 10°C above average, with Adelaide recording 8 days in a row with maximum temperatures above 30°C, the second longest run of such temperatures in November after November 2009 when 10 days in a row were recorded.

The hottest day for any location across the Adelaide and Hills region was reported at Edinburgh RAAF where the maximum reached 38.5°C on the 29th. Parafield Airport reported the warmest days on average, with a monthly average of 28.2 °C, which is 3.0 °C above the long term average for this site.

Mount Lofty observed the coldest day of the month for any location in the Adelaide and Hills region when the maximum reached just 11.3 °C on the 1st. The coolest days on average were at Mount Lofty where the November maximum temperature averaged 22.1 °C.

Mean minimum temperatures were generally above average across the Adelaide Plains and Hills this November. The minimum temperature at Adelaide (Kent Town) averaged 15.1°C, 1.1 °C above the long term November average. Reduced cloud cover can be attributed to the below average temperatures this November.

The coldest nights for most locations occurred through the second week of November following the passage of a cold frontal system over southern parts of the State.

The coldest minimum temperature during November 2012 in the Adelaide and Hills area was 4.4°C observed at Mount Lofty on the 10th. The coolest nights on average were recorded at Mount Lofty with 9.9 °C. Mount Barker observed an average November minimum of 10.7°C, 1.8°C above the long term November average for that site. The warmest night was observed at Edinburgh RAAF with 27.1°C on the 5th. Adelaide (Kent Town) observed the warmest nights overall, with a monthly average of 15.1 °C

Further information

Bureau of Meteorology
South Australian Regional Office
South Australian Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone Phone (08) 8366 2600
Email climate.sa@bom.gov.au
Extremes in November 2012
Hottest day 38.5 °C at Edinburgh RAAF on the 29th
Warmest days on average 28.2 °C at Parafield Airport
Coolest days on average 22.1 °C at Mount Lofty
Coldest day 11.3 °C at Mount Lofty on the 1st
Coldest night 4.4 °C at Mount Lofty on the 10th
Coolest nights on average 9.9 °C at Mount Lofty
Warmest nights on average 15.1 °C at Adelaide (Kent Town)
Warmest night 27.1 °C at Edinburgh RAAF on the 5th
Warmest on average overall 21.2 °C at Adelaide (Kent Town)
Coolest on average overall 15.9 °C at Mount Lofty
Wettest overall 22.5 mm at Birdwood
Driest overall 2.8 mm at Hamley Bridge
Highest wind gust 87 km/h at Mount Crawford (Mt Crawford AWS) on the 5th

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Lowest total November rainfall for at least 25 years
Total rainfall
for November 2012 (mm) 		Most recent November
at least this dry		 Years since
drier		 Average for
November
Echunga Golf Course 5.2 3.0 in 1967* 44 42.1
Gawler Council Depot 3.0 2.0 in 1982* 27 27.9

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a lower value has gone unreported.



Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for November 2012
Maximum temperatures
for November
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for November
(°C)		 Rainfall
for November
(millimetres)
Mean for
November
2012		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
November
2012		 Mean for
November
2012		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
November
2012		 Total for
November
2012		 Average
for
November		 Rank of
November
2012		 Fraction of
November
average
Adelaide (Kent Town) 27.7 +2.6 38.0 29th 15.1 +1.1 8.0 10th 17.6 31.3 low 56%
Adelaide Airport 26.5 +2.6 36.8 29th 14.5 +1.7 6.8 10th 12.4 25.1 low 49%
Edinburgh RAAF 28.0 +2.3 38.5 29th 13.7 +0.8 4.9 10th 10.6 24.6 low 43%
Kuitpo Forest Reserve 22.9   33.5 29th 11.4   6.3 10th 8.4
Mount Barker 24.7 +2.1 37.0 29th 10.7 +1.8 5.1 10th 13.8 39.8 low 35%
Mount Crawford (Mt Crawford AWS) 24.6   36.5 29th 10.9   4.8 10th 13.8
Mount Lofty 22.1   33.0 29th 9.9   4.4 10th 17.8
Noarlunga 25.9   36.4 29th 14.5   8.9 22nd 17.2
Parafield Airport 28.2 +3.0 38.2 29th 14.2 +1.4 5.3 2nd 12.8 26.7 low 48%

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 4 pm on Friday 30 November 2012. 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

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