Monday, 3 December 2012 - Monthly Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC23R0

South Australia in November 2012: Spring ends with record heat and continuing dry conditions

• Prolonged heat in the last week results in the record warmest November night in South Australia at Oodnadatta on the 29th November.
• Second warmest November days for the state as a whole.
• Driest November for South Australia since 1996, with rainfall only 50% of average rainfall.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Rainfall across South Australia was below average through November, resulting in the driest November in 16 years. Apart from a few locations across the central and northern Pastoral districts where rainfall was near average, most locations received below average rainfall throughout the month. Most of the rainfall was associated with a cold frontal system in the first week of the month, and with a tropical feature in the last few days of November. The drier than average conditions this month come on the end of a dry spring due to cooler than average waters to the northwest of Australia.

Pastoral Districts

Rainfall totals over the Pastoral districts were widely below average tending to very much below average, typically ranging between 10 to 15 mm, being only about 50% of average. Todmorden in the North West district recorded 43 mm, the highest in the state this month, with most of this occurring on the 6th and 7th of the month.

Agricultural Districts

Rainfall was widely below average to very much below average across the agricultural districts, totals typically ranged between 10 to 15 mm, and only about 50% of average, though some locations in the Mount Lofty Ranges and the Lower South East districts recorded totals in excess of 20 mm. The highest rainfall total for the month in the Agricultural districts was at Robe in the Lower South East district where 36.4 mm was recorded.

Some sites had their lowest total November rainfall for at least 25 years.
See a map of rainfall deciles.

Temperature

The mean temperature (the average of the maximum and minimum temperatures) for South Australia as a whole in November 2012 was 2.5 °C above the long-term average, the highest since 2009. By contrast, November 2011 was 1.0 °C above average.

A heatwave event occurred in the last week of the month with temperatures in excess of 10 °C above average for several days at many locations, and record warmest temperatures at several locations.

Maximum

Maximum temperatures over South Australia were second highest on record for the State as a whole this month, 3.1 °C above average. This just exceeded the previous second on record set in November 2009.

Daily maximum temperatures averaged across the month range from 20.2 °C at Neptune Island to 38.0 °C at Moomba Airport in the North East district. The warmest day for any location was recorded at Marree where temperatures reached 46.0 °C on the 29th . Several locations in the north of the State, including Marree, Oodnadatta, Arkaroola and Leigh Creek, had record highest November average maximum temperatures.

Earlier in the month, on the 1st and again on the 10th and 11th cold air masses with cold fronts brought daytime temperatures to well below average for many locations around the State. Mount Lofty recorded the coldest day for any location when its maximum temperature reached 11.3 °C on the 1st.

Minimum

Minimum temperatures averaged across South Australia as a whole were well above average this November, the fourth warmest November nights on record. The warmest nights on average for the month were experienced across the central and eastern districts where minimum temperatures were in excess of 2 °C warmer than normal. Night time temperatures were closer to average, if still warmer than average, across the Eyre Peninsula and the Southeast of the State.

During the heatwave at months end Oodnadatta Airport recorded a minimum temperature of 32.3 °C on the 29th, a new State wide minimum temperature record for November. This location also recorded warmest November nights for the month as a whole averaging 22.0°C for the month. Leigh Creek also recorded the warmest November night on record at this site, reaching 29.4 °C on the 26th.

The coldest nights for much of the State was through the 11th and 12th although the coldest night for any location around the State was observed at Keith (Munkora) where the temperature fell to -1.7°C on the 10th.

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 maximum temperature for at least 25 years.
Some sites had their warmest November night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record.
Some sites had their highest November mean daily minimum temperature on record.
See a map of minimum temperature anomalies.

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Extremes in November 2012
Hottest day	46.0 °C at Marree Comparison on the 29th
Warmest days on average	38.0 °C at Moomba Airport
Coolest days on average	20.2 °C at Neptune Island
Coldest day	11.3 °C at Mount Lofty on the 1st
Coldest night	-1.7 °C at Keith (Munkora) on the 10th
Coolest nights on average	8.0 °C at Keith (Munkora)
Warmest nights on average	22.0 °C at Oodnadatta Airport
Warmest night	32.3 °C at Oodnadatta Airport on the 29th
Warmest on average overall	29.8 °C at Oodnadatta Airport
Coolest on average overall	16.1 °C at Mount Lofty
Wettest overall	43.0 mm at Todmorden
Driest overall	0 mm at Leigh Creek (Pfitzners Well)
Wettest day	32.0 mm at Todmorden 7th
Highest wind gust	107 km/h at Coober Pedy Airport on the 29th

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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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
Angaston	1.4	0.0	in 1967*	40	33.7
Parrakie	6.6	3.2	in 1974*	37	26.3
Blanchetown Lock 1	5.6	0.0	in 1982	30	25.6
Eudunda	9.8	1.6	in 1982	30	30.0
Kyancutta	0.5	0.2	in 1982	30	21.2
Saddleworth	2.4	2.2	in 1982	30	32.2
Mount Bryan	4.6	0.0	in 1982*	28	28.9
Palmer	2.5	1.0	in 1982*	28	25.2
Gawler Council Depot	3.0	2.0	in 1982*	27	27.9
Mintaro	13.0	10.6	in 1974*	26	35.3
Freeling	6.4	4.2	in 1987	25	31.9
Hoyleton	7.6	5.4	in 1987	25	29.5
Minlaton	2.0	1.4	in 1987	25	23.3
Riverton	8.6	6.6	in 1987	25	34.3
Tarlee	9.2	3.2	in 1987	25	31.4
Watervale	11.8	5.0	in 1987	25	40.3

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

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Record highest November temperature
	Highest temperature in November 2012 (°C)		Previous warmest for November		Years of record	Average for November
Loxton Research Centre	43.6	on the 29th	43.0	on the 18th in 2009	29	27.5

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Record highest November mean daily maximum temperature
	Mean daily maximum temperature for November 2012 (°C)	Previous warmest for November		Years of record	Average for November
Marree Comparison	37.3	37.0	in 1982	73	33.2
Oodnadatta Airport	37.5	37.0	in 2006	62	33.7
Arkaroola	33.3	32.9	in 1982	34	30.0
Leigh Creek Airport	34.3	33.9	in 2006	28	30.5

Highest November mean daily maximum temperature for at least 25 years
	Mean daily maximum temperature for November 2012 (°C)	Most recent November at least this warm		Years since warmer	Average for November
Andamooka	34.6	34.8	in 1982	30	31.7

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Record highest November daily minimum temperature
	Highest daily minimum temperature in November 2012 (°C)		Previous warmest for November		Years of record	Average for November
Oodnadatta Airport	32.3	on the 29th	32.2	on the 30th in 2006	63	18.5
Leigh Creek Airport	29.4	on the 26th	29.3	on the 27th in 2006	29	16.1

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Record highest November mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature for November 2012 (°C)	Previous warmest for November		Years of record	Average for November
Oodnadatta Airport	22.0	21.5	in 2000	62	18.5

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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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
Northwest (district 16)
Andamooka	34.6	+2.9	43.9	25th	19.1	+2.1	13.3	2nd	5.0	14.6	low	34%
Coober Pedy Airport	35.2		44.8	25th	19.5		12.6	9th	8.4
Ernabella (Pukatja)	34.9		41.8	25th	19.5		10.7	10th	25.6
Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome)	34.7		43.3	25th	17.9		10.7	10th	0.8
Tarcoola Aero	34.8		44.3	4th	16.3		8.0	8th	3.0
Woomera Aerodrome	33.1	+3.3	42.6	25th	17.3	+1.9	10.6	2nd	14.6	17.1	average	85%
Far North (district 17)
Arkaroola	33.3	+3.3	43.2	29th	17.4	+1.9	9.9	2nd	1.5	17.8	low	8%
Leigh Creek Airport	34.3	+3.8	43.1	29th	18.1	+2.0	10.8	2nd	1.2	19.0	low	6%
Marree Aero	36.2		45.5	26th	19.3		11.9	2nd	2.4
Marree Comparison	37.3	+4.1	46.0	29th	19.1	+2.3	12.4	2nd	3.3	12.0	average	28%
Moomba Airport	38.0		45.7	30th	20.5		14.4	11th	0.8
Oodnadatta Airport	37.5	+3.8	45.6	25th	22.0	+3.5	12.5	10th	4.4	13.0	average	34%
Western Agricultural (district 18)
Ceduna AMO	27.8	+1.8	44.0	4th	12.9	+0.6	4.5	10th	3.2	19.4	low	16%
Cleve	26.4	+1.6	38.6	4th	13.4	+1.2	8.0	8th	14.4	27.2	average	53%
Cleve Aerodrome	26.8		39.6	4th	12.5		7.2	10th	12.0	20.7	low	58%
Coulta (Coles Point)	25.8	+1.7	37.5	4th	12.3	0.0	4.2	2nd	9.6
Cummins Aero	27.6		38.6	4th	10.7		2.0	8th	9.2
Elliston	24.8	+1.3	37.7	4th	13.4	+0.3	6.6	2nd	8.9	19.5	low	46%
Kimba	29.6	+2.6	40.0	4th	12.2	+0.2	5.5	9th	12.8	23.3	average	55%
Kyancutta	31.7	+3.1	42.4	4th	11.5	+0.7	3.5	9th	0.5	21.2	v low	2%
Minnipa Pirsa	30.7		42.4	4th	12.8		6.6	9th	2.6
Neptune Island	20.2	+1.0	26.1	29th	14.3	+0.7	11.9	2nd	12.0	18.6	average	65%
North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS)	25.0	+2.1	36.4	11th	12.2	+0.1	7.0	9th	5.0
Nullarbor	27.7	+1.8	42.8	4th	12.9	+0.6	7.3	8th	18.2	16.8	average	108%
Port Augusta Aero	32.1		42.5	4th	15.7		8.6	2nd	12.4
Streaky Bay	27.9	+2.3	40.4	4th	13.8	+0.5	8.6	2nd	9.4	18.7	average	50%
Whyalla Aero	28.0	+1.5	41.9	4th	14.6	+0.6	8.2	19th	11.8	21.1	average	56%
Wudinna Aero	31.5		42.4	4th	11.1		2.4	18th	1.2
Upper North (district 19)
Hawker	32.4	+3.2	42.5	29th	15.5	+1.9	7.8	2nd	15.4	23.2	average	66%
Yongala	28.9	+3.2	39.5	29th	11.1	+1.9	3.1	18th	12.2	28.0	low	44%
Northeast (district 20)
Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot)	30.8		44.4	29th	12.1		3.4	10th	10.5
Yunta Airstrip	30.8		42.8	29th	13.4		6.2	2nd	13.8
Lower North (district 21)
Clare High School	27.3		38.1	29th	11.8		3.6	18th	14.0
Port Pirie Aerodrome	29.8		39.8	4th	13.8		6.0	2nd	13.2
Snowtown (Rayville Park)	29.6		39.9	29th	11.4		3.4	10th	13.2
Yorke Peninsula (district 22A)
Edithburgh	24.1		37.2	20th	13.7		8.5	8th	18.0
Kadina AWS	29.3		39.9	4th	10.9		3.1	2nd	4.6
Maitland	27.4	+2.7	38.0	4th	13.5	+1.3	8.5	13th	12.0	28.0	low	43%
Minlaton Aero	27.3		37.2	4th	12.0		3.3	10th	7.4
Stenhouse Bay	23.4		35.1	20th	14.0		11.5	2nd	11.4
Warooka	24.9	+1.4	34.4	4th	13.1	+1.1	8.2	8th	11.4	22.5	average	51%
Kangaroo Island (district 22B)
Cape Borda	21.5		30.9	4th	11.9		7.2	13th	9.2
Cape Willoughby	20.6	+1.5	31.0	20th	13.7	+0.7	9.8	8th	16.2	28.3	average	57%
Kingscote Aero	24.4		33.7	29th	9.3		1.5	10th	8.2
Parndana Cfs AWS	23.4		32.8	20th	9.6		4.1	9th	11.8
Adelaide Plains (district 23A)
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	26.6	+2.7	36.8	29th	14.5	+1.7	6.8	10th	12.4	25.1	low	49%
Edinburgh RAAF	28.2	+2.5	38.5	29th	13.7	+0.8	4.9	10th	10.6	24.6	low	43%
Parafield Airport	28.4	+3.2	38.2	29th	14.2	+1.4	5.3	2nd	12.8	26.7	low	48%
Roseworthy AWS	29.5		41.0	29th	11.0		1.0	10th	11.2
County Light (district 23B)
Nuriootpa Viticultural	27.5		39.8	29th	11.7		1.4	18th	5.6
Rosedale (Turretfield Research Centre)	29.0	+3.3	40.6	29th	11.8	+0.6	1.7	2nd	9.0	28.4	low	32%
Mount Lofty Ranges (district 23C)
Hindmarsh Island AWS	24.2		35.8	20th	12.9		7.6	10th	15.2
Kuitpo Forest Reserve	23.1		33.5	29th	11.4		6.3	10th	8.4
Mount Barker	24.8	+2.2	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	22.2		33.0	29th	9.9		4.4	10th	17.8
Noarlunga	26.0		36.4	29th	14.5		8.9	22nd	17.2
Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS)	21.3		32.5	29th	11.1		6.6	10th	23.2
Victor Harbor (Encounter Bay)	23.3		35.9	20th	11.1		4.6	11th	20.6
Upper Murray Valley (district 24A)
Loxton Research Centre	29.9	+2.4	43.6	29th	12.3	+1.0	4.8	2nd	5.6	21.8	v low	26%
Renmark Aero	30.5		45.3	29th	12.9		5.2	11th	6.2
Lower Murray Valley (district 24B)
Eudunda	27.8	+3.4	39.6	29th	11.7	+1.4	5.0	2nd	9.8	30.0	low	33%
Meningie	24.9	+1.9	37.9	29th	12.0	+0.7	6.2	10th	14.0	27.5	average	51%
Murray Bridge (Pallamana Aerodrome)	27.8		40.6	29th	10.4		1.7	10th	8.8
Murray Bridge Comparison	28.0	+2.3	40.6	29th	12.2	+0.8	5.8	10th	7.5	25.3	low	30%
Strathalbyn Racecourse	25.6		38.5	29th	11.7		5.8	10th	7.0
Murray Mallee (district 25A)
Karoonda	29.1		42.6	29th	11.4		4.0	10th	7.0	23.9	low	29%
Upper Southeast (district 25B)
Keith	27.1	+2.2	40.2	29th	10.6	+0.6	1.8	10th	9.6	31.7	low	30%
Keith (Munkora)	27.9		41.3	29th	8.0		-1.7	10th	8.0
Lameroo (Austin Plains)	28.8		42.5	29th	10.5		2.7	10th	5.0
Lameroo Comparison	27.9	+1.7	41.5	29th	11.1	+1.0	5.0	2nd	4.0	27.1	v low	15%
Lower Southeast (district 26)
Cape Jaffa (The Limestone)	22.4	+1.0	33.4	29th	10.8	0.0	5.1	14th	30.8
Coonawarra	24.4	+1.9	37.4	29th	8.9	+0.1	0.3	10th	34.0	35.6	average	96%
Mount Gambier Aero	23.4	+3.0	37.4	29th	9.0	+0.6	1.5	10th	19.2	46.8	low	41%
Naracoorte Aerodrome	25.6		39.1	29th	8.4		0.2	10th	13.6
Padthaway South	25.5		38.7	29th	9.0		0.6	10th	11.2
Robe Airfield	22.1		33.0	20th	10.4		2.5	10th	31.0
Robe Comparison	20.8	+1.3	29.0	29th	11.9	+0.5	6.5	10th	36.4	30.4	average	120%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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