Tuesday, 3 April 2018 - Monthly Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC13R0
South Australia in March 2018: a dry start to autumn
Rainfall was below average for most South Australia except in the Far North Pastoral District. Both mean maximum and minimum temperatures were above average for the State as a whole.
Below average rainfall across the south; above average rainfall in the far north
- March rainfall was merely one-third of average for South Australia as a whole
- March rainfall totals were less than 5 mm across southern parts of the Pastoral regions and south into the central and western Agricultural regions; many sites either had their driest March on record or driest March for at least 20 years
Above average mean maximum and minimum temperatures
- Mean maximum temperature was 1.34 °C above average, and mean minimum temperature was 0.42 °C above average for South Australia as a whole
- March continued a run of nine consecutive months of warmer than average temperatures for South Australia
- On the 17th, maximum temperatures reached the low-40s, and were 8 °C to 12 °C above average, in the southern Pastoral and Eastern Eyre Peninsula regions
- Padthaway South in the southeast recorded the State's coldest morning of the month with 2.9 °C on the 21st, which was its lowest temperature in March for four years since 1.7 °C was recorded on 22 March 2014
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Extremes in March 2018 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day | 42.6 °C at Tarcoola Aero on the 17th |
| Warmest days on average | 35.3 °C at Moomba Airport |
| Coolest days on average |
22.1 °C at Mount Lofty 22.1 °C at Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS) |
| Coldest day | 14.4 °C at Mount Lofty on the 26th |
| Coldest night | 2.9 °C at Padthaway South on the 21st |
| Coolest nights on average | 10.3 °C at Keith (Munkora) |
| Warmest nights on average | 21.3 °C at Moomba Airport |
| Warmest night | 26.2 °C at Moomba Airport on the 8th |
| Warmest on average overall | 28.3 °C at Moomba Airport |
| Coolest on average overall |
16.5 °C at Mount Lofty |
| Wettest overall | 62.0 mm at Moomba Airport |
| Wettest day | 61.4 mm at Moomba Airport on the 23rd |
| Strongest wind gust | 107 km/h at Naracoorte Aerodrome on the 18th |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Maps | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Observed | Anomaly | Decile rank | |
| Total rainfall |
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| Mean daily maximum temperatures |
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| Mean daily minimum temperatures |
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Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window
| Record lowest March total rainfall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for March |
||
| Cape Jaffa (The Limestone) | 4.2 | 4.6 | in 2005 | 24 | 22.0 |
| North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS) | 0.8 | 1.2 | in 1997 | 24 | 18.5 |
| Kuitpo Forest Reserve | 16.2 | 17.0 | in 2015 | 20 | 35.5 |
| Lowest March total rainfall for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (mm) |
Most recent lower |
Average for March |
|||
| Adelaide (Glen Osmond) | 7.6 | 0.0 | in 1994 | 26.4 | |
| Belair (State Flora Nursery) | 6.4 | 0.0 | in 1994 | 32.7 | |
| Cape Willoughby | 4.8 | 0.0 | in 1994 | 21.3 | |
| Coulta | 1.4 | 0.0 | in 1994 | 17.8 | |
| Lenswood | 6.4 | 0.2 | in 1994 | 40.4 | |
| Meningie | 3.8 | 0.8 | in 1994 | 22.0 | |
| Mount Bold Reservoir | 12.0 | 0.4 | in 1994 | 31.9 | |
| Mount Schank (Jethia) | 7.0 | 1.8 | in 1994 | 37.1 | |
| Neptune Island | 1.0 | 0.0 | in 1994 | 19.0 | |
| Penneshaw | 2.4 | 0.2 | in 1994 | 18.1 | |
| Strathalbyn | 4.8 | 0.0 | in 1994 | 23.5 | |
| Williamstown | 5.8 | 0.0 | in 1994 | 25.0 | |
| Williamstown (South Para Reservoir) | 4.2 | 0.0 | in 1994 | 29.2 | |
| Wilmington | 0.8 | 0.0 | in 1994 | 18.8 | |
| Keith | 3.8 | 3.2 | in 1995 | 21.1 | |
| Heathfield Works Depot | 9.0 | 0.0 | in 1994* | 40.2 | |
| Coffin Bay | 2.8 | 1.2 | in 1997 | 17.8 | |
| Edinburgh RAAF | 6.2 | 4.8 | in 1997 | 24.9 | |
| Lyndoch | 2.4 | =2.4 | in 1997 | 22.2 | |
| Stenhouse Bay | 4.2 | 0.4 | in 1997 | 20.1 | |
| Tarlee | 3.1 | 1.8 | in 1997 | 20.8 | |
| Wirrabara Forest | 5.6 | 3.2 | in 1997 | 28.1 | |
| Adelaide (Morphett Vale) | 7.0 | 4.8 | in 1997* | 25.2 | |
| Clarendon | 11.8 | 4.3 | in 1997* | 34.6 | |
| Happy Valley Reservoir | 12.2 | 7.8 | in 1997* | 28.9 | |
| Lock | 1.2 | =1.2 | in 1997* | 16.6 | |
| Prospect Hill | 13.6 | 11.0 | in 1998 | 36.1 | |
* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a lower value has gone unreported
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for March 2018 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for March 2018 |
Diff from average |
Highest for March 2018 |
Mean for March 2018 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for March 2018 |
Total for March 2018 |
Average for March |
Rank of March 2018 |
Fraction of March average |
|||
| Northwest (district 16) | ||||||||||||
| Andamooka | 33.2 | +1.0 | 41.2 | 17th | 18.7 | +0.4 | 11.2 | 27th | 0 | 13.9 | lowest | 0% |
| Coober Pedy Airport | 33.2 | +1.4 | 41.8 | 17th | 18.5 | +0.1 | 13.4 | 26th | 0 | 11.2 | lowest | 0% |
| Ernabella (Pukatja) | 32.1 | +0.8 | 37.6 | 17th | 18.3 | +0.8 | 14.1 | 15th | 29.4 | 27.1 | average | 108% |
| Mount Ive | 31.1 | 39.7 | 17th | 14.6 | 8.8 | 19th | 1.4 | 13.6 | average | 10% | ||
| Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome) | 33.2 | +1.0 | 41.3 | 17th | 17.4 | +0.3 | 8.1 | 27th | 0 | 6.5 | lowest | 0% |
| Tarcoola Aero | 33.1 | +1.5 | 42.6 | 17th | 16.0 | -0.2 | 10.2 | 30th | 0.2 | 17.5 | low | 1% |
| Woomera Aerodrome | 32.0 | +1.5 | 41.8 | 17th | 17.1 | +0.2 | 11.7 | 27th | 0 | 13.0 | lowest | 0% |
| Far North (district 17) | ||||||||||||
| Arkaroola | 31.2 | +1.2 | 38.4 | 3rd | 16.3 | +0.4 | 11.2 | 28th | 0 | 29.7 | lowest | 0% |
| Leigh Creek Airport | 33.1 | +1.8 | 40.1 | 17th | 17.8 | +0.3 | 9.4 | 27th | 0 | 18.9 | lowest | 0% |
| Marree Aero | 35.1 | +1.4 | 41.2 | 17th | 19.0 | +0.2 | 10.7 | 27th | 0 | 10.8 | lowest | 0% |
| Moomba Airport | 35.3 | +1.3 | 41.4 | 17th | 21.3 | +0.8 | 15.1 | 27th | 62.0 | 23.0 | high | 270% |
| Oodnadatta Airport | 34.9 | +1.2 | 41.4 | 17th | 19.4 | +0.1 | 12.0 | 27th | 4.0 | 14.0 | average | 29% |
| Western Agricultural (district 18) | ||||||||||||
| Ceduna AMO | 26.7 | 0.0 | 38.2 | 9th | 13.5 | +0.2 | 5.7 | 15th | 0.4 | 16.0 | low | 3% |
| Cleve | 26.3 | +0.4 | 35.5 | 17th | 15.3 | +0.6 | 10.6 | 29th | 10.6 | 21.9 | average | 48% |
| Cleve Aerodrome | 26.4 | +0.3 | 36.1 | 10th | 14.8 | +0.3 | 10.1 | 21st | 7.0 | 22.1 | average | 32% |
| Coffin Bay (Point Avoid) | 23.9 | 35.9 | 9th | 15.6 | 9.8 | 22nd | 2.0 | |||||
| Cultana (Defence) | 29.8 | 40.4 | 17th | 15.7 | 11.0 | 21st | 0.4 | |||||
| Cummins Aero | 27.0 | -0.3 | 35.8 | 9th | 13.7 | +0.1 | 5.0 | 22nd | 1.0 | 17.9 | v low | 6% |
| Elliston | 25.1 | +0.9 | 36.2 | 9th | 15.2 | +0.9 | 10.4 | 22nd | 5.2 | 15.0 | average | 35% |
| Kimba | 28.7 | +0.8 | 36.0 | 10th | 13.4 | -0.6 | 8.5 | 19th | 2.0 | 16.9 | low | 12% |
| Kyancutta | 30.3 | +0.4 | 37.7 | 10th | 12.7 | +0.3 | 7.4 | 22nd | 4.8 | 14.1 | average | 34% |
| Minnipa Pirsa | 29.4 | +0.6 | 36.5 | 9th | 14.2 | +0.1 | 9.8 | 29th | 1.2 | 19.8 | low | 6% |
| Neptune Island | 22.2 | +1.1 | 29.1 | 9th | 16.9 | +0.8 | 14.7 | 26th | 1.0 | 19.0 | v low | 5% |
| North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS) | 25.9 | +1.6 | 36.9 | 10th | 14.9 | +0.3 | 7.9 | 22nd | 0.8 | 18.5 | lowest | 4% |
| Nullarbor | 27.2 | +0.6 | 39.1 | 16th | 14.5 | +0.3 | 7.7 | 29th | 1.0 | 21.0 | low | 5% |
| Port Augusta Aero | 31.1 | +0.5 | 42.0 | 17th | 16.6 | 0.0 | 9.2 | 27th | 1.2 | 14.6 | low | 8% |
| Whyalla Aero | 28.1 | +0.8 | 40.0 | 17th | 15.7 | +0.1 | 7.7 | 27th | 2.6 | 18.8 | low | 14% |
| Wudinna Aero | 30.1 | +0.6 | 37.2 | 9th | 12.7 | -0.3 | 6.6 | 29th | 2.6 | 17.1 | average | 15% |
| Upper North (district 19) | ||||||||||||
| Hawker | 31.1 | +0.9 | 38.3 | 17th | 15.8 | +0.8 | 10.0 | 27th | 0.2 | 16.4 | low | 1% |
| Yongala | 28.0 | +0.8 | 35.8 | 17th | 11.5 | +0.6 | 6.6 | 27th | 6.6 | 16.4 | average | 40% |
| Northeast (district 20) | ||||||||||||
| Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot) | 30.2 | +0.8 | 38.0 | 10th | 11.7 | -0.7 | 6.0 | 27th | 1.4 | 13.5 | low | 10% |
| Yunta Airstrip | 30.0 | +1.1 | 38.7 | 17th | 12.8 | -0.1 | 4.8 | 27th | 1.6 | 12.4 | average | 13% |
| Lower North (district 21) | ||||||||||||
| Clare High School | 27.1 | +1.0 | 34.6 | 10th | 12.0 | -0.2 | 7.2 | 30th | 13.6 | 24.8 | average | 55% |
| Port Pirie Aerodrome AWS | 30.2 | 39.5 | 17th | 13.8 | 9.2 | 22nd | 3.8 | |||||
| Snowtown (Rayville Park) | 29.3 | +0.6 | 36.9 | 24th | 11.5 | -0.6 | 6.0 | 22nd | 8.2 | 18.8 | average | 44% |
| Yorke Peninsula (district 22A) | ||||||||||||
| Edithburgh | 24.8 | +1.3 | 34.7 | 24th | 16.4 | +0.7 | 12.1 | 30th | 4.0 | 17.3 | low | 23% |
| Kadina AWS | 28.1 | -0.4 | 37.4 | 9th | 13.2 | -0.4 | 7.7 | 22nd | 6.2 | 32.0 | low | 19% |
| Minlaton Aero | 26.7 | -0.1 | 35.6 | 10th | 14.3 | +0.3 | 7.2 | 26th | 3.2 | 16.1 | v low | 20% |
| Stenhouse Bay | 24.3 | +1.0 | 36.0 | 10th | 16.5 | +0.5 | 12.3 | 31st | 4.2 | 20.1 | v low | 21% |
| Warooka | 25.5 | +0.4 | 35.0 | 10th | 15.4 | +0.7 | 10.0 | 26th | 4.6 | 16.4 | low | 28% |
| Kangaroo Island (district 22B) | ||||||||||||
| Cape Borda | 22.9 | +0.3 | 32.5 | 9th | 14.2 | +0.5 | 9.8 | 27th | 3.8 | 25.0 | v low | 15% |
| Cape Willoughby | 22.3 | +1.6 | 32.5 | 10th | 16.2 | +0.6 | 11.2 | 26th | 4.8 | 21.3 | low | 23% |
| Kingscote Aero | 25.8 | +1.3 | 36.2 | 10th | 12.6 | +1.3 | 5.3 | 31st | 1.2 | 24.8 | v low | 5% |
| Parndana Cfs AWS | 24.9 | 35.3 | 10th | 12.5 | 8.3 | 22nd | 4.2 | |||||
| Adelaide Plains (district 23A) | ||||||||||||
| Adelaide (Kent Town) | 27.5 | +1.0 | 36.4 | 10th | 15.8 | +0.4 | 11.2 | 21st | 5.8 | 26.8 | low | 22% |
| Adelaide (West Terrace / ngayirdapira) | 27.2 | +1.2 | 35.5 | 9th | 15.8 | +0.6 | 11.4 | 21st | 4.4 | 23.9 | low | 18% |
| Adelaide Airport | 26.3 | +0.8 | 36.2 | 9th | 15.9 | +1.4 | 10.6 | 31st | 6.0 | 21.6 | low | 28% |
| Edinburgh RAAF | 27.9 | +1.0 | 36.1 | 10th | 14.7 | +0.2 | 9.6 | 31st | 6.2 | 24.9 | low | 25% |
| Parafield Airport | 28.2 | +1.3 | 36.6 | 9th | 14.8 | +0.2 | 10.1 | 5th | 6.6 | 22.3 | average | 30% |
| Roseworthy AWS | 28.8 | +0.5 | 37.7 | 10th | 12.1 | -0.8 | 6.2 | 13th | 7.2 | 18.5 | average | 39% |
| County Light (district 23B) | ||||||||||||
| Nuriootpa Pirsa | 26.8 | +0.8 | 35.3 | 10th | 11.6 | -0.4 | 5.0 | 26th | 7.6 | 27.1 | low | 28% |
| Rosedale (Turretfield Research Centre) | 28.2 | +0.8 | 36.9 | 10th | 12.4 | -1.0 | 6.0 | 5th | 9.0 | 20.2 | average | 45% |
| Mount Lofty Ranges (district 23C) | ||||||||||||
| Hindmarsh Island AWS | 25.0 | +1.0 | 36.0 | 10th | 15.2 | +0.7 | 10.9 | 27th | 6.4 | 15.8 | low | 41% |
| Kuitpo Forest Reserve | 23.6 | +0.4 | 33.3 | 10th | 13.1 | +0.3 | 7.0 | 21st | 16.2 | 35.5 | lowest | 46% |
| Mount Barker | 25.2 | +0.5 | 35.5 | 10th | 11.7 | +1.2 | 6.0 | 21st | 13.6 | 31.2 | average | 44% |
| Mount Crawford AWS | 24.4 | +1.0 | 33.2 | 10th | 12.1 | -0.1 | 5.5 | 21st | 8.2 | 29.1 | v low | 28% |
| Mount Lofty | 22.1 | +2.8 | 30.7 | 9th | 11.0 | -0.2 | 4.0 | 21st | 12.2 | 44.8 | low | 27% |
| Noarlunga | 26.0 | +0.3 | 35.5 | 9th | 15.9 | +0.3 | 9.2 | 21st | 8.0 | 20.9 | low | 38% |
| Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS) | 22.1 | +0.9 | 32.1 | 10th | 13.4 | +0.4 | 9.1 | 26th | 16.8 | 35.4 | low | 47% |
| Victor Harbor (Encounter Bay) | 24.7 | +1.1 | 36.0 | 10th | 13.6 | +0.7 | 7.5 | 31st | 13.8 | 20.2 | low | 68% |
| Upper Murray Valley (district 24A) | ||||||||||||
| Loxton Research Centre | 29.5 | +1.2 | 36.8 | 24th | 12.1 | -0.1 | 7.0 | 27th | 5.6 | 11.7 | average | 48% |
| Renmark Aero | 30.1 | +1.0 | 38.3 | 17th | 12.7 | -0.3 | 6.6 | 26th | 3.0 | 11.6 | average | 26% |
| Lower Murray Valley (district 24B) | ||||||||||||
| Eudunda | 27.1 | +1.4 | 35.4 | 10th | 12.2 | -0.1 | 7.1 | 21st | 21.4 | 20.9 | average | 102% |
| Meningie | 25.6 | +1.2 | 35.0 | 10th | 13.4 | +0.7 | 7.2 | 31st | 3.8 | 22.0 | low | 17% |
| Murray Bridge (Pallamana Aerodrome) | 27.9 | +0.2 | 38.0 | 10th | 12.4 | -0.1 | 6.0 | 31st | 3.8 | 21.2 | v low | 18% |
| Strathalbyn Racecourse | 26.2 | +0.9 | 36.6 | 10th | 13.5 | +0.7 | 6.4 | 21st | 5.4 | 18.2 | low | 30% |
| Upper Southeast (district 25B) | ||||||||||||
| Keith | 27.3 | +0.4 | 37.0 | 10th | 11.3 | -0.2 | 3.5 | 14th | 3.8 | 21.1 | low | 18% |
| Keith (Munkora) | 27.9 | +0.3 | 37.2 | 10th | 10.3 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 5th | 3.0 | 18.4 | v low | 16% |
| Lameroo (Austin Plains) | 28.6 | +0.6 | 37.1 | 10th | 11.3 | -0.8 | 5.3 | 27th | 1.6 | 18.2 | v low | 9% |
| Lower Southeast (district 26) | ||||||||||||
| Cape Jaffa (The Limestone) | 23.8 | +1.1 | 33.6 | 10th | 13.7 | +1.2 | 10.1 | 21st | 4.2 | 22.0 | lowest | 19% |
| Coonawarra | 25.4 | +0.4 | 36.0 | 10th | 10.9 | +0.7 | 4.9 | 5th | 11.2 | 26.9 | low | 42% |
| Mount Gambier Aero | 24.7 | +1.5 | 37.0 | 10th | 11.6 | +1.0 | 7.2 | 5th | 30.2 | 35.7 | average | 85% |
| Naracoorte Aerodrome | 26.4 | +0.2 | 36.8 | 10th | 10.7 | +0.6 | 3.9 | 21st | 10.6 | 25.1 | low | 42% |
| Padthaway South | 26.4 | +0.4 | 36.3 | 10th | 10.7 | +0.2 | 2.9 | 21st | 14.0 | 25.1 | average | 56% |
| Robe Airfield | 23.8 | +0.6 | 33.2 | 10th | 12.8 | +1.5 | 8.2 | 31st | 10.6 | 27.2 | v low | 39% |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
Notes
The Monthly climate summary, generally published on the first working day of each month, lists the main features of the weather in South Australia using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. More extensive discussion of significant weather events, along with later information and data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review.
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 9 am on Tuesday 3 April 2018. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
In some situations, some or all of the rainfall is in the form of hail or snow. In these cases the totals given are for the water equivalent: the depth of liquid water that results from melting any frozen precipitation. There can be significant 'undercatch' of snow in strong winds, meaning the true precipitation can be higher than that reported.
Averages for individual sites 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 10 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.
Where temperature area averages are mentioned, they are derived from the ACORN-SAT dataset.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
Unless otherwise noted, all maps, graphs and diagrams in this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
