Wednesday, 1 August 2018 - Monthly Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC13R0

South Australia in July 2018: drier than average with warm days

Rainfall in July was below average in many central, eastern, and northern districts, but close to average in the Lower Southeast and western parts of South Australia. Daytime temperatures were very much warmer than average throughout most of South Australia. Night time temperatures were cooler than average in the Northeast, but warmer than average in Agricultural districts.

Driest July since 1999

• July 2018 was drier than average in many Agricultural districts
• Overall, rainfall in July 2018 was 55% below average, making it the driest July since 1999 for the State as a whole
• July rainfall was very much below average in parts of the central Agricultural districts including the Eastern Eyre Peninsula and Mid North, and little or no rain fell across northern Pastoral districts
• Rainfall was average to above average in the Lower Southeast
• The wettest locations were in the Southeast, with most places south of a line between Beachport and Coonawarra receiving at least 100 mm
• The State's highest recorded total for the month was 156.6 mm at Kalangadoo, which had its wettest July since 1995
• July 2018 continued a run of six consecutive months of below average rainfall for South Australia as a whole
• Longer term rainfall deficiencies in South Australia increased in severity and spatial extent
• A few sites with less than 40 years of data had their lowest total July rainfall on record
• Numerous sites had their lowest total July rainfall for at least 20 years, mostly since 1997

Warmer than average days

• Daytime temperatures were very much above average throughout most of South Australia, but were near-average in the Lower Southeast
• The mean maximum temperature for the State as a whole was the fourth-warmest on record for July; 2.35 °C above average
• Night time temperatures were cooler than average in much of the Northeast Pastoral district but warmer than average in Agricultural districts
• The mean minimum temperature for the State as a whole was close to the July average; 0.03 °C above average
• For mean temperature it was South Australia's equal ninth-warmest July on record
• Some sites had either their highest July mean daily maximum temperature on record or their highest July mean maximum temperature since 1994
• Warm northwesterly winds led to some sites having their warmest July night on record on the 5th
• Several sites had either their highest July mean temperature on record or their highest July mean temperature since 1975

Strong winds at times

• There were several days of strong winds in early July, with Mount Gambier recording a gust of 115 km/h on the night of the 6th and Neptune Island recorded 117 km/h early the following morning
• On the 17th, a fast-moving cold front brought damaging winds across much of southeastern Australia, with a maximum wind gust of 133 km/h recorded at Neptune Island and gusts in excess of 100 km/h at Cape Borda, Cape Willoughby, Edithburgh, Mount Crawford, and Cape Jaffa
• Another cold front crossed the State on the 23rd, with a maximum wind gust of 109 km/h at Neptune Island

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Maps
	Observed	Anomaly	Decile rank
Total rainfall
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

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* 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

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top