Monday, 3 September 2018 - Monthly Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC13R0

South Australia in August 2018: wet in many coastal areas; mild days and nights

Rainfall in August was above average in many coastal areas of South Australia, but Eastern Eyre Peninsula had another month of drier than average conditions. Daytime temperatures were warmer than average across most of South Australia. Nights were warmer than average in agricultural districts, but clear skies and dry soils meant that night time temperatures were cooler than average in the State's northeast.

Wet in many coastal areas

• Rainfall in August was above average in many coastal areas of South Australia, including the West Coast, Lower Eyre Peninsula, southern Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, and the Lower South East
• August was drier than average in some agricultural districts including the Eastern Eyre Peninsula and southern parts of the Murraylands, along with isolated patches of the Flinders and Northeast Pastoral districts
• A cold front and low pressure trough brought rainfall to most parts of the State on the 31st, with totals in excess of 10 mm in southern and central districts and accounted for more than half of the monthly total in areas of the Northeast Pastoral district
• With that widespread rain at the end of the month, August rainfall was 20% above average for South Australia as a whole, breaking a run of six consecutive drier than average months
• Early in the month, a few sites had their highest August daily rainfall on record
• Many sites had either their highest total August rainfall on record or their highest total August rainfall for at least 20 years

Mild days

• Daytime temperatures for August were warmer than average across most of South Australia; days were slightly cooler than average in the far southeast corner of the State
• The mean maximum temperature for South Australia as a whole was 1.13 °C warmer than average, continuing a run of 16 consecutive months of above average maximum temperatures for the State
• Night time temperatures were warmer than average across most of the west and south of the State, but were cooler than average in the northeast, where clear skies and dry soils allowed the air to cool overnight
• The mean minimum temperature for South Australia as a whole was 0.46 °C warmer than average
• On the 5th, Stenhouse Bay had its coldest August day on record
• On the 30th, many sites had their warmest August night on record
• Adelaide Airport had its highest August mean daily minimum temperature on record, and Edinburgh RAAF and Parafield Airport had their highest August mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years

Strong winds at times

• The first half of August was particularly windy across South Australia
• Most sites away from the southern coast had their windiest August for at least ten years; Adelaide Airport and Woomera Aerodrome had their highest total wind run for August in more than 20 years, up to 35% above average
• The strongest recorded wind gust in the State was 113 km/h at Port Pirie Aerodrome on the 30th, but gusts in excess of 100 km/h were also recorded at Cape Willoughby, Cleve Aerodrome, and Neptune Island during the month

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 higher value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top