Wednesday, 1 April 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC13R0
South Australia in March 2020: cool and dry in the south and east
Rainfall in March was generally below average in central and eastern Agricultural districts, but above average in the southwest and it was a very wet month in the far northeast of South Australia. Temperatures were generally cooler than average in the south and east of the State, but warmer than average in the northern and western districts.
Very wet in the northeast, drier in the southeast
- Rainfall in March was generally below average in the central and eastern Agricultural districts, but above average in the southwest and it was a very wet month in the far northeast of South Australia
- Rainfall for March was 13% below average for the State as a whole, but after several dry years it was the wettest March since 2016
- Large areas from the northwest to the southeast of the State had less than 40% of their March average rainfall
- In parts of the central Agricultural districts and South East, it was the driest March for more than 20 years
- Heavy rainfall from ex-tropical cyclone Esther in the North East Pastoral district and neighbouring areas of Queensland and New South Wales resulted in minor flooding; it was the wettest March since at least 2012 in those northeastern areas of the State
Cooler than average in the east
- Daytime temperatures in March were cooler than average across much of South Australia, except the far northwest
- The mean maximum temperature for South Australia was 0.29 °C above average, the lowest for March since 2012
- Night-time temperatures were cooler than average in the South East districts, but above average in the west and north of the State
- The mean minimum temperature for South Australia was 0.59 °C above average, which was cooler than last year but warmer than March 2018
- Several sites had their coldest March day on record, either during the early March event, or across parts of Eyre Peninsula and Mid North on the 23rd and 24th
Strong winds at times
- A cold front crossed the State's southeast on the 13th followed by strong gully winds overnight about the Mount Lofty Ranges and a wind gust of 83 km/h recorded at Sellicks Hill (Mount Terrible Radar)
- Strong northerly winds ahead of a cold front on the 19th brought warm temperatures and severe fire weather conditions to southern and eastern areas of South Australia, with a wind gust of 78 km/h recorded at Strathalbyn Racecourse
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Extremes in March 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day |
40.9 °C at Moomba Airport on the 1st |
| Warmest days on average |
34.5 °C at Oodnadatta Airport |
| Coolest days on average |
20.2 °C at Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS) |
| Coldest day |
14.0 °C at Mount Crawford AWS on the 24th |
| Coldest night |
0.1 °C at Keith (Munkora) on the 26th |
| Coolest nights on average |
9.5 °C at Padthaway South |
| Warmest nights on average |
20.6 °C at Moomba Airport |
| Warmest night |
26.8 °C at Oodnadatta Airport on the 12th |
| Warmest on average overall |
27.1 °C at Oodnadatta Airport |
| Coolest on average overall |
15.5 °C at Mount Lofty |
| Wettest overall |
38.6 mm at Moomba Airport |
| Wettest day |
26.0 mm at Maralinga on the 24th |
| Strongest wind gust |
83 km/h at Sellicks Hill (Mount Terrible Radar) on the 13th |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Maps | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Observed | Anomaly | Decile rank | |
| Total rainfall |
|
|
|
| Mean daily maximum temperatures |
|
|
|
| Mean daily minimum temperatures |
|
|
|
Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window
| Record lowest March daily maximum temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for March |
|||
| Streaky Bay | 16.7 | on the 23rd | 17.1 | on the 13th in 1989 | 63 | 27.2 |
| Nullarbor | 16.5 | on the 23rd | 17.1 | on the 13th in 2007 | 33 | 26.7 |
| Clare High School | 14.4 | on the 24th | = 14.4 | on the 23rd in 2011 | 26 | 26.2 |
| Moomba Airport | 21.7 | on the 4th | 22.4 | on the 30th in 2019 | 25 | 34.1 |
| Renmark Aero | 17.2 | on the 4th | 18.0 | on the 21st in 2001 | 25 | 29.2 |
| Minnipa Pirsa | 17.3 | on the 24th | 17.9 | on the 31st in 1999 | 24 | 28.8 |
| Tarcoola Aero | 18.1 | on the 3rd | 18.4 | on the 30th in 2013 | 23 | 31.8 |
| Snowtown (Rayville Park) | 15.6 | on the 24th | 18.0 | on the 29th in 2008 | 22 | 28.8 |
| Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot) | 18.0 | on the 4th | 19.0 | on the 27th in 2006 | 21 | 29.5 |
| Wudinna Aero | 17.9 | on the 24th | 19.0 | on the 23rd in 2000 | 21 | 29.6 |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for March 2020 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for March 2020 |
Diff from average |
Highest for March 2020 |
Mean for March 2020 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for March 2020 |
Total for March 2020 |
Average for March |
Rank of March 2020 |
Fraction of March average |
|||
| Northwest (district 16) | ||||||||||||
| Andamooka | 31.9 | -0.4 | 38.0 | 19th | 18.2 | -0.1 | 12.4 | 28th | 2.5 | 13.5 | average | 19% |
| Coober Pedy Airport | 32.2 | +0.3 | 38.6 | 18th | 18.5 | 0.0 | 15.0 | 5th | 3.8 | 10.5 | average | 36% |
| Ernabella (Pukatja) | 33.1 | +1.6 | 37.9 | 13th | 19.2 | +1.6 | 12.3 | 5th | 7.2 | 25.1 | average | 29% |
| Mount Ive | 28.8 | 38.0 | 19th | 12.0 | 7th | 11.2 | 13.3 | average | 84% | |||
| Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome) | 31.2 | -1.1 | 37.8 | 19th | 17.1 | -0.1 | 9.3 | 28th | 10.8 | 7.1 | high | 152% |
| Tarcoola Aero | 30.8 | -1.0 | 40.3 | 19th | 16.9 | +0.8 | 11.0 | 31st | 30.2 | 17.4 | high | 174% |
| Woomera Aerodrome | 30.1 | -0.4 | 38.1 | 19th | 16.7 | -0.2 | 12.4 | 15th | 8.0 | 12.9 | average | 62% |
| Far North (district 17) | ||||||||||||
| Leigh Creek Airport | 31.1 | -0.3 | 36.9 | 1st | 17.3 | -0.2 | 10.8 | 27th | 2.2 | 18.3 | average | 12% |
| Marree Aero | 33.5 | -0.3 | 39.3 | 1st | 18.2 | -0.6 | 12.4 | 25th | 0.2 | 9.8 | average | 2% |
| Moomba Airport | 33.0 | -1.1 | 40.9 | 1st | 20.6 | 0.0 | 15.4 | 15th | 38.6 | 23.2 | high | 166% |
| Oodnadatta Airport | 34.5 | +0.7 | 40.2 | 13th | 19.7 | +0.4 | 14.9 | 28th | 2.6 | 13.7 | average | 19% |
| Western Agricultural (district 18) | ||||||||||||
| Ceduna AMO | 26.6 | -0.1 | 40.6 | 18th | 14.5 | +1.2 | 7.7 | 6th | 24.0 | 15.9 | high | 151% |
| Cleve | 24.8 | -1.1 | 37.4 | 18th | 14.9 | +0.1 | 10.5 | 6th | 20.0 | 21.7 | average | 92% |
| Cleve Aerodrome | 25.1 | -1.0 | 37.4 | 18th | 14.7 | +0.1 | 10.2 | 26th | 15.4 | 21.6 | average | 71% |
| Coffin Bay (Point Avoid) | 23.1 | 32.5 | 17th | 14.7 | 11.2 | 31st | 13.6 | |||||
| Cultana (Defence) | 27.8 | 37.6 | 19th | 15.1 | 10.6 | 26th | 17.0 | |||||
| Cummins Aero | 26.3 | -1.0 | 36.5 | 17th | 13.3 | -0.1 | 4.1 | 6th | 6.4 | 15.8 | average | 41% |
| Elliston | 25.3 | +1.0 | 37.0 | 17th | 15.0 | +0.6 | 7.5 | 31st | 3.0 | 14.8 | low | 20% |
| Kimba | 26.7 | -1.3 | 36.5 | 18th | 10.2 | 20th | 26.8 | 16.8 | high | 160% | ||
| Kyancutta | 28.7 | -1.2 | 39.3 | 18th | 13.2 | +0.8 | 6.0 | 31st | 12.1 | 13.9 | average | 87% |
| Minnipa Pirsa | 27.4 | -1.4 | 37.8 | 18th | 14.7 | +0.6 | 9.0 | 6th | 20.0 | 19.0 | average | 105% |
| North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS) | 24.6 | +0.2 | 35.9 | 17th | 15.1 | +0.5 | 11.4 | 31st | 7.0 | 17.4 | average | 40% |
| Nullarbor | 26.6 | -0.1 | 40.2 | 17th | 15.1 | +0.8 | 9.6 | 31st | 36.2 | 21.0 | high | 172% |
| Port Augusta Aero | 29.1 | -1.5 | 38.7 | 19th | 16.0 | -0.6 | 9.3 | 28th | 3.6 | 13.3 | average | 27% |
| Streaky Bay | 26.8 | -0.4 | 39.0 | 18th | 14.7 | -0.1 | 9.3 | 26th | 10.0 | 14.9 | average | 67% |
| Whyalla Aero | 26.9 | -0.4 | 37.3 | 19th | 15.0 | -0.6 | 9.6 | 16th | 9.8 | 18.1 | average | 54% |
| Wudinna Aero | 28.2 | -1.4 | 38.9 | 18th | 13.4 | +0.4 | 6.2 | 6th | 15.8 | 16.3 | average | 97% |
| Upper North (district 19) | ||||||||||||
| Hawker | 29.8 | -0.4 | 35.0 | 19th | 15.3 | +0.3 | 9.4 | 28th | 5.2 | 16.2 | average | 32% |
| Yongala | 25.7 | -1.5 | 33.5 | 19th | 11.1 | +0.2 | 6.7 | 15th | 5.0 | 16.3 | average | 31% |
| Northeast (district 20) | ||||||||||||
| Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot) | 28.1 | -1.4 | 38.5 | 19th | 11.9 | -0.5 | 5.5 | 26th | 13.2 | 13.0 | average | 102% |
| Yunta Airstrip | 27.8 | -1.2 | 36.8 | 19th | 13.0 | +0.1 | 5.8 | 27th | 2.4 | 11.6 | average | 21% |
| Lower North (district 21) | ||||||||||||
| Clare High School | 25.2 | -1.0 | 34.4 | 18th | 11.5 | -0.7 | 5.3 | 31st | 10.0 | 23.4 | average | 43% |
| Port Pirie Aerodrome AWS | 29.0 | 37.0 | 18th | 14.1 | 8.7 | 14th | 8.8 | |||||
| Snowtown (Rayville Park) | 27.9 | -0.9 | 36.8 | 18th | 11.4 | -0.7 | 6.0 | 26th | 8.6 | 17.5 | average | 49% |
| Yorke Peninsula (district 22A) | ||||||||||||
| Edithburgh | 23.4 | -0.2 | 33.4 | 17th | 15.1 | -0.7 | 9.4 | 31st | 4.2 | 16.3 | low | 26% |
| Kadina AWS | 26.8 | -1.6 | 36.4 | 18th | 13.0 | -0.6 | 6.6 | 31st | 8.0 | 28.5 | average | 28% |
| Minlaton Aero | 25.4 | -1.3 | 34.3 | 18th | 13.9 | -0.2 | 8.5 | 31st | 2.6 | 14.7 | low | 18% |
| Stenhouse Bay | 23.2 | -0.2 | 34.8 | 18th | 15.7 | -0.3 | 13.1 | 30th | 8.0 | 19.1 | low | 42% |
| Warooka | 24.5 | -0.6 | 31.5 | 11th | 14.9 | +0.2 | 11.4 | 26th | 4.2 | 16.2 | low | 26% |
| Kangaroo Island (district 22B) | ||||||||||||
| Cape Borda | 21.8 | -0.8 | 28.6 | 18th | 14.1 | +0.4 | 11.2 | 14th | 3.0 | 23.0 | v low | 13% |
| Cape Willoughby | 20.7 | -0.1 | 28.5 | 12th | 15.7 | +0.1 | 13.6 | 30th | 3.2 | 21.1 | v low | 15% |
| Kingscote Aero | 24.1 | -0.5 | 35.2 | 18th | 11.8 | +0.4 | 5.8 | 16th | 2.2 | 23.2 | low | 9% |
| Parndana Cfs AWS | 23.1 | 34.4 | 18th | 12.3 | 8.3 | 26th | 4.4 | |||||
| Adelaide Plains (district 23A) | ||||||||||||
| Adelaide (Kent Town) | 26.0 | -0.6 | 35.0 | 18th | 15.1 | -0.3 | 10.4 | 27th | 4.6 | 25.9 | low | 18% |
| Adelaide (West Terrace / ngayirdapira) | 25.6 | -0.5 | 34.1 | 18th | 15.1 | -0.1 | 10.0 | 15th | 3.8 | 23.6 | low | 16% |
| Adelaide Airport | 24.9 | -0.6 | 34.4 | 18th | 15.0 | +0.5 | 9.4 | 27th | 4.2 | 21.1 | low | 20% |
| Edinburgh RAAF | 26.6 | -0.4 | 34.9 | 18th | 14.6 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 27th | 1.2 | 24.1 | v low | 5% |
| Parafield Airport | 27.0 | +0.1 | 35.0 | 18th | 14.1 | -0.5 | 7.3 | 27th | 2.0 | 21.8 | v low | 9% |
| Roseworthy AWS | 27.5 | -0.8 | 36.9 | 18th | 12.3 | -0.6 | 5.8 | 26th | 1.6 | 17.2 | lowest | 9% |
| County Light (district 23B) | ||||||||||||
| Nuriootpa Pirsa | 25.5 | -0.6 | 35.3 | 18th | 10.9 | -1.1 | 4.8 | 31st | 2.8 | 25.1 | v low | 11% |
| Mount Lofty Ranges (district 23C) | ||||||||||||
| Hindmarsh Island AWS | 23.6 | -0.4 | 33.2 | 17th | 13.7 | -0.9 | 8.5 | 23rd | 0.6 | 14.4 | v low | 4% |
| Kuitpo Forest Reserve | 22.1 | -1.2 | 32.5 | 18th | 12.3 | -0.5 | 8.1 | 15th | 8.0 | 33.1 | lowest | 24% |
| Mount Barker | 24.3 | -0.4 | 32.4 | 11th | 11.0 | +0.5 | 5.3 | 26th | 7.4 | 30.9 | low | 24% |
| Mount Crawford AWS | 22.7 | -0.8 | 31.3 | 11th | 11.4 | -0.9 | 6.5 | 14th | 5.6 | 27.3 | lowest | 21% |
| Mount Lofty | 20.6 | +1.0 | 28.7 | 18th | 10.5 | -0.7 | 5.2 | 15th | 9.6 | 40.4 | v low | 24% |
| Noarlunga | 24.7 | -1.1 | 34.3 | 18th | 15.5 | -0.2 | 11.2 | 15th | 4.0 | 19.3 | lowest | 21% |
| Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS) | 20.2 | -1.0 | 29.9 | 18th | 12.6 | -0.4 | 9.1 | 26th | 18.2 | 34.2 | low | 53% |
| Victor Harbor (Encounter Bay) | 23.1 | -0.6 | 33.1 | 17th | 12.1 | -0.8 | 4.9 | 16th | 8.0 | 19.6 | v low | 41% |
| Upper Murray Valley (district 24A) | ||||||||||||
| Loxton Research Centre | 27.3 | -1.1 | 38.2 | 19th | 12.3 | +0.1 | 6.6 | 31st | 9.4 | 11.4 | average | 82% |
| Renmark Aero | 27.7 | -1.5 | 39.2 | 19th | 13.4 | +0.4 | 7.2 | 31st | 17.4 | 11.6 | high | 150% |
| Lower Murray Valley (district 24B) | ||||||||||||
| Eudunda | 25.5 | -0.3 | 35.0 | 18th | 11.4 | -0.9 | 6.8 | 14th | 4.8 | 20.6 | low | 23% |
| Meningie | 24.5 | +0.1 | 34.4 | 11th | 11.5 | -1.2 | 5.8 | 23rd | 2.2 | 21.8 | v low | 10% |
| Murray Bridge (Pallamana Aerodrome) | 26.5 | -1.2 | 35.7 | 11th | 11.0 | -1.5 | 5.7 | 26th | 2.6 | 18.7 | v low | 14% |
| Strathalbyn Racecourse | 24.7 | -0.6 | 34.5 | 11th | 12.3 | -0.6 | 6.0 | 23rd | 4.2 | 17.3 | v low | 24% |
| Upper Southeast (district 25B) | ||||||||||||
| Keith | 27.0 | +0.1 | 35.4 | 18th | 10.3 | -1.2 | 3.5 | 26th | 4.2 | 20.8 | low | 20% |
| Keith (Munkora) | 27.0 | -0.6 | 36.7 | 18th | 9.6 | -0.7 | 0.1 | 26th | 5.2 | 17.2 | low | 30% |
| Lameroo (Austin Plains) | 27.0 | -1.1 | 36.8 | 19th | 11.3 | -0.8 | 4.8 | 23rd | 15.0 | 17.0 | average | 88% |
| Lower Southeast (district 26) | ||||||||||||
| Cape Jaffa (The Limestone) | 22.1 | -0.6 | 30.0 | 28th | 12.0 | -0.5 | 7.1 | 27th | 15.2 | 21.7 | average | 70% |
| Coonawarra | 24.9 | -0.1 | 34.5 | 12th | 9.9 | -0.4 | 1.6 | 25th | 3.8 | 25.9 | v low | 15% |
| Mount Gambier Aero | 23.5 | +0.3 | 33.7 | 11th | 10.9 | +0.3 | 4.9 | 27th | 11.6 | 35.4 | low | 33% |
| Naracoorte Aerodrome | 25.8 | -0.4 | 34.5 | 11th | 9.8 | -0.4 | 1.3 | 23rd | 4.0 | 23.6 | lowest | 17% |
| Padthaway South | 25.5 | -0.5 | 34.0 | 12th | 9.5 | -1.0 | 1.9 | 25th | 5.8 | 23.7 | v low | 24% |
| Robe Airfield | 22.6 | -0.6 | 31.9 | 11th | 11.2 | -0.2 | 4.8 | 26th | 12.0 | 26.2 | low | 46% |
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 10 am on Wednesday 1 April 2020. 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
Unless otherwise noted, all maps, graphs and diagrams in this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
