Monday, 1 June 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC13R0
South Australia in May 2020: Drier and cooler than average
Rainfall in May was below average for South Australia as a whole, but it was wetter than average in some southern Agricultural districts and coastal areas. Both daytime and night-time temperatures were cooler than average.
Drier than average
- Rainfall in May was 66% below average for South Australia as a whole, resulting in the driest May since 2006
- The month started with showers extending over most of South Australia's agricultural areas
- The highest monthly rainfall total was recorded at Piccadilly (Woodhouse), in the Adelaide Hills, receiving 159.8 mm during the month
- The highest daily rainfall total was 43.8 mm at Uraidla on the 9th
Cooler days and nights in most areas
- Daytime temperatures were cooler than average for most of South Australia but were closer to average across western parts of the State
- Overall, daytime temperatures have been the coolest since May 2011 and some sites had their lowest May mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years
- Large areas of the pastoral districts experienced very much below average night-time temperatures throughout May
- Coolest May nights for the State as a whole since 2012 with some sites reporting their lowest May mean daily minimum temperature on record or their lowest May mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years
- The cool days and nights resulting in some sites having their lowest May mean temperature on record or their lowest May mean temperature for at least 20 years
Strong winds
- A front moved across central and eastern districts on the 7th bringing damaging winds as Cape Willoughby recorded wind gusts in excess of 100 km/h
- The passage of a vigorous front at the end of the month resulted in a wind gust of 107 km/h being recorded on Neptune Island
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Extremes in May 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day |
30.2 °C at Nullarbor on the 6th |
| Warmest days on average |
22.5 °C at Oodnadatta Airport |
| Coolest days on average |
11.6 °C at Mount Lofty |
| Coldest day |
8.2 °C at Mount Lofty on the 24th |
| Coldest night |
-3.3 °C at Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot) on the 16th |
| Coolest nights on average |
4.4 °C at Yongala |
| Warmest nights on average |
11.7 °C at Cape Willoughby |
| Warmest night |
15.9 °C at Neptune Island on the 6th |
| Warmest on average overall |
15.2 °C at Moomba Airport and at Oodnadatta Airport |
| Coolest on average overall |
9.1 °C at Mount Lofty |
| Wettest overall |
159.8 mm at Piccadilly (Woodhouse) |
| Wettest day |
43.8 mm at Uraidla on the 9th |
| Strongest wind gust |
107 km/h at Neptune Island on the 31st 102 km/h at Cape Willoughby on the 7th |
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 highest May total rainfall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for May |
||
| Victor Harbor (Encounter Bay) | 104.6 | 97.0 | in 2001 | 20 | 63.3 |
| Highest May total rainfall for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (mm) |
Most recent higher |
Average for May |
|||
| Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS) | 141.2 | 199.0 | in 1999 | 99.2 | |
| Naracoorte Aerodrome | 67.6 | 70.8 | in 2000 | 43.1 | |
| Lowest May mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (°C) |
Most recent lower |
Average for May |
|||
| North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS) | 18.0 | 17.7 | in 1997 | 19.6 | |
| Record lowest May mean daily minimum temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for May |
||
| Leigh Creek Airport | 6.6 | 6.8 | in 2012 | 37 | 8.8 |
| North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS) | 8.7 | 8.9 | in 2006 | 28 | 10.5 |
| Edithburgh | 9.2 | 9.3 | in 2004 | 27 | 10.8 |
| Coober Pedy Airport | 7.4 | 8.3 | in 1995 | 25 | 10.1 |
| Kuitpo Forest Reserve | 7.8 | 7.9 | in 2006 | 22 | 9.4 |
| Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome) | 5.1 | 5.4 | in 2006 | 22 | 8.3 |
| Lowest May mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (°C) |
Most recent lower |
Average for May |
|||
| Woomera Aerodrome | 7.5 | 7.1 | in 1976 | 9.5 | |
| Andamooka | 8.0 | 7.4 | in 1976* | 10.1 | |
* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a lower value has gone unreported
| Record lowest May mean temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for May |
||
| Leigh Creek Airport | 13.2 | = 13.2 | in 2000 | 37 | 15.0 |
| North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS) | 13.4 | 13.5 | in 2006 | 28 | 15.0 |
| Coober Pedy Airport | 14.1 | 14.3 | in 2000 | 25 | 16.1 |
| Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome) | 13.0 | 13.1 | in 2006 | 22 | 15.3 |
| Tarcoola Aero | 13.3 | 13.6 | in 2006 | 22 | 15.3 |
| Lowest May mean temperature for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (°C) |
Most recent lower |
Average for May |
|||
| Warooka | 13.4 | =13.4 | in 1970 | 14.5 | |
| Woomera Aerodrome | 13.7 | 13.6 | in 1979 | 15.1 | |
| Andamooka | 14.5 | 14.4 | in 1979* | 16.2 | |
* 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 May 2020 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for May 2020 |
Diff from average |
Highest for May 2020 |
Mean for May 2020 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for May 2020 |
Total for May 2020 |
Average for May |
Rank of May 2020 |
Fraction of May average |
|||
| Northwest (district 16) | ||||||||||||
| Andamooka | 20.9 | -1.5 | 27.8 | 7th | 8.0 | -2.1 | 4.2 | 16th | 0.1 | 15.3 | low | 1% |
| Coober Pedy Airport | 20.7 | -1.4 | 27.1 | 6th | 7.4 | -2.7 | 2.9 | 23rd | 0.6 | 9.5 | low | 6% |
| Ernabella (Pukatja) | 20.5 | -1.4 | 28.8 | 8th | 7.0 | -1.3 | 0.0 | 23rd | 0 | 14.3 | lowest | 0% |
| Mount Ive | 19.0 | 23.5 | 6th | 9.4 | 3.5 | 17th | 9.9 | 24.9 | low | 40% | ||
| Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome) | 20.8 | -1.6 | 27.2 | 19th | 5.1 | -3.2 | -0.3 | 25th | 0 | 8.8 | lowest | 0% |
| Tarcoola Aero | 20.7 | -1.8 | 27.3 | 6th | 5.9 | -2.3 | 0.6 | 17th | 3.4 | 10.7 | low | 32% |
| Woomera Aerodrome | 19.9 | -0.8 | 26.6 | 19th | 7.5 | -2.0 | 3.3 | 25th | 1.2 | 17.7 | low | 7% |
| Far North (district 17) | ||||||||||||
| Arkaroola | 19.7 | -0.7 | 26.8 | 7th | 0.6 | 5th | 2.7 | 17.3 | average | 16% | ||
| Leigh Creek Airport | 19.8 | -1.3 | 26.9 | 7th | 6.6 | -2.2 | 2.2 | 15th | 0 | 16.9 | lowest | 0% |
| Marree Aero | 21.8 | -1.6 | 29.4 | 7th | 7.1 | -2.2 | 1.8 | 25th | 0 | 7.0 | lowest | 0% |
| Moomba Airport | 21.8 | -2.1 | 30.0 | 7th | 8.6 | -2.2 | 3.1 | 26th | 4.2 | 9.9 | average | 42% |
| Oodnadatta Airport | 22.5 | -0.8 | 29.0 | 8th | 7.8 | -2.1 | 2.7 | 25th | 0 | 12.2 | lowest | 0% |
| Western Agricultural (district 18) | ||||||||||||
| Ceduna AMO | 19.8 | -1.1 | 26.8 | 6th | 7.9 | -0.7 | 2.6 | 17th | 14.6 | 32.4 | low | 45% |
| Cleve | 18.0 | -1.0 | 22.5 | 6th | 9.3 | -0.8 | 5.7 | 15th | 23.8 | 40.4 | low | 59% |
| Cleve Aerodrome | 17.8 | -1.5 | 22.7 | 18th | 9.2 | -1.2 | 4.6 | 15th | 18.2 | 36.7 | low | 50% |
| Coffin Bay (Point Avoid) | 17.8 | 21.8 | 6th | 10.7 | 6.4 | 15th | 46.2 | |||||
| Cultana (Defence) | 19.0 | 24.7 | 19th | 8.3 | 5.4 | 20th | 7.2 | |||||
| Cummins Aero | 18.4 | -1.3 | 23.8 | 6th | 6.8 | -2.0 | 1.2 | 17th | 42.2 | 43.9 | average | 96% |
| Elliston | 19.0 | -0.5 | 24.6 | 6th | 9.7 | -0.7 | 4.1 | 25th | 47.0 | 52.2 | average | 90% |
| Kyancutta | 20.0 | -1.1 | 24.6 | 18th | 6.7 | -0.7 | 0.3 | 15th | 17.4 | 31.8 | low | 55% |
| Minnipa PIRSA | 18.5 | -1.7 | 23.7 | 18th | 8.5 | -1.3 | 4.6 | 25th | 16.4 | 27.7 | average | 59% |
| Neptune Island | 16.8 | -1.0 | 20.0 | 5th | 9.4 | 9th | 47.0 | 53.6 | average | 88% | ||
| North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS) | 18.0 | -1.6 | 23.9 | 6th | 8.7 | -1.8 | 3.8 | 17th | 55.4 | 43.9 | average | 126% |
| Nullarbor | 20.8 | -0.7 | 30.2 | 6th | 7.3 | -1.7 | 2.3 | 29th | 13.6 | 29.7 | low | 46% |
| Port Augusta Aero | 20.0 | -1.6 | 26.6 | 19th | 7.4 | -1.4 | 1.8 | 25th | 8.8 | 17.5 | low | 50% |
| Whyalla Aero | 19.3 | -1.2 | 25.9 | 19th | 7.6 | -1.3 | 0.6 | 16th | ||||
| Wudinna Aero | 19.4 | -1.5 | 24.3 | 18th | 7.5 | -1.1 | 0.1 | 17th | 12.4 | 23.4 | low | 53% |
| Upper North (district 19) | ||||||||||||
| Hawker | 18.5 | -1.6 | 24.3 | 19th | 6.2 | -1.0 | 2.2 | 29th | 4.3 | 30.2 | low | 14% |
| Yongala | 15.7 | -1.4 | 21.5 | 7th | 4.4 | -0.2 | -1.0 | 15th | 23.0 | 34.6 | average | 66% |
| Northeast (district 20) | ||||||||||||
| Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot) | 19.4 | -1.2 | 27.8 | 7th | 4.5 | -1.7 | -3.3 | 16th | 5.4 | 18.5 | low | 29% |
| Yunta Airstrip | 17.7 | -1.7 | 25.5 | 7th | 4.9 | -0.9 | -2.2 | 16th | 7.0 | 11.0 | average | 64% |
| Lower North (district 21) | ||||||||||||
| Clare High School | 15.3 | -1.8 | 20.6 | 19th | 5.1 | -1.5 | -0.8 | 16th | 36.4 | 54.0 | low | 67% |
| Port Pirie Aerodrome AWS | 18.7 | 24.4 | 19th | 7.7 | 2.3 | 15th | 50.8 | |||||
| Snowtown (Rayville Park) | 18.3 | -1.6 | 24.3 | 19th | 6.3 | -1.1 | -0.2 | 16th | 18.6 | 35.6 | low | 52% |
| Yorke Peninsula (district 22A) | ||||||||||||
| Edithburgh | 17.7 | -0.8 | 22.0 | 19th | 9.2 | -1.6 | 3.8 | 16th | 57.2 | 45.3 | high | 126% |
| Minlaton Aero | 17.9 | -1.5 | 21.9 | 18th | 8.6 | -1.4 | 3.7 | 21st | 30.0 | 40.3 | average | 74% |
| Warooka | 17.2 | -1.4 | 20.4 | 17th | 9.7 | -0.8 | 6.5 | 20th | 81.4 | 53.9 | high | 151% |
| Kangaroo Island (district 22B) | ||||||||||||
| Cape Borda | 15.9 | -1.1 | 18.7 | 6th | 10.9 | -0.4 | 6.8 | 14th | 67.8 | 69.8 | average | 97% |
| Cape Willoughby | 16.3 | -0.7 | 19.9 | 6th | 11.7 | -0.9 | 8.6 | 20th | 92.2 | 61.9 | high | 149% |
| Kingscote Aero | 17.3 | -1.3 | 20.2 | 19th | 7.6 | -0.4 | 0.8 | 16th | 60.8 | 49.6 | high | 123% |
| Parndana CFS AWS | 15.6 | 19.2 | 6th | 8.8 | 4.5 | 14th | 75.4 | |||||
| Adelaide Plains (district 23A) | ||||||||||||
| Adelaide (Kent Town) | 17.7 | -1.3 | 22.5 | 19th | 8.9 | -1.4 | 3.5 | 16th | 53.4 | 61.4 | average | 87% |
| Adelaide (West Terrace / ngayirdapira) | 17.5 | -1.1 | 22.2 | 19th | 9.7 | -0.7 | 4.3 | 16th | 47.8 | 67.9 | average | 70% |
| Adelaide Airport | 17.4 | -1.2 | 22.5 | 19th | 9.1 | -0.6 | 3.2 | 16th | 38.4 | 53.6 | low | 72% |
| Edinburgh RAAF | 17.5 | -1.7 | 23.1 | 19th | 8.3 | -1.0 | 3.0 | 16th | 45.0 | 45.2 | average | 100% |
| Parafield Airport | 17.9 | -1.1 | 22.9 | 19th | 7.7 | -1.7 | 1.4 | 16th | 41.0 | 48.3 | average | 85% |
| Roseworthy AWS | 18.2 | -1.6 | 24.8 | 19th | 7.8 | -0.9 | 3.9 | 15th | 32.6 | 38.4 | average | 85% |
| County Light (district 23B) | ||||||||||||
| Nuriootpa PIRSA | 16.0 | -1.4 | 21.8 | 19th | 5.7 | -1.3 | -0.5 | 16th | 47.4 | 48.0 | average | 99% |
| Mount Lofty Ranges (district 23C) | ||||||||||||
| Hindmarsh Island AWS | 17.4 | -1.2 | 23.0 | 6th | 9.3 | -1.3 | 4.8 | 17th | 75.0 | 44.8 | high | 167% |
| Kuitpo Forest Reserve | 14.3 | -1.7 | 19.2 | 19th | 7.8 | -1.6 | 5.5 | 25th | 107.6 | 87.8 | average | 123% |
| Mount Barker | 15.7 | -0.9 | 19.7 | 30th | 6.7 | -0.1 | 1.0 | 15th | 100.8 | 87.5 | average | 115% |
| Mount Crawford AWS | 13.3 | -1.6 | 18.8 | 19th | 7.5 | -1.1 | 4.2 | 25th | 68.8 | 69.7 | average | 99% |
| Mount Lofty | 11.6 | -0.7 | 16.4 | 19th | 6.5 | -1.3 | 2.8 | 25th | 117.8 | 109.6 | average | 107% |
| Noarlunga | 16.9 | -1.6 | 21.1 | 19th | 10.4 | -1.1 | 6.8 | 26th | 58.6 | 54.2 | average | 108% |
| Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS) | 13.6 | -1.3 | 17.5 | 18th | 8.4 | -1.2 | 5.6 | 16th | 141.2 | 99.2 | v high | 142% |
| Victor Harbor (Encounter Bay) | 17.5 | -1.1 | 22.4 | 6th | 7.6 | -1.2 | 1.0 | 16th | 104.6 | 63.3 | highest | 165% |
| Upper Murray Valley (district 24A) | ||||||||||||
| Loxton Research Centre | 18.3 | -1.3 | 26.6 | 7th | 5.9 | -0.6 | -1.1 | 16th | 10.6 | 22.8 | low | 46% |
| Renmark Aero | 18.5 | -1.6 | 27.4 | 7th | 5.9 | -0.7 | -1.2 | 15th | 6.8 | 16.2 | low | 42% |
| Lower Murray Valley (district 24B) | ||||||||||||
| Eudunda | 15.6 | -1.4 | 21.4 | 19th | 7.0 | -0.7 | 3.6 | 16th | 37.6 | 45.2 | average | 83% |
| Meningie | 17.2 | -1.1 | 21.0 | 18th | 8.5 | -0.4 | 2.0 | 15th | 89.8 | 55.1 | v high | 163% |
| Murray Bridge (Pallamana Aerodrome) | 17.9 | -1.4 | 23.0 | 19th | 6.8 | -0.7 | 1.3 | 16th | 40.0 | 31.7 | high | 126% |
| Strathalbyn Racecourse | 17.1 | -1.5 | 22.4 | 6th | 8.2 | -1.0 | 2.9 | 26th | 43.4 | 44.2 | average | 98% |
| Murray Mallee (district 25A) | ||||||||||||
| Karoonda | 17.6 | -1.6 | 24.0 | 7th | 6.8 | -0.5 | 2.4 | 15th | ||||
| Upper Southeast (district 25B) | ||||||||||||
| Keith | 17.4 | -1.0 | 23.4 | 19th | 7.3 | -0.5 | 2.0 | 17th | 57.2 | 52.2 | average | 110% |
| Keith (Munkora) | 17.1 | -1.7 | 23.1 | 7th | 6.4 | -0.7 | 1.1 | 15th | 49.4 | 41.6 | average | 119% |
| Lameroo (Austin Plains) | 17.1 | -1.6 | 23.8 | 7th | 6.4 | -0.8 | 2.2 | 16th | 38.2 | 29.9 | high | 128% |
| Lower Southeast (district 26) | ||||||||||||
| Cape Jaffa (The Limestone) | 16.1 | -0.8 | 19.7 | 6th | 9.1 | -0.4 | 3.8 | 25th | 68.0 | 56.3 | high | 121% |
| Coonawarra | 16.0 | -1.2 | 21.5 | 19th | 6.2 | -0.8 | -1.4 | 17th | 83.4 | 56.8 | high | 147% |
| Mount Gambier Aero | 15.6 | -0.5 | 20.9 | 19th | 6.8 | -0.6 | 0.9 | 17th | 102.0 | 73.4 | high | 139% |
| Naracoorte Aerodrome | 16.2 | -1.6 | 22.1 | 7th | 6.9 | -0.4 | 0.4 | 14th | 67.6 | 43.1 | v high | 157% |
| Padthaway South | 16.5 | -1.2 | 21.7 | 19th | 6.6 | -0.5 | -0.4 | 17th | 65.4 | 45.5 | high | 144% |
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 Monday 1 June 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
