Tuesday, 4 March 2008 - Monthly Climate Summary for Western Australia - Product code IDCKGC11R0
Western Australia in February 2008
Cooler than normal month
Summary
- Daytime temperatures below average for WA.
- Near average overnight temperatures for WA.
- WA statewide rainfall above average.
Temperature
February 2008 was a relatively cool month as a large area of WA saw below to very much below average daytime temperatures (see February mean maximum temperature anomaly map). Averaged across the state, the mean maximum temperature was 1.19°C below the long term average.
Several locations in the Central West and Central Wheat Belt registered their lowest February maximum temperatures on record in the third week of February, whilst Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields experienced its three coldest February days on record, on the 19th, 20th and 21st. The cool conditions in these districts during this period were a result of rainband development as a middle-level trough interacted with TC Nicholas near the west Pilbara and Gascoyne coasts.
Overnight temperatures in February were near average in a large area of WA whilst above to very much above average minimum temperatures were recorded in southwestern parts of the Gascoyne and western parts of the Southwest Land Division.(see February mean minimum temperature anomaly map). Overall, the statewide mean minimum temperature was near average with an anomaly of −0.04°C.
Rainfall
February rainfall was above to very much above average for a large part of WA, with parts of the Central West, southern Gascoyne, and Kimberley receiving highest on record February totals. An active monsoon combined with two middle-level trough events over the southern half brought the mostly above average totals to WA. Only a small part in the northeast Interior and Southeast Coastal received below average rainfall (see February rainfall decile map). Overall, rainfall averaged across the whole of WA in February exceeded the 1961−1990 mean by 26.1 mm.
Some extremes and records for individual locations in WA are tabulated below.
Extremes
| Hottest day Highest temperature |
45.1°C at Eyre on the 17th |
|---|---|
| Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature |
39.6°C at Emu Creek Station |
| Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature |
22.8°C at Albany |
| Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature |
15.0°C at Kalgoorlie-Boulder
Airport on the 19th 15.1°C at Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport on the 20th & 21st |
| Coldest night Lowest temperature |
3.5°C at Jarrahwood on the 20th |
| Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature |
14.4°C at Jacup |
| Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature |
26.8°C at Karratha Aero |
| Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature |
30.0°C at Roebourne on the 16th |
| Wettest overall Highest total rainfall |
721.8 mm at Kalumburu |
| Wettest day Highest daily rainfall |
172.8 mm at Kalumburu on the 13th |
| Highest wind gust |
100 km/h at Learmonth Airport on
the 19th |
Jump to: Extremes Records Notes the top
Records
| Record highest total February rainfall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total rainfall for February 2008 (mm) |
Previous highest for February |
Years of record |
Normal for February |
||
| Burnerbinmah | 235.4 | 224.2 | in 1995 | 106 | 25.4 |
| Barnong | 172.9 | 139.0 | in 1995 | 105 | 21.6 |
| Mellenbye | 133.7 | 114.1 | in 1970 | 94 | 19.7 |
| Mount Padbury | 196.0 | 188.4 | in 1942 | 66 | 31.4 |
| Kimberley Res.Station | 531.6 | 503.5 | in 1969 | 64 | 205.5 |
| Cygnet Bay | 428.2 | 425.4 | in 1980 | 45 | 185.4 |
| Eneabba | 93.2 | 72.6 | in 1976 | 42 | 13.9 |
| Wyndham | 598.8 | 376.6 | in 1997 | 40 | 197.8 |
| Kununurra Aero | 414.8 | 404.2 | in 1994 | 35 | 206.6 |
| Record lowest February daily maximum temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lowest daily maximum temperature in February 2008 (°C) |
Previous lowest for February |
Years of record |
Normal for February |
|||
| Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport | 15.0 | on the 19th | 16.4 | on the 7th in 1993 | 67 | 32.1 |
| Carnamah | 19.0 | on the 20th | 21.1 | on the 14th in 1955 | 66 | 35.5 |
| Geraldton Airport | 21.7 | on the 21st | 22.6 | on the 20th in 1986 | 66 | 32.5 |
| Mullewa | 19.0 | on the 20th | 22.0 | on the 16th in 1990 | 62 | 36.4 |
| Dalwallinu Comparison | 19.9 | on the 20th | 20.0 | on the 15th in 1990 | 52 | 34.6 |
| Record lowest February temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lowest temperature in February 2008 (°C) |
Previous lowest for February |
Years of record |
Normal for February |
|||
| Kalbarri | 11.6 | on the 22nd | 12.3 | on the 8th in 1994 | 35 | 20.5 |
Notes
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Tuesday 4 March 2008. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
Normals 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 30 years of record, as they
cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median
is sometimes more representative than the
mean
of "normal" rain.
Further information
Yanhui Blockley & Glenn Cook, Western Australia Climate Services CentreBureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 9263 2222
Email climate.wa@bom.gov.au