Friday, 7November 2008 - Monthly Climate Summary for Western Australia - Product code IDCKGC21R0

Western Australia in October 2008
A warm October for WA


Summary

  • Very much above average minimum temperatures for WA.
  • Above average maximum temperatures for WA.
  • Near average rainfall for the state.

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Details

Rainfall

October rainfall in WA was a mixture of above and below average. The north and west Kimberley, west Pilbara and northern Gascoyne, eastern and southern parts of the South West Land Division (SWLD) and southwest Goldfields all experienced above to very much above average rainfall, contrasting with below average rainfall in the central Interior and northern Goldfields. (see October rainfall decile map). Averaged across WA as a whole, the rainfall for October was near average.

A low pressure system produced locally heavy rainfall in the SWLD in the last week of October. Several locations in the eastern Central Wheat Belt and Great Southern registered their highest daily and/or monthly rainfall on record for October.

Temperature

Mean daytime temperatures for October were above to very much above average across most of WA, with up to 3°C above mean maximum temperatures in the east Interior and Eucla. Averaged across the state, the mean maximum temperature was 1.42°C above average (see maximum temperature anomaly map).

Several sites in the western SWLD, including Perth, experienced an unusual run of hot days with daily maximum temperature 32°C or higher between 19 to 23 October. Cape Leeuwin broke its highest daily maximum temperature for October when it reached 31.8°C on the 20th.

With the exception of the northern and eastern Kimberley, the remainder of the state experienced above to very much above average minimun temperature, with up to 3°C above mean minimum temperatures in the west Pilbara for October. Averaged across the state, the mean minimum temperature was 1.44 °C above average. (see minimum temperature anomaly map).

Eucla broke both it's hottest and coldest October daily temperature records when the site registered 42. 9°C on the 24th and 1.5°C on the 4th.

Further information

Western Australia Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 9263 2222
Email climate.wa@bom.gov.au

Extremes

Hottest day
Highest temperature		 44.7°C at Eyre on the 24th
Warmest days on average
Highest mean daily maximum temperature		 41.0°C at Fitzroy Crossing Aero
Coolest days on average
Lowest mean daily maximum temperature		 18.4°C at Albany
Coldest day
Lowest daily maximum temperature		 12.7°C at Shannon on the 4th
Coldest night
Lowest temperature		 −3.5°C at Eyre on the 4th
Coolest nights on average
Lowest mean daily minimum temperature		 7.1°C at Wandering
Warmest nights on average
Highest mean daily minimum temperature		 27.0°C at Troughton Island
Warmest night
Highest daily minimum temperature		 30.1°C at Halls Creek Airport on the 31st
Wettest overall
Highest total rainfall		 137.9 mm at Walpole
Wettest day
Highest daily rainfall		 55.6 mm at Jacup on the 31st
Highest wind gust
 104 km/h at Rottnest Island on the 24th

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Records

Record highest October daily rainfall
Highest daily rainfall
in October 2008 (mm) 		Previous highest
for October		 Years of
record
Boodarockin 43.6 on the 31st 36.6 on the 22nd in 1935 74
Karlgarin 49.6 on the 31st 38.0 on the 17th in 2005 71
Newdegate Research Station 43.0 on the 29th 40.6 on the 18th in 1995 54
Pyramid Station 10.4 on the 10th 9.7 on the 24th in 1957 52
Yalleen 20.8 on the 9th 1.0 on the 30th in 1982 48
Onslow Airport 10.2 on the 9th 9.9 on the 3rd in 1966 43
Tamaru 42.0 on the 28th 31.8 on the 27th in 2003 43
Bodallin North 32.5 on the 31st 32.2 on the 3rd in 1982 40
Jurien Bay 25.2 on the 29th 25.0 on the 5th in 1975 39


Record highest total October rainfall
Total rainfall
for October 2008 (mm) 		Previous highest
for October		 Years of
record		 Average for
October
Gnowangerup 126.2 84.0 in 1977 94 32.7
Holt Rock 90.4 79.7 in 1932 80 21.8
Hyden 103.4 79.4 in 1932 80 21.9
Graham Rock 90.2 88.5 in 1935 75 22.1
Karlgarin 128.4 72.3 in 1939 72 21.3
Amrista Park 92.8 62.0 in 2005 52 23.1
Mount Walker 71.1 53.6 in 1990 51 19.5
Yalleen 22.3 8.4 in 1931 50 0.6
Onslow Airport 15.0 9.9 in 1966 46 0.9
Jurien Bay 66.6 56.9 in 1977 38 26.7



Record highest October temperature
Highest temperature
in October 2008 (°C) 		Previous highest
for October		 Years of
record		 Average for
October
Cape Leeuwin 31.8 on the 20th 31.7 on the 27th in 1944 102 18.0
Eucla 42.9 on the 24th 42.6 on the 31st in 1987 47 22.7



Record highest October daily minimum temperature
Highest daily minimum
temperature
in October 2008 (°C) 		Previous highest
for October		 Years of
record		 Average for
October
Leonora 27.8 on the 24th 27.0 on the 16th in 1995 52 13.3
Badgingarra Research Stn 20.7 on the 20th 19.5 on the 25th in 1983 43 9.0
Wongan Hills 22.2 on the 20th 20.3 on the 25th in 1983 42 9.7
Emu Creek Station 24.6 on the 19th 24.4 on the 27th in 2006 38 16.1
Yeelirrie 25.8 on the 21st 24.5 on the 16th in 1995 36 11.9


Record lowest October temperature
Lowest temperature
in October 2008 (°C) 		Previous lowest
for October		 Years of
record		 Average for
October
Eucla 1.5 on the 4th 2.6 on the 9th in 2002 48 11.1


Record highest October mean daily minimum temperature
Mean daily minimum
temperature
for October 2008 (°C) 		Previous highest
for October		 Years of
record		 Average for
October
Gascoyne Junction 17.9 17.5 in 2006 46 14.8
Albany Airport 10.6 10.4 in 1976 45 8.9
Jurien Bay 12.8 12.6 in 1979 41 10.8
Emu Creek Station 19.3 18.8 in 1982 38 16.1

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Notes

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 12 pm on Monday 3 November 2008. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

Averages 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 long-term average rain.

Further information

Western Australia Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 9263 2222
Email climate.wa@bom.gov.au