Wednesday, 1 April 2009 - Monthly Climate Summary for Western Australia - Product code IDCKGC21R0
Western Australia in March 2009
Near average rainfall and temperature in WA
Summary
- Near average rainfall for WA.
- Near average mean maximum temperature for WA.
- Near average mean minimum temperature for WA.
An archive of previous monthly summaries for Western Australia is also available, as are summaries for other states and many other climate summaries and diagnostics.
Jump to: Extremes Records Notes the top
Details
Rainfall
Rainfall was near average across much of the state, though parts of the east Pilbara, Eucla and neighbouring regions experienced above to very much above average rainfall as a result of the passage of a tropical low early in the month. Some flooding occurred as a result of heavy rains associated with the low in the east Pilbara, east Gascoyne, adjacent northern Goldfields and Interior. Below to very much below average rainfall occurred in the north and east Kimberley, west Pilbara, and parts of the central and west Gascoyne as no other tropical low pressure systems affected WA during March (see March rainfall decile map). Averaged across WA as a whole, rainfall in March 2009 was near average.
Maximum temperature
Mean maximum temperatures were near average for a large part of WA in March, but were above average in most of the Kimberley and the northern Interior, with up to 4°C warmer than normal mean maxima in the northeast Interior. Conversely, parts of the Southwest Land Division and Eucla recorded below average mean maxima, with up to 2°C cooler than normal mean maxima in the east Eucla. Averaged across the state, the mean maximum temperature was near average. (see March maximum temperature anomaly map).
Minimum temperature
Mean minimum temperatures were below to very much below average across western and central parts of the state, with pockets of mean minimum temperatures up to 2ºC below average in the Lower West and Gascoyne, as well as in neighbouring regions. Conversely, minima were above average in parts of the west Kimberley and northern Interior, with means up to 2ºC above normal. Averaged across the state as a whole however, the WA mean minimum temperature was near average. (see March minimum temperature anomaly map).
Further information
Yanhui Blockley
Western Australia Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 9263 2222
Email climate.wa@bom.gov.au
Extremes
| Hottest day Highest temperature |
44.5°C at Onslow on the 28th |
|---|---|
| Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature |
39.3°C at Balgo Hills |
| Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature |
22.0°C at Albany |
| Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature |
15.0°C at Mount Barker on the 31st |
| Coldest night Lowest temperature |
2.5°C at Wandering on the 3rd |
| Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature |
10.1°C at Jarrahwood |
| Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature |
27.3°C at Troughton Island |
| Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature |
29.8°C at Wittenoom on the 16th |
| Wettest overall Highest total rainfall |
234.0 mm at Bonney Downs |
| Wettest day Highest daily rainfall |
137.0 mm at Marble Bar (DoW) on the 1st |
| Highest wind gust |
104 km/h at Wyndham Aero on the 3rd |
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Records
| Record highest March temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest temperature in March 2009 (°C) |
Previous highest for March |
Years of record |
Average for March |
|||
| Troughton Island | 35.4 | on the 6th | 35.3 | on the 30th in 2003 | 31 | 31.9 |
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Notes
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Wednesday 1 April 2009. 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
Yanhui Blockley
Western Australia Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 9263 2222
Email climate.wa@bom.gov.au