Wednesday, 1 December 2010 - Monthly Climate Summary for Perth - Product code IDCKGC11L0

Perth in November 2010: A record warm month

  • Below average rainfall.
  • Record high mean maximum temperatures.
  • Above average minimum temperature.

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

November 2010 saw below average rainfall across the Perth metropolitan area, with most sites receiving roughly half their November average. A strong ridge of high pressure persisted over the south of WA for much of November 2010 causing the generally dry conditions in Perth, with the only significant rainfall coming from cold fronts during the middle and latter parts of the month.

Perth Metro recorded 11.6 mm of rainfall on 3 rain days in November, compared with the average of 22.2 mm on 6.2 rain days. The wettest day at Perth Metro in November 2010 was 10.6 mm on the 11th.

Southwest WA has been particularly dry in 2010, including in the Perth region, with most of sites breaking their driest January to November records. Total rainfall for the eleven months from January to November 2010 at Perth Metro is 486.4 mm recorded on 60 rain days, which is the second driest January to November period since records commenced in 1876, and the driest since the 461.6 mm in 2006, Perth Metro's driest year on record. Perth Metro has also experienced its least number of rain days for the eleven months (January to November) on record with 60, breaking the previous record of 85 days in 1969.

Maximum temperature

Daytime temperatures were well above average across the Perth metropolitan area during November 2010, the result of a strong ridge over the south of the state for much of the month. Most sites broke their November mean daily maximum temperature records and were 3 °C to 4 °C above normal. Both Perth Metro and Rottnest Island recorded their hottest November since comparable records commenced at both sites in 1897, highlighting the significance of the unusually hot November in the Perth metropolitan area.

A record number of hot days (a hot day is a day when the daily maximum temperature is 32 °C or higher) were experienced throughout the Perth area in November. Hot days occurred on the 2nd and 3rd, followed by three consecutive hot days between 17th and 19th, and then between 28th and 30th. Medina Research Centre recorded 41.4 °C on the 19th, which is its highest November temperature in 25 years of recording, as well as the highest temperature for November 2010 in the Perth metropolitan area.

Perth Metro's mean daily maximum temperature in November was 29.6 °C, which is Perth Metro's highest November mean maximum since records commenced in 1897, easily overtaking the previous record of 28.5 °C in 2007. The average for November is 26.2 °C, whilst for comparison Perth Metro's December average is 28.8 °C! Daily maxima during November 2010 ranged from a very hot 38.8 °C on the 19th to a mild 21.0 °C on the 11th.

During November 2010, Perth Metro recorded 10 hot days, which was the greatest number of hot days for Perth Metro in November on record.

Minimum temperature

Minimum temperatures across the Perth area were above average during November 2010, with most metropolitan sites recording mean minima between 1 °C and 2 °C above their long-term mean. Bickley and Swanbourne, with 16 and 17 years of record respectively, registered their warmest November on record, whilst Rottnest Island also recorded its hottest November in terms of the mean minimum temperature since comparable records commenced in 1897. Jandakot Aerodrome registered 4.8 °C on the 12th, the only sub-5 °C temperature for November 2010 in the Perth region.

Perth Metro's mean daily minimum temperature in November was 15.3 °C, which was its warmest November since 2006. Daily minima ranged from a cool 7.6 °C on the 12th to a warm 23.0 °C on the 19th.

Wind

No severe wind gusts (a severe wind gust is a gust greater than 90 km/h) were recorded during November 2010, with the highest wind gust of 74 km/h observed at Rottnest Island on the 10th as a cold front passed through the Perth region.

Other Phenomena

Perth recorded average daily sunshine of 10.5 hours in November, which is close to the average daily sunshine hours for November of 10.7 hours.

Further information

Media
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Extremes in November 2010
Hottest day 41.4 °C at Medina Research Centre on the 19th
Warmest days on average 30.7 °C at Gosnells City
Coolest days on average 25.9 °C at Rottnest Island
Coldest day 18.8 °C at Rottnest Island on the 12th
Coldest night 4.8 °C at Jandakot Aero on the 12th
Coolest nights on average 13.6 °C at Bickley
Warmest nights on average 17.5 °C at Rottnest Island
Warmest night 24.9 °C at Pearce RAAF on the 19th
Wettest overall 15.8 mm at Mundaring
Wettest day 11.0 mm at Mundaring on the 11th
Highest wind gust 76 km/h at Bickley on the 26th

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Record highest November temperature
Highest temperature
in November 2010 (°C) 		Previous highest
for November		 Years of
record		 Average for
November
Medina Research Centre 41.4 on the 19th 40.6 on the 11th in 2003 24 25.7


Record highest November mean daily maximum temperature
Mean daily maximum
temperature
for November 2010 (°C) 		Previous highest
for November		 Years of
record		 Average for
November
Perth Metro 29.6 28.5 in 2007 113 26.2
Rottnest Island 25.9 24.2 in 2000 113 22.8
Perth Airport 30.3 29.0 in 2007 66 25.8
Pearce RAAF 30.4 30.1 in 1994 49 27.0
Medina Research Centre 29.6 28.2 in 2007 23 25.7
Jandakot Aero 29.8 27.9 in 2007 20 26.0
Gosnells City 30.7 29.8 in 2007 17 27.2
Swanbourne 29.0 26.5 in 2007 17 25.0
Bickley 27.8 26.8 in 2007 16 24.7


Record highest November mean daily minimum temperature
Mean daily minimum
temperature
for November 2010 (°C) 		Previous highest
for November		 Years of
record		 Average for
November
Rottnest Island 17.5 17.0 in 2006 20 15.7
Swanbourne 16.2 16.1 in 2006 17 14.5
Bickley 13.6 12.9 in 2006 16 11.6


Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for November 2010
Maximum temperatures
for November
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for November
(°C)		 Rainfall
for November
(millimetres)
Mean for
November
2010		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
November
2010		 Mean for
November
2010		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
November
2010		 Total for
November
2010		 Average
for
November		 Rank of
November
2010		 Fraction of
November
average
Bickley 27.8 +3.1 36.7 19th 13.6 +2.0 6.8 12th 12.2 41.4 low 29%
Champion Lakes 29.2   38.0 19th 16.3   10.0 12th 7.8
Garden Island HSF 27.1   37.0 19th 16.5   11.6 12th 11.0 25.0 low 44%
Gosnells City 30.7 +3.5 40.5 19th 15.6 +1.3 8.5 6th 7.6 28.4 low 27%
Jandakot Aero 29.8 +3.8 39.9 19th 13.9 +1.5 4.8 12th 6.6 28.9 v low 23%
Medina Research Centre 29.6 +3.9 41.4 19th 15.2 +2.0 7.0 12th 7.8 32.3 v low 24%
Pearce RAAF 30.4 +3.4 39.1 19th 14.2 +1.8 6.8 6th 11.0 23.3 average 47%
Perth Airport 30.3 +4.5 40.5 19th 14.3 +1.7 6.6 12th 7.6 25.9 low 29%
Perth Metro 29.6 +3.4 38.8 19th 15.3 +1.2 7.6 12th 11.6 22.2 low 52%
Rottnest Island 25.9 +3.1 35.3 19th 17.5 +1.8 12.5 12th 7.8 19.6 low 40%
Swanbourne 29.0 +4.0 39.5 19th 16.2 +1.7 8.6 12th 9.4 23.2 low 41%

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Daily rainfall
Central Coast (09)123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Bickley - - - - - - - - - - 9.2 - - - - - - - - - 1.2 0.6 1.2 - - - - - - -
Champion Lakes - - - - - - - - - - 6.8 0.2 - - - - - - - - 0.8 - - - - - - - - -
Garden Island HSF - - - - 0.4 - - - - - 7.4 - - - - - - - - - 1.4 1.8 - - - - - - - -
Gosnells City - - - - - - - - - - 6.6 - - - - - - - - - 1.0 - - - - - - - - -
Jandakot Aero - - - - - - - - - - 5.4 - - - - - - - - - 0.6 0.6 - - - - - - - -
Jarrahdale - - - - 0.2 0.8 - - - - 7.6 - - - - - - - - - 1.0 1.0 0.2 - - - - - - -
Medina Research Centre - - - - - - - - - - 7.8 - - - - - - - -




- - - - - -
Mundaring



0.2




11.0 0.2







3.0 1.0 0.4






Pearce RAAF -
- - - - - - - - 8.6 1.0 - - - - - - - - 1.0 0.4 - - - -


-
Perth Airport - - - - - - - - - - 7.0 - - - - - - - - - 0.6 - - - - - - - - -
Perth Metro - - - - - - - - - - 10.6 0.8 - - - - - - - - 0.2 - - - - - - - - -
Rottnest Island - - - - - - - - - - 6.6 - - - - - - - - - 0.8 0.4 - - - - - - - -
Serpentine - - - - - 1.4 - - - - 6.0 0.2 - - - - - - - - 0.6 1.0 0.2 - - - - - - -
Swanbourne - - - - - 0.4 - - - - 6.2 0.4 - - - - - - - - 1.2 1.2 - - - - - - - -

Most values are the precipitation in the 24 hours to 9 am on the day indicated. Days marked with »» are part of a longer accumulation, which is marked like this on the final day. Values over 100 mm have been rounded to the nearest whole millimetre. Days marked with - have a rainfall report of zero; days left blank have no rainfall report (which often indicates no rain fell).
This table is very wide; you may have to scroll sideways to see all the days, and you may need to set the paper to 'landscape' to print.

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Notes

A Monthly Climate Summary is prepared to list the main features of the weather in Perth using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. Later information, including data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review, usually published in the fourth week of the month.

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 1 pm on Wednesday 1 December 2010. 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 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.

Records in this summary are based on sites with at least 10 years of data.

*Official Perth observations have been recorded at several different sites with varying instrumentation over the years, and these changes can affect the continuity of the climate record. For the current Mt Lawley site, the most significant changes of this kind relate to temperature and rain days.

For that reason, current mean temperature and rain-day data quoted here are based only on readings from the Mt Lawley site, which commenced observations in 1993. Sunshine recordings are from Perth Airport and for similar reasons current means use only Perth Airport data, which commenced in 1993.

For PDF files of Perth Metro climate statistics for other months, please click here for extremes and here for averages.

Further information

Media
(03) 9669 4057
Enquiries

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