Friday, 1 April 2011 - Monthly Climate Summary for Western Australia - Product code IDCKGC21R0

Western Australia in March 2011: Cool and wet in the north, but hot and dry in the southwest

• Rainfall: Above average rainfall for WA, but the tenth driest March on record in southwest WA
• Maximum temperature: Fifth lowest March on record for WA, but third hottest March in southwest WA
• Minimum temperature: Near average for WA, but fourth warmest March in southwest WA

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Rainfall during March 2011 was above to very much above average for most of central and eastern WA (see March 2011 rainfall totals & deciles), with parts of the central and eastern Kimberley observing their wettest March on record. In contrast, much of the Southwest Land Division (SWLD), as well as parts of the western and southern Pilbara, Gascoyne, and Goldfields saw below to very much below average March rainfall. When averaged across the state, rainfall in March 2011 was above average, however the Lower Southwest (southwest of a line from Jurien Bay to Bremer Bay) recorded its tenth driest March since comparable records commenced in 1900.

Extremely heavy rainfall was observed in the central and eastern Kimberley during March, with more than 700 mm falling during the month over the Kimberley Plateau, as the result of an active monsoon trough. The majority of this rainfall occurred between 8 and 14 March due to a nearby slow moving tropical low, causing extensive flooding and infrastructure damage across the Fitzroy, Ord and Pentecost River catchments. Substantial damage to houses occurred in the community of Warmun, and the entire community had to evacuate, whilst the Great Northern Highway was impassable at times west and north of Halls Creek, isolating the town. In the 24 hour period to 9am on 14 March 2011, Yulmbu, Warmun and Sophie Downs in the east Kimberley broke their highest daily rainfall record for March, and indeed any calendar month. Durack Range observed 636.8 mm in the seven day period from 8 to 14 March 2011, of which 563.4 mm fell over two days (212.4 mm in the 24 hours to 9am on the 13th followed by 351.0 mm in the 24 hours to 9am on the 14th), which has an Average Return Interval of greater than 1 in 100 years. A number of sites in the region broke their highest March rainfall records, with Warmun, Yulmbu and Gibb River observing their highest monthly rainfall total for any month.

In contrast to the heavy rainfall in the north, numerous sites in the Lower Southwest experienced one of their driest March's on record, registering zero or a negligible amount (less than 1 mm) of rainfall for March.

Maximum temperature

Monthly mean maximum temperatures were below to very much below average over much of WA, with an area 5 °C to 6 °C below normal in the Interior and Eucla districts, largely due to an active monsoon causing rain and cloudy conditions for much of the month. A few sites in the Kimberley, and Wiluna in the Goldfields, experienced their lowest March mean maximum temperatures on record. In contrast, the west coast of WA and adjacent inland parts saw above to very much above average daytime temperatures, with mean maxima up to 4 °C above normal near Shark Bay, and along the west coast from Perth to Augusta (see March maximum temperature decile & anomaly maps). Several sites in the Central West, Lower West and Southwest recorded their hottest March on record, including the Perth Metro site.

When averaged across the state, March 2011 was the fifth lowest March mean maximum temperature for WA since comparable records commenced in 1950, however the Lower Southwest recorded the third hottest March on record .

Minimum temperature

Mean minimum temperatures were above to very much above average over much of the SWLD and west Gascoyne during March 2011, with mean minima up to 3 °C above normal in coast parts between Shark Bay and Perth. Record high mean minima for March were recorded at sites in the Central West, Central Wheat Belt, and Great Southern. In contrast, most of the Interior, as well as neighbouring areas of the Kimberley, Pilbara and Gascoyne saw below to very much below average mean minimum temperatures, with mean minima up to 3 °C below normal in the Interior (see March minimum temperature decile & anomaly maps).

When averaged across the state, the mean minimum temperature for WA for March 2011 was near average, however for the Lower Southwest it was the fourth warmest March since comparable records began in 1950.

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Extremes in March 2011
Hottest day	41.1 °C at Roebourne on the 19th
Warmest days on average	37.9 °C at Emu Creek Station
Coolest days on average	22.3 °C at Red Rocks Point
Coldest day	18.0 °C at Wiluna on the 2nd
Coldest night	3.9 °C at Jarrahwood on the 13th
Coolest nights on average	12.9 °C at Jarrahwood
Warmest nights on average	27.7 °C at Bedout Island 27.7 °C at Varanus Island 25.3 °C at Karratha Aero (mainland)
Warmest night	30.0 °C at Bedout Island on the 14th 29.5 °C at Denham (mainland) on the 1st
Wettest overall	841.8 mm at Yulmbu
Wettest day	351.0 mm at Durack Range on the 14th
Highest wind gust	94 km/h at Mount Magnet Aero on the 18th

etails Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Record highest March daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall in March 2011 (mm)		Previous highest for March		Years of record
Warmun	181.1	on the 14th	155.0	on the 30th in 2007	84
Halls Creek Airport	132.8	on the 14th	120.0	on the 7th in 1996	68
Eyre	81.2	on the 17th	75.8	on the 17th in 2000	61
Yulmbu	141.0	on the 8th	86.4	on the 17th in 1960	43
Sophie Downs	160.0	on the 14th	126.4	on the 2nd in 1982	30

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Record highest total March rainfall
	Total rainfall for March 2011 (mm)	Previous highest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Warmun	694.7	453.4	in 2007	103	121.5
Gibb River	754.0	418.8	in 1989	83	130.5
Ruby Plains	323.6	219.3	in 2001	69	57.7
Mount Amhurst	448.8	285.8	in 2007	55	70.4
Yulmbu	841.8	255.1	in 1989	44	92.6

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Record lowest total March rainfall
	Total rainfall for March 2011 (mm)	Previous lowest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Pearce RAAF	0.2	0.3	in 1973	56	14.5
Karnet	0.4	0.9	in 1973	48	23.9

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Record highest March mean daily maximum temperature
	Mean daily maximum temperature for March 2011 (°C)	Previous highest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Perth Metro*	31.9	31.8	in 1978	114	29.5
Cape Leeuwin	25.4	24.8	in 1983	114	22.7
Bridgetown Comparison	30.6	30.3	in 1978	110	27.2
Cape Naturaliste	27.9	27.4	in 2003	107	24.4
Donnybrook	31.3	31.2	in 1978	107	27.9
Dwellingup	30.6	29.6	in 1995	73	26.9
Pemberton	27.8	27.6	in 1948	67	24.4
Perth Airport	32.8	32.0	in 1978	66	29.7
Karnet	30.9	30.7	in 1995	45	27.8
Jurien Bay	32.5	32.0	in 1983	41	29.3

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Record lowest March mean daily maximum temperature
	Mean daily maximum temperature for March 2011 (°C)	Previous lowest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Wiluna	29.2	29.8	in 1995	106	34.1
Halls Creek Airport	30.7	31.8	in 2001	65	35.5
Warmun	32.3	33.1	in 1974	48	35.9
Troughton Island	30.4	30.5	in 1965	32	32.0

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Record highest March mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature for March 2011 (°C)	Previous highest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Rottnest Island	20.8	20.6	in 1978	120	18.0
Dalwallinu Comparison	18.7	18.6	in 1974	54	16.7
Kalbarri	21.9	21.1	in 1974	37	19.0
Hyden	17.2	17.0	in 2005	36	14.1

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for March 2011
	Maximum temperatures for March (°C)				Minimum temperatures for March (°C)				Rainfall for March (millimetres)
	Mean for March 2011	Diff from average	Highest for March 2011		Mean for March 2011	Diff from average	Lowest for March 2011		Total for March 2011	Average for March	Rank of March 2011	Fraction of March average
North Kimberley (district 01)
Doongan	30.3	-2.9	35.5	26th	22.3	+0.5	19.6	27th	345.0	187.0	high	184%
Kalumburu	31.3	-2.4	35.3	30th	23.8	+0.3	21.6	28th	144.2	237.3	average	61%
Troughton Island	30.4	-1.6	31.9	31st	25.9	-0.6	23.8	13th	243.8	131.0	high	186%
Truscott	30.6		33.9	30th	24.8		22.9	5th	23.2
Wyndham	33.0	-3.1	35.7	30th	25.1	-0.4	23.4	13th	317.2	159.2	high	199%
Wyndham Aero	32.9	-2.9	35.8	30th	25.3	-0.2	23.7	13th	292.0	154.5	high	189%
East Kimberley (district 02)
Argyle Aerodrome	32.2	-3.2	35.0	30th	23.9	-0.7	21.2	25th
Halls Creek Airport	30.7	-4.8	34.6	3rd	22.4	-0.4	20.0	27th	367.4	80.5	v high	456%
Kununurra Aero	32.2	-3.5	34.9	30th	24.4	+0.2	22.6	10th	320.2	149.6	high	214%
Warmun	32.3	-3.6	35.2	20th	23.7	+0.5	21.0	25th	694.7	121.5	highest	572%
West Kimberley (district 03)
Bidyadanga	33.6	-1.8	38.0	13th	24.3	-0.6	18.8	27th	141.9	96.2	high	148%
Broome Airport	32.8	-1.2	36.4	30th	25.5	+0.1	22.1	16th	84.6	100.8	average	84%
Curtin Aero	33.6	-2.6	37.6	30th	24.4	+0.2	22.6	12th	110.4	156.4	average	71%
Cygnet Bay	32.1	-1.7	34.2	30th	24.8	+0.3	19.5	3rd	91.9	169.5	average	54%
Derby Aero	32.9	-2.4	36.3	30th	25.1	+0.1	22.5	14th	86.8	132.6	average	65%
Fitzroy Crossing Aero	34.0	-2.7	37.2	30th	24.1	+0.2	21.1	29th	129.4	118.5	high	109%
West Roebuck	33.9		37.4	12th	24.4		20.9	27th	109.4	162.7	average	67%
De Grey (district 04)
Bedout Island	32.9		36.0	13th	27.7		25.0	18th
Karratha Aero	35.0	-1.1	38.7	19th	25.3	-0.5	18.8	28th
Legendre Island	33.8		37.4	19th	27.2		24.0	28th
Mandora	34.7	-2.3	40.8	12th	24.0	+0.1	20.3	28th	122.8	74.3	high	165%
Pardoo Station	35.0	-1.3	41.0	13th			19.0	20th	114.5	64.0	high	179%
Port Hedland Airport	34.9	-1.9	39.3	13th	24.5	0.0	19.6	11th	22.6	48.3	average	47%
Roebourne	37.0	-0.6	41.1	19th	24.0	-1.3	18.1	28th	6.0	64.4	average	9%
Roebourne Aero	35.7		39.3	19th	24.6		18.1	28th	13.6	41.6	average	33%
Fortescue (district 05)
Barrow Island Airport	33.1	-0.2	35.5	13th	26.9	+0.4	23.0	28th	0	62.7	v low	0%
Learmonth Airport	35.7	-0.7	38.3	17th	22.7	-0.2	18.3	26th	0	39.6	lowest	0%
Mardie	36.2	-1.4	39.7	13th	24.5	+0.4	20.0	28th	9.0	50.4	average	18%
Onslow	35.6	+0.2	40.0	6th	24.8	+1.5	21.3	29th	51.6	49.2	high	105%
Onslow Airport	35.3	-0.8	38.4	13th	24.4	+0.4	21.3	28th	68.8	74.7	high	92%
Wittenoom	34.0	-2.7	36.5	20th	22.8	-1.5	18.3	28th	52.6	70.4	average	75%
West Gascoyne (district 06)
Carnarvon Airport	33.8	+2.3	38.1	15th	23.3	+1.3	17.9	28th	23.0	15.9	high	145%
Denham	33.7	+2.8	39.0	1st	24.5	+2.7	21.2	28th	0	14.4	lowest	0%
Emu Creek Station	37.9	-0.6	40.5	13th	23.9	+0.1	18.6	28th	2.6	39.9	low	7%
Gascoyne Junction	36.5	-1.0	39.5	9th	23.6	+1.1	18.2	28th	1.4	29.1	low	5%
Murchison	35.2	0.0	38.9	9th	21.7	+1.8	14.4	28th	3.8	34.0	low	11%
Shark Bay Airport	34.4	+0.4	37.8	14th	22.3	+1.3	17.9	28th	0	15.2	v low	0%
East Gascoyne (district 07)
Newman Aero	32.4	-2.6	36.1	6th	20.3	-1.2	13.7	27th	26.0	40.3	average	65%
Paraburdoo Aero	35.8	-0.8	38.6	18th	23.3	+0.1	17.0	28th	22.6	45.6	average	50%
Murchison (district 07A)
Meekatharra Airport	31.2	-3.1	36.0	19th	19.8	-1.6	16.2	25th	28.8	28.2	high	102%
Mount Magnet Aero	32.3	-0.7	35.4	10th	20.6	+0.5	16.6	29th	6.2	35.0	average	18%
North Coast (district 08)
Carnamah	34.3	+1.6	38.5	10th	19.5	+2.2	12.5	11th	23.4	20.3	high	115%
Dalwallinu	32.6	+1.0	37.5	10th	17.7	+1.4	13.5	31st	8.4	23.9	average	35%
Dalwallinu Comparison	33.1	+1.5	36.9	10th	18.7	+2.0	15.0	31st	9.0	24.1	average	37%
Eneabba									1.0	13.2	average	8%
Geraldton Airport	34.1	+3.2	40.6	1st	19.7	+1.8	15.4	29th	3.4	15.8	average	22%
Kalbarri	35.3	+2.8	40.6	1st	21.9	+2.9	18.3	29th	0.4	11.9	average	3%
Morawa Airport	34.7	+1.6	38.5	10th	19.3	+1.5	14.9	28th	8.4	15.7	average	54%
Mullewa	34.7	+1.0	37.6	10th	20.8	+2.5	17.5	20th	0.5	18.8	low	3%
North Island	31.0	+3.2	35.1	1st	24.5	+2.9	21.6	12th	0.2	2.5	average	8%
Wongan Hills	33.0	+2.1	38.2	10th	18.0	+1.7	15.1	13th	11.8	20.3	average	58%
Central Coast (district 09)
Badgingarra Research Stn	33.5	+1.5	36.1	15th	18.6	+2.3	13.7	6th	1.8	16.1	low	11%
Bickley	30.4	+2.4	34.2	25th	16.2	+1.8	12.6	13th	4.2	24.7	low	17%
Champion Lakes	31.6		35.1	25th	19.6		16.5	13th	19.4
Garden Island HSF	28.8		36.2	1st	20.0		16.7	13th	0	13.5	v low	0%
Gingin Aero	32.8	+2.1	36.0	25th	17.4	+2.3	9.8	28th	0.6	14.7	v low	4%
Jandakot Aero	32.5	+3.0	36.1	25th	17.9	+2.7	12.9	11th	0	15.3	lowest	0%
Jurien Bay	32.5	+3.2	39.5	15th	18.9	+2.4	14.5	28th	0.8	13.6	low	6%
Karnet	30.9	+3.1	36.0	1st	16.2	+2.1	12.0	11th	0.4	23.9	lowest	2%
Lancelin	31.9	+3.5	38.5	15th	18.5	+1.8	15.3	8th	0	14.1	lowest	0%
Medina Research Centre	31.8	+2.6	36.4	4th			13.4	28th	0.2	19.0	v low	1%
Pearce RAAF	33.2	+2.7	37.0	4th	18.3	+2.4	11.4	28th	0.2	14.5	lowest	1%
Perth Airport	32.8	+3.1	37.0	25th	18.5	+2.6	12.5	28th	0	15.9	lowest	0%
Perth Metro*	31.9	+2.4	36.4	25th	18.6	+2.1	14.1	27th	0	19.5	lowest	0%
Rottnest Island	28.3	+2.3	34.4	1st	20.8	+2.8	17.2	13th	0	16.7	lowest	0%
Swanbourne	31.1	+2.3	37.0	1st	19.1	+1.8	15.8	13th	0	21.1	lowest	0%
South Coast (district 09A)
Albany	23.4	+1.2	31.0	4th	16.4	+1.8	11.4	13th	11.6	38.4	low	30%
Albany Airport	25.1	+1.0	34.5	4th	13.4	0.0	6.9	13th	17.8	33.1	average	54%
Bridgetown	29.1	+1.6	34.6	27th	13.0	+1.4	4.3	13th	1.2	17.8	v low	7%
Bridgetown Comparison	30.6	+3.4	35.5	27th	13.5	+2.7	5.2	13th	1.4	25.9	v low	5%
Bunbury	30.0	+2.4	34.5	1st	15.9	+1.8	11.4	11th	0	15.0	v low	0%
Busselton	29.5	+2.4	33.6	15th	15.4	+1.4	10.3	13th	0.4	11.3	v low	4%
Busselton Aero	30.2	+2.3	33.7	15th	14.7	+1.4	8.8	13th	0	15.8	v low	0%
Cape Leeuwin	25.4	+2.7	29.9	3rd	18.8	+2.1	13.4	13th	2.4	28.2	v low	9%
Cape Naturaliste	27.9	+3.5	32.9	15th	17.2	+2.2	12.4	13th	4.2	22.7	low	19%
Collie East	30.7		34.3	27th	13.6		7.0	13th	0
Donnybrook	31.3	+3.4	35.7	26th	16.2	+3.3	10.5	12th	0	24.5	lowest	0%
Dwellingup	30.6	+3.7	34.1	25th	15.1	+2.2	11.6	7th	0.2	26.2	v low	1%
Esperance	25.1	-0.1	36.0	10th	15.6	+0.5	10.1	14th	33.8	27.0	high	125%
Esperance Aero	25.6	-0.3	35.6	10th	15.0	+0.5	10.6	14th	33.6	31.0	high	108%
Harvey	31.5	+2.3	35.2	25th	16.1	+1.2	10.0	20th	0	11.9	v low	0%
Hopetoun North	25.2	+0.2	38.3	10th	15.1	+0.7	9.2	14th	28.8	28.1	average	102%
Jarrahwood	30.6	+3.1	35.7	25th	12.9	+1.3	3.9	13th	5.6	18.6	low	30%
Mandurah	29.7		35.3	1st	19.8		16.3	13th	0	15.3	v low	0%
Manjimup	28.1	+3.4	34.4	4th	14.0	+1.5	8.7	13th	4.0	30.1	v low	13%
North Walpole	25.4		34.5	4th	15.0		10.9	9th	9.6
Pemberton	27.8	+3.4	34.4	4th	14.5	+1.8	8.2	13th	8.3	37.1	v low	22%
Rocky Gully	27.2	+2.0	34.7	4th	13.4	+1.0	7.6	13th	3.8	36.8	v low	10%
Shannon	26.9	+2.1	34.3	4th	13.4	+1.0	7.0	13th	6.4	32.4	v low	20%
Witchcliffe	28.3	+2.6	34.0	26th	13.6	+0.8	8.0	13th	6.4	21.2	v low	30%
North Central (district 10)
Cunderdin Airfield	32.7	+1.8	39.0	10th	17.1	+1.9	11.9	28th	6.2	15.4	average	40%
Merredin	32.1	+1.8	37.0	10th	17.6	+1.4	14.7	13th	0	20.2	lowest	0%
Northam	33.2	+2.4	39.0	10th	17.0	+1.6	11.6	28th	0.8	18.3	low	4%
York	32.9	+2.3	38.5	10th	15.9	+1.8	10.7	27th	1.4	15.3	low	9%
South Central (district 10A)
Beverley	33.5	+2.8	38.6	10th	16.4	+1.8	11.8	28th	0	16.3	lowest	0%
Brookton	31.6	+2.2	37.8	10th	16.3	+2.0	12.9	20th	3.5	17.8	low	20%
Corrigin	31.1	+2.3	37.5	10th	15.6	+1.3	12.4	28th	1.0	21.2	low	5%
Hyden	31.7	+1.8	39.0	10th	17.2	+3.1	14.0	13th	1.1	19.6	low	6%
Jacup	27.3	+1.7	37.5	10th	13.2	+0.7	6.8	13th	5.2	29.6	v low	18%
Katanning	28.6	+1.3	36.0	10th	13.9	+1.0	8.3	13th	4.6	15.5	average	30%
Katanning Comparison	28.8	+2.0	35.6	10th	14.2	+1.6	10.0	7th	9.4	22.2	average	42%
Lake Grace	29.5	+1.4	37.4	10th	15.2	+0.9	10.8	13th	0.2	16.1	v low	1%
Lake Grace Comparison	29.7	+1.6	37.1	10th	15.2	+1.1	10.7	13th	0	22.2	lowest	0%
Narembeen	32.3	+2.1	37.5	10th	16.5	+1.7	14.0	13th	0.7	20.1	low	3%
Narrogin	29.7	+2.4	36.5	10th	15.3	+2.3	10.4	13th	1.4	20.6	low	7%
Newdegate Research Station	29.6	+1.6	37.9	10th	13.2	+0.6	9.0	27th	1.4	20.6	low	7%
Ongerup	27.7	+1.8	36.8	10th	14.2	+1.0	9.2	13th	5.0	22.0	low	23%
Pingelly	30.8	+2.5	37.0	10th	16.2	+1.6	12.4	20th	1.6	16.9	low	9%
Ravensthorpe	27.2	+0.6	36.1	10th	14.3	+0.7	9.6	3rd	18.8	31.0	average	61%
Wagin	29.9	+2.3	36.5	10th	14.6	+1.2	8.8	13th	0	19.9	lowest	0%
Wandering	31.0	+2.0	37.3	10th	14.1	+1.8	9.3	13th	10.8	13.4	average	81%
Eucla (district 11)
Balgair	24.2	-5.0	29.5	11th			10.5	28th
Balladonia	27.4	-0.7	35.9	11th	13.8	+0.3	9.5	31st	15.6	26.9	average	58%
Eucla	22.6	-2.6	36.2	6th	15.4	-0.5	9.6	24th	41.8	22.6	high	185%
Eyre	23.7	-2.0	31.6	11th	13.0	-1.3	4.4	29th	114.5	27.3	v high	419%
Forrest	25.0	-4.2	33.0	6th	13.9	-0.5	8.7	28th	46.4	29.9	average	155%
Red Rocks Point	22.3		25.7	11th	16.6		10.1	29th	40.0
South East (district 12)
Bulga Downs	31.4		37.0	18th	18.0		13.7	29th	6.2	23.6	average	26%
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport	27.6	-1.9	33.6	11th	16.1	0.0	13.0	14th	29.4	24.2	high	121%
Laverton Aero	27.4	-3.1	32.6	12th	16.9	-1.3	13.4	24th	15.2	36.4	average	42%
Leinster Aero	29.2	-2.7	35.2	12th	18.0	-1.1	14.0	22nd	5.2	27.6	low	19%
Leonora	29.0	-3.7	35.2	11th	17.7	-0.9	13.9	22nd	3.4	28.5	low	12%
Leonora Aero	28.6		34.4	11th	18.2		14.9	22nd	3.0
Munglinup West	26.8		35.3	10th	14.3		11.0	31st	45.0
Norseman	28.7	-0.1	34.5	12th	14.9	+0.4	9.5	14th	21.0	23.9	average	88%
Norseman Aero	28.4	-0.5	35.1	11th	14.5	+0.5	8.3	14th	19.0	25.2	average	75%
Salmon Gums Res.Stn.	27.6	+0.3	34.9	10th	13.2	+0.6	6.4	13th	22.0	24.4	average	90%
Southern Cross Airfield	31.0	+0.3	35.5	10th	16.6	+1.7	12.8	28th	9.8	36.4	average	27%
Yeelirrie	29.4	-4.0	35.2	12th	17.3	-1.0	11.8	26th	15.3	31.4	average	49%
North East (district 13)
Carnegie	29.4	-4.7	34.0	16th	18.6	-1.4	14.5	25th	125.1	33.2	v high	377%
Giles Meteorological Office	29.7	-4.1	35.4	7th	18.5	-2.1	12.2	29th	111.4	36.7	v high	304%
Telfer Aero	33.9	-3.5	37.9	13th	22.8	-1.2	17.0	27th	201.2	79.7	high	252%
Warburton Airfield	28.9	-5.2	34.4	12th	18.3	-1.6	13.5	25th	140.2	31.7	v high	442%
Wiluna	29.2	-4.9	35.5	12th	18.5	-1.1	13.9	28th	48.3	35.2	high	137%

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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