Monday, 3 August 2015 - Monthly Climate Summary for Western Australia - Product code IDCKGC11R0

Western Australia in July 2015: Wet finish in the southwest; above average temperatures

Though State-wide rainfall was near average, and southwest WA recorded below average rainfall, record high daily falls were reported in the Central West and Central Wheat Belt districts at the end of the month. For Western Australia as a whole, temperatures were above average.

• Near average rainfall for WA; below average in southwest WA
• Above average mean maximum and minimum temperatures for WA
• Wettest July day on record in the Central Wheat Belt and Central West on the 31st

Below to very-much-below-average rainfall was reported in most of the South West Land Division (SWLD) and in southeast parts of the Gascoyne during July 2015. Pockets of above-average rainfall were observed in the northwest Kimberley, parts of the Pilbara, Gascoyne, northeastern SWLD, Goldfields, and western Eucla. When averaged across WA, total July rainfall was near average, whilst the SWLD as a whole and the Lower Southwest (southwest of a line from Jurien Bay to Bremer Bay) recorded below-average rainfall. Significant falls occurred in the southwest Gascoyne and the northern Central West on the 20th and 21st, associated with a cloudband and a strong cold front. At the end of the month, thunderstorms with widespread moderate to heavy rainfall were reported in the southern Gascoyne, SWLD and southern Goldfields, associated with a cloudband and low pressure systems. Many sites, particularly in the Central Wheat Belt and Central West, including a large number with over 100 years of rainfall recording, registered their highest July daily rainfall on record on the 31st with daily totals in the 50 mm to 100 mm range. A few sites in the Central Wheat Belt recorded their wettest July since 1995 as a result.

Mean maximum temperatures were above average in July in most parts of northern and western WA, as well as in the northern Goldfields and parts of the Eucla. Averaged across WA, the mean maximum temperature was above average and the Lower Southwest also saw an above-average mean maximum temperature. Southerly winds and rain resulted in a very cold day in the Southeast Coastal on the 8th, and Ravensthorpe recorded a daily maximum temperature of 9.5 °C, the lowest maximum temperature recorded in WA for two years, since 7 July 2013 when a daily maximum temperature of 9.3 °C was recorded at Yeelirrie. A wet and cloudy day in the Gascoyne and Central West on the 13th resulted in a couple of sites registering their lowest July daily maximum temperatures on record. Unseasonably warm days were experienced in northern and central WA in the last week of July as several sites recorded their highest July temperature on record, including maxima in the low to mid-thirties in the Kimberley, Pilbara and western Gascoyne between the 28th and 30th, and maxima in the high twenties in the eastern Gascoyne and northern Goldfields on the 31st. Kalumburu and Wyndham Aerodrome both recorded a daily maximum temperature of 36.8 °C on the 26th, the highest temperature recorded in July in WA for five years, since 28 July 2010 when a daily maximum temperature of 37.1 °C was recorded at Wyndham Aerodrome.

Mean minimum temperatures were above to very much above average through much of WA in July. When averaged across the State, the mean minimum temperature was above average, and it was also above average for the Lower Southwest region. Unusually warm nights were experienced across large parts of the State in the last ten days of the month, and a number of sites in the SWLD reported their warmest July night on record on the 30th or 31st.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Maps
	Observed	Anomaly	Decile rank
Total rainfall
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

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* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported.

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a lower value has gone unreported.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top