Tuesday, 9 January 2018 - Monthly Climate Summary for Western Australia - Product code IDCKGC11R0

Western Australia in December 2017: Above average temperatures

Rainfall was above average for Western Australia as a whole, whilst both mean maximum and minimum temperatures for the State were above average.

Above average rainfall in the west Kimberley and near the west coast

• Monthly rainfall was 53% above average for WA, wettest December for two years
• Above average rainfall was reported in the west Kimberley, parts of inland WA, the Eucla, and near the west coast, whilst below average rainfall was recorded in parts of the Goldfields and Pilbara
• A cold front and associated deep low pressure system brought unseasonal rainfall to the South West Land Division (SWLD) between the 17th and 19th; Bickley in the Perth hills broke its December daily record on the 18th with 36.4 mm
• Tropical cyclone Hilda produced daily rainfall in the 100 mm to 300 mm range in the west Kimberley from the 27th to 29th; a number of December daily rainfall records were broken including 291.5 mm on the 27th at Cygnet Bay, the country's highest daily fall of the month
• A number of sites in the west Kimberley, Lower West and South West either recorded their wettest December on record or wettest for at least 20 years, whilst Carnegie in the Southern Interior equalled its December rainfall record after several episodes of thunderstorm activity

Above average daytime and overnight temperatures for WA

• The mean maximum temperature for WA was 0.62 °C above average, but only the highest for two years
• Above average mean maxima were reported in the Eucla, parts of the SWLD, Gascoyne, and west Kimberley, whilst below average daytime temperatures were confined to the Interior and coastal Pilbara
• The mean minimum temperature for WA was 0.64 °C above average, the highest for five years
• Above average mean minimum temperatures were recorded across much of WA, with only small parts of the Kimberley recording below average overnight temperatures
• Badgingarra Research Station in the Lower West recorded its lowest maximum temperature in December on the 18th as a southerly burst brought unusually mild conditions to the SWLD
• Curtin Aerodrome in the Kimberley recorded its lowest maximum temperature in December on the 27th as tropical cyclone Hilda passed to the west and brought persistent cloud and heavy rain
• Northerly winds and cloudy skies brought 8 °C to 12 °C above average daily minima along the south coast with a December minimum temperature record at Jacup on the 11th
• Troughton Island off the north Kimberley coast recorded its highest December minimum temperature on record on the 12th as moderate west to northwesterly winds kept the temperature above 30 °C
• Newman Aerodrome equalled its highest December mean minimum temperature on record

Tropical cyclone Hilda

• Tropical cyclone Hilda was the first tropical cyclone to affect the Australian mainland in the 2017-18 season. A tropical low tracked south-southwest parallel to the northwest Kimberley coast and developed into tropical cyclone Hilda in the late afternoon on the 27th near Broome, reaching category 2 intensity prior to making landfall north of Bidyadanga in the evening. The system moved south and weakened to a tropical low on the 28th. Hilda affected mostly the west Kimberley coast between Broome and Bidyadanga with some structural and vegetation damage, and brought significant rainfall to the west Kimberley.

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