Monday, 3 February 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for Western Australia - Product code IDCKGC11R0

Western Australia in January 2020: very wet in central WA; dry in the west

A broad area of Western Australia saw above average rainfall, from the west Kimberley coast and east Pilbara through central regions to southeast, although it was dry for much of the west and inland south Kimberley. Tropical cyclone Blake produced heavy rainfall in the west Kimberley coast, east Pilbara, Northern Interior and Southern Interior districts in early January. The State's mean maximum and minimum temperature were less than half a degree above average.

Very wet in the cantral WA, dry in the west

• Rainfall was 59 % above average for WA
• Tropical cyclone Blake produced moderate to heavy rainfall with daily falls over 100 mm on the west Kimberley coast, east Pilbara and Northern Interior between 7th and 10th; several sites had their highest January daily rainfall on record
• A trough across the inland north produced thunderstorms and showers with moderate to heavy rainfall, including a number of January records in the inland Pilbara and Gascoyne on the 15th and 16th
• Carnegie in the Southern Interior recorded 270 mm on the 10th, which was its wettest day for any month in 65 years of record, and its monthly rainfall total of 341 mm was about nine times of January average and an all-time wettest month on record

Below average maximum temperatures in the Northern Interior

• The State's mean maximum temperature was 0.41 °C above average, though it was much cooler than January 2019 (record hot with 2.28 °C above average)
• Much of WA observed near average maximum temperatures, apart from warmer days in the northwest and southeast coast and cooler days in the east Pilbara and State's central regions
• Extreme heat with temperatures in the mid–to–high 40s were observed in inland northwest WA on the 1st then in the southeast on the 2nd; Eyre had the State's highest temperature of the month with 48.2 °C on the 2nd
• In the last week of January, a hot spell with temperatures in the mid–40s originated in inland southern Pilbara and Gascoyne spread to the eastern South West Land Division and southern Goldfields and then to the Eucla coast; Murchison (in the Gascoyne) equalled its January highest temperature record on the 27th
• The State's mean minimum temperature was 0.40 °C above average
• Minimum temperatures were above average along the northwest coast and the State's northeast and southeast quarters, with minima near average or below average elsewhere
• South to southeasterly winds overnight led to a cold morning with temperatures dipping below 10 °C in the southwest WA on the 4th, including some January low temperature records
• Both Broome Airport and Wyndham Aero recorded a minimum temperature of 30.5 °C on the 2nd, equalling their highest January minimum temperature on record
• Port Hedland Airport and several other sites in the north had their warmest January on record in terms of mean minimum temperatures

Tropical cyclone Blake

• Tropical cyclone Blake was named in the morning on the 6th, about 120 km northwest of Cape Leveque in the Kimberley coast
• TC Blake travelled southward and briefly crossed over the Dampier Peninsula in the evening of the 6th, before moving southwest back to water in early morning next day, travelling parallel to the west Kimberley coast and making landfall a second time east of Wallal Downs in late evening on the 7th
• Ex-TC Blake moved through the east Pilbara and State's interiors and dissipated on the 10th, resulting in heavy rainfall and flooding
• Moderate to major flooding was recorded in the De Grey river catchment and causing extensive road closures; the Coolgan River level was at its highest since 1988

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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Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top