Friday, 3 June 2022 - Monthly Climate Summary for Western Australia - Product code IDCKGC11R0

Western Australia in May 2022: Very wet with a cold finish in the Pilbara

May rainfall was above average in the Pilbara and the adjacent interior as a number of cloudbands produced moderate to locally heavy daily falls from the middle of May. May rainfall was below average in the southern parts of the state including the Central West, southern Gascoyne and Goldfields, and South Coastal areas. The Kimberley and southern parts of the state recorded above average daytime temperatures, although below average daytime temperatures were observed in northern inland WA along the passage of cloudbands. Overnight temperatures were above average for most of the state, and it was particularly warm in the Pillara

Very wet in the Pilbara

• May rainfall was above average in the Pilbara and the adjacent interiors from a number of cloudbands (12th-13th, 16th-18th, 22nd-23rd, 26th-31st).
• Some sites in the west Pilbara coastal area including Karratha, Onslow and Mardie recorded 200 mm to 400 mm in total, their wettest May on record, while some sites in the east and south Pilbara had their wettest May for at least 20 years.
• May rainfall was about 18% above 1961-90 average for WA as a whole.
• May rainfall was 95.7 mm and 254% above average for the Pilbara District as a whole, whist was the district's fifth-wettest May on record and wettest since 1988.
• A strong cold front tracked the south-west WA on the 12th, and an associated cloudband extended from the north-west and produced widespread moderate falls in western parts of the state on the 13th, with Exmouth recording more than 50 mm .
• A cloudband produced 2-day (to the 18th) rainfall totals of 70–180 mm in the Pilbara coastal areas between Karratha and Onslow.
• A cloudband produced moderate daily falls of 20–40 mm in central WA at and around Carnegie on the 22nd, while daily falls of 10–40 mm were recorded in parts of the South West Land Division (SWLD) on the 23rd and 24th from a cold front.
• A cloudband produced heavy daily falls in excess of 100 mm to 160 mm along the coastal Pilbara areas on the 29th and 30th, and moderate falls to 40 mm in the west Kimberley coast on the 31st.
• Mount Florance, Red Hill and Indee with over 100 years of rainfall observations had their highest May daily rainfall on record

Warmer days in the Kimberley; cooler daytime temperature in northern inland WA

• Mean maximum temperatures were above average in the Kimberley, and a number of sites including Argyle had their warmest warmest May on record
• The mean maximum temperature was 0.92 °C above the 1961–90 average for WA.
• Mean minimum temperatures were above average for most of the state, and it is particularly warm in the Pilbara. Port Hedland equalled its May record, and Karratha had its warmest May since 1998.
• The mean minimum temperature was 1.34 °C above the 1961–90 average for WA, the warmest since 2014.
• It was a frosty night in inland south-west WA on the 7th, with some sites including Collie East, Bridgetown recording sub-zero temperatures.
• On the last 2 days of May. maximum temperatures were in the teens and more than 10 °C cooler than average in the Pilbara and the Southern Interior, including a number of May low maximum temperature records.
• The maximum temperature was 10.2 °C at Newman Aero on the 31st, which is its annual lowest maximum temperature on record at the town, and the state's lowest maximum temperature for May since 30 May 2013 with maximum temperatures below 10 °C at several sites.

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

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top