Monday, 3 March 2008 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Canberra - Product code IDCKGC2xx0
Canberra in summer 2007−08
A wet summer with cool days, warm nights
Summary
- 8th consecutive summer with above average mean and minimum temperatures
- Coolest summer in 8 years for average maximum temperatures
- Wettest summer in Canberra since 2001/2002
Jump to: Extremes Maps Records Summaries Notes the top
Rainfall
The total summer rainfall of 211.8 mm at Canberra Airport was well above the historical summer average1 of 164.1 mm. This is the highest summer rainfall total for Canberra Airport since the summer of 2001/2002 (252.6 mm), and was largely a result of the La Niña event in the Pacific Ocean, the effects of which began to be felt in November 2007. Most of summer's rainfall occurred during December (101 mm), with January (43.8 mm) and February (67.0) much drier - both months recorded close to average rainfall.
See a map of total rainfall. See a map of rainfall deciles.
![total rainfall](javascript:ShowMap("ftp://ftp.bom.gov.au/anon/home/ncc/www/rainfall/totals/3month/colour/history/ns/2007120120080229.gif")){kind=link}
![rainfall deciles](javascript:ShowMap("ftp://ftp.bom.gov.au/anon/home/ncc/www/rainfall/decile/3month/colour/history/ns/2007120120080229.gif")){kind=link}
Temperature
The wet conditions and increased cloud cover during summer resulted in cooler days and warmer nights in Canberra. The statewide average maximum temperature for summer for Canberra Airport was 26.3°C, which is 0.7°C below the historical average1 of 27.0°C. This makes summer 07/08the coolest summer for average maximum temperatures since the summer of 1999/2000 (26.0°C), and the first time in 6 years with below average summer maximum temperatures. 7 out of the last 10 summers in Canberra have recorded above average maximum temperatures.
The average minimum temperature for summer for Canberra Airport was 13.8°C, which is 1.4°C above the historical average of 12.4°C. This is the 8th consecutive summer with above average minimum temperatures in Canberra. 9 out of the last 10 summers have recorded above average minimum temperatures.
The average summer mean temperature (the average of the daily maximum and minimum temperature) for Canberra Airport was 20.0°C, which is 0.3°C above the historical average of 19.7°C. This is the 8th consecutive summer with above average mean summer temperatures. 9 out of the last 10 summers have recorded above average mean temperatures.
Extremes of temperature across Canberra during summer ranged from a high of 35.8°C at Canberra Airport on the 11th January to a low of 6.8°C at Tuggeranong AWS on the 18th December. In the elevated regions of the ACT the corresponding extremes at Mount Ginini (elev 1760 m) ranged from a high of 26.0°C on the 2nd January to a low of −2.0°C on the 29th February.
See a map of mean maximum temperatures. See a map of maximum temperature anomalies.
![mean maximum temperatures](javascript:ShowMap("ftp://ftp.bom.gov.au/anon/home/ncc/www/temperature/maxave/3month/colour/history/ns/2007120120080229.gif")){kind=link}
![maximum temperature anomalies](javascript:ShowMap("ftp://ftp.bom.gov.au/anon/home/ncc/www/temperature/maxanom/3month/colour/history/ns/2007120120080229.gif")){kind=link}
See a map of mean minimum temperatures. See a map of minimum temperature anomalies.
![mean minimum temperatures](javascript:ShowMap("ftp://ftp.bom.gov.au/anon/home/ncc/www/temperature/minave/3month/colour/history/ns/2007120120080229.gif")){kind=link}
![minimum temperature anomalies](javascript:ShowMap("ftp://ftp.bom.gov.au/anon/home/ncc/www/temperature/minanom/3month/colour/history/ns/2007120120080229.gif")){kind=link}
Other phenomena
Canberra Airport recorded 1 fog during summer (historical average 3 fogs). Sunshine was below average during summer, with an average of 8.5 hours per day (historical average 9.3 hours). There were 2 strong wind days (historical average 5 days), with no gales recorded (historical average nil). The average wind run for summer was 180 km per day, below the historical summer average of 205 km/day.
During summer, there were 10thunderstorms (historical average 12) and two hail days (22nd and 27th December) (historical average 1). The average air pressure of 1012.8 hPa was slightly above the historical average of 1012.2hPa. A total of 596.6 mm of evaporation was recorded, compared to the historical average of 742.3 mm.
Further information
NSW Climate Services CentreBureau of Meteorology
Phone (02) 9296 1555
Email reqnsw@bom.gov.au
Extremes
| Hottest day Highest temperature | 35.8°C at Canberra Airport on 11 Jan 2008 |
|---|---|
| Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature |
26.3°C at Canberra Airport 26.3°C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature | 17.5°C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature | 11.0°C at Mount Ginini AWS on 9 Feb 2008 |
| Coldest night Lowest temperature | −2.0°C at Mount Ginini AWS on 29 Feb 2008 |
| Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature | 8.1°C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature | 13.8°C at Canberra Airport |
| Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature |
20.9°C at Canberra Airport on 12 Jan 2008 20.9°C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on 12 Jan 2008 |
| Wettest overall Highest total rainfall |
393.8 mm at Mount Ginini AWS 343.8 mm at Canberra (Corin Dam (Boat Ramp)) |
| Wettest day Highest daily rainfall |
75.8 mm at Bendora Dam on 4 Feb 2008 54.8 mm at Mount Ginini AWS on 22 Dec 2007 |
| Highest wind gust | 76 km/h at Canberra Airport on 22 Dec 2007 |
Jump to: Extremes Maps Records Summaries Notes the top
Records
NilJump to: Extremes Maps Records Summaries Notes the top
Summaries
This table is very wide and may not fit if printed.
| Summary statistics for summer 2007−08 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures for summer (°C) |
Minimum temperatures for summer (°C) |
Rainfall for summer (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for summer 2007−08 |
Diff from normal |
Highest for summer 2007−08 |
Mean for summer 2007−08 |
Diff from normal |
Lowest for summer 2007−08 |
Total for summer 2007−08 |
Normal for summer |
Rank of summer 2007−08 |
Fraction of summer normal |
|||
| Sthn Tablelands Gburn-Monaro (district 70) | ||||||||||||
| Canberra Airport | 26.3 | −0.8 | 35.8 | 11 Jan 2008 | 13.8 | +1.3 | 7.5 | 18 Dec 2007 | 211.8 | 167.9 | high | 126% |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 17.5 | 26.0 | 2 Jan 2008 | 8.1 | −2.0 | 29 Feb 2008 | 393.8 | |||||
| Tuggeranong | 26.3 | −2.2 | 35.3 | 11 Jan 2008 | 13.4 | 0.0 | 6.8 | 18 Dec 2007 | 230.2 | 152.5 | very high | 151% |
Jump to: Extremes Maps Records Summaries Notes the top
Notes
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 1 pm on Monday 3 March 2008. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
Normals are long-term means based on observations from
all available years of record, which vary widely from site to site.
They are not shown for sites with less than 10 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median
is sometimes more representative than the
mean
of "normal" rain.
The Rank indicates how rainfall this time compares with the climate record for the site,
based on the
decile ranking
(very low rainfall is in decile 1, low in decile 2 or 3,
normal in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9
and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of normal shows how much rain has fallen this time as a
percentage of the long-term mean.
Further information
NSW Climate Services CentreBureau of Meteorology
Phone (02) 9296 1555
Email reqnsw@bom.gov.au