Wednesday, 1 March 2017 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Canberra - Product code IDCKGC25L0
Canberra in summer 2016-17: Warmest summer days on record
Canberra recorded its warmest summer on record for daytime temperatures during 2016-17, and the second-warmest mean temperatures on record behind summer 2005-06, with persistently warm days throughout the summer. Overnight temperatures were also warmer than average, particularly during December, with a record-cold night in February. Rainfall was below average and the driest summer for Canberra since 2002-03, with few heavy rain days.
Warmest summer days on record
- The average maximum temperature at Canberra Airport during summer was 30.5 °C, 3.4 °C above the historical average and well above the previous summer record of 29.9 °C in summer 2005-06
- Summer was notable for the persistence of high temperatures, with Canberra Airport recording a record-breaking 53 days above 30 °C (average 26 days) as well as 18 days above 35 °C; this is the second-highest number of hot days on record behind 20 days in summer 2013-14 (average 5 days)
- There were several heatwaves during the season with the most severe reaching 41.0 °C on 10 February and 41.6 °C on 11 February, two of the five highest temperatures at Canberra Airport since records began in mid-1939
- The average minimum temperature was 1.2 °C above average, with very warm nights in December but closer to average minimums in February
- Six nights remained above 20 °C during the summer, the second-highest number on record behind nine warm nights in summer 1972-73 (average one night)
- Fourteen nights remained below 10 °C, below the summer average of 20 cool nights
- Minimum temperatures were slightly below average during February, and Canberra recorded its coldest February night on record at 2.8 °C on the 21st
- For more information on heat records broken during summer, see Special Climate Statement 61: Exceptional heat in southeast Australia in early 2017
A dry summer
- Rainfall was 45% below average at Canberra Airport, the driest summer since 2002-03
- Rainfall was close to average in December, but very low in January and February
- There were 23 rain days, normal for summer, but only three recorded more than 10 mm of rain (average 5 days), all of which occurred during December
- No days recorded 25 mm or more of rain, the first time since summer 2007-08 (average 1 day), with the heaviest falls associated with thunderstorms on 24 December
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Extremes in summer 2016-17 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day | 41.6 °C at Canberra Airport on 11 Feb 2017 |
| Warmest days on average | 30.5 °C at Canberra Airport |
| Coolest days on average | 20.2 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Coldest day | 8.8 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on 15 Dec 2016 |
| Coldest night | -1.6 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on 20 Feb 2017 |
| Coolest nights on average | 9.6 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Warmest nights on average | 14.3 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Warmest night | 22.3 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS on 24 Jan 2017 |
| Warmest on average overall | 22.1 °C at Canberra
Airport 22.1 °C at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Coolest on average overall | 14.9 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Wettest overall | 144.2 mm at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Driest overall | 93.6 mm at Canberra Airport |
| Wettest day | 34.0 mm at Mount Ginini AWS on 6 Dec 2016 |
| Strongest wind gust | 91 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on 14 Jan 2017 |
Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Record highest summer temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for summer |
|||
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 41.1 | on 10 Feb 2017 | 40.2 | on 18 Jan 1998 | 21 | 28.1 |
Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for summer 2016-17 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for summer 2016-17 |
Diff from average |
Highest for summer 2016-17 |
Mean for summer 2016-17 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for summer 2016-17 |
Total for summer 2016-17 |
Average for summer |
Rank of summer 2016-17 |
Fraction of summer average |
|||
| Canberra Airport | 30.5 | +3.4 | 41.6 | 11 Feb 2017 | 13.8 | +1.2 | 2.8 | 21 Feb 2017 | 93.6 | 171.7 | low | 55% |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 20.2 | +1.1 | 30.2 | 10 Feb 2017 | 9.6 | +1.0 | -1.6 | 20 Feb 2017 | 144.2 | 270.5 | low | 53% |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 29.9 | +1.8 | 41.1 | 10 Feb 2017 | 14.3 | +0.8 | 3.4 | 21 Feb 2017 | 127.0 | 197.0 | low | 64% |
| Note:
Observations for “Canberra Airport” are taken from
the current site (Bureau number 070351), which opened in late 2008.
Comparisons are made against data from the previous site Canberra Airport Comparison (070014), which ran from 1939 to 2010. |
||||||||||||
Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top
Notes
The Seasonal climate summary, generally published on the first working day of each month, lists the main features of the weather in Canberra using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. More extensive discussion of significant weather events, along with later information and data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review.
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 9 am on Wednesday 1 March 2017. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
Averages for individual sites 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 long-term average rain.
Observations for “Canberra Airport” are taken from the
current site (Bureau number 070351), which opened in late 2008.
Comparisons are made against data from the previous site
Canberra Airport Comparison (070014), which ran from 1939 to 2010.
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, average in decile 4 to 7, high in decile
8 or 9 and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of average shows how much rain has fallen this time
as a percentage
of the long-term mean.
Where temperature area averages are mentioned, they are derived from the ACORN-SAT dataset.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
Unless otherwise noted, all maps, graphs and diagrams in this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
