Thursday, 1 December, 2011 — Seasonal Climate Summary for Australia — Product Code IDCKGC1A00

Australia in spring 2011

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

In Brief

Spring 2011 saw a return to wet conditions following a dry winter with most of western and northern Australia recording above average falls. Maximum and minimum temperatures were above average over southern Australia with cool conditions recorded in the Kimberley and parts of the NT.

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Temperatures

Maximum temperatures averaged over Australia were 0.3°C above normal for spring. Much of Australia recorded temperatures within a degree of the average with southeastern Australia recording above average day time temperatures while northeast WA and large parts of the NT recorded cooler than normal conditions. Almost all of the states with the exception of WA and the NT, recorded above average statewide temperatures.

Southern and eastern Victoria, southeastern SA, northern Tasmania as well as parts of southwest NSW, southern WA and far northern Queensland recorded very much above average maximum temperatures ranking in the top 10% of springs on record. The most notable statewide daytime temperatures were recorded in Tasmania, which experienced its second warmest spring on record with an anomaly of +1.2°C (record is +1.4°C in 2009). In contrast to southeast Australia, the Kimberley region and parts of the NT ranked in the coldest 10% of springs on record.

Minimum temperatures followed a similar pattern to daytime temperatures with warmer conditions recorded in southern Australia and far northern Queensland while cooler than normal overnight temperatures were recorded across most of the north. National overnight temperatures averaged over Australia were slightly above average (+0.1°C). Most of the southern coast recorded minimum temperatures in the warmest 10% of records while the Kimberley’s ranked in the coolest 10% with small areas within this region recording their coldest spring on record. An area in the south on the eastern border of WA and SA recorded its warmest spring on record for spring minimum temperatures. Victoria recorded its third warmest spring on record for overnight temperatures making this the third warmest spring for mean temperatures (average of maximum and minimum). Tasmania recorded its fourth warmest spring on record for mean temperatures.

Areal average temperatures
	Maximum Temperature			Minimum Temperature
	Rank (out of 62)	Anomaly* (°C)	Comment	Rank (out of 62)	Anomaly* (°C)	Comment
Australia	33	+0.31		32	+0.11	lowest since 2001
Queensland	42	+0.54		equal 30	+0.14	lowest since 2001
New South Wales	46	+1.13		47	+0.73
Victoria	56	+1.46		60	+1.03	Third highest; Record is +1.39 (2009)
Tasmania	61	+1.24	Second highest; Record is +1.38 (2009)	51	+0.43
South Australia	51	+1.11		53	+0.98
Western Australia	23	+−0.20		equal 24	−0.12	lowest since 2001
Northern Territory	18	−0.41		10	−0.71

^*Anomaly is the departure from the long-term (1961-1990) average.

Temperature maps
	Mean	Anomaly	Deciles
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Rainfall

Following a dry winter, Australia experienced a return to wet conditions during spring 2011 with a national average of 107.4 mm (48% above normal) recorded during spring 2011. Most of Australia recorded above normal falls with most of the northwestern half of Australia, including parts of northern NSW, recording very much above average falls ranking in the wettest 10% of springs on record. Small areas in WA, the NT and northeast NSW recorded their wettest spring on record while WA recorded its second wettest spring on record statewide with 88.5 mm (116% above normal) with the spring of 1975 holding the record with 115 mm. All of the states recorded rainfall which was above or very close to their average rainfall. Dry conditions were only recorded along the southern half of the Queensland coast and the coastal area between Adelaide and Melbourne.

The wet conditions in northwestern Australia were driven by above average rainfall recorded in both October and November with these conditions partly associated with the reformed weak La Niña in the tropical Pacific ocean and the warmer than normal sea surface temperatures off the WA coast.

Areal average rainfall
	Rank (out of 112)	Average (mm)	Departure from mean*	Comment
Australia	100	107.4	+48%
Queensland	71	92.5	+10%
New South Wales	96	174.5	+41%
Victoria	59	180.2	0%
Tasmania	56	361.4	−1%
South Australia	85	67.7	+33%
Western Australia	111	88.5	+116%	2nd highest on record; Record is 114.9 mm (1975); highest since 1975
Northern Territory	104	126.4	+87%
Murray-Darling Basin	86	153.4	+34%

^*The mean is calculated for the 1961-1990 reference period.

Rainfall maps
	Totals	Percentages	Deciles
Total rainfall

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Australian weather extremes in spring 2011
Hottest day	44.1 °C at Birdsville (QLD) on the 15th November
Coldest day	−3.5 °C at Mt Hotham (VIC) on the 9th September
Coldest night	−11.0 °C at Charlotte Pass (NSW) on the 21st September
Warmest night	29.6 °C at Birdsville (QLD) on the 8th November
Wettest day	422.0 mm at Happy Valley (QLD) on the 19th October

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Further information

National Climate Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 9669 4082
Email webclim@bom.gov.au

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