Monday, 2 September, 2013 — Seasonal Climate Summary for Australia — Product Code IDCKGC1A00

Australia in winter 2013

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

In Brief

Winter rainfall was below average for the vast majority of Queensland, the adjacent eastern half of the Northern Territory and for Western Australia south of a line from the Northwest Cape to the top of the Bight. Rainfall was above average for the remainder of Western Australia and much of southeast Australia, including South Australia and Tasmania.

Maximum temperatures were above average across most of Australia, with only parts of northwestern Western Australia and small areas on the south coast recording near-average maxima. Minimum temperatures were also above average for most of Australia, although larger areas recorded near-average minima, mostly across the north of Australia and in the west of Western Australia. Averaged over the season, winter anomalies were +1.42 °C for maximum temperatures (the second-highest on record) and +1.14 °C for minimum temperatures (the sixth-highest on record).

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Temperatures

Maximum temperatures during winter were the second-warmest on record for Australia as a whole, with an anomaly of +1.42 °C. Area-averaged maxima for all States and the Northern Territory, except Tasmania, were also at least the tenth-warmest on record. Tasmania was also the only State to record a seasonal anomaly of less than +1 °C. Daytime temperatures were above average across most of Australia and in the highest 10% of records for the northeastern half of Australia and much of the western coastline and Eucla region of Western Australia (totalling 74% of the country). Near-average maxima were recorded across a large area of Western Australia extending from the Pilbara to the Interior District, partially as a result of heavy June rainfall keeping daytime temperatures lower during that month, and in a small area around the top of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia and on the Nullarbor coast in Western Australia

Winter minimum temperatures were above average for most Australia with areas in the west of Western Australia, the Kimberley, eastern Top End and central Queensland coast extending well inland between Rockhampton and Mackay recording near-average minima. A few isolated areas recorded below-average minima. Averaged nationally, minima were the sixth-highest on record for winter, with an anomaly of +1.14 °C. All States and the Northern Territory except Western Australia also scored within the highest ten records, and for Victoria winter was the fourth-warmest on record. Most of the southeast (including Tasmania), South Australia, the west of Western Australia and a broad strip extending from South Australia to the Gulf of Carpentaria recorded minimum temperature anomalies in the highest 10% of records (in total 48% of Australia).

Areal average temperatures
	Maximum Temperature			Minimum Temperature
	Rank (out of 104)	Anomaly* (°C)	Comment	Rank (out of 104)	Anomaly* (°C)	Comment
Australia	103	+1.42	second highest	99	+1.14	sixth highest
Queensland	103	+1.74	second highest	97	+1.47	eighth highest
New South Wales	103	+1.64	third highest	97	+1.29	eighth highest
Victoria	100	+1.02	fifth highest	101	+1.09	fourth highest, highest since 1991
Tasmania	94	+0.54		97	+0.94	eighth highest
South Australia	102	+1.43	third highest	98	+1.39	seventh highest
Western Australia	95	+1.04	tenth highest	87	+0.59
Northern Territory	102	+1.70	third highest	98	+1.49	seventh highest, highest since 1998

^*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

For Australia as a whole, area-averaged rainfall was 60.8 mm (5% below the long-term average), although this value conceals marked differences between the States. Queensland and the Northern Territory recorded totals 65% and 52% below average respectively, while for Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia totals were 24% to 28% above average. Victoria also recorded its highest winter total since 1996.

Winter rainfall during 2013 was above average across Tasmania, inland New South Wales, Victoria except in the northeast and northern Mallee, most of South Australia south of Marree and the western Kimberley, Pilbara and Interior District of Western Australia. Much of the Pilbara and adjacent Kimberley recorded winter totals in the highest 10% of records, with some areas setting new winter rainfall records. These falls were substantial, of the order of 3 to 4 times the long-term average, and included several records such as Roebourne's wettest winter day (223.6 mm on 25 June, also its second-wettest day for any month).

Much of northern Australia is typically dry during winter, but the areas receiving very low rainfall for the three months June–August extended further into southern and western Queensland than is typical. Most of Queensland, excluding the eastern coastal fringe, and the south of the Northern Territory received less than 2 mm of rainfall, which is in the lowest 10% of records for central and western Queensland. Much of the Southwest Land Division in Western Australia also recorded totals in the lowest 10% of records, while rainfall was below average across a broader region along the western coast extending to the Goldfields and Eucla districts.

Areal average rainfall
	Rank (out of 114)	Average (mm)	Departure from mean*	Comment
Australia	47	60.8	−5%
Queensland	14	17.9	−65%
New South Wales	60	117.3	+1%
Victoria	97	255.8	+26%	highest since 1996
Tasmania	97	559.9	+28%
South Australia	81	68.8	+24%
Western Australia	71	65.6	+8%
Northern Territory	47	8.7	−52%
Murray-Darling Basin	62	111.5	0%

^*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 winter 2013
Hottest day	39.7 °C at Timber Creek (NT) on 20 August
Coldest day	−5.4 °C at Thredbo AWS (NSW) on 21 July
Coldest night	−12.2 °C at Liawenee (Tas.) on 9 July
Warmest night	27.1 °C at Troughton Island (WA) on 1 and 6 June
Wettest day	223.6 mm at Roebourne (WA) on 25 June

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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