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

Australia in spring 2013

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

In Brief

Spring 2013 was the warmest on record for Australia in terms of both mean temperatures (anomaly of +1.57 °C) and maximum temperatures (anomaly of +2.07 °C). Area-averaged national minimum temperatures were also well above average at +1.07 °C, the fourth-warmest on record. Maximum temperatures were above average for nearly all of Australia, excluding Tasmania, southwestern Victoria and adjacent southeastern South Australia where maxima were near average. A large area of highest-on-record spring maxima was recorded in the inland north. Minimum temperatures were also above average across most of Australia although areas of near-average minima were recorded around the northern coastline and across much of the inland southeast, with an area of cooler-than-average minima recorded inland of the Great Dividing Range in southern New South Wales.

Rainfall was 10% below the long-term mean when averaged nationally, although Tasmania and the tropical north received above-average spring rain, with above-average totals also generally recorded in southern Western Australia and the coastal fringe of the southeast mainland. Most of South Australia, northwestern and northeastern Victoria, New South Wales inland of the Divide, western and southern Queensland and the southern half of the Northern Territory recorded below-average rainfall.

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Temperatures

Maximum temperatures during spring were the warmest on record for Australia as a whole and also for Queensland and the Northern Territory, while maxima were the third warmest on record for New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. The national maximum temperature anomaly was +2.07 °C, 0.24 °C above the previous record set in 2006. Spring mean temperatures were also Australia's warmest on record, with the anomaly of 1.57 °C surpassing the previous record (also set in 2006) by 0.14 °C. All states and the Northern Territory, except Victoria and Tasmania, placed at least sixth-highest on record for mean temperatures. Minima were also above average, placing at fourth highest for the national anomaly of +1.07 °C, with all regions except Victoria and Tasmania placing at least equal-tenth-highest on record. Of the three months in the season, September was the warmest and set a new high record for monthly mean temperature anomaly at +2.75 °C, October was also a warm month (mean temperature anomaly +1.43 °C, seventh-highest), and November somewhat cooler at +0.52 °C although still sufficient to leave Australia well on track to set a new record for warmest calendar year come the end of December.

Maximum temperatures were near average across Tasmania, southeastern South Australia and southwestern Victoria and above average to highest on record over the remainder of Australia. Temperatures were very much above average (in the highest 10% of records) for 82% of Australia, missing only parts of inland southeastern New South Wales, far northern Queensland, the northern coasts and southern Western Australia in addition to Victoria and Tasmania as mentioned above. Spring maxima were the highest on record for a broad area extending from the central west of Western Australia, through central Australia, western and southern inland Queensland and northern border areas of inland New South Wales, and a small area of the east coast north of Newcastle.

Minimum temperatures were above to very much above average across Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland except for small areas near the coast, and also for western and southeastern South Australia, the southern half of Victoria, Tasmania, and coastal and far western New South Wales. The northern half of Victoria, the remainder of New South Wales and eastern South Australia between about Marree and Adelaide recorded near-average minima, with below-average minima recorded in a small area near Port Augusta and a larger area covering the South West Slopes District in New South Wales and reaching just across the border into Victoria. Damaging late-season frosts occurred in this area on 18 October.

Areal average temperatures
	Maximum Temperature			Minimum Temperature			Mean Temperature
	Rank (of 104)	Anomaly (°C)	Comment	Rank (of 104)	Anomaly (°C)	Comment	Rank (of 104)	Anomaly (°C)	Comment
Australia	104	+2.07	highest (was +1.83 °C in 2006)	101	+1.07	4th highest (record +1.30 °C in 1998)	104	+1.57	highest (was +1.43 °C in 2006)
Queensland	104	+2.41	highest (was +2.01 °C in 1915)	100	+1.22	5th highest	104	+1.81	highest (was +1.68 °C in 2005)
New South Wales	102	+2.75	3rd highest (record +3.04 °C in 2006)	76	+0.48		99	+1.62	6th highest
Victoria	87	+1.09		90	+0.52		90	+0.80
Tasmania	= 57	+0.04		97	+0.65	8th highest	= 80	+0.34
South Australia	102	+2.56	3rd highest (record +2.74 °C in 2006 and 2012)	= 94	+0.97	equal 10th highest	102	+1.76	3rd highest (record +2.07 °C in 2006)
Western Australia	102	+1.58	3rd highest (record +1.87 °C in 2006)	102	+1.11	3rd highest (record +1.54 °C in 2006)	103	+1.35	2nd highest (record +1.71 °C in 2006)
Northern Territory	104	+2.01	highest (was +1.55 °C in 2002)	99	+1.35	6th highest	103	+1.68	2nd highest (record +1.80 °C in 2005)

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 104 (highest). A rank marked with ’=‘ indicates the value is tied for that rank. 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 10% below the long-term average, although this value conceals marked regional differences. South Australia and New South Wales recorded area-averaged totals 57% and 33% below average respectively, with the area of below-average rainfall covering most of South Australia, northwestern Victoria, the southeastern half of the Northern Territory and extending from northwest Queensland through the east inland of the ranges all the way to northeastern Victoria. Across the Murray-Darling Basin it was the 19th-driest spring on record (41% below average).

A number of October storms in the northwest of Western Australia and an early start to the wet season for the north more generally in the second half of November contributed to above average spring rainfall from the Kimberley to the Cape York Peninsula. Above-average spring rainfall recorded in southern Western Australia was mostly the result of above-average rainfall during September. Tasmania also recorded above-average spring rainfall, although as a result of more consistent rainfall throughout the season, associated with generally persistent westerly flow which also contributed to above-average rainfall in a narrow strip along the coast of Victoria.

Area-average rainfall
	Rank (of 114)	Average (mm)	Departure from mean	Comment
Australia	57	65.3	−10%
Queensland	54	73.3	−13%
New South Wales	28	82.6	−33%
Victoria	39	154.9	−14%
Tasmania	105	483.2	+32%	10th highest; highest since 1988
South Australia	= 11	22.1	−57%
Western Australia	87	49.4	+20%
Northern Territory	77	71.1	+5%
Murray-Darling Basin	19	67.2	−41%

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 114 (highest). A rank marked with ’=‘ indicates the value is tied for that rank. Departure from mean is relative to the long-term (1961–1990) average.

Rainfall maps
	Totals	Percentages	Deciles
Total rainfall

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Australian weather extremes in spring 2013
Hottest day	46.4 °C at Roebourne (WA) on 5 November
Coldest day	−3.1 °C at Mount Wellington (Tas.) on 11 September
Coldest night	−11.6 °C at Perisher Valley AWS (NSW) on 13 September
Warmest night	31.8 °C at Argyle Aerodrome (WA) on 17 November
Wettest day	258.0 mm at Gray (Haven of Hope) (Tas.) on 13 November

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Further information

National Climate Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Email Helpdesk.Climate@bom.gov.au

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