Monday, 3 September 2007 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Sydney - Product code IDCKGC25L0
Third wettest winter on record in Sydney
Summary
- 3rd wettest winter on record, total of 730 mm
- wettest winter since 1950
- slightly above average maximum and minimum temperatures
- below average sunshine hours
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Rainfall
The total winter rainfall of 730 mm at Sydney (Observatory Hill) was very much above the historic winter average1 of 309.7 mm. It is the wettest winter since 1950 when the record highest winter rainfall of 1060 mm was recorded. Most of this winter's rainfall fell during June (511 mm). There were 37 rain days, which is above the historic average of 32 rain days. The highest winter rainfall totals were along the coast while the far south-west recorded the lowest falls. Winter totals ranged from a high of 730 mm at Observatory Hill to a low of 267 mm at Campbelltown. Both Parramatta and Bankstown recorded their wettest winter on record.
Sydney's Warragamba Dam catchment received above average rainfall during winter. The catchment recorded winter totals of 200−300 mm which boosted the water supply levels significantly. Katoomba, on the catchment divide, recorded 562 mm during winter which is double the normal winter rainfall.
Some sites had their highest winter rainfall on record.
Temperature
Average maximum temperatures during winter were close to the historic average over most of Sydney during winter. The average maximum (daytime) temperature at Observatory Hill was 17.9°C, which is above the historic winter average1 of 16.9°C. However, it is still the coolest August average maximum since 1998. The average maximum temperatures in western suburbs were slightly below normal for winter.
Average minimum (night-time) temperatures over Sydney were slightly above the historic winter average. The average minimum at Observatory Hill of 9.9°C was +0.8°C above the historic winter average1. Average minimum temperatures in the western suburbs were several degrees cooler than coastal suburbs but still above the normal winter average.
The highest temperature at Sydney Observatory Hill during winter was 27.7°C on 27 August, while the lowest temperature was 3.7°C on 17 July. Corresponding extremes across the Sydney metropolitan area ranged from a high of 27.9°C at at Penrith Lakes and Sydney Olympic Park on 27 August to a low of −3.5°C at Badgerys Creek on 17 July.
Some sites had their lowest winter temperature on record.
Wind
There were 20 windy days in coastal Sydney during winter, the highest since 1998 when 25 windy days.
Other phenomena
Average daily sunshine hours for winter in Sydney were 6.2 compared to the historic average of 6.8, reflecting the wetter than average conditions during the season. There were 4thunderstorms reported compared to an average of 3 per winter.
Further information
Perry WilesClimatologist
NSW Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (02) 9296 1555
Email reqnsw@bom.gov.au
Extremes
| Hottest day Highest temperature | 27.9°C at Penrith Lakes and Sydney Olympic Park on 27 Aug |
|---|---|
| Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature |
18.0°C at Parramatta North (Masons Drive) |
| Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature |
16.2°C at Springwood Bowling Club |
| Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature |
10.8°C at Springwood Bowling Club on 27 Jun |
| Coldest night Lowest temperature | −3.5°C at Badgerys Creek on 17 Jul |
| Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature |
4.8°C at Camden Airport AWS |
| Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature |
9.9°C at Sydney (Observatory Hill) |
| Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature |
17.0°C at Sydney (Observatory Hill) on 30 Aug |
| Wettest overall Highest total rainfall |
730.0 mm at Sydney (Observatory Hill) |
| Wettest day Highest daily rainfall | 126.0 mm at Riverview Observatory on 20 Aug |
| Highest wind gust | 106 km/hr at Fort Denison on 8 Jun |
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Records
| Record highest total winter rainfall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total rainfall for winter 2007 (mm) |
Previous highest for winter |
Normal for winter |
Years of record |
||
| Parramatta North (Masons Drive) | 520.4 | 472.4 | in 1986 | 188.7 | 42 |
| Highest total winter rainfall for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total rainfall for winter 2007 (mm) |
Most recent higher for winter |
Normal for winter |
Years of record |
||
| Sydney (Observatory Hill) | 730.0 | 1060.3 | in 1950 | 311.1 | 57 |
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Summaries
| Summary statistics for winter 2007 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures for winter (°C) |
Minimum temperatures for winter (°C) |
Rainfall for winter (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for winter 2007 |
Diff from normal |
Highest for winter 2007 |
Mean for winter 2007 |
Diff from normal |
Lowest for winter 2007 |
Total for winter 2007 |
Normal for winter |
Rank of winter 2007 |
Fraction of winter normal |
|||
| Central Tablelands (S) (district 63) | ||||||||||||
| Springwood Bowling Club | 16.2 | 26.5 | 27 Aug | 6.6 | −2.6 | 17 Jul | 408.5 | 190.6 | very high | 214% | ||
| Metropolitan (E) (district 66) | ||||||||||||
| Parramatta North | 18.0 | −0.1 | 27.5 | 27 Aug | 7.7 | +0.9 | 0.0 | 17 Jul | 520.4 | 188.7 | highest | 276% |
| Sydney | 17.9 | +0.2 | 27.7 | 27 Aug | 9.9 | +0.8 | 3.7 | 17 Jul | 730.0 | 311.1 | very high | 235% |
| Terrey Hills AWS | 16.5 | 25.8 | 28 Aug | 8.4 | 0.2 | 17 Jul | 520.0 | |||||
| Metropolitan (W) (district 67) | ||||||||||||
| Richmond RAAF | 17.4 | 27.2 | 27 Aug | 5.3 | −3.4 | 17 Jul | 351.8 | |||||
| Illawarra (district 68) | ||||||||||||
| Camden Airport AWS | 17.6 | −0.4 | 27.1 | 27 Aug | 4.8 | +1.1 | −3.1 | 17 Jul | 317.0 | 146.3 | very high | 217% |
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| Additional climate data for Sydney (Observatory Hill) for winter 2007 | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Winter 2007 |
Normal for winter |
|
| Number of rain days |
37 |
32 |
| Average sunshine hours per day* |
6.2 |
6.8 |
| Average humidity at 3pm (%) |
55 |
53 |
| Number of thunderstorms |
4 |
3 |
| Number of windy days* |
20 |
12 |
Notes
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 8 am on Monday 3 September 2007. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
1Averages: historic average temperatures for Observatory Hill and Richmond are based on the period 1961 to 1990 which is a convention of the World Meteorological Organisation. Average temperatures for Parramatta are based on all available data, 1968 - 2006 and Camden 1972 - 2006. Rainfall averages and extremes for Observatory Hill are based on all years of record 1859 - 2006.
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 20 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably. For rainfall, it is sometimes better to use the median rather than the mean to indicate "normal" rain, but this has not been done here.
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
Shannon SymonsClimate Officer
NSW Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (02) 9296 1555
Email reqnsw@bom.gov.au