Thursday, 1 September 2011 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Sydney - Greater Sydney - Product code IDCKGC15L0

Sydney in winter 2011: Warm, wet winter in Sydney

• Above average rainfall, wettest winter since 2007
• 22nd consecutive winter with above average maximum temperatures at Observatory Hill
• 8th warmest winter mean temperatures on record
• 10 consecutive days above 20 °C, equal warmest spell for winter and warmest this close to midwinter.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Sydney Observatory Hill recorded 428.2 mm during winter 2011, well above the historical average of 309.8 mm and the wettest winter since 2007. The high winter totals were predominantly due to a strong East Coast Low during July, which was the wettest for Sydney since 1950, with below average rainfall recorded in both June and August. Rainfall was generally above average throughout coastal Sydney, but closer to average at western stations where the ECL impact was limited.

Sydney Observatory hill recorded 40 rain days during winter of which ten exceeded 10 mm, close to the historical averages for winter. Only four days had rainfall above 25 mm, all associated with the ECL event 20-23 July, which was the wettest four-day period in winter since an ECL in August 1998.

Temperature

The average maximum temperature at Observatory Hill during winter was 18.4 °C, 1.4 °C above the historical average of 17.0 °C. This is the 22nd consecutive winter with above average maximum temperatures at Observatory Hill. Temperatures were above average throughout winter, with particularly warm conditions during the first week of August, including the longest spell of days above 20 °C on record for midwinter between July 28 and August 6. Throughout the Metropolitan region, temperatures were generally within 1 °C of average, warmer in the eastern suburbs and closer to average in the west.

Observatory Hill recorded average minimum temperatures of 9.8 °C during winter, 1.1 °C above the historical average, with above average minimums recorded throughout the Metropolitan region. The mean temperature during winter was consequently 14.1 °C, 1.2 °C above average and the 8th warmest winter on record. Winter mean temperatures at Observatory Hill have not been below the all time average of 12.9 °C since 1978.

Wind

Winds were predominantly westerly to northwesterly during winter, forming 68% of 9am winds and 39% of 3pm winds. There were 15 strong wind days during the season, close to the winter average of 13 days. Most of these occurred during July, which was the windiest since 1999, with strong winds causing significant damage in the Blue Mountains on the 7th and 8th.

Other phenomena

Sydney Airport recorded an average of 6.5 hours of sunshine during winter, slightly below the historical average of 6.8 hours. Sunshine was lowest during August, with close to average sunshine during June and July. There was only one thunderstorm at Sydney Airport during winter, below the winter average of 4 storms, with five storms reported anywhere in the Metropolitan area.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top