Tuesday, 1 December 2020 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Greater Sydney - Product code IDCKGC25L0
Greater Sydney in spring 2020: warm with near average rainfall
Spring 2020 was warmer than average in Greater Sydney, particularly for overnight minimum temperatures, with some records set. Rainfall was generally near average.
Rainfall generally close to average
- Spring rainfall was generally close to average in Greater Sydney.
- In general, September was drier than average, October wetter than average, and November close to average.
- Some locations, mostly in outer south-western suburbs or on the Central Coast, had above average spring rainfall, while a few coastal locations were below average.
- Some sites had their highest spring daily rainfall on record.
A warm spring, especially at night
- Both mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures were above average for spring at most Greater Sydney locations, although maximum temperatures were cooler than those of spring 2019, especially away from the coast.
- All three spring months were generally warmer than average.
- Some sites had their highest spring temperature on record during a heatwave on the weekend of 28 and 29 November.
- Some sites had their warmest spring night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record.
- Some sites, particularly in western Sydney, had their highest spring mean daily minimum temperature on record.
- Some sites had their highest spring mean temperature on record.
Sydney (Observatory Hill)
- Total rainfall for Sydney (Observatory Hill) was 200.4 mm, 12% below the long-term average at the former Observatory Hill site.
- The mean daily maximum temperature for Sydney (Observatory Hill) was 24.3 °C, the third-highest on record after 2013 and 2019, and 2.2 °C above the average at the former Observatory Hill site.
- The warmest day was 40.8 °C on 28 November, and the coolest day was on 25 October when the temperature reached 15.2 °C.
- The mean daily minimum temperature for Sydney (Observatory Hill) was 15.0 °C, 1.5 °C above the average at the former Observatory Hill site.
- The coldest morning was 8.8 °C on 28 September, and the warmest morning was on 29 November when the minimum temperature was 25.3 °C.
Significant heat to finish spring
- It was a very hot finish to spring. Observatory Hill reached 40.8 °C on 28 November and 40.5 °C on the 29th, only the second instance of consecutive days of 40 °C or above after 26 and 27 January 1960.
- Extreme heat during spring is not unusual in Sydney. The highest temperature of spring at Observatory Hill is higher than the highest temperature of the following summer in about one year in five.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Extremes in spring 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day | 43.0 °C at Sydney Airport AMO on 28 Nov |
| Warmest days on average | 26.6 °C at Penrith Lakes AWS |
| Coolest days on average | 19.0 °C at Mount Boyce AWS |
| Coldest day | 6.0 °C at Mount Boyce AWS on 26 Sep |
| Coldest night | -0.4 °C at Mount Boyce AWS on 26 Sep |
| Coolest nights on average | 7.9 °C at Katoomba (Farnells Rd) |
| Warmest nights on average | 15.9 °C at Sydney Harbour (Wedding Cake West) |
| Warmest night | 28.1 °C at Bankstown Airport AWS on 29 Nov |
| Warmest on average overall | 19.9 °C at Sydney Airport AMO |
| Coolest on average overall | 13.9 °C at Mount Boyce AWS |
| Wettest overall | 438.0 mm at Wyong (Mount Elliot) |
| Wettest day | 157.0 mm at Wyong (Mount Elliot) on 26 Oct |
| Strongest wind gust | 115 km/h at Camden Airport AWS on 25 Sep |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Record highest spring daily rainfall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
||||
| Ourimbah (Dog Trap Road) | 127.0 | on 26 Oct | 121.9 | on 13 Nov 1973 | 68 | |
| St Ives (Richmond Avenue) | 98.2 | on 26 Oct | 92.6 | on 18 Sep 2019 | 23 | |
| Wyong (Mount Elliot) | 157.0 | on 26 Oct | 132.0 | on 2 Oct 2004 | 20 | |
| Record highest spring temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for spring |
|||
| Norah Head AWS | 41.5 | on 29 Nov | 40.3 | on 20 Nov 2015 | 26 | 22.6 |
| Record highest spring daily minimum temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for spring |
|||
| Parramatta North (Masons Drive) | 26.5 | on 29 Nov | 25.6 | on 18 Nov 1968 | 54 | 11.8 |
| Bankstown Airport AWS | 28.1 | on 29 Nov | 24.3 | on 3 Oct 1981 | 53 | 11.7 |
| Camden Airport AWS | 25.1 | on 29 Nov | 21.7 | on 21 Nov 2009 | 45 | 9.9 |
| Richmond RAAF | 24.9 | on 29 Nov | 23.0 | on 27 Nov 2002 | 28 | 11.1 |
| Mangrove Mountain AWS | 25.5 | on 29 Nov | 25.4 | on 26 Nov 2002 | 27 | 11.4 |
| Badgerys Creek AWS | 26.1 | on 29 Nov | 23.8 | on 22 Nov 2006 | 26 | 10.6 |
| Canterbury Racecourse AWS | 25.1 | on 29 Nov | 23.2 | on 10 Nov 2011 | 26 | 12.1 |
| Penrith Lakes AWS | 24.9 | on 29 Nov | 23.1 | on 21 Nov 2009 | 26 | 12.2 |
| Horsley Park Equestrian Centre AWS | 27.4 | on 29 Nov | 24.6 | on 22 Nov 2006 | 24 | 11.8 |
| Sydney Harbour (Wedding Cake West) | 23.0 | on 29 Nov | = 23.0 | on 26 Nov 2001 | 20 | 15.3 |
| Record highest spring mean daily minimum temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for spring |
||
| Bankstown Airport AWS | 13.0 | = 13.0 | in 2015 | 52 | 11.7 |
| Richmond RAAF | 12.3 | 12.1 | in 2015 | 25 | 11.1 |
| Badgerys Creek AWS | 12.4 | 11.8 | in 2015 | 24 | 10.6 |
| Record highest spring mean temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for spring |
||
| Bankstown Airport AWS | 19.1 | = 19.1 | in 2013 | 52 | 17.7 |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for spring 2020 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for spring 2020 |
Diff from average |
Highest for spring 2020 |
Mean for spring 2020 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for spring 2020 |
Total for spring 2020 |
Average for spring |
Rank of spring 2020 |
Fraction of spring average |
|||
| Badgerys Creek AWS | 40.6 | 16 Nov | 12.4 | +1.8 | 4.1 | 2 Sep | ||||||
| Bankstown Airport AWS | 25.2 | +1.5 | 41.9 | 28 Nov | 13.0 | +1.3 | 5.3 | 2 Sep | 146.0 | 179.6 | average | 81% |
| Camden Airport AWS | 25.3 | +1.0 | 40.7 | 28 Nov | 10.9 | +1.0 | 2.6 | 2 Sep | 187.0 | 174.3 | average | 107% |
| Campbelltown (Mount Annan) | 25.1 | +0.2 | 40.2 | 28 Nov | 10.9 | +0.5 | 3.1 | 2 Sep | 186.8 | 140.6 | average | 133% |
| Canterbury Racecourse AWS | 24.0 | +0.6 | 40.7 | 28 Nov | 12.8 | +0.7 | 5.2 | 2 Sep | 155.0 | 183.8 | average | 84% |
| Cooranbong (Lake Macquarie AWS) | 24.6 | +0.2 | 41.2 | 29 Nov | 11.4 | +0.4 | 2.9 | 2 Sep | 239.2 | 240.2 | average | 100% |
| Gosford AWS | 24.0 | 41.6 | 29 Nov | 13.2 | 5.5 | 28 Sep | 339.6 | |||||
| Holsworthy Aerodrome AWS | 24.6 | 41.4 | 28 Nov | 12.3 | 4.4 | 28 Sep | 180.4 | |||||
| Holsworthy Defence AWS | 24.2 | 41.8 | 28 Nov | 11.9 | 4.6 | 28 Sep | 222.0 | |||||
| Horsley Park Equestrian Centre AWS | 24.9 | +0.3 | 40.5 | 28 Nov | 12.4 | +0.6 | 5.0 | 28 Sep | 211.2 | 163.9 | high | 129% |
| Katoomba (Farnells Rd) | 19.4 | +1.8 | 32.5 | 28 Nov | 7.9 | +0.2 | -0.3 | 26 Sep | 287.1 | 272.4 | average | 105% |
| Mangrove Mountain AWS | 23.8 | +1.1 | 40.4 | 29 Nov | 11.9 | +0.5 | 3.5 | 27 Sep | 289.6 | 240.0 | high | 121% |
| Mount Boyce AWS | 19.0 | +1.3 | 31.6 | 28 Nov | 8.7 | +1.1 | -0.4 | 26 Sep | 207.6 | 221.5 | average | 94% |
| Norah Head AWS | 23.6 | +1.0 | 41.5 | 29 Nov | 15.4 | +0.6 | 8.6 | 27 Sep | ||||
| Parramatta North (Masons Drive) | 24.9 | +1.1 | 40.6 | 28 Nov | 12.6 | +0.8 | 5.5 | 2 Sep | 166.0 | 201.2 | average | 83% |
| Penrith Lakes AWS | 26.6 | +1.0 | 41.5 | 28 Nov | 12.7 | +0.5 | 4.2 | 27 Sep | 177.0 | 168.2 | average | 105% |
| Richmond RAAF | 25.7 | +0.6 | 39.9 | 28 Nov | 12.3 | +1.2 | 3.3 | 27 Sep | 174.6 | 170.1 | average | 103% |
| Springwood (Valley Heights) | 23.8 | +0.2 | 38.5 | 28 Nov | 12.4 | +0.7 | 5.3 | 28 Sep | 213.4 | 224.6 | average | 95% |
| Sydney (Observatory Hill) | 24.3 | 40.8 | 28 Nov | 15.0 | 8.8 | 28 Sep | ||||||
| Sydney Airport AMO | 24.7 | +2.2 | 43.0 | 28 Nov | 15.0 | +1.9 | 9.6 | 28 Sep | 136.2 | 209.7 | average | 65% |
| Sydney Harbour (Wedding Cake West) | 21.4 | +0.4 | 40.1 | 28 Nov | 15.9 | +0.6 | 10.8 | 26 Sep | ||||
| Sydney Olympic Park AWS (Archery Centre) | 25.3 | 41.6 | 28 Nov | 13.3 | 5.6 | 28 Sep | 150.4 | 188.0 | average | 80% | ||
| Terrey Hills AWS | 22.8 | +0.3 | 39.9 | 29 Nov | 13.6 | +0.4 | 6.7 | 27 Sep | 229.2 | 237.6 | average | 96% |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
Notes
The Seasonal climate summary, generally published on the first working day of each month, lists the main features of the weather in Greater Sydney using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. More extensive discussion of significant weather events, along with later information and data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review.
This summary includes data from observing sites in or near the Greater Sydney “Greater Capital City Statistical Area” (GCCSA). The Australian Bureau of Statistics designed the GCCSAs to “include the population within the urban area of the city, as well as people who regularly socialise, shop or work within the city, and live in small towns and rural areas surrounding the city. It is important to note that GCCSAs do not define the built up edge of the city. They provide a stable definition for these cities and are designed for the output of a range of social and economic survey data.”
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Tuesday 1 December 2020. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
In some situations, some or all of the rainfall is in the form of hail or snow. In these cases the totals given are for the water equivalent: the depth of liquid water that results from melting any frozen precipitation. There can be significant 'undercatch' of snow in strong winds, meaning the true precipitation can be higher than that reported.
Averages for individual sites 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 10 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median
is sometimes more representative than the
mean
of long-term average rain.
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,
average in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9
and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of average shows how much rain has fallen this time as a
percentage of the long-term mean.
Where temperature area averages are mentioned, they are derived from the ACORN-SAT dataset.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
Unless otherwise noted, all maps, graphs and diagrams in this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
