Tuesday, 1 December 2020 - Seasonal Climate Summary for New South Wales - Product code IDCKGC25R0

New South Wales in spring 2020: very warm with some rain

Spring was very warm across New South Wales, particularly at night. The spring mean temperature was the fifth warmest on record, and minimum temperatures were the warmest since 1914. Spring rainfall was below average in the north-east, and above average in the far west of the state.

Dry in the north-east, wet in the far west

• Spring rainfall was below average in the north-east of the state, and above average in the far west.
• A series of troughs brought widespread above average rainfall totals in October, including bursts of very heavy rain to coastal areas south of the Mid-North coast late in the month.
• Smiths Lake on the Mid-North Coast recorded 209.8 mm in the 24 hours to 9am on 27 October, one of several sites that had their highest spring daily rainfall on record.
• Mild to warm settled conditions for much of November, with a slow moving high in the Tasman Sea, brought below average rainfall for the month, particularly in the north-east.
• Spring rainfall for the state as a whole was 5% below average, this is more than twice as much rain as that recorded in spring 2019.
• A few sites had their highest total spring rainfall on record or highest for at least 20 years.
• January to November rainfall for the state as a whole was above average.

Very warm days and nights

• Daytime and night-time temperatures were above average to very much above average across the state.
• For the state as a whole the mean temperature was 2.23 °C above average, the fifth warmest on record and the warmest spring since 2015.
• Nights were particularly warm, at 1.99 °C above average the state mean minimum temperature was the warmest since 1914.
• Many sites had their highest spring mean daily minimum temperature on record or highest for at least 20 years.
• A strong cold front over 25 and 26 September brought a cold outbreak with damaging winds and some snow.
• The cold outbreak was unusually late in the year, that saw two sites have their coldest spring day on record.

Severe heatwave conditions at the end of November

• A heat trough over central Australia combined with two frontal systems brought dangerously hot and windy conditions to much of New South Wales at the end of November.
• Severe to extreme heatwave conditions occurred in west and north-east of the state, extending to the Sydney region, over 28 and 29 November.
• On 28 November many sites had their highest spring temperature on record.
• Smithville reported 46.9 °C on 28 November, the highest spring temperature ever recorded in New South Wales.
• On 29 November many sites had their warmest spring night on record, at Bankstown Airport and Camden Airport these were also the highest minimum temperatures recorded for any month.
• Delta, west of Bourke, reported a minimum temperature of 33.8 °C on 29 November, the highest spring minimum temperature ever recorded in New South Wales, and the 4th highest for all of Australia.
• Sydney (Observatory Hill) recorded maximum temperatures of 40.8 °C and 40.5 °C on 28 and 29 November, only the second instance, with records starting in 1859, of consecutive days over 40 degrees in any month at the city's primary site.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Maps
	Observed	Anomaly	Decile rank
Total rainfall
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top