Tuesday, 1 March 2022 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Greater Sydney - Product code IDCKGC25L0

Greater Sydney in summer 2021-22: A wet summer with cool days and warm nights

Very humid conditions were associated with above average rainfall across all three summer months. Maximum temperatures were generally cooler than average while minimum temperatures were warmer than average, resulting in the mean summer temperature being close to average.

Wetter than average summer ended with a very wet February

• Increased availability of moisture throughout summer resulted in a wetter than average summer, with much of Greater Sydney recording rainfall more than 50% to 100% above their long-term summer average.
• Observatory Hill recorded its wettest summer since 1991–1992.
• December rainfall was 10–40% above average across much of Greater Sydney.
• The passage of a deep surface trough resulted in rainy weather from the 8th to the 10th of December, with widespread falls of greater than 50 mm recorded over the three-day period.
• In January, there was a greater number of rainy days than usual, with above-average rainfall for most of Greater Sydney, especially towards the west where totals were more than 50% above their January average.
• Stormy weather was responsible for heavy rainfall during January with storms producing between 20–50 mm in many locations over Sydney on the 6th, 8th, 13th and 14th.
• For February, rainfall was well above average, with some parts of Greater Sydney receiving at least 2–3 times their monthly average.
• Very moist conditions during February led to rainfall being more than 50% above the monthly average in many locations, while the number of rainy days was around twice the average for the month.
• Baulkham Hills (Eucalyptus Ct), Concord (Brays Rd) and Wyong (Mount Elliot) had their highest total summer rainfall on record.
• Numerous sites had their highest total summer rainfall in at least 20 years.

Cool days and warm nights

• Maximum temperatures were around 1 to 2 °C below their seasonal average for much of Greater Sydney, except along the coast where temperatures were average to above average.
• Minimum temperatures were around seasonal average to slightly above seasonal average for most locations.

Sydney (Observatory Hill)

• Total rainfall for Sydney (Observatory Hill) was 655.0 mm, which is 220% of the long-term average at the former Observatory Hill site, or 222% of the average over recent decades.
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Sydney (Observatory Hill) was 26.9 °C, which is 1.2 °C above the long-term average at the former Observatory Hill site, or 0.4 °C above the average over recent decades.
• The warmest day was 34.6 °C on 19 December, and the coolest day was on 5 December when the temperature reached 19.7 °C.
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Sydney (Observatory Hill) was 19.2 °C, which is 0.8 °C above the long-term average at the former Observatory Hill site, or 0.2 °C below the average over recent decades.
• The coldest morning was 13.9 °C on 10 December, and the warmest morning was on 11 January when the minimum temperature was 22.7 °C.

Significant weather

• A strong cold front crossed Greater Sydney on 19th December, producing damaging winds and storms.
• Humid conditions resulted in fog blanketing Sydney during the morning of the 14th of January.
• Repeated generation of slow-moving thunderstorms brought significant rainfall to the Sydney metropolitan area on the 22nd of February with some locations such as Marrickville receiving intense rainfall in excess of 100 mm in a 2–3-hour period.
• Numerous locations received more than their February average and flash flooding was experienced over parts of metropolitan Sydney.
• Towards the end of February, there was a succession of wet and very humid days due to a persistent and deep moist easterly airstream produced by a slow-moving high-pressure system in the Tasman Sea.
• A Special Climate Statement is being prepared for the ongoing extreme rainfall and flooding event in New South Wales.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

* 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