Monday, 2 June 2008 - Seasonal Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC23R0

South Australia in Autumn 2008
A dry Autumn with warm days and cool nights.

Summary

  • Autumn rainfall was generally below average, apart from the Mid North, the Adelaide region and the Lower Southeast.
  • Autumn temperatures started well above average in a widespread heatwave in the first half of March, then days remained warmer than average under clearer skies, while cool nights prevailed for the rest of the season.
  • Ceduna and Streaky Bay had their warmest Autumn's on record.

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Rainfall

Pastoral Districts

Rainfall was generally below average across the Pastoral Districts this Autumn, at a time of year when rainfall is low on average, and rainfall totals tended to be less than 10 mm.

The highest Autumn rainfall total was 26.1 mm at Blinman in the far North, when the average for that location would normally be 66 mm.

Agricultural Districts

Rainfall totals were generally below average, apart from much of the Mid North, the Adelaide Plains and the Mount Lofty Ranges where rainfall was above average.

Rainfall totals over 200 mm were recorded at several locations in the Mount Lofty Ranges, with the highest being 295 mm at Ashton (Marble Hill), but were typically 100 to 200 mm.

Totals across the Adelaide Plains, the Lower Southeast and the Mid North districts were typically 50 to 150 mm. Remaining districts generally had totals of 20 to 80 mm.

See a map of total rainfall.
See a map of rainfall deciles.

Temperature

The season started significantly warmer than average through until mid-March, with a persistent high pressure pattern in the Tasman Sea maintaining a northerly air-stream across South Australia. Many locations had record length heatwaves through the period. For more details see the Special Climate Statement of the event here…

Temperatures returned closer to average through the remainder of the season, but clear skies and persistent high pressures systems still meant warmer than average daytime temperatures, while nights were cool with light winds. This meant that Ceduna and Streaky Bay in the Western Agricultural district had their warmest Autumn's on record.

Mean Autumn maximums were generally 1 to 2°C degree above average. Mean minimum temperatures generally within 1°C degree above average in the west of the state, and within 1°C degree below average in the east, due to persistent high pressure systems producing clear nights with light winds.

The hottest autumn day was 42.7°C recorded at Kyancutta on the 8th March, and Ceduna and Nullarbor on the 9th March. The coldest daily maximum was Mount Crawford on the 27th of April when a maximum of 9.5°C was recorded. The lowest daily minimum temperature recorded was at Yunta on the 29th May when −1.4°C was recorded.

Marree had the warmest Autumn mean maximum temperature of 29.5°C. The lowest mean maximum Autumn temperature was 19.8°C at Robe.

The warmest nights on average across autumn were recorded on Neptune Island with 15.5°C, while the coldest nights on average were recorded at both Coonawarra in the Lower South East and Yongala in the Far North, both averaging 7.9°C for the season.

Some sites had their highest autumn temperature on record.

Some sites had their highest autumn mean daily maximum temperature on record.

See a map of mean maximum temperatures.
See a map of maximum temperature anomalies.

Some sites had their warmest autumn night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record.

Some sites had their highest autumn mean daily minimum temperature on record.

See a map of mean minimum temperatures.
See a map of minimum temperature anomalies.

Further information

South Australian Regional Office
South Australian Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8366 2600
Email climate.sa@bom.gov.au

Extremes

Hottest day
Highest temperature		 42.7°C at Kyancutta on 8 Mar
42.7°C at Ceduna AMO on 9 Mar
42.7°C at Nullarbor on 9 Mar
Warmest days on average
Highest mean daily maximum temperature		 29.5°C at Marree Comparison
Coolest days on average
Lowest mean daily maximum temperature		 19.8°C at Robe Comparison
Coldest day
Lowest daily maximum temperature		 9.5°C at Mount Crawford Fire Tower on 27 Apr
Coldest night
Lowest temperature		 −1.4°C at Yunta Airstrip on 29 May
Coolest nights on average
Lowest mean daily minimum temperature		 7.9°C at Coonawarra
7.9°C at Yongala
Warmest nights on average
Highest mean daily minimum temperature		 15.5°C at Neptune Island
Warmest night
Highest daily minimum temperature		 30.2°C at Adelaide (Kent Town) on 14 Mar
Wettest overall
Highest total rainfall		 295.4 mm at Ashton Marble Hill Orchard
Highest wind gust
 137 km/h at Cape Willoughby on 2 Apr

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Records


Record highest autumn temperature
Highest temperature
in autumn 2008 (°C) 		Previous highest
for autumn		 Years of
record		 Normal for
autumn
Mount Gambier Aero 41.3 on 17 Mar 41.1 on 6 Mar 1986 67 19.5
Neptune Island 34.6 on 13 Mar 32.8 on 2 Mar 1965 47 19.4
Meningie 40.5 on 17 Mar 40.0 on 6 Mar 1986 42 21.3
Maitland 40.1 on 9 Mar 39.7 on 2 Mar 2007 28 22.0


Record highest autumn mean daily maximum temperature
Mean daily maximum
temperature
for autumn 2008 (°C) 		Previous highest
for autumn		 Years of
record		 Normal for
autumn
Ceduna AMO 26.5 25.9 in 2005 67 23.9
Adelaide Airport 23.8 23.6 in 2007 54 22.0
Elliston 24.9 23.6 in 2005 47 21.9
Meningie 23.1 22.9 in 2007 42 21.3
Murray Bridge Comparison 25.6 25.0 in 2005 42 23.2
Adelaide (Kent Town) 24.4 = 24.4 in 2005 32 22.6


Record highest autumn daily minimum temperature
Highest daily minimum
temperature
in autumn 2008 (°C) 		Previous highest
for autumn		 Years of
record		 Normal for
autumn
Kyancutta 27.4 on 14 Mar 26.5 on 11 Mar 1978 79 9.7
Keith 26.1 on 14 Mar 26.0 on 22 Mar 1982 47 9.5
Neptune Island 21.7 on 9 Mar 21.2 on 1 Mar 1989 47 14.8
Eudunda 27.6 on 14 Mar 25.0 on 4 Apr 1986 44 9.8
Price 25.4 on 14 Mar 23.2 on 8 Mar 1983 44 11.4
Murray Bridge Comparison 25.2 on 14 Mar 23.1 on 13 Mar 1985 43 10.4
Meningie 26.1 on 14 Mar 25.0 on 13 Mar 1985 42 10.7
Kimba 25.8 on 14 Mar 25.0 on 13 Mar 1985 41 11.2
Adelaide (Kent Town) 30.2 on 14 Mar 29.7 on 13 Mar 1985 32 12.5
Maitland 27.0 on 17 Mar 26.9 on 2 Mar 2000 28 12.2


Record highest autumn mean daily minimum temperature
Mean daily minimum
temperature
for autumn 2008 (°C) 		Previous highest
for autumn		 Years of
record		 Normal for
autumn
Streaky Bay 14.4 = 14.4 in 2007 81 12.7


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Summaries

Summary statistics for autumn 2008
Maximum temperatures
for autumn
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for autumn
(°C)		 Rainfall
for autumn
(millimetres)
Mean for
autumn
2008		 Diff
from
normal		 Highest for
autumn
2008		 Mean for
autumn
2008		 Diff
from
normal		 Lowest for
autumn
2008		 Total for
autumn
2008		 Normal
for
autumn		 Rank of
autumn
2008		 Fraction of
autumn
normal
Northwest (district 16)
Andamooka 27.8 +0.4 40.2 8 Mar 13.4 −0.7 5.2 28 Apr 1.4 42.8 very low 3%
Coober Pedy Airport 27.6   40.1 8 Mar 14.2   6.9 28 Apr 0
Ernabella 27.4   37.7 16 Mar 12.9   3.2 16 May 18.8
Nonning 26.0 +1.2 40.2 8 Mar 10.7 +0.1 2.7 30 May 18.7 53.2 low 35%
Roxby Downs 27.7   40.1 8 Mar 11.8   2.6 28 Apr 2.6
Tarcoola Aero 27.9   41.7 8 Mar 11.7   3.5 28 May 7.0
Woomera Aerodrome 26.7 +1.2 39.7 13 Mar 13.5 +0.4 4.8 28 Apr 6.4 42.9 very low 15%
Far North (district 17)
Leigh Creek Airport 27.0 +0.8 40.0 7 Mar 12.4 −0.6 2.2 28 Apr 5.2 40.5 very low 13%
Marree Aero 28.9   41.4 8 Mar 13.4   5.2 24 May 1.8
Marree Comparison 29.5 +1.1 41.5 8 Mar 14.0 +0.6 6.0 29 Apr 1.0 38.4 very low 3%
Moomba Airport 28.9   39.3 8 Mar 14.4   6.2 18 May 0.2
Oodnadatta Airport 29.2 +0.7 40.6 8 Mar 14.3 −0.2 6.1 22 May 1.4 36.1 low 4%
Western Agricultural (district 18)
Ceduna AMO 26.5 +2.6 42.7 9 Mar 11.5 +0.7 2.2 21 May 39.2 68.1 normal 58%
Cleve 24.8 +2.3 41.1 9 Mar 13.4 +1.1 6.0 17 May 69.6 89.8 normal 78%
Cleve Aerodrome 24.8   41.3 10 Mar 13.0   6.1 17 May 63.4 83.6 normal 76%
Coulta 23.6   38.7 8 Mar 12.6   5.4 28 May 68.4
Cummins Aero 25.3   42.0 9 Mar 11.4   3.0 28 Mar 68.6
Elliston 24.9 +3.0 39.2 9 Mar 12.9 +0.7 4.0 28 Mar 60.4 94.4 low 64%
Kimba 25.0 +1.2 40.5 8 Mar 12.1 +1.0 5.6 3 Apr 57.0 73.6 normal 77%
Kyancutta 26.9 +1.5 42.7 8 Mar 10.0 +0.3 2.5 28 May 47.6 65.1 normal 73%
Minnipa DPI 25.5   41.5 8 Mar 13.0   6.5 28 May 40.8
Neptune Island 20.4 +1.0 34.6 13 Mar 15.5 +0.7 8.2 27 Apr 91.4 105.8 normal 86%
North Shields 23.3   42.4 9 Mar 12.1   6.9 17 May 66.2
Nullarbor 26.6 +2.4 42.7 9 Mar 11.5 0.0 3.9 28 May 25.0 73.6 low 34%
Port Augusta Aero 27.5   41.8 10 Mar 12.6   3.5 30 May 13.0
Streaky Bay 25.6 +2.0 40.6 9 Mar 14.4 +1.6 8.1 28 May 52.4 83.3 low 63%
Whyalla Aero 25.4 +1.5 41.3 13 Mar 11.5 −0.5 4.0 29 Apr 32.6 61.5 low 53%
Wudinna Aero 26.4   41.8 8 Mar 11.6   2.5 28 May 43.8
Upper North (district 19)
Hawker 25.7 +0.4 39.2 13 Mar 10.6 −0.4 3.4 29 Apr 23.2 66.5 low 35%
Yongala 23.4 +1.3 38.5 10 Mar 7.9 +0.4 0.4 30 May 56.5 75.9 normal 74%
Northeast (district 20)
Gluepot Reserve 25.8   41.3 13 Mar 8.5   0.0 23 May 36.7
Yunta Airstrip 24.8   39.3 12 Mar 8.1   −1.4 29 May 12.6
Lower North (district 21)
Clare High School 22.8   38.7 10 Mar 9.4   1.4 28 Mar 95.4
Port Pirie Aerodrome 25.8   41.3 8 Mar 12.5   5.7 11 May 100.4
Port Pirie Nyrstar Comparison 26.3 +1.5 42.0 8 Mar 14.7 +1.5 8.0 28 Apr 87.0 83.7 normal 104%
Snowtown 25.5   40.8 10 Mar 9.8   2.8 17 Apr 58.0
Yorke Peninsula (district 22A)
Edithburgh 22.3   41.1 13 Mar 12.4   5.7 12 May 71.0
Kadina AWS 25.1   40.8 8 Mar 10.1   3.6 28 Mar 88.0
Maitland 24.0 +1.9 40.1 9 Mar 13.5 +1.3 5.6 27 Apr 125.1 122.2 normal 102%
Minlaton Aero 24.2   41.0 13 Mar 12.3   6.3 29 Apr 55.2
Stenhouse Bay 22.3   41.2 9 Mar 14.0   6.8 27 Apr 88.6
Warooka 23.4 +1.6 38.2 7 Mar 12.9 +0.4 6.2 27 Apr 94.8 103.6 normal 92%
Kangaroo Island (district 22B)
Cape Willoughby 20.1 +1.3 35.3 13 Mar 14.3 +0.2 7.0 27 Apr 84.8 122.5 low 69%
Kingscote Aero 23.3   39.9 17 Mar 8.3   2.1 14 May 73.2
Adelaide Plains (district 23A)
Adelaide 24.4 +1.8 40.5 17 Mar 13.4 +0.8 5.9 29 May 120.8 124.6 normal 97%
Adelaide Airport 23.8 +1.7 40.0 17 Mar 12.6 +0.8 5.8 29 May 82.2 109.8 low 75%
Edinburgh RAAF 24.6 +1.6 40.9 13 Mar 12.4 +0.7 5.6 27 Apr 113.2 97.9 normal 116%
Parafield Airport 24.9 +2.2 40.0 17 Mar 12.1 +0.2 4.3 29 May 102.8 108.2 normal 95%
County Light (district 23B)
Nuriootpa Viticultural 22.9   39.2 16 Mar 9.4   0.9 28 Mar 75.2
Rosedale 24.6 +1.7 41.0 13 Mar 11.3 +0.6 3.0 28 Mar 99.4 109.4 normal 91%
Mount Lofty Ranges (district 23°C)
Hindmarsh Island AWS 22.7   40.6 17 Mar 11.8   5.5 29 May 75.6
Kuitpo Forest Reserve 21.5   37.4 8 Mar 11.9   4.3 27 Apr 117.4
Mount Barker 23.3 +2.8 40.5 8 Mar 8.5 +0.1 2.5 23 May 150.4 177.7 normal 85%
Mount Crawford Fire Tower 20.1   36.9 17 Mar 11.1   2.1 27 Apr 147.6
Noarlunga 23.3   39.5 9 Mar 14.1   6.9 27 Apr 89.8
Parawa 20.0   36.9 9 Mar 11.9   4.5 27 Apr 198.6
Victor Harbor 22.4   40.5 17 Mar 9.9   2.2 24 May 130.9
Upper Murray Valley (district 24A)
Loxton Research Centre 25.1 +1.4 41.0 13 Mar 8.3 −0.6 0.5 30 May 44.4 50.6 normal 88%
Renmark Aero 25.4   41.7 13 Mar 9.1   0.6 29 Apr 43.6
Lower Murray Valley (district 24B)
Eudunda 22.9 +1.6 39.5 10 Mar 10.5 +0.7 3.9 29 Apr 93.6 98.6 normal 95%
Meningie 23.1 +1.8 40.5 17 Mar 10.9 +0.3 2.4 23 May 89.0 113.6 normal 78%
Murray Bridge 24.9   42.1 13 Mar 9.0   1.6 24 May 38.4
Murray Bridge Comparison 25.6 +2.4 42.3 9 Mar 9.9 −0.5 3.7 23 May 56.7 83.6 low 68%
Strathalbyn Racecourse 23.7   40.3 9 Mar 10.7   4.3 23 May 84.0
Murray Mallee (district 25A)
Karoonda 24.6   42.0 13 Mar 9.4   3.0 24 May 50.2 76.6 normal 66%
Upper Southeast (district 25B)
Keith 23.7 +1.1 41.9 13 Mar 10.0 +0.5 1.0 23 May 78.0 106.6 low 73%
Keith 23.9   42.4 13 Mar 8.2   −0.9 28 Mar 65.4
Lameroo 24.1   41.7 13 Mar 9.4   2.7 28 May 54.0
Lameroo Comparison 24.4 +1.4 41.6 13 Mar 10.2 +1.0 2.9 23 May 47.0 85.2 low 55%
Lower Southeast (district 26)
Cape Jaffa 20.9   36.3 9 Mar 10.7   4.4 24 May 108.0
Coonawarra 22.4 +1.4 39.8 13 Mar 7.9 −0.2 −0.1 28 May 102.6 113.2 low 91%
Mount Gambier Aero 21.1 +1.5 41.3 17 Mar 9.4 +0.6 1.7 28 May 120.6 161.2 low 75%
Naracoorte Aerodrome 23.3   42.0 13 Mar 8.8   0.0 28 May 92.4
Padthaway South 22.9   40.1 17 Mar 8.4   0.9 17 Apr 76.8
Robe Airfield 21.1   37.3 13 Mar 9.0   0.3 24 May 114.6
Robe Comparison 19.8 +1.1 33.5 16 Mar 11.8 +0.3 5.7 27 Apr 110.4 146.1 low 76%

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Notes

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 3 pm on Monday 2 June 2008. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

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.
The median is sometimes more representative than the mean of "normal" 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, 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

South Australian Regional Office
South Australian Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8366 2600
Email climate.sa@bom.gov.au