Thursday, 3 September 2009 - Seasonal Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC23R0

South Australia in winter 2009
Record warmest despite near average rainfall.

Summary

  • Winter 2009 has been the warmest for South Australia since area averaged temperature records start in 1950.
  • The longer individual station temperature observations at Marree saw record warmest Winter, ( and August ) temperatures since records began at this location in 1898.
  • Rainfall was generally near average, apart from the far north of that state tending below average, and Eyre and Yorke Peninsula's and Kangaroo Island tending above average.
  • Both Growing season and Year to date rainfall are tracking near average across most of the state, apart from the north-eastern areas which are tending below average.

An archive of previous seasonal summaries for South Australia is also available, as are summaries for other states and many other climate summaries and diagnostics.

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Rainfall

Generally near average around the state, apart from tending below average in the central and northern pastoral areas, and tending above average over Eyre Peninsula, central and lower Yorke Peninsula, and Kangaroo Island. The pattern of rainfall through the season was focussed on late June through July, with the start and finish of the season tending below average.

Growing season rainfall (April to October ) across the state is near average so far, with some parts of the Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island tending above average, and the north and north-east of the state tending below average. Year to date rainfall is generally near average apart from tending below average across pastoral areas in the north of the state, and in the eastern districts.

Pastoral Districts

Rainfall in winter 2009 was generally below average in pastoral areas, particularly across the eastern and northern pastoral districts. Rainfall totals were patchy but typically from 15 to 30 mm, with some locations recording very much larger totals in isolated thunderstorm events. Yardea recorded 148 mm and Hiltaba 127 mm for example, as the highest winter totals in the pastoral areas.

Agricultural Districts

Rainfall totals were generally near average, with the Eyre Peninsula, lower Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island much of the Mount Lofty Ranges tending above average.

Rainfall totals were typically 80 to 150 mm across northern and western agricultural areas, with totals reaching 150 to 300 mm around western Eyre Peninsula, lower Yorke Peninsula and the Southeast, with higher totals of 250 to 350 mm generally on Kangaroo Island the Mount Lofty Ranges and the lower Southeast. The highest total for the state was 546.3 mm in the Adelaide Hills at Piccadilly.

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

Temperature

Widespread above average temperatures were seen this winter, particularly in August, and through central and northern South Australia. Both maximum and minimum temperatures were within 1°C of average in the south but up to 3 to 4°C above average in the north of the state. Winter 2009 is the warmest winter for South Australia as a whole, looking across the area averaged temperature record, which is available back to 1950. There are few stations recording temperature in South Australia prior to that time, though Marree in the pastoral districts has a temperature record back to 1898, and winter 2009, as well as August 2009, are the warmest across that record for that location, giving some indication that the warm conditions this winter may be unusual looking back prior to 1950.

The hottest winter day was 35.3°C recorded at Oodnadatta Airport on the 15th August. The coldest daily maximum was at Mount Crawford on the 14th July when 8.2°C was recorded. The lowest overnight winter minimum temperature recorded was at Yunta Airstrip on the 7th July when −4.7°C was recorded.

Oodnadatta Airport had the warmest winter mean maximum temperature of 22.5°C. The lowest mean maximum winter temperature was 12.2°C at Mount Crawford in the Adelaide Hills.

The warmest nights on average across winter were recorded on Neptune Island with 12.3°C, while the coldest nights on average were recorded at Yongala in the Northeast Pastoral district averaging 4.1°C for the season.

Some sites had their highest winter temperature on record.

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

Some sites had their highest winter 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		 35.3°C at Oodnadatta Airport on 15 Aug
Warmest days on average
Highest mean daily maximum temperature		 22.5°C at Oodnadatta Airport
Coolest days on average
Lowest mean daily maximum temperature		 12.2°C at Mount Crawford Fire Tower
Coldest day
Lowest daily maximum temperature		 8.2°C at Mount Crawford Fire Tower on 14 Jul
Coldest night
Lowest temperature		 −4.7°C at Yunta Airstrip on 7 Jul
Coolest nights on average
Lowest mean daily minimum temperature		 4.1°C at Yongala
Warmest nights on average
Highest mean daily minimum temperature		 12.3°C at Neptune Island
Warmest night
Highest daily minimum temperature		 21.5°C at Moomba Airport on 29 Aug
Wettest overall
Highest total rainfall		 546.3 mm at Piccadilly (Woodhouse)
Highest wind gust
 115 km/h at Whyalla Aero on 30 Jun

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Records

Record highest winter temperature
Highest temperature
in winter 2009 (°C) 		Previous highest
for winter		 Years of
record		 Average for
winter
Hawker 30.0 on 15 Aug = 30.0 on 30 Aug 2007 36 16.7


Record highest winter mean daily maximum temperature
Mean daily maximum
temperature
for winter 2009 (°C) 		Previous highest
for winter		 Years of
record		 Average for
winter
Marree Comparison 22.0 = 22.0 in 2002 68 20.0
Oodnadatta Airport 22.5 22.3 in 2002 59 20.5
Neptune Island 16.3 16.2 in 1994 47 15.5
Arkaroola 19.3 19.2 in 2002 31 17.4
Loxton Research Centre 17.9 17.6 in 2002 25 16.5


Record highest winter daily minimum temperature
Highest daily minimum
temperature
in winter 2009 (°C) 		Previous highest
for winter		 Years of
record		 Average for
winter
Whyalla Aero 15.9 on 21 Aug = 15.9 on 10 Jun 2005 25 5.7


Record highest winter mean daily minimum temperature
Mean daily minimum
temperature
for winter 2009 (°C) 		Previous highest
for winter		 Years of
record		 Average for
winter
Port Pirie Nyrstar Comparison 9.7 9.5 in 1996 86 8.1
Ceduna AMO 7.9 7.7 in 1991 67 6.1
Cleve 8.7 8.6 in 2005 66 7.5
Elliston 9.6 9.4 in 1991 47 8.2
Kimba 6.8 6.5 in 2005 41 5.4
Andamooka 8.1 = 8.1 in 1973 39 6.6
Nonning 6.0 5.8 in 1991 38 4.3
Hawker 6.4 5.4 in 1991 35 4.1
Arkaroola 6.1 5.4 in 1996 31 4.1
Maitland 8.6 8.4 in 2005 28 7.3
Leigh Creek Airport 7.0 6.9 in 1995 25 5.4


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Summaries

In this table, key sites have been highlighted to make them easier to find. This table is very wide and may not fit if printed.

Summary statistics for winter 2009
Maximum temperatures
for winter
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for winter
(°C)		 Rainfall
for winter
(millimetres)
Mean for
winter
2009		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
winter
2009		 Mean for
winter
2009		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
winter
2009		 Total for
winter
2009		 Average
for
winter		 Rank of
winter
2009		 Fraction of
winter
average
Northwest (district 16)
Andamooka 20.6 +1.4 31.5 15 Aug 8.1 +1.4 1.8 9 Jul 30.2 41.3 average 73%
Coober Pedy Airport 20.7   33.2 15 Aug 8.2   2.6 23 Jun 8.0
Ernabella 20.6   31.9 28 Aug 6.9   −0.8 23 Jul 13.6
Nonning 17.9 +0.8 29.0 15 Aug 6.0 +1.7 −1.0 24 Jul 92.5 77.8 average 119%
Roxby Downs 20.0   30.9 15 Aug 7.5   0.8 8 Aug 18.2
Tarcoola Aero 20.5   33.5 15 Aug 7.3   0.9 21 Jun 37.2
Woomera Aerodrome 19.2 +1.5 30.3 15 Aug 7.7 +1.3 3.7 24 Jul 31.0 44.8 average 69%
Far North (district 17)
Arkaroola 19.3 +1.9 29.1 15 Aug 6.1 +2.0 −1.3 24 Jul 18.6 44.3 low 42%
Leigh Creek Airport 18.8 +1.3 29.5 15 Aug 7.0 +1.6 1.2 24 Jul 31.4 50.7 low 62%
Marree Aero 21.4   33.1 15 Aug 7.1   1.7 9 Jul 9.8
Marree Comparison 22.0 +2.0 33.2 15 Aug 7.4 +1.7 1.6 8 Jul 8.2 32.7 low 25%
Moomba Airport 22.2   34.6 22 Aug 8.7   2.1 25 Jul 1.8
Oodnadatta Airport 22.5 +2.0 35.3 15 Aug 8.8 +2.3 3.0 31 Aug 1.8 30.3 low 6%
Western Agricultural (district 18)
Ceduna AMO 19.2 +1.1 31.2 20 Aug 7.9 +1.8 1.0 1 Jun 118.0 109.7 average 108%
Cleve 17.0 +1.1 27.6 15 Aug 8.7 +1.2 4.5 23 Jul 169.8 140.6 high 121%
Cleve Aerodrome 16.9   27.1 15 Aug 8.6   3.5 8 Aug 132.4 130.8 average 101%
Coulta 16.5   23.1 14 Aug 8.8   4.5 25 Jul 252.2
Cummins Aero 16.7   23.7 15 Aug 6.5   0.0 8 Aug 276.0
Elliston 17.9 +1.1 24.6 14 Aug 9.6 +1.4 3.5 17 Jun 287.7 202.5 very high 142%
Kimba 16.6 +0.4 28.0 15 Aug 6.8 +1.4 2.2 24 Jul 150.2 123.3 high 122%
Kyancutta 18.1 +0.3 28.6 15 Aug 6.7 +1.7 −0.2 8 Aug 159.5 118.4 high 135%
Minnipa DPI 16.9   26.8 15 Aug 7.7   2.7 23 Jul 177.8
Neptune Island 16.3 +0.8 22.0 20 Jul 12.3 +0.8 8.5 25 Aug 246.6 206.5 high 119%
North Shields 17.2   24.3 15 Aug 8.3   3.2 8 Aug 225.6
Nullarbor 19.6 +0.7 30.8 20 Aug 7.0 +1.3 1.5 1 Jun 72.0 81.8 average 88%
Port Augusta Aero 19.4   31.6 15 Aug 7.3   0.2 24 Jul 59.4
Streaky Bay 18.2 +1.1 25.6 16 Aug 10.3 +1.5 2.0 6 Jun 290.8 174.0 very high 167%
Whyalla Aero 18.9 +1.4 31.3 15 Aug 7.3 +1.7 0.3 8 Aug 85.0 69.3 high 123%
Wudinna Aero 17.8   28.1 15 Aug 7.2   1.1 7 Aug 161.2
Upper North (district 19)
Hawker 17.2 +0.5 30.0 15 Aug 6.4 +2.3 0.8 24 Jul 70.3 104.0 low 68%
Yongala 14.2 +0.6 25.8 15 Aug 4.1 +1.6 −3.3 24 Jul 114.7 122.5 average 94%
Northeast (district 20)
Gluepot Reserve 18.5   30.2 15 Aug 5.5   −4.5 7 Jul 62.9
Yunta Airstrip 17.0   27.1 15 Aug 5.5   −4.7 7 Jul 40.6
Lower North (district 21)
Clare High School 14.0   23.6 15 Aug 5.7   −0.6 24 Jul 197.2
Port Pirie Aerodrome 17.8   27.6 15 Aug 7.2   −0.5 8 Aug 130.8
Port Pirie Nyrstar Comparison 18.2 +1.0 27.0 15 Aug 9.7 +1.6 1.0 27 Aug 139.1 109.6 high 127%
Snowtown 16.4   25.4 15 Aug 5.7   −1.6 8 Aug 146.0
Yorke Peninsula (district 22A)
Edithburgh 15.9   23.9 15 Aug 7.8   1.4 8 Aug 177.8
Kadina AWS 16.9   26.5 15 Aug 6.4   −1.3 8 Aug 122.6
Maitland 15.8 +0.8 25.2 15 Aug 8.6 +1.3 4.2 7 Jul 230.0 195.8 high 117%
Minlaton Aero 16.5   24.5 15 Aug 8.1   1.6 7 Jul 197.8
Stenhouse Bay 16.5   23.3 15 Aug 10.0   4.3 8 Aug 241.6
Warooka 16.1 +0.6 20.4 28 Aug 8.8 +0.9 4.0 8 Jul 273.4 190.0 very high 144%
Kangaroo Island (district 22B)
Cape Borda 15.1   19.4 15 Aug 10.3   6.4 7 Jul 317.1
Cape Willoughby 15.3 +0.8 20.6 15 Aug 10.8 +0.8 6.6 25 Aug 253.0 230.7 average 110%
Kingscote Aero 16.6   22.3 15 Aug 6.9   −0.9 8 Aug 244.4
Adelaide Plains (district 23A)
Adelaide 16.8 +0.8 26.7 15 Aug 9.0 +1.1 2.9 7 Jul 216.8 222.4 average 98%
Adelaide Airport 16.5 +0.9 26.6 15 Aug 8.4 +1.1 1.8 7 Jul 139.0 164.8 average 84%
Edinburgh RAAF 16.5 +0.6 26.1 15 Aug 7.2 +0.8 −0.1 7 Jul 172.0 156.4 average 110%
Parafield Airport 16.7 +1.0 26.2 15 Aug 7.4 +0.7 0.1 7 Jul 199.4 166.7 high 120%
Roseworthy AWS 16.5   27.4 15 Aug 6.8   −0.7 7 Jul 154.0
County Light (district 23B)
Nuriootpa Viticultural 14.6   24.8 15 Aug 6.1   −0.3 8 Aug 202.2
Rosedale 16.1 +0.8 25.5 15 Aug 6.3 +0.5 −0.9 7 Jul 203.5 172.6 high 118%
Mount Lofty Ranges (district 23°C)
Hindmarsh Island AWS 16.4   27.7 15 Aug 8.4   2.5 9 Jul 150.2
Kuitpo Forest Reserve 13.6   23.4 15 Aug 7.6   3.5 11 Jun 231.6
Mount Barker 15.0 +1.4 24.4 15 Aug 6.1 +1.3 −0.5 8 Aug 382.5 307.9 high 124%
Mount Crawford Fire Tower 12.2   22.0 15 Aug 6.9   2.1 6 Jul 315.8
Noarlunga 16.0   24.7 15 Aug 9.6   4.4 7 Jul 202.2
Parawa 12.9   20.2 15 Aug 7.9   3.3 7 Jul 405.8
Victor Harbor 16.5   26.4 15 Aug 7.3   −0.1 9 Jul 248.0
Upper Murray Valley (district 24A)
Loxton Research Centre 17.9 +1.4 29.4 15 Aug 5.4 +1.2 −2.9 8 Aug 61.4 81.9 low 75%
Renmark Aero 18.1   30.0 15 Aug 5.5   −4.3 8 Jul 58.0
Lower Murray Valley (district 24B)
Eudunda 14.4 +0.6 25.1 15 Aug 6.4 +1.1 0.7 7 Jul 167.0 159.1 average 105%
Meningie 16.2 +0.7 23.0 15 Aug 8.0 +1.0 2.3 8 Jul 193.0 179.4 average 108%
Murray Bridge 16.9   28.6 15 Aug 5.1   −2.8 8 Aug 107.2
Murray Bridge Comparison 17.7 +0.9 29.0 15 Aug 6.1 +0.4 −0.5 8 Aug 124.8 110.0 high 113%
Strathalbyn Racecourse 16.3   26.0 15 Aug 7.4   1.9 8 Aug 207.6
Murray Mallee (district 25A)
Karoonda 17.1   29.8 15 Aug 5.7   −1.0 8 Aug 99.7 107.9 average 92%
Upper Southeast (district 25B)
Keith 16.3 +0.7 26.2 15 Aug 6.9 +1.1 0.9 17 Jun 211.8 165.4 high 128%
Keith 16.0   25.5 15 Aug 6.0   0.5 17 Jun 198.0
Lameroo 16.0   27.0 15 Aug 5.2   −0.6 8 Aug 94.2
Lameroo Comparison 16.7 +1.1 28.2 15 Aug 5.9 +1.2 1.1 8 Aug 99.8 126.5 average 79%
Lower Southeast (district 26)
Cape Jaffa 14.7   20.1 15 Aug 8.2   1.5 8 Jul 316.8
Coonawarra 15.0 +0.6 23.0 15 Aug 6.0 +0.8 −0.7 17 Jun 248.9 231.9 average 107%
Mount Gambier Aero 14.3 +0.6 21.7 15 Aug 6.4 +0.9 −0.5 17 Jul 354.6 276.6 high 128%
Naracoorte Aerodrome 15.1   22.9 15 Aug 6.3   −0.5 7 Jul 227.2
Padthaway South 15.4   20.4 6 Aug 6.6   0.0 17 Jun 239.0
Robe Airfield 15.3   22.7 15 Aug 7.3   0.0 7 Jul 345.4
Robe Comparison 14.5 +0.4 19.3 15 Aug 9.3 +0.9 4.2 16 Jun 338.2 285.5 high 118%

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Notes

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 8 am on Thursday 3 September 2009. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

Averages 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 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.

Further information

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