Monday, 3 March 2014 - Seasonal Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC23R0

South Australia in summer 2013-14: Extreme temperatures throughout the season

Summer 2013-2014 saw a series of heatwaves in South Australia, with record high temperatures resulting at several location. Rainfall tended average to above average across the state with a record breaking rainfall event in mid-February.

• Record summer daily rainfall totals for several locations around the State
• Sixth warmest summer on record for South Australia as a whole
• Adelaide has a record 13 days reaching 40 °C or more, 11 of which reached 42 °C or more
• Adelaide has its wettest day in 45 years and 6th wettest day on record, in mid-February

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Summer rainfall tended above average across South Australia as a whole, with western and central agricultral districts seeing rainfall in the highest 10% of 114 years of observations. Area-averaged totals were just 2% above the long term average, and ranked 74th wettest out of 114.

The most significant rainfall event for summer occurred during the middle of February. A complex low pressure system moved the state overnight bringing widespread heavy rain and thunderstorms to most districts, and resulted in several locations observing their highest summer daily rainfall on record. Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills, reported 109.6 mm in the 24 hours to 9 am on 14 February, which was the wettest day during summer for any location in South Australia.

Rainfall totals typically ranged from 40 to 60 mm across the pastoral areas, and 80 to 140 mm across most of the agricultural areas, though some locations across the South-east districts missed some of the rainfall, with lower summer totals of 20 to 40 mm where some sites had their lowest total summer rainfall for at least 20 years.

The wettest location in the state was at Lenswood in the Mount Lofty Ranges where 218.4 mm was recorded for the season. Nundroo on the West Coast and Clare High School both had their highest total summer rainfall on record and some other sites had their highest total summer rainfall for at least 20 years.

Temperature

Despite a mild start and finish to the the season, summer 2013-2014 saw very hot conditions across large parts of the State which produced record hot days at several locations. Maximum temperatures exceeded 40 °C over much of the state on several occasions with some sites observing their highest summer temperature on record. Summer temperatures averaged across the whole of South Australia were then 1.5 °C warmer than average, resulting in the State's sixth warmest summer on record.

Maximum temperature

Daytime temperatures, as reflected in maximum temperatures, were up to 3 °C above average for the month in the eastern districts, but tended to be up to 1 °C cooler than average in the far northwest due to increased cloud.

Several bursts of heat occurred through the season, but a particularly strong heatwave occurred in mid-January. This was in the top 3 or 4 of heatwaves on record for South Australia in terms of intensity, and saw record runs of heat at several locations. This included a record 5 consecutive days of 42 °C or more at Adelaide, and a record 5 consecutive days of 45 °C or more at Port Augusta. In this heat event Adelaide also recorded 45.1 °C, the fourth hottest temperature on record for Adelaide. For more on this heat event see Special Climate Statement 48 .

The hottest location on average for summer 2013/2014 was Marree where the maximum temperatures averaged 39.3 °C for the season. During this summer Marree recorded 49 days of 40 °C or more compared to the average of 27 days, and had 19 of those consecutively through late January and the first half of February. 17 days were 45 °C or more, second highest numbers of days of 45 °C or more after 1973. In contrast, Cape Willoughby on Kangaroo Island was the coolest location for daytime temperatures with maximum temperatures averaging 22.8 °C.

The hottest day was recorded at Moomba Airport on 2 January where the temperature reached 49.3 °C, resulting in the 2nd hottest day ever recorded at that site, and the 5th hottest temperature ever officially recorded in South Australia. Mount Lofty in the Mount Lofty Ranges reached 12 °C on 5 January which was the coolest day for any location in the State during the summer period.

Minimum temperature

Statewide summer minimum temperatures were 1.2 °C above the long term average and rank 94th warmest out of 104 years of observations.

The hottest night recorded in the state was when the minimum temperature at Tarcoola Aerodrome only dropped to 32.6 °C on 20 December. But the warmest nights averaged across the whole season were at Moomba where overnight minimum temperatures averaged 31.1 °C.

The coldest night was recorded at Keith (Munkora) in the south-east where the overnight temperature dropped to 1.5 °C on 24 December, but overall for the season as a whole, the coolest nights were at nearby at Naracoorte which averaged 11.0 °C for overnight minimum temperatures

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Extremes in summer 2013-14
Hottest day	49.3 °C at Moomba Airport on 2 Jan 2014
Warmest days on average	39.3 °C at Marree Comparison
Coolest days on average	22.2 °C at Cape Willoughby
Coldest day	12.0 °C at Mount Lofty on 5 Dec 2013
Coldest night	1.5 °C at Keith (Munkora) on 24 Dec 2013
Coolest nights on average	11.0 °C at Naracoorte Aerodrome
Warmest nights on average	23.5 °C at Moomba Airport
Warmest night	32.6 °C at Tarcoola Aero on 20 Dec 2013
Warmest on average overall	31.1 °C at Moomba Airport
Coolest on average overall	18.1 °C at Robe Airfield 18.1 °C at Robe Comparison
Wettest overall	218.4 mm at Lenswood
Driest overall	7.6 mm at Leawood Gardens (Eagle on The Hill)
Wettest day	109.6 mm at Lenswood on 14 Feb 2014
Highest wind gust	104 km/h at Sellicks Hill (Mount Terrible Radar) on 4 Feb 2014

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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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

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Record highest summer daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall in summer 2013-14 (mm)		Previous wettest for summer		Years of record
Streaky Bay	109.0	on 14 Feb 2014	77.5	on 20 Feb 1938	136
Georgetown	67.2	on 15 Feb 2014	67.0	on 20 Jan 2007	135
Adelaide (Pooraka)	87.8	on 14 Feb 2014	82.8	on 2 Jan 1889	133
Uraidla	84.5	on 14 Feb 2014	77.2	on 26 Dec 1959	125
Spalding	59.4	on 15 Feb 2014	56.1	on 25 Jan 1941	113
Caliph	70.2	on 15 Feb 2014	64.0	on 8 Dec 2010	41
Adelaide (Kent Town)	75.2	on 14 Feb 2014	66.2	on 8 Dec 2010	38
Burnside	77.6	on 14 Feb 2014	67.2	on 8 Dec 2010	38
Blackwood (Wittunga)	63.0	on 14 Feb 2014	54.0	on 8 Dec 2010	36
McLaren Vale (Pirramimma Winery)	38.4	on 14 Feb 2014	33.2	on 8 Dec 2010	22
Clare High School	75.8	on 15 Feb 2014	73.0	on 7 Feb 1997	21
Renmark Aero	79.8	on 15 Feb 2014	77.0	on 8 Dec 2010	20

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Record highest total summer rainfall
	Total rainfall for summer 2013-14 (mm)	Previous wettest for summer		Years of record	Average for summer
Nundroo	147.8	139.4	in 2005	82	43.3
Clare High School	155.2	153.6	in 2010	20	82.9

Highest total summer rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for summer 2013-14 (mm)	Most recent summer at least this wet		Years since wetter	Average for summer
Wirrulla	127.8	141.0	in 1945*	65	42.3
Port Kenny (Mount Cooper)	150.4	154.9	in 1945*	64	49.6
Ungarra	132.0	237.6	in 1966*	40	51.1
Kyancutta	117.9	247.4	in 1992	21	51.2
Streaky Bay	149.2	151.6	in 1992	21	40.0
Adelaide Airport	99.6	136.8	in 1993	20	60.2
Whyalla (Mullaquana)	161.6	204.6	in 1992*	20	57.1

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

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Lowest total summer rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for summer 2013-14 (mm)	Most recent summer at least this dry		Years since drier	Average for summer
Keith	17.4	11.4	in 1984	29	65.7
Wolseley	29.4	26.4	in 1991*	20	68.3

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

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Record highest summer temperature
	Highest temperature in summer 2013-14 (°C)		Previous warmest for summer		Years of record	Average for summer
Mount Gambier Aero	44.9	on 2 Feb 2014	43.6	on 4 Jan 2013	73	24.5
Keith	46.5	on 2 Feb 2014	45.5	on 28 Jan 2009	53	29.1
Neptune Island	36.9	on 16 Jan 2014	36.8	on 8 Feb 1970	53	21.6
Cape Willoughby	42.2	on 14 Jan 2014	41.5	on 23 Jan 1982	47	21.4

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for summer 2013-14
	Maximum temperatures for summer (°C)				Minimum temperatures for summer (°C)				Rainfall for summer (millimetres)
	Mean for summer 2013-14	Diff from average	Highest for summer 2013-14		Mean for summer 2013-14	Diff from average	Lowest for summer 2013-14		Total for summer 2013-14	Average for summer	Rank of summer 2013-14	Fraction of summer average
Northwest (district 16)
Andamooka	36.7	+1.2	46.8	1 Jan 2014	22.1	+1.5	12.5	5 Dec 2013	48.8	61.1	average	80%
Coober Pedy Airport	36.7		47.4	1 Jan 2014	22.0		12.0	5 Dec 2013	39.4	47.5	average	83%
Ernabella (Pukatja)	34.7		42.6	1 Jan 2014			9.9	12 Dec 2013	59.6
Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome)	36.9		47.1	1 Jan 2014	20.8		9.6	6 Dec 2013	24.8
Woomera Aerodrome	35.6	+2.1	46.8	1 Jan 2014	20.3	+1.5	11.0	5 Dec 2013	25.6	49.0	low	52%
Far North (district 17)
Arkaroola	35.0	+1.6	44.9	2 Jan 2014	20.2	+1.2	11.5	5 Dec 2013	106.1	96.9	high	109%
Leigh Creek Airport	36.2	+1.9	45.7	2 Jan 2014	21.3	+1.4	10.6	6 Dec 2013	57.8	72.4	average	80%
Marree Aero	38.2		48.1	2 Jan 2014	22.4		12.9	6 Dec 2013	74.8
Marree Comparison	39.3	+2.4	48.3	2 Jan 2014	22.3	+1.6	12.2	6 Dec 2013	67.9	54.8	high	124%
Moomba Airport	38.8		49.3	2 Jan 2014	23.5		14.0	6 Dec 2013	21.4
Oodnadatta Airport	38.1	+1.2	48.0	1 Jan 2014	23.3	+1.1	13.2	6 Dec 2013	39.6	71.5	average	55%
Western Agricultural (district 18)
Ceduna AMO	29.4	+1.3	46.3	31 Dec 2013	16.2	+1.4	6.4	6 Dec 2013	93.2	46.5	v high	200%
Cleve	28.2	+0.6	43.4	2 Feb 2014	16.7	+1.5	7.1	5 Dec 2013	108.5	64.0	high	170%
Cleve Aerodrome	28.6		44.6	14 Jan 2014	16.0		7.3	5 Dec 2013	90.0	58.9	high	153%
Cummins Aero	30.0		46.2	2 Feb 2014	14.9		5.2	5 Dec 2013	93.0
Elliston	26.7	+1.4	43.4	11 Feb 2014	16.4	+1.0	7.6	24 Dec 2013	75.1	40.5	v high	185%
Kimba	31.5	+0.9	43.0	28 Jan 2014	15.8	+0.6	5.5	5 Dec 2013	94.2	58.1	high	162%
Kyancutta	33.4	+1.3	45.8	19 Dec 2013	15.3	+1.4	5.2	6 Dec 2013	117.9	51.2	v high	230%
Minnipa Pirsa	32.6		44.5	11 Feb 2014	16.1		7.4	5 Dec 2013
Neptune Island	22.4	+0.8	36.9	16 Jan 2014	16.3	+0.4	10.2	5 Dec 2013	86.2	44.1	v high	195%
North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS)	26.4	+0.9	45.1	16 Jan 2014	15.3	0.0	8.1	5 Dec 2013	72.8	49.8	high	146%
Nullarbor	28.2	+0.8	46.1	27 Dec 2013	16.3	+1.0	7.5	24 Dec 2013	119.2	40.6	v high	294%
Port Augusta Aero	34.5		46.2	14 Jan 2014	19.3		10.2	5 Dec 2013	68.0
Streaky Bay	30.2	+1.6	44.0	11 Feb 2014			10.5	6 Dec 2013	149.2	40.0	v high	373%
Whyalla Aero	30.4	+1.1	45.7	14 Jan 2014	17.7	+0.6	9.0	5 Dec 2013	88.3	60.5	high	146%
Wudinna Aero	33.2		46.1	19 Dec 2013	15.2		5.5	6 Dec 2013	116.6
Upper North (district 19)
Hawker	34.6	+1.4	44.0	1 Jan 2014	18.2	+0.9	7.2	6 Dec 2013	111.4	63.6	high	175%
Northeast (district 20)
Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot)	33.6		45.4	14 Jan 2014	15.4		8.3	12 Dec 2013	119.2
Yunta Airstrip	33.6		43.4	12 Feb 2014	16.0		7.4	6 Dec 2013	40.2
Lower North (district 21)
Clare High School	29.8		42.5	2 Feb 2014	14.7		5.7	5 Dec 2013	155.2	82.9	highest	187%
Port Pirie Aerodrome	32.4		44.8	12 Feb 2014	17.1		7.6	5 Dec 2013	113.4
Snowtown (Rayville Park)	32.3		45.5	16 Jan 2014	13.7		4.9	24 Dec 2013	124.8
Yorke Peninsula (district 22A)
Edithburgh	25.6	+0.9	44.5	14 Jan 2014	16.4	+0.2	9.7	5 Jan 2014	87.4	48.2	v high	181%
Kadina AWS	31.1		44.9	14 Jan 2014	15.0		5.9	24 Dec 2013	74.4
Maitland	29.7	+1.6	43.5	14 Jan 2014	16.3	+1.1	8.0	5 Dec 2013	94.8	63.2	high	150%
Minlaton Aero	29.2		44.7	14 Jan 2014	15.5		6.7	15 Dec 2013	81.0
Stenhouse Bay	25.0		44.0	2 Feb 2014	16.4		9.1	5 Dec 2013	67.6
Warooka	27.2	+0.6	42.8	15 Jan 2014	15.8	+0.7	8.8	5 Dec 2013	85.0	49.7	high	171%
Kangaroo Island (district 22B)
Cape Borda	24.5		39.0	15 Jan 2014	14.2		8.2	30 Dec 2013	72.0
Cape Willoughby	22.2	+0.8	42.2	14 Jan 2014	15.8	+0.3	7.0	5 Dec 2013	89.8	59.6	high	151%
Kingscote Aero	26.3		43.8	2 Feb 2014	13.1		5.7	30 Dec 2013	96.8	51.1	high	189%
Parndana Cfs AWS	25.5		42.6	2 Feb 2014	12.9		5.5	5 Dec 2013	128.8
Adelaide Plains (district 23A)
Adelaide (Kent Town)	30.3	+1.7	45.1	14 Jan 2014	17.3	+0.6	8.5	5 Dec 2013	124.0	63.1	v high	197%
Adelaide Airport	28.7	+1.4	43.3	14 Jan 2014	16.4	+0.9	8.7	15 Dec 2013	99.6	60.2	high	165%
Edinburgh RAAF	30.4	+1.1	45.4	16 Jan 2014	16.9	+1.0	8.2	15 Dec 2013	136.8	63.3	v high	216%
Parafield Airport	30.9	+2.0	45.3	16 Jan 2014	16.4	+0.5	8.0	5 Dec 2013	122.6	64.6	v high	190%
Roseworthy AWS	31.7		46.4	16 Jan 2014	14.9		5.3	24 Dec 2013	114.6
County Light (district 23B)
Nuriootpa Viticultural	29.6		42.5	14 Jan 2014	14.1		5.5	6 Jan 2014	139.8
Rosedale (Turretfield Research Centre)	31.0	+1.3	45.2	14 Jan 2014	15.2	+0.5	5.9	24 Dec 2013	148.1	61.4	v high	241%
Mount Lofty Ranges (district 23C)
Kuitpo Forest Reserve	25.8		41.4	14 Jan 2014	14.0		6.0	5 Dec 2013	108.4
Mount Barker	27.5	+1.2	43.0	2 Feb 2014	12.9	+1.5	5.7	24 Dec 2013	135.2	86.4	high	156%
Mount Crawford (Mt Crawford AWS)	27.7		41.6	2 Feb 2014	13.9		4.9	5 Dec 2013	149.0	81.9	v high	182%
Mount Lofty	24.7		38.9	2 Feb 2014	13.0		3.9	5 Dec 2013	164.4
Noarlunga	28.3		43.4	2 Feb 2014	16.9		8.8	5 Dec 2013	80.0
Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS)	24.1		40.9	14 Jan 2014	13.7		6.4	5 Dec 2013	107.2	91.0	high	118%
Victor Harbor (Encounter Bay)	24.9		44.3	14 Jan 2014	14.0		6.5	30 Dec 2013	87.6
Upper Murray Valley (district 24A)
Loxton Research Centre	32.4	+1.5	44.6	14 Jan 2014	14.9	+0.9	8.2	5 Dec 2013	134.1	63.6	v high	211%
Renmark Aero	33.5		45.7	14 Jan 2014	15.9		8.3	5 Dec 2013	130.0
Lower Murray Valley (district 24B)
Eudunda	29.9	+1.5	42.0	1 Feb 2014	14.7	+1.2	5.8	5 Dec 2013	134.6	70.8	v high	190%
Meningie	26.7	+1.1	44.2	2 Feb 2014	13.9	+0.3	7.0	31 Dec 2013	77.8	59.2	high	131%
Murray Bridge (Pallamana Aerodrome)	29.8		46.3	14 Jan 2014	13.6		4.9	24 Dec 2013	129.2
Murray Bridge Comparison	29.9	+1.2	46.0	2 Feb 2014	14.7	+0.6	7.2	6 Dec 2013	109.4	58.8	high	186%
Strathalbyn Racecourse	27.4		44.9	16 Jan 2014	14.5		8.0	31 Dec 2013	89.4
Murray Mallee (district 25A)
Karoonda	31.4		45.5	2 Feb 2014	14.1		6.8	24 Dec 2013	122.1	62.5	v high	195%
Upper Southeast (district 25B)
Keith	30.5	+1.4	46.5	2 Feb 2014	13.2	+0.5	6.0	24 Dec 2013	17.4	65.7	v low	26%
Keith (Munkora)	31.3		47.2	14 Jan 2014	11.7		1.5	24 Dec 2013	35.0
Lameroo (Austin Plains)	32.0		46.2	14 Jan 2014	13.4		5.4	29 Dec 2013	43.0
Lameroo Comparison	31.5	+1.4	45.5	15 Jan 2014	14.6	+1.6	7.7	5 Dec 2013	47.3	66.2	average	71%
Lower Southeast (district 26)
Cape Jaffa (The Limestone)	24.1	+0.1	41.0	16 Jan 2014	13.3	+0.1	6.8	17 Dec 2013	67.2	58.7	high	114%
Coonawarra	27.9	+1.4	43.6	2 Feb 2014	11.2	+0.1	2.1	30 Dec 2013	45.7	86.2	low	53%
Mount Gambier Aero	26.4	+1.9	44.9	2 Feb 2014	11.5	+0.6	3.0	30 Dec 2013	81.8	91.7	average	89%
Naracoorte Aerodrome	29.7		45.8	14 Jan 2014	11.0		1.7	30 Dec 2013	56.8
Padthaway South	29.1		44.6	14 Jan 2014	11.7		4.2	24 Dec 2013	41.6
Robe Airfield	24.1		41.7	2 Feb 2014	12.2		3.6	31 Dec 2013	89.0
Robe Comparison	22.7	+0.6	37.2	17 Jan 2014	13.5	+0.2	8.2	31 Dec 2013	81.8	66.9	high	122%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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