Monday, 1 June 2020 - Seasonal Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC23R0
South Australia in autumn 2020: Average rainfall, cooler days in the east
Autumn 2020 was the coolest for South Australia as a whole since 2015. Daytime temperatures tended to be below average for the central and eastern districts but above average in the far Northwest of the State. Rainfall was above average for parts of the east, including the Riverland and far Northeast districts, but below average across central and Northwest Pastoral areas.
Rainfall above average in parts of the east
- Autumn rainfall was near average in most Agricultural areas but above average across some eastern Agricultural districts and the far Northeast of the State
- Heavy rainfall from ex-tropical cyclone Esther in the North East Pastoral district resulted in the wettest March since at least 2012 in the northeastern areas of the State
- It was the wettest autumn since 2016 for the State as whole, although 18.5% below the long-term average
- Some sites had their highest total autumn rainfall for at least 20 years
- Much of the central and Northwest Pastoral areas received around 40-60% of their average autumn rainfall
Cooler days in the east
- State-wide, autumn maximum temperature was 0.13 °C above long-term average, though the coolest since 2015
- Some sites had their lowest autumn mean daily maximum temperature on record or their lowest autumn mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years
- Minimum temperatures were slightly below average and the lowest since 2015
- Edithburgh on the Yorke Peninsula recorded its lowest autumn mean daily minimum temperature on record
- Autumn mean temperature was just above the long-term average, but the coolest since 2015
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Extremes in autumn 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day |
40.9 °C at Moomba Airport on 1 Mar |
| Warmest days on average |
28.6 °C at Oodnadatta Airport |
| Coolest days on average |
16.0 °C at Mount Lofty |
| Coldest day |
8.2 °C at Mount Lofty on 24 May |
| Coldest night |
-3.3 °C at Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot) on 16 May |
| Coolest nights on average |
8.2 °C at Coonawarra and at Keith (Munkora) |
| Warmest nights on average |
15.0 °C at Moomba Airport |
| Warmest night |
26.8 °C at Oodnadatta Airport on 12 Mar |
| Warmest on average overall |
21.6 °C at Oodnadatta Airport |
| Coolest on average overall |
12.4 °C at Mount Lofty |
| Wettest overall |
313.1 mm at Piccadilly (Woodhouse) |
| Wettest day |
65.5 mm at Innamincka Station on 4 Mar |
| Strongest wind gust |
107 km/h at Neptune Island on 31 May |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Maps | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Observed | Anomaly | Decile rank | |
| Total rainfall |
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| Mean daily maximum temperatures |
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| Mean daily minimum temperatures |
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Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window
| Highest autumn total rainfall for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (mm) |
Most recent higher |
Average for autumn |
|||
| Tailem Bend | 144.3 | 158.2 | in 1985 | 88.8 | |
| Yorketown | 131.8 | 183.6 | in 1992 | 95.8 | |
| Warooka | 155.3 | 220.6 | in 1992* | 103.4 | |
| Cooke Plains | 120.6 | 126.8 | in 1992* | 87.8 | |
| Stansbury | 121.0 | 159.8 | in 1992* | 92.2 | |
* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported
| Record lowest autumn mean daily maximum temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for autumn |
||
| Renmark Aero | 23.0 | = 23.0 | in 2011 | 24 | 24.6 |
| Lowest autumn mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (°C) |
Most recent lower |
Average for autumn |
|||
| Loxton Research Centre | 22.6 | 21.6 | in 1995 | 24.0 | |
| Moomba Airport | 27.6 | 27.5 | in 1996 | 29.2 | |
| Record lowest autumn mean daily minimum temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for autumn |
||
| Edithburgh | 12.0 | 12.4 | in 2008 | 27 | 13.2 |
| Record lowest autumn mean temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for autumn |
||
| Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot) | 16.1 | = 16.1 | in 2015 | 20 | 17.1 |
| Lowest autumn mean temperature for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (°C) |
Most recent lower |
Average for autumn |
|||
| Clare High School | 14.3 | 13.5 | in 1995 | 15.5 | |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for autumn 2020 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for autumn 2020 |
Diff from average |
Highest for autumn 2020 |
Mean for autumn 2020 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for autumn 2020 |
Total for autumn 2020 |
Average for autumn |
Rank of autumn 2020 |
Fraction of autumn average |
|||
| Northwest (district 16) | ||||||||||||
| Andamooka | 26.5 | -0.9 | 38.0 | 19 Mar | 13.5 | -0.7 | 4.2 | 16 May | 15.7 | 45.0 | low | 35% |
| Coober Pedy Airport | 26.4 | -0.7 | 38.6 | 18 Mar | 13.7 | -0.6 | 2.9 | 23 May | 57.4 | 34.7 | high | 165% |
| Ernabella (Pukatja) | 27.6 | +0.8 | 37.9 | 13 Mar | 13.9 | +0.8 | 0.0 | 23 May | 16.0 | 54.9 | low | 29% |
| Mount Ive | 24.2 | 38.0 | 19 Mar | 3.5 | 17 May | 43.9 | 53.4 | average | 82% | |||
| Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome) | 26.2 | -1.1 | 37.8 | 19 Mar | 11.6 | -1.2 | -0.3 | 25 May | 16.2 | 32.0 | low | 51% |
| Tarcoola Aero | 26.2 | -1.0 | 40.3 | 19 Mar | 11.9 | -0.3 | 0.6 | 17 May | 46.0 | 40.7 | average | 113% |
| Woomera Aerodrome | 25.1 | -0.5 | 38.1 | 19 Mar | 12.6 | -0.6 | 3.3 | 25 May | 18.8 | 42.4 | average | 44% |
| Far North (district 17) | ||||||||||||
| Leigh Creek Airport | 25.5 | -0.9 | 36.9 | 1 Mar | 12.2 | -0.9 | 2.2 | 15 May | 9.6 | 48.7 | low | 20% |
| Marree Aero | 27.6 | -1.1 | 39.3 | 1 Mar | 12.9 | -1.2 | 1.8 | 25 May | 14.0 | 25.8 | average | 54% |
| Moomba Airport | 27.6 | -1.6 | 40.9 | 1 Mar | 15.0 | -0.7 | 3.1 | 26 May | 80.4 | 42.0 | high | 191% |
| Oodnadatta Airport | 28.6 | 0.0 | 40.2 | 13 Mar | 14.5 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 25 May | 57.0 | 37.4 | high | 152% |
| Western Agricultural (district 18) | ||||||||||||
| Ceduna AMO | 23.7 | -0.3 | 40.6 | 18 Mar | 11.5 | +0.6 | 2.6 | 17 May | 64.0 | 68.2 | average | 94% |
| Cleve | 21.8 | -0.8 | 37.4 | 18 Mar | 12.1 | -0.3 | 5.7 | 15 May | 83.8 | 90.9 | average | 92% |
| Cleve Aerodrome | 21.8 | -1.1 | 37.4 | 18 Mar | 12.1 | -0.4 | 4.6 | 15 May | 67.0 | 83.7 | average | 80% |
| Coffin Bay (Point Avoid) | 20.5 | 32.5 | 17 Mar | 12.7 | 6.4 | 15 May | 127.6 | |||||
| Cultana (Defence) | 23.8 | 37.6 | 19 Mar | 12.0 | 5.4 | 20 May | 48.2 | |||||
| Cummins Aero | 22.5 | -1.2 | 36.5 | 17 Mar | 9.8 | -1.2 | 1.2 | 17 May | 100.4 | 91.6 | average | 110% |
| Elliston | 22.3 | +0.2 | 37.0 | 17 Mar | 12.1 | -0.2 | 4.1 | 25 May | 97.8 | 94.4 | average | 104% |
| Kyancutta | 24.7 | -0.8 | 39.3 | 18 Mar | 9.7 | -0.1 | 0.3 | 15 May | 59.9 | 65.2 | average | 92% |
| Minnipa PIRSA | 23.2 | -1.6 | 37.8 | 18 Mar | 11.8 | -0.3 | 4.6 | 25 May | 73.2 | 63.1 | average | 116% |
| North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS) | 21.6 | -0.5 | 35.9 | 17 Mar | 11.9 | -0.6 | 3.8 | 17 May | 135.0 | 82.6 | v high | 163% |
| Nullarbor | 24.3 | 0.0 | 40.2 | 17 Mar | 11.6 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 29 May | 65.0 | 73.2 | average | 89% |
| Port Augusta Aero | 24.8 | -1.6 | 38.7 | 19 Mar | 11.9 | -0.9 | 1.8 | 25 May | 40.8 | 51.3 | average | 80% |
| Whyalla Aero | 23.3 | -0.7 | 37.3 | 19 Mar | 11.4 | -0.8 | 0.6 | 16 May | ||||
| Wudinna Aero | 24.1 | -1.3 | 38.9 | 18 Mar | 10.5 | -0.2 | 0.1 | 17 May | 60.6 | 56.9 | average | 107% |
| Upper North (district 19) | ||||||||||||
| Hawker | 24.1 | -1.1 | 35.0 | 19 Mar | 11.1 | 0.0 | 2.2 | 29 May | 34.8 | 66.5 | average | 52% |
| Yongala | 20.8 | -1.3 | 33.5 | 19 Mar | -1.0 | 15 May | 77.8 | 76.4 | average | 102% | ||
| Northeast (district 20) | ||||||||||||
| Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot) | 23.7 | -1.4 | 38.5 | 19 Mar | 8.5 | -0.6 | -3.3 | 16 May | 62.2 | 52.4 | average | 119% |
| Yunta Airstrip | 23.0 | -1.4 | 36.8 | 19 Mar | 9.2 | -0.1 | -2.2 | 16 May | 23.8 | 32.6 | average | 73% |
| Lower North (district 21) | ||||||||||||
| Clare High School | 20.2 | -1.5 | 34.4 | 18 Mar | 8.4 | -0.9 | -0.8 | 16 May | 116.6 | 116.7 | average | 100% |
| Port Pirie Aerodrome AWS | 23.9 | 37.0 | 18 Mar | 11.2 | 2.3 | 15 May | 114.2 | |||||
| Snowtown (Rayville Park) | 23.1 | -1.4 | 36.8 | 18 Mar | 9.2 | -0.5 | -0.2 | 16 May | 78.8 | 79.5 | average | 99% |
| Yorke Peninsula (district 22A) | ||||||||||||
| Edithburgh | 20.7 | -0.4 | 33.4 | 17 Mar | 12.0 | -1.2 | 3.8 | 16 May | 120.6 | 87.5 | high | 138% |
| Minlaton Aero | 21.7 | -1.5 | 34.3 | 18 Mar | 11.2 | -0.8 | 3.7 | 21 May | 124.6 | 83.3 | v high | 150% |
| Warooka | 20.9 | -1.0 | 31.5 | 11 Mar | 12.1 | -0.5 | 6.5 | 20 May | 155.3 | 103.4 | high | 150% |
| Kangaroo Island (district 22B) | ||||||||||||
| Cape Borda | 18.7 | -1.1 | 28.6 | 18 Mar | 12.5 | 0.0 | 6.8 | 14 May | 123.0 | 132.5 | average | 93% |
| Cape Willoughby | 18.6 | -0.4 | 28.5 | 12 Mar | 13.7 | -0.5 | 8.6 | 20 May | 150.7 | 122.1 | high | 123% |
| Kingscote Aero | 20.8 | -0.8 | 35.2 | 18 Mar | 9.5 | +0.1 | 0.8 | 16 May | 106.6 | 99.5 | average | 107% |
| Parndana CFS AWS | 19.4 | 34.4 | 18 Mar | 10.5 | 4.5 | 14 May | 136.6 | |||||
| Adelaide Plains (district 23A) | ||||||||||||
| Adelaide (Kent Town) | 21.8 | -1.0 | 35.0 | 18 Mar | 12.2 | -0.5 | 3.5 | 16 May | 152.2 | 126.8 | high | 120% |
| Adelaide (West Terrace / ngayirdapira) | 21.5 | -0.8 | 34.1 | 18 Mar | 12.5 | -0.3 | 4.3 | 16 May | 144.2 | 135.9 | average | 106% |
| Adelaide Airport | 21.1 | -1.0 | 34.4 | 18 Mar | 12.3 | +0.3 | 3.2 | 16 May | 125.4 | 109.4 | average | 115% |
| Edinburgh RAAF | 21.9 | -1.2 | 34.9 | 18 Mar | 11.8 | -0.1 | 3.0 | 16 May | 137.8 | 100.1 | high | 138% |
| Parafield Airport | 22.4 | -0.5 | 35.0 | 18 Mar | 11.0 | -0.9 | 1.4 | 16 May | 134.0 | 108.6 | high | 123% |
| Roseworthy AWS | 22.7 | -1.4 | 36.9 | 18 Mar | 10.4 | -0.3 | 3.9 | 15 May | 95.4 | 87.4 | average | 109% |
| County Light (district 23B) | ||||||||||||
| Nuriootpa PIRSA | 20.7 | -1.1 | 35.3 | 18 Mar | 8.7 | -0.7 | -0.5 | 16 May | 136.8 | 111.9 | high | 122% |
| Mount Lofty Ranges (district 23C) | ||||||||||||
| Hindmarsh Island AWS | 20.5 | -1.0 | 33.2 | 17 Mar | 11.8 | -0.7 | 4.8 | 17 May | 158.0 | 88.4 | high | 179% |
| Kuitpo Forest Reserve | 18.3 | -1.5 | 32.5 | 18 Mar | 10.3 | -0.9 | 5.5 | 25 May | 217.2 | 177.3 | high | 123% |
| Mount Barker | 20.0 | -0.6 | 32.4 | 11 Mar | 8.9 | +0.3 | 1.0 | 15 May | 193.4 | 176.4 | average | 110% |
| Mount Crawford AWS | 18.1 | -1.2 | 31.3 | 11 Mar | 9.7 | -0.8 | 4.2 | 25 May | 175.8 | 141.8 | high | 124% |
| Mount Lofty | 16.0 | 0.0 | 28.7 | 18 Mar | 8.8 | -0.9 | 2.8 | 25 May | 246.6 | 233.4 | average | 106% |
| Noarlunga | 20.8 | -1.4 | 34.3 | 18 Mar | 12.9 | -0.8 | 6.8 | 26 May | 151.2 | 107.8 | v high | 140% |
| Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS) | 17.0 | -1.2 | 29.9 | 18 Mar | 10.7 | -0.6 | 5.6 | 16 May | 226.6 | 190.4 | high | 119% |
| Victor Harbor (Encounter Bay) | 20.4 | -0.9 | 33.1 | 17 Mar | 9.9 | -0.9 | 1.0 | 16 May | 205.6 | 118.1 | v high | 174% |
| Upper Murray Valley (district 24A) | ||||||||||||
| Loxton Research Centre | 22.6 | -1.4 | 38.2 | 19 Mar | 9.4 | +0.3 | -1.1 | 16 May | 77.4 | 52.9 | high | 146% |
| Renmark Aero | 23.0 | -1.6 | 39.2 | 19 Mar | 10.0 | +0.4 | -1.2 | 15 May | 71.6 | 46.1 | high | 155% |
| Lower Murray Valley (district 24B) | ||||||||||||
| Eudunda | 20.5 | -0.9 | 35.0 | 18 Mar | 9.6 | -0.4 | 3.6 | 16 May | 99.0 | 99.1 | average | 100% |
| Meningie | 20.8 | -0.7 | 34.4 | 11 Mar | 10.6 | -0.2 | 2.0 | 15 May | 156.8 | 114.4 | high | 137% |
| Murray Bridge (Pallamana Aerodrome) | 22.2 | -1.3 | 35.7 | 11 Mar | 9.2 | -0.6 | 1.3 | 16 May | 96.4 | 77.5 | average | 124% |
| Strathalbyn Racecourse | 21.0 | -1.1 | 34.5 | 11 Mar | 10.4 | -0.5 | 2.9 | 26 May | 106.0 | 90.2 | average | 118% |
| Murray Mallee (district 25A) | ||||||||||||
| Karoonda | 22.2 | -1.4 | 36.6 | 19 Mar | 2.4 | 15 May | ||||||
| Upper Southeast (district 25B) | ||||||||||||
| Keith | 21.9 | -0.7 | 35.4 | 18 Mar | 9.1 | -0.5 | 2.0 | 17 May | 121.0 | 105.7 | average | 114% |
| Keith (Munkora) | 21.9 | -1.4 | 36.7 | 18 Mar | 8.2 | -0.4 | 0.1 | 26 Mar | 113.2 | 84.5 | high | 134% |
| Lameroo (Austin Plains) | 22.0 | -1.4 | 36.8 | 19 Mar | 9.0 | -0.5 | 2.2 | 16 May | 99.4 | 72.8 | average | 137% |
| Lower Southeast (district 26) | ||||||||||||
| Cape Jaffa (The Limestone) | 19.0 | -0.9 | 30.0 | 28 Mar | 10.7 | -0.2 | 3.8 | 25 May | 88.2 | 109.8 | low | 80% |
| Coonawarra | 20.1 | -1.0 | 34.5 | 12 Mar | 8.2 | -0.1 | -1.4 | 17 May | 141.8 | 119.7 | average | 118% |
| Mount Gambier Aero | 19.3 | -0.3 | 33.7 | 11 Mar | 9.0 | +0.1 | 0.9 | 17 May | 166.6 | 162.7 | average | 102% |
| Naracoorte Aerodrome | 20.7 | -1.3 | 34.5 | 11 Mar | 8.7 | +0.2 | 0.4 | 14 May | 111.4 | 94.3 | high | 118% |
| Padthaway South | 20.8 | -1.2 | 34.0 | 12 Mar | 8.3 | -0.3 | -0.4 | 17 May | 124.0 | 96.5 | high | 128% |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
Notes
The Seasonal climate summary, generally published on the first working day of each month, lists the main features of the weather in South Australia using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. More extensive discussion of significant weather events, along with later information and data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review.
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Monday 1 June 2020. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
In some situations, some or all of the rainfall is in the form of hail or snow. In these cases the totals given are for the water equivalent: the depth of liquid water that results from melting any frozen precipitation. There can be significant 'undercatch' of snow in strong winds, meaning the true precipitation can be higher than that reported.
Averages for individual sites 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 10 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.
Where temperature area averages are mentioned, they are derived from the ACORN-SAT dataset.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
