Monday, 1 December 2008 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Western Australia - Product code IDCKGC11R0

Western Australia in spring 2008
A wet spring for WA

Summary

  • WA statewide rainfall very much above average.
  • Near average daytime temperature for WA.
  • Above average overnight temperature for WA.

Details

Rainfall

This spring, much of WA saw above to very much above average rainfall, partly the result of a very wet November. Many sites experienced their wettest spring on record (see spring 2008 rainfall decile map). For Western Australia as a whole, spring 2008 was very much above average.

Maximum temperature

Mean maximum temperatures in spring 2008 were above to very much above average in north and far east WA, and up to 2°C warmer than normal in the west Kimberley and Interior. The remainder of the state saw average or below average mean maximum temperatures, generally within 1ºC of normal. Overall, the statewide mean maximum temperature was near average.

Minimum temperature

Mean minimum temperatures were above to very much above average in spring over much of northern WA, as well as the Interior, Goldfields, Eucla and south of the Southwest Land Division, with means up to 3°C higher than normal in the northwest Interior and neighbouring areas. The remainder of the state saw mean minima close to normal. Overall, the statewide mean minimum temperature was in the above average range.

Further information

Western Australia Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 9263 2222
Email climate.wa@bom.gov.au

Extremes

Hottest day
Highest temperature		 45.2°C at Argyle Aerodrome on 22 Nov
Warmest days on average
Highest mean daily maximum temperature		 40.1°C at Fitzroy Crossing Aero
Coolest days on average
Lowest mean daily maximum temperature		 17.8°C at Shannon
Coldest day
Lowest daily maximum temperature		 9.4°C at Katanning Comparison on 21 Sep
Coldest night
Lowest temperature		 −3.5°C at Eyre on 4 Oct
Coolest nights on average
Lowest mean daily minimum temperature		 6.7°C at Wandering
Warmest nights on average
Highest mean daily minimum temperature		 26.7°C at Troughton Island
Warmest night
Highest daily minimum temperature		 31.5°C at Wyndham on 23 Nov
Wettest overall
Highest total rainfall		 432.0 mm at Pemberton
Wettest day
Highest daily rainfall		 125.6 mm at Peaceful Bay on 21 Nov
Highest wind gust
 117 km/h at Rottnest Island on 21 Sep

Jump to:  Extremes  Records  Notes  the top

Records

Record highest spring daily rainfall
Highest daily rainfall
in spring 2008 (mm) 		Previous highest
for spring		 Years of
record
Mount Augustus 36.0 on 22 Nov 30.5 on 25 Oct 1947 105
Albany 113.6 on 21 Nov 79.8 on 20 Sep 1970 102
Norseman 58.8 on 27 Sep 48.3 on 12 Nov 1909 102
Aleppo 62.0 on 29 Oct 58.0 on 17 Nov 1983 99
Quellington 56.0 on 26 Sep 50.0 on 18 Oct 1995 81
Ygnattering 68.0 on 29 Oct 51.0 on 17 Nov 1983 81
Winning 42.5 on 22 Nov 28.7 on 12 Nov 1943 79
Emu Creek Station 50.0 on 22 Nov 27.8 on 21 Oct 1974 78
Boodarockin 43.6 on 31 Oct 38.4 on 2 Nov 1939 74
Karlgarin 49.6 on 31 Oct 46.0 on 11 Nov 1971 72
Mount Vernon 44.6 on 22 Nov 38.9 on 7 Nov 1949 70
Hyden North 53.8 on 31 Oct 43.0 on 18 Oct 1995 61
Twolganup 54.0 on 27 Nov 49.5 on 23 Nov 1971 54
Pyramid Station 13.4 on 23 Nov 11.4 on 6 Sep 1997 52
Bulga Downs 58.8 on 16 Nov 38.0 on 31 Oct 2001 43
Chesalon 50.0 on 31 Oct 47.5 on 11 Nov 1971 43
Monte Vista 48.4 on 31 Oct 43.2 on 23 Nov 1971 41
Nth Ravensthorpe 59.6 on 31 Oct 41.0 on 28 Nov 1999 41
Denbarker 49.0 on 21 Nov 42.0 on 14 Oct 1979 38
Mount Howick 53.0 on 27 Sep 48.0 on 25 Nov 2003 36
The Duke 54.0 on 27 Sep 52.0 on 21 Oct 1975 31


Record highest total spring rainfall
Total rainfall
for spring 2008 (mm) 		Previous highest
for spring		 Years of
record		 Average for
spring
Albany 414.7 388.0 in 1924 132 225.7
Kellerberrin 166.0 136.4 in 1904 116 56.2
Lake Carmody *138.1 131.9 in 1914 97 64.7
Westonia 124.9 122.1 in 1917 94 55.7
Ygnattering 146.5 125.7 in 1983 81 52.6
Holt Rock 187.0 134.2 in 1974 80 66.1
Narembeen 158.9 135.9 in 1996 80 60.4
Hyden 190.8 140.2 in 2001 79 67.7
Emu Creek Station 57.0 56.2 in 1975 78 8.0
Mount Madden 173.2 157.0 in 1971 76 80.3
Salmon Gums Res.Stn. 241.8 210.4 in 1959 76 84.9
Graham Rock 202.2 149.9 in 1939 74 68.6
Bodallin South *129.7 122.0 in 1983 73 59.2
Boodarockin *129.0 124.0 in 1939 72 49.1
Mount Vernon 75.4 63.0 in 1986 69 13.1
King Rocks *137.4 129.6 in 1996 68 68.2
Karlgarin *174.0 137.4 in 1971 66 62.7
Amrista Park 187.0 159.7 in 1973 51 71.3
Pyramid Station 26.0 18.3 in 1957 51 2.6
Windrush 363.0 338.4 in 1959 48 186.9
Lancelin 181.8 167.8 in 1999 43 108.3
Mount Howick *235.5 232.4 in 1992 43 127.2
Telina Downs 245.4 233.8 in 1971 42 134.5
Lort River 188.4 182.9 in 1975 40 90.7
Bodallin North *131.6 103.4 in 2006 39 50.7
Mordetta *158.2 143.8 in 1973 35 72.3

* Sites with some missing data.


Record lowest spring daily maximum temperature
Lowest daily maximum
temperature
in spring 2008 (°C) 		Previous lowest
for spring		 Years of
record		 Average for
spring
Learmonth Airport 20.2 on 21 Nov 20.4 on 11 Sep 1986 34 32.0


Record highest spring daily minimum temperature
Highest daily minimum
temperature
in spring 2008 (°C) 		Previous highest
for spring		 Years of
record		 Average for
spring
Leonora 27.8 on 24 Oct 27.2 on 13 Nov 2003 52 13.6


Record lowest spring temperature
Lowest temperature
in spring 2008 (°C) 		Previous lowest
for spring		 Years of
record		 Average for
spring
Katanning Comparison −1.4 on 22 Sep −1.2 on 1 Sep 2005 102 8.0


Jump to:  Extremes  Records  Notes  the top

Notes

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Monday 1 December 2008. 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 30 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median is sometimes more representative than the mean of long-term average rain.

Further information

Western Australia Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 9263 2222
Email climate.wa@bom.gov.au