Tuesday, 1 September 2009 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Western Australia - Product code IDCKGC11R0

Western Australia in winter 2009
A very warm winter in WA


Summary

  • Near average rainfall for WA.
  • Very much above average mean maximum temperature for WA (7th warmest on record).
  • Above average mean minimum temperature for WA.

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Details

Rainfall

Winter 2009 saw near average rainfall across large parts of WA. Parts of the Kimberley and Interior, as well as the western Gascoyne, Great Southern and Southeast Coastal received below average winter rainfall, whilst pockets in the Goldfields, Eucla and the South Coastal registered above average winter rainfall (see winter 2009 rainfall deciles map). Averaged across the state, winter rainfall was near average.

Maximum temperature

Mean maximum temperatures in winter 2009 were above to very much above average across northern, central and eastern parts of WA, northeast of a line from Carnavon to Kalgoorlie, with up to 3°C warmer than normal mean maxima in the southeast Kimberley and Interior (see winter 2009 maximum temperate anomaly map). Mean maximum temperature was below average the South Coastal district. The mean maximum temperature averaged across the state was very much above average, and in fact seventh warmest on record for WA since comparable records commenced in 1950.

Minimum temperature

Above to very much above average winter mean minima were recorded in the east Pilbara, west Kimberley, Interior, Goldfields, and south coast districts, with up to 3°C warmer than normal mean minima in the inland east Pilbara. Near average minima were observed in western parts of WA and eastern parts of the Kimberley (see winter 2009 minimum temperate anomaly map). 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		 39.7°C at Wyndham Aero on 31 Aug
Warmest days on average
Highest mean daily maximum temperature		 33.6°C at Kalumburu
Coolest days on average
Lowest mean daily maximum temperature		 14.4°C at Rocky Gully
Coldest day
Lowest daily maximum temperature		 8.8°C at Shannon on 29 Jun
Coldest night
Lowest temperature		 −3.6°C at Eyre on 26 Aug
Coolest nights on average
Lowest mean daily minimum temperature		 4.6°C at Southern Cross Airfield
Warmest nights on average
Highest mean daily minimum temperature		 23.8°C at Troughton Island
20.2°C at Kuri Bay (mainland)
Warmest night
Highest daily minimum temperature		 26.3°C at Troughton Island on the 31st Aug
25.2°C at Argyle Aero on the 31st Aug (mainland)
Wettest overall
Highest total rainfall		 846.5 mm at Northcliffe
Wettest day
Highest daily rainfall		 78.2 mm at Woodridge Estate on the 19th Jun
Highest wind gust
 124 km/h at Cape Naturaliste on 29 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
Halls Creek Airport 37.2 on 31 Aug 36.8 on 28 Aug 1996 63 28.1
Warmun 39.0 on 31 Aug 38.8 on 27 Aug 1968 48 30.4
Kuri Bay 36.8 on 2 Jul 36.7 on 20 Aug 1980 41 31.4




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
Warburton Airfield 23.8 23.5 in 2002 34 21.4
Kalumburu 33.6 33.4 in 2003 10 32.1




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Notes

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 11 am on Tuesday 1 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 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