Adelaide's official weather observation station is returning to its original location

After being located at Kent Town for 40 years, the official observation and forecast location for the city of Adelaide will return to its original site at West Terrace on 14 June 2017.

The official record of weather observations for Adelaide extends back to 1871, with a few breaks. It draws on observations from West Terrace (1871–1979) and Kent Town (1977–2017). However, urbanisation has become increasingly visible as the years have passed at Kent Town, with obstruction by nearby buildings potentially jeopardising the reliability of measurements.

The West Terrace site now offers the best location for a meteorological weather station. The site allows the Bureau to take high-quality observations that meet the international observing standards of the World Meteorological Organization. The station is already providing observations of air temperature, wind speed and direction, air pressure, rainfall, and relative humidity. From 14 June 2017, these observations will be available on the Bureau's website at ten-minute intervals.

The two observation stations have been operating in tandem for some months. This is done so the Bureau can compare the data and identify differences in the observations for forecast and long-term climate comparisons. The Kent Town station will continue operating for a further 12 months or more, after which it will be closed permanently.

As part of the Bureau's Reconciliation Action Plan, the Kaurna Warra Karrpanthi Language Committee has granted permission to use 'ngayirdapira' for Adelaide's official weather station. The word, 'ngayirdapira' translates to 'concerning the sky'. The official name of the weather station will be Adelaide (West Terrace / ngayirdapira).

Guidance on pronouncing 'ngayirdapira' (m4a audio file 29kb).

For further information on the naming of the station, please see the accompanying media materials.

Kent Town statistics:

• Highest temperature recorded: 45.7°C (28 January 2009)
• Lowest temperature recorded: -0.4°C (8 June 1982)
• Wettest day: 75.2 mm (14 February 2014)
• Maximum wind gust: 102 km/h (6 December 1986)

If you would like to provide feedback on this change, please fill in the Bureau feedback form.