Wednesday, 6 January 2016 - Annual Climate Summary for South Australia - Product code IDCKGC53R0

South Australia in 2015: A warm year, dry across the southern agricultural areas

South Australia had another warm year in 2015, with February, spring and December especially warm, although autumn and winter were generally cool. Parts of the northeastern pastoral districts received above average rain, but rain was below average in the far west, near the southern coasts and in the southeast agricultural districts.

• Temperatures above average, especially in February, October, November and December
• Rain generally below average overall, especially in the southeast and near the southern coasts
• Above average rain and cooler than average days in January and April
• Cooler than average nights in March, July and September

South Australia's mean temperature for 2015 was 0.86 °C above average, making it the seventh-warmest year for the State. The mean maximum temperature was 0.97 °C above average and the mean minimum temperature 0.73 °C above average. Well above average temperatures were reported in February, and again from October through to December; October and December were both the warmest on record for the State as a whole. Temperatures were mostly below average in January, April, May and July. There were some significantly cooler than average days in April and July, and periods of cold nights in March and September. Snow was reported at more elevated parts of the State in July. In spring, high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds combined with persistently dry conditions to bring an early start to the fire weather season, with significant fires occurring in November.

The statewide average rainfall during 2015 was about 13% below the historical average, with February, March, July, September and October all markedly drier than average. The year started off with some locations reporting their wettest January on record, mainly from one event in the second week, with parts of the northern pastoral districts recording almost their entire annual total in this one event. Rainfall was persistently below average for much of the April to October growing season in the southern agricultural areas, while rainfall in the northern agricultural districts was closer to average. The northeast of the State saw several widespread thunderstorm events through the year resulting in above average totals.

Adelaide: warm and dry

• Very dry across the city in March and winter
• Cooler than average in autumn and winter
• Record spring and early summer heat
• Temperature reached 40 °C on twelve days, with a record seven of those in December

In Adelaide, the mean daily maximum temperature of 23.2 °C was 0.8 °C above average. Nights were generally warmer than average with a mean daily minimum of 12.5 °C. The hottest day in the city was 44.1 °C on 2 January, and the coldest morning was on 20 July when the overnight minimum dropped to 1.8 °C. On 7 December Adelaide's temperature did not drop below 30.7 °C, making it the warmest night for the city in more than six years and the warmest December night since 1897. The year ended with more heat: Kent Town reached 40.6 °C on 31 December giving a total of twelve 40 °C days for the year (equalling the record from 2009 and 1908).

Adelaide's total rainfall for the year was 395.2 mm, about 73% of the long-term average. The wettest day for the city was on 19 May when Kent Town registered 31.6 mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9 am. Only January, April and May brought above average rainfall totals to the city, with February, March and the last three months of the year recording little significant rain.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Notable events in 2015

Further information on these events can be found in the Monthly Weather Review

Heatwaves and bushfires

• 2 January: Particularly hot and windy conditions developed over the south and west of the State ahead of a trough. Several fires started during the day, including the large Sampson Flat fire in the Mount Lofty Ranges.
• 3–6 October: A severe heatwave resulted in several stations reporting record high early-season records, particularly in the eastern districts. The event was discussed in Special Climate Statement 52.
• 25 November: a large bushfire in the Mid North occurred in hot, dry and very windy conditions, as a cold front swept across southern parts of the State.
• 14–19 December: A severe heatwave resulted in several stations reporting record high temperatures in excess of 40 °C. The event was discussed in Special Climate Statement 53.

Thunderstorms, heavy rain

There were numerous severe thunderstorms across the State during 2015, with particularly high levels of thunderstorm activity during January, September and November. Some notable events include:

• 8–13 January: An upper level trough and a burst of tropical activity produced moderate to heavy rainfall for many locations across northern, central and eastern districts with several locations reporting highest January daily rainfall on record.
• 16 September: Slow moving thunderstorms developed over Adelaide during the early afternoon and tracked over the eastern suburbs. Large accumulations of small hail and heavy rainfall led to localised flooding of drains, gutters and roads.
• 4–5 November: Low pressure system and a burst of tropical activity produced moderate to heavy rainfall for many locations across northern, central and eastern districts with several locations reporting highest November daily rainfall on record.
• 21-22 December: Low pressure trough produced moderate to heavy rainfall for many locations across northern, central and eastern districts with several locations reporting their highest December daily rainfall on record.

Snow

• 11 July: Snow showers occurred in the morning around the Mount Lofty summit area. Further snow occurred across the higher parts of the Mid North district during the middle of the day, with the snow settling on the ground around Mount Bryan and nearby high ranges. Snow also reported from near Hallett, Peterborough, Belalie North, Tarcowie and Orroroo.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Extremes in 2015
Hottest day	47.2 °C at Port Augusta Aero on 19 Dec
Warmest days on average	29.8 °C at Oodnadatta Airport
Coolest days on average	17.3 °C at Mount Lofty
Coldest day	5.3 °C at Mount Lofty on 11 Jul
Coldest night	-5.7 °C at Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot) on 20 Jul
Coolest nights on average	7.8 °C at Naracoorte Aerodrome
Warmest nights on average	15.8 °C at Moomba Airport
Warmest night	34.1 °C at Moomba Airport on 7 Dec
Warmest on average overall	22.8 °C at Moomba Airport
Coolest on average overall	13.0 °C at Mount Lofty
Wettest overall	939.4 mm at Uraidla
Wettest day	156.0 mm at Gammon Ranges (Moolawatana) on 10 Jan
Strongest wind gust	135 km/h at Mount Crawford AWS on 5 May

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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Monthly maps
	Rainfall rank	Maximum temperature rank	Minimum temperature rank
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

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Record highest daily rainfall
	New record (mm)		Old record		Years of record
Jamestown	88.4	on 5 Nov	74.7	on 5 Feb 1890	135
Mount Wedge	77.0	on 4 Nov	74.4	on 21 Feb 1938	128
Jamestown Pirsa	81.2	on 5 Nov	70.2	on 31 Oct 1997	65
Huddleston (Willow Ponds)	72.8	on 10 Jan	71.0	on 31 Dec 1979	59
Sturt Vale	100.0	on 17 Apr	74.0	on 24 Oct 2007	54

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Highest annual total rainfall for at least 20 years
	Observed (mm)	Most recent higher		Annual average
Quorn	417.4	647.9	in 1992*	330.9

* 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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Record lowest annual total rainfall
	New record (mm)	Old record		Years of record	Annual average
Yankalilla	350.0	361.4	in 1982	119	572.1
Mount Schank (Jethia)	501.4	543.0	in 1982	37	745.7

Lowest annual total rainfall for at least 20 years
	Observed (mm)	Most recent lower		Annual average
Willunga	343.7	339.0	in 1914*	644.2
Cape Willoughby	345.3	342.8	in 1967*	538.3
Mount Gambier Aero	512.4	468.0	in 1982*	708.2
Warooka	300.4	258.2	in 1982*	443.7
Birdwood	461.2	374.7	in 1982*	718.9
Lobethal	586.1	508.8	in 1982*	884.0
Hallett	314.2	228.3	in 1982*	425.9
Kingston SE	355.0	353.8	in 1982*	585.5
Elliston	300.8	228.6	in 1994*	426.3
Streaky Bay	253.9	207.0	in 1994*	377.8

* 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 daily minimum temperature
	New record (°C)		Old record		Years of record	Annual average
Loxton Research Centre	29.0	on 7 Dec	28.2	on 11 Jan 2008	32	9.0
Renmark Aero	29.9	on 19 Dec	29.4	on 9 Feb 2014	21	9.6

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Record lowest temperature
	New record (°C)		Old record		Years of record	Annual average
Parawa (Second Valley Forest AWS)	1.2	on 20 Jul	1.7	on 11 Sep 2004	22	10.2
Cleve Aerodrome	1.0	on 30 Jun	= 1.0	on 7 Jul 2012	20	11.5
Strathalbyn Racecourse	-1.6	on 20 Jul	-1.5	on 14 Jun 2006	20	10.2

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for 2015
	Maximum temperatures (°C)				Minimum temperatures (°C)				Rainfall (millimetres)
	Mean for 2015	Diff from average	Highest for 2015		Mean for 2015	Diff from average	Lowest for 2015		Total for 2015	Average annual total	Rank of 2015	Fraction of annual average
Northwest (district 16)
Andamooka	27.8	+0.2	44.9	3 Jan	14.5	+0.7	-0.3	20 Jul	162.5	192.6	average	84%
Coober Pedy Airport	28.1	+0.5	44.3	19 Nov	14.5	+0.3	0.9	19 Jul	81.4	132.0	low	62%
Ernabella (Pukatja)	27.7	+0.2	41.9	19 Mar	14.0	+0.9	-0.3	4 Jul	174.4	257.5	low	68%
Mount Ive	26.0		44.3	19 Dec			-2.5	1 Jul	187.1	238.0	low	79%
Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome)	27.9	+0.2	45.0	18 Dec	13.1	+0.5	-2.2	18 Jul	126.8	148.6	average	85%
Tarcoola Aero	27.9	+0.2	45.7	18 Dec	12.4	+0.2	-2.9	19 Jul	116.2	172.4	average	67%
Woomera Aerodrome	26.6	+0.8	44.8	18 Dec	13.5	+0.8	1.0	20 Jul	158.6	182.2	average	87%
Far North (district 17)
Leigh Creek Airport	27.0	+0.6	44.4	19 Dec	13.4	+0.6	-0.3	18 Jul	265.0	224.2	high	118%
Marree Aero	29.1	0.0	45.2	19 Dec	14.1	+0.1	0.3	19 Jul	199.0	140.4	high	142%
Moomba Airport	29.7	+0.2	45.6	6 Dec	15.8	+0.3	1.7	17 Jul	84.6	172.8	low	49%
Oodnadatta Airport	29.8	+0.7	45.3	3 Jan	15.3	+0.7	0.3	20 Jul	122.0	174.7	average	70%
Western Agricultural (district 18)
Ceduna AMO	24.0	+0.5	46.8	14 Feb	10.6	+0.2	-2.1	29 Jun	182.8	294.3	v low	62%
Cleve	22.3	+0.2	43.2	2 Jan	11.9	+0.5	1.8	26 Aug	461.4	400.6	high	115%
Cleve Aerodrome	22.4	-0.2	43.6	2 Jan	11.1	-0.4	1.0	30 Jun	399.4	356.9	average	112%
Cummins Aero	22.9		44.4	2 Jan	9.7		-1.0	1 Jul	376.6
Elliston	21.8	+0.3	41.3	14 Feb			0.7	20 Jun	300.8	426.3	v low	71%
Kimba	24.0	+0.4	43.5	18 Dec	10.7	+0.3	-0.5	20 Jul	311.2	346.8	average	90%
Kyancutta	25.8	+0.7	46.0	14 Feb	9.6	+0.3	-2.9	1 Jul	278.0	312.9	average	89%
Minnipa Pirsa	24.6	-0.2	44.6	14 Feb	10.9	-0.3	1.3	27 Aug	314.2	274.1	average	115%
Neptune Island	18.8	+0.2	35.1	19 Dec	14.0	+0.3	7.6	11 Jul	299.6	445.2	v low	67%
North Shields (Port Lincoln AWS)	21.6	+0.3	44.8	2 Jan	11.2	-0.2	2.6	2 Jun	301.2	389.7	v low	77%
Nullarbor	24.3	+0.6	46.7	14 Feb	11.2	+0.4	0.0	30 Jun	205.2	249.8	average	82%
Port Augusta Aero	26.3	-0.1	47.2	19 Dec	12.2	0.0	-1.3	20 Jul	188.6	214.1	low	88%
Streaky Bay			42.2	5 Dec	12.6	+0.4	1.0	30 Jun	253.9	377.8	v low	67%
Whyalla Aero	23.9	+0.2	45.8	19 Dec	11.9	+0.4	-2.3	20 Jul	298.0	263.6	high	113%
Wudinna Aero	25.4	0.0	45.3	2 Jan	9.7	-0.5	-1.8	24 Sep	286.2	274.2	average	104%
Upper North (district 19)
Hawker	25.8	+0.6	44.0	18 Dec	10.7	+0.1	-3.0	28 Jul	299.8	308.9	average	97%
Yongala			41.4	19 Dec	8.5	+1.2	-3.3	1 Jul	328.0	365.2	average	90%
Northeast (district 20)
Gluepot Reserve (Gluepot)	25.5	+0.2	45.1	3 Jan	9.5	+0.2	-5.7	20 Jul	267.0	276.1	average	97%
Lower North (district 21)
Clare High School	21.6	+0.3	41.7	19 Dec	9.3	+0.3	-3.4	20 Jul	566.8	545.6	average	104%
Snowtown (Rayville Park)	24.3	+0.1	45.2	19 Dec	9.0	0.0	-2.2	30 Jun	308.8	364.3	low	85%
Yorke Peninsula (district 22A)
Edithburgh	20.8	+0.4	41.1	7 Jan	12.2	+0.1	0.0	20 Jul	255.2	372.5	v low	69%
Kadina AWS	23.7		44.0	19 Dec	9.4		-2.2	1 Jul	253.4	330.1	low	77%
Minlaton Aero	22.6	0.0	43.6	2 Jan	10.7	-0.2	0.6	29 Sep	294.2	353.9	low	83%
Stenhouse Bay	20.6	+0.2	43.3	2 Jan	12.9	-0.1	3.7	20 Jul	296.0	438.4	v low	68%
Warooka	21.6	+0.4	39.6	14 Feb	11.8	+0.3	2.6	20 Jul	300.4	443.7	v low	68%
Kangaroo Island (district 22B)
Cape Borda	19.2	0.0	35.4	14 Feb	11.3	-0.3	3.9	30 Aug	364.7	535.1	v low	68%
Cape Willoughby	18.4	+0.3	37.9	2 Jan	13.1	+0.3	5.6	11 Jul	345.3	538.3	v low	64%
Kingscote Aero	21.3	+0.3	41.7	2 Jan	9.0	0.0	-0.4	3 Jun	357.2	444.0	low	80%
Parndana Cfs AWS	19.9		41.5	2 Jan	9.5		1.1	31 Jul	471.6
Adelaide Plains (district 23A)
Adelaide (Kent Town)	23.2	+0.8	44.1	2 Jan	12.5	+0.2	1.8	20 Jul	395.2	543.9	low	73%
Adelaide Airport	22.2	+0.7	42.5	2 Jan	12.1	+0.7	1.4	19 Jul	276.0	439.2	v low	63%
Edinburgh RAAF	23.3	+0.7	43.9	2 Jan	11.3	+0.2	-0.6	20 Jul
Parafield Airport	23.5	+1.1	43.4	2 Jan	11.1	-0.1	-0.3	11 Jun	348.4	451.1	v low	77%
Roseworthy AWS	23.8	+0.1	44.7	2 Jan	9.9	+0.2	-1.0	29 Aug	321.6	374.8	low	86%
County Light (district 23B)
Nuriootpa Viticultural	21.8	+0.2	41.8	2 Jan	9.3	+0.1	-3.5	20 Jul	338.4	466.7	v low	73%
Rosedale (Turretfield Research Centre)	23.3	+0.7	43.6	2 Jan	10.1	+0.1	-2.1	20 Jul	361.4	466.9	low	77%
Mount Lofty Ranges (district 23C)
Hindmarsh Island AWS	21.0	+0.2	43.9	2 Jan	11.8	0.0	1.3	20 Jul	333.4	383.2	low	87%
Kuitpo Forest Reserve	19.4	+0.1	40.5	2 Jan	10.3	0.0	0.6	20 Jul	691.4	712.9	average	97%
Mount Barker	21.4	+1.4	41.2	2 Jan	9.0	+1.0	-1.7	20 Jul	584.8	762.8	low	77%
Mount Crawford AWS	19.4	+0.4	40.0	2 Jan	9.8	+0.1	1.2	20 Jul	481.0	646.0	low	74%
Mount Lofty	17.3	+2.1	37.7	2 Jan	8.8	+0.2	0.1	19 Jul	894.4
Noarlunga	21.8	+0.1	42.3	2 Jan	12.6	-0.1	2.9	20 Jul
Victor Harbor (Encounter Bay)	20.8	+0.2	43.4	2 Jan	10.3	+0.1	-2.5	20 Jul	419.0	529.8	low	79%
Upper Murray Valley (district 24A)
Loxton Research Centre	24.7	+0.8	43.7	18 Dec	9.7	+0.7	-3.9	20 Jul	202.4	259.5	low	78%
Renmark Aero	25.3	+0.4	45.2	18 Dec	10.0	+0.4	-5.3	20 Jul	196.8	240.1	low	82%
Lower Murray Valley (district 24B)
Eudunda	21.8	+0.7	41.8	18 Dec	9.9	+0.6	-1.6	20 Jul	403.4	447.5	average	90%
Meningie	21.5	+0.7	42.1	2 Jan	10.7	+0.4	0.6	20 Jul	376.0	468.3	low	80%
Murray Bridge (Pallamana Aerodrome)	23.2		44.5	2 Jan	9.0		-4.6	20 Jul	298.8
Strathalbyn Racecourse	21.7	+0.1	43.5	2 Jan	10.4	+0.2	-1.6	20 Jul	371.4	409.9	average	91%
Murray Mallee (district 25A)
Karoonda	23.7	+0.1	43.4	2 Jan	9.4	+0.1	-3.1	20 Jul	310.6	340.8	average	91%
Upper Southeast (district 25B)
Keith			44.5	2 Jan	9.6	+0.4	-2.5	3 Jul	329.1	459.4	v low	72%
Keith (Munkora)	23.1	+0.2	43.7	2 Jan	8.5	+0.6	-3.8	30 Aug
Lameroo (Austin Plains)	23.5	+0.1	43.2	15 Feb	9.0	+0.3	-2.3	20 Jul	290.6	310.3	average	94%
Lower Southeast (district 26)
Cape Jaffa (The Limestone)	19.6	+0.3	40.1	19 Dec	10.4	+0.1	0.8	20 Jul	352.2	489.4	v low	72%
Coonawarra	21.1	+0.7	41.8	2 Jan	8.2	+0.2	-1.6	20 Jul	435.8	564.1	v low	77%
Mount Gambier Aero	20.1	+1.1	42.8	19 Dec	8.6	+0.5	-0.3	31 Aug	512.4	708.2	v low	72%
Naracoorte Aerodrome	21.9	+0.2	43.2	2 Jan	7.8	-0.3	-1.8	2 Jun	331.2	473.6	v low	70%
Padthaway South	21.9	+0.4	42.6	2 Jan	8.4	-0.1	-3.1	3 Jul	297.8	443.8	v low	67%
Robe Airfield	20.0	+0.4	38.9	19 Dec	9.5	0.0	0.0	30 Aug	467.0	581.4	v low	80%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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