Friday, 1 June 2018 - Monthly Climate Summary for Australian Capital Territory - Product code IDCKGC15L0
Australian Capital Territory in May 2018: drier than average
Rainfall during May was below average throughout the Australian Capital Territory. Daytime temperatures were slightly warmer than average, while overnight temperatures were close to or slightly cooler than average during May.
Drier than average
- Rainfall during May was below average throughout the ACT
- Rainfall totals ranged from 35% of average at Canberra Airport to 79% of average at Mount Ginini
- Canberra Airport had its driest May since 2015, when 12.2 mm was recorded at the site
- Canberra Airport had six rain days, which was less than the May average of eight rain days
Close to average temperatures
- Canberra Airport was the warmest site in the ACT, with a mean maximum temperature for May of 17.5 °C
- Mean maximum temperatures ranged from 0.3 °C warmer than average at Mount Ginini to 1.8 °C warmer than average at Canberra Airport
- On the morning of the 6th, minimum temperatures dropped below freezing for the first time this year at Canberra Airport (-0.1 °C) and Tuggeranong (-0.2 °C)
- A complex low pressure system brought cold temperatures and rain on the 11th, with severe weather warnings for damaging winds issued for the ACT
- Mount Ginini recorded a maximum wind gust of 113 km/h in the early hours of the 12th
- The minimum temperature at Mount Ginini, in Namadgi National Park, dropped to -5.1 °C on the 11th, the site's coldest temperature so early in the season since at least 2004
- The event also resulted in snow covering the more elevated regions
- Overnight temperatures were close to or slightly below average for May
- Mean minimum temperatures ranged from 0.9 °C cooler than average at Canberra Airport to 0.1 °C warmer than average at Mount Ginini
Canberra Airport
- Total rainfall for Canberra Airport was 15.0 mm, which is 35% of the long-term average of 42.5 mm
- The mean daily maximum temperature for Canberra Airport was 17.5 °C. The warmest day was 24.5 °C on the 3rd, and the coolest day was on the 11th when the temperature reached 12.3 °C
- The mean daily minimum temperature for Canberra Airport was 2.2 °C. The coldest morning was -2.4 °C on the 27th, and the warmest morning was on the 4th when the minimum temperature was 11.6 °C
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Extremes in May 2018 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day |
24.5 °C at Canberra Airport on the 3rd |
| Warmest days on average |
17.5 °C at Canberra Airport |
| Coolest days on average |
8.0 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Coldest day |
1.8 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 10th |
| Coldest night |
-5.1 °C at Mount Ginini AWS on the 11th |
| Coolest nights on average |
1.2 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Warmest nights on average |
2.2 °C at Canberra Airport |
| Warmest night |
11.6 °C at Canberra Airport on the 4th |
| Warmest on average overall |
9.9 °C at Canberra Airport |
| Coolest on average overall |
4.6 °C at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Wettest overall |
45.2 mm at Mount Ginini AWS |
| Driest overall |
10.0 mm at Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS |
| Wettest day |
13.0 mm at Mount Ginini AWS on the 11th |
| Strongest wind gust |
113 km/h at Mount Ginini AWS on the 12th |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for May 2018 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for May 2018 |
Diff from average |
Highest for May 2018 |
Mean for May 2018 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for May 2018 |
Total for May 2018 |
Average for May |
Rank of May 2018 |
Fraction of May average |
|||
| Canberra Airport | 17.5 | +1.8 | 24.5 | 3rd | 2.2 | -0.9 | -2.4 | 27th | 15.0 | 42.5 | low | 35% |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 8.0 | +0.3 | 14.8 | 1st | 1.2 | +0.1 | -5.1 | 11th | 45.2 | 57.1 | average | 79% |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 17.3 | +0.7 | 24.1 | 3rd | 1.8 | -0.8 | -3.0 | 15th | 10.0 | 23.4 | low | 43% |
|
Note:
Observations for “Canberra Airport” are taken from the current site
(Bureau number 070351), which opened in late 2008.
Comparisons are made against data from the previous site Canberra Airport Comparison (070014), which ran from 1939 to 2010, combined with the current site from March 2010 onwards. | ||||||||||||
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
| Daily maximum temperatures for May 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
| Canberra Airport | 22.9 | 20.2 | 24.5 | 16.5 | 19.1 | 19.8 | 19.9 | 22.6 | 20.8 | 15.6 | 12.3 | 13.0 | 17.0 | 17.7 | 15.5 | 15.3 | 15.7 | 18.1 | 15.2 | 17.0 | 16.9 | 20.3 | 16.8 | 16.9 | 16.5 | 17.2 | 17.3 | 17.7 | 17.1 | 13.4 | 13.3 |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 14.8 | 10.7 | 13.7 | 4.5 | 7.9 | 10.8 | 10.1 | 12.6 | 10.8 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 6.3 | 9.7 | 9.3 | 6.5 | 8.7 | 8.0 | 6.5 | 6.1 | 3.8 | 8.4 | 11.4 | 12.1 | 10.6 | 10.4 | 9.1 | 8.7 | 5.1 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 22.8 | 20.2 | 24.1 | 15.7 | 19.9 | 19.6 | 19.9 | 21.6 | 20.6 | 15.5 | 12.1 | 13.6 | 16.9 | 17.2 | 15.9 | 15.1 | 16.1 | 18.3 | 15.1 | 16.3 | 19.3 | 15.5 | 16.7 | 16.6 | 16.6 | 16.3 | 17.9 | 16.8 | 13.3 | 13.0 | |
|
Values are the maximum temperature, usually in the 24 hours from 9 am on the day indicated, and typically occurred in the afternoon of that day. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Temperatures coloured according to their difference from the long-term average for the period |
-10.0 | -9.0 | -8.0 | -7.0 | -6.0 | -5.0 | -4.0 | -3.0 | -2.0 | -1.0 | 0.0 | +1.0 | +2.0 | +3.0 | +4.0 | +5.0 | +6.0 | +7.0 | +8.0 | +9.0 | +10.0 | °C | Grey outline marks highest and lowest for the period |
||||||||
| Daily minimum temperatures for May 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
| Canberra Airport | 0.7 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 11.6 | 2.6 | -0.1 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 4.6 | 8.6 | 1.2 | -1.9 | -1.3 | -2.1 | -1.8 | 1.7 | -1.1 | 5.4 | 6.8 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 0.7 | -2.4 | 2.9 | -0.1 | 1.0 | 3.3 |
| Mount Ginini AWS | 5.0 | 6.5 | 5.4 | 4.2 | -1.1 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 1.6 | -5.1 | -4.5 | -0.5 | 0.1 | 2.4 | -2.1 | -0.5 | 0.0 | -0.3 | -1.9 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 5.9 | -0.6 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 4.0 | 3.0 | -2.1 | -3.0 |
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | 0.5 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 11.5 | 2.4 | -0.2 | -0.9 | 5.3 | 2.1 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 4.8 | 7.2 | 6.7 | -3.0 | 1.6 | -2.6 | -1.9 | -1.7 | -2.7 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 1.1 | -0.1 | 2.1 | -0.5 | -2.4 | 2.9 | -0.9 | 2.8 | 2.6 |
|
Values are the minimum temperature, usually in the 24 hours to 9 am on the day indicated, and typically occurred that morning. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Temperatures coloured according to their difference from the long-term average for the period |
-10.0 | -9.0 | -8.0 | -7.0 | -6.0 | -5.0 | -4.0 | -3.0 | -2.0 | -1.0 | 0.0 | +1.0 | +2.0 | +3.0 | +4.0 | +5.0 | +6.0 | +7.0 | +8.0 | +9.0 | +10.0 | °C | Grey outline marks highest and lowest for the period |
||||||||
| Daily rainfall for May 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | ||
| Aranda (Bindaga St) | - | - | - | 10.0 | 1.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bruce (Australian Institute of Sport) | - | - | - | 10.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | ||
| Canberra (Australian National Botanic Ga | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Canberra Airport | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2.0 | - | - | - | - | - | 3.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | - | |
| Canberra Parliament House | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.6 | - | → | → | 1.0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.6 | |||
| Ginninderra (Charnwood (ACT)) | - | - | - | 7.8 | 0.6 | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | 3.4 | - | 1.0 | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 2.0 | - | |
| Mount Ginini AWS | - | - | - | 12.0 | 2.8 | - | - | - | - | - | 13.0 | 7.0 | 2.0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.6 | 0.8 | |
| Nicholls (Gungahlin Lakes) | - | - | - | 11.0 | 0.4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Torrens (Darke St) | - | - | - | 6.2 | 0.6 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.8 | 0.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.4 | ||
| Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS | - | - | - | 6.6 | 0.6 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0.6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | - | ||
|
Most values are the precipitation in the 24 hours to 9 am on the day indicated.
Days marked with → are part of a longer accumulation, which is shown on the final day. Values over 100 mm have been rounded to the nearest whole millimetre. Days marked with - have a rainfall report of zero; days left blank have no rainfall report (which often indicates no rain fell). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rainfalls coloured according to the amount |
0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 | 15.0 | 25.0 | 50.0 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 600 | millimetres | ||||||||||||||||||
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Daily observations Important notes the top
Notes
The Monthly climate summary, generally published on the first working day of each month, lists the main features of the weather in Australian Capital Territory 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.
In September 2017 this summary was broadened to include data from observing sites in or near the Australian Capital Territory “Greater Capital City Statistical Area” (GCCSA). The Australian Bureau of Statistics designed the GCCSAs to “include the population within the urban area of the city, as well as people who regularly socialise, shop or work within the city, and live in small towns and rural areas surrounding the city. It is important to note that GCCSAs do not define the built up edge of the city. They provide a stable definition for these cities and are designed for the output of a range of social and economic survey data.”
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Friday 1 June 2018. 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
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
Unless otherwise noted, all maps, graphs and diagrams in this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
