Wednesday 1 August 2018 — Monthly Summary for Australia — Product Code IDCKGC1A00

Australia in July 2018

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

In brief

• Daytime temperatures exceptionally warm for Australia as a whole, second-warmest July on record
• All mainland States and Territories were in the warmest six on record for July in terms of mean maximum temperatures 
• Minimum temperatures were below average in a band from Broome in the northwest to Canberra in the southeast, but slightly above average overall
• Nationally, the driest July since 2002 with below average rainfall recorded for all of mainland Australia

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Temperatures

The national mean temperature was 1.24 °C above average and the fifth-warmest July on record. Almost the entire country was warmer than average overall. Daytime maximum temperatures were especially warm, but overnight minimum temperatures were below average in a band from Broome in the northwest to Canberra in the southeast.

The mean maximum temperature for Australia as a whole was the second-warmest on record for July at 2.22 °C above average, although well short of the July record set in 2017. Mean maximum temperatures for all mainland States and Territories were in the warmest six on record for July. Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales all had mean maxima more than 2 °C above average.

Above average daytime temperatures were experienced in all regions of Australia except for a small pocket in the lower southeast of South Australia. Records were set at numerous long-term stations in the northern interior and southern coast in Western Australia, along the east coast and north west slopes and plains of New South Wales and the southeast and central coast of Queensland.

The national mean minimum temperature was 0.25 °C above the July average. Warm overnight temperatures were experienced in the south of Western Australia; along the southern coastline of South Australia; central and East Gippsland regions of Victoria; most of Tasmania; the coastal Arnhem, Roper and Barkly districts of the Northern Territory; and the Gulf Country and pockets along the east coast of Queensland. In contrast, cooler than average overnight temperatures were experienced in a broad band extending from around Broome in the northwest to around Canberra in the southeast, with some areas recording minimum temperatures as much as 3 °C below average.

From the 3rd, a strong cold front off the coast of southwest Western Australia, drew warm northerly winds across most of Western Australia. Over the following days, the cold front tracked eastwards and pulled warm air from the mainland interior across South Australia, New South Wales and into Queensland giving several sites their warmest July minimum or July maximum temperature on record.

The middle of the month saw a cool break due to a slow-moving high pressure system over southeast Australia. This system brought clear, dry skies and minimum temperatures between 4 °C and 8 °C cooler than average in parts of the southeast of the Northern Territory and a large area of the southeast mainland focused over Queensland and New South Wales. A cold front that crossed the southeast on the 18th introduced more cool, dry air over the eastern mainland, with very low minima again reported on the 22nd, including −12.1 °C at Perisher Valley in New South Wales.

Areal average temperatures
	Maximum Temperature			Minimum Temperature			Mean Temperature
	Rank (of 109)	Anomaly (°C)	Comment	Rank (of 109)	Anomaly (°C)	Comment	Rank (of 109)	Anomaly (°C)	Comment
Australia	108	+2.22	2nd highest (record +2.63 °C in 2017)	63	+0.25		105	+1.24	5th highest
Queensland	106	+1.99	4th highest (record +3.05 °C in 2017)	= 68	+0.45		97	+1.22
New South Wales	106	+2.23	4th highest (record +2.32 °C in 2002)	36	−0.24		96	+1.00
Victoria	104	+1.18	6th highest	57	+0.23		= 92	+0.71
Tasmania	83	+0.49		= 88	+1.07		91	+0.78
South Australia	106	+2.35	4th highest (record +2.77 °C in 1975)	49	+0.03		= 100	+1.19	equal 9th highest
Western Australia	108	+2.30	2nd highest (record +2.32 °C in 2017)	76	+0.47		106	+1.39	4th highest (record +1.75 °C in 1973)
Northern Territory	107	+2.55	3rd highest (record +3.25 °C in 2017)	54	−0.02		93	+1.27

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 109 (highest). A rank marked with ’=‘ indicates the value is tied for that rank. Anomaly is the departure from the long-term (1961–1990) average.

Temperature maps
	Mean	Anomaly	Deciles
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures
Mean daily temperatures

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Rainfall

Nationally, it was the driest July since 2002 with total rainfall 51% below average. Rainfall was below average in a broad belt across southern Australia, extending from the southern Kimberley, across the eastern interior and south coast of Western Australia, through southern districts of the Northern Territory and into western Queensland; and across much of South Australia and New South Wales and down into northern Victoria.

Especially dry conditions were experienced in New South Wales with over 80% of the State recording very much below average rainfall and the State as a whole having its fifth-driest July on record, and the driest since 2002. Numerous stations in New South Wales reported record low rainfall totals.

A particularly dry day for the continent on the 10th where little to no rain was recorded on the mainland as a result of a strong high sitting over the Great Australian Bight, creating cloud free conditions for much of the country.

There were some scattered regions that received above average rainfall. During the first and third weeks of July, several strong cold fronts crossed the southwest coast of Western Australia bringing record breaking daily rainfalls to the area. A cloud band across the Gulf of Carpentaria produced above average falls over the northeast Arnhem District, at the same time an onshore moist air flow in the north tropics of Queensland produced local showers. Much of Tasmania was also affected throughout the month by several strong cold fronts and troughs which brought heavy showers. A series of cold fronts brought wet and windy conditions to southern Victoria and Tasmania between the 19th and the 20th.

Area-average rainfall
	Rank (of 119)	Average (mm)	Departure from mean	Comment
Australia	12	10.8	−51%	lowest since 2002
Queensland	33	5.8	−70%
New South Wales	5	8.6	−78%	5th lowest; lowest since 2002
Victoria	28	47.2	−33%
Tasmania	112	233.4	+47%	8th highest
South Australia	17	8.4	−55%
Western Australia	20	12.6	−37%
Northern Territory	26	0.2	−98%
Murray-Darling Basin	12	12.6	−68%

Rank ranges from 1 (lowest) to 119 (highest). A rank marked with ’=‘ indicates the value is tied for that rank. Departure from mean is relative to the long-term (1961–1990) average.

Rainfall maps
	Totals	Percentages	Deciles
Total rainfall

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Australian weather extremes during July 2018
Hottest day	35.9 °C	at Kalumburu (WA) on the 30th
Coldest day	−4.2 °C	at Thredbo AWS (NSW) on the 20th
Coldest night	−12.1 °C	at Perisher Valley AWS (NSW) on the 23rd
Warmest night	26.3 °C	at Browse Island (WA) on the 3rd and 7th
Wettest day	83.4 mm	at Mount William (WA) on the 22nd

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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