Monday, 2 November 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for Western Australia - Product code IDCKGC11R0

Western Australia in October 2020: dry in the South West Land Division

Rainfall was very much below average for most of the South West Land Division and the adjacent Goldfields areas in Western Australia. Above average rainfall was observed in parts of the north and south-east. Mean maximum and minimum temperatures were above average across much of the state, however, areas along the Pilbara coast saw below average mean maximum temperatures.

Very dry in the South West Land Division

• Monthly rainfall was 20% below average for Western Australia as a whole.
• Rainfall was very much below average for the South West Land Division (SWLD) and the adjacent Goldfields region.
• Monthly rainfall totals were mostly less than 5 mm in the north and east of the SWLD; several locations had driest October on record or driest October at least 20 years.
• For the SWLD as a whole, it was the seventh-driest October on record and the driest since 2012; it was its seventh-driest April-October period on record, and the driest since 2012.
• Thunderstorms brought moderate rainfall in early and late October in the north and east Kimberley resulting in above average rainfall for the month; Kununurra Aero recorded 94.6 mm, its second-wettest October on record behind the record of 135 mm in 2010.
• The state's south-east recorded above average rainfall for October; Mundrabilla Station (about 105 km west of Eucla) had its wettest October for at least 20 years.

Above average temperatures for much of the state

• WA mean maximum and minimum temperatures were 1.46 °C and 0.97 °C above average respectively.
• Locations between Roebourne and Onslow saw their monthly mean maximum temperatures 2–3 °C cooler than average and the coolest October since 2005, even though .
• During the first week of October, south to south-easterly winds resulted in daytime temperatures 8–12 °C cooler than normal which progressed eastward from the west coast; a number of sites in the Gascoyne and Pilbara had their coldest October day on record between the 3rd and 7th.
• Locations in the inalnd Gascoyne and the South West Land Division had their hotteast day of the month on the 29th or 30th, with maximum temperatures reached to the high 30s to low 40s in the inalnd Gascoyne, and Central Wes; a number of sites had their highest October temperature on record
• Cold mornings were observed in the north-west and southern half of the state early in October, and several sites had their lowest October temperature on record.
• Frosty nights with temperatures at or below 2 °C were recorded at a number of frosty prone locations; York in the Central Wheat Belt had 5 consecutive frosty nights between the 3rd and 7th, and -1.2 °C on the 5th was its lowest October temperature on record.
• Western Australia's year-to-date mean maximum temperature was the second-highest on record, behind 2019.
• Western Australia's year-to-date mean minimum temperature was the second-highest on record, behind 1998.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a lower value has gone unreported

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top