Thursday, 2 March 2023 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Greater Sydney - Product code IDCKGC25L0
Greater Sydney in summer 2022–23: cooler than average, especially during December
Summer 2022–23 rainfall was below average towards the west, around or above average towards the coast. Temperatures were cooler than average, especially minimum temperatures during December.
Drier than average towards the west, around average towards the coast
- Summer 2022–23 rainfall was below average towards the Blue Mountains whilst being around or above average closer to the coast.
- Summer 2022–23 rainfall totals ranged from 62% of average at Penrith Lakes AWS, to 166% of average at Canterbury Racecourse AWS.
- Rainfall was below average during December 2022 and February 2023 while being above average during January 2023.
- There were multiple days where severe thunderstorms crossed the city and resulted in storm-related damage and SES callouts, including on the 24th and 29th of January.
Cooler than average, especially nights
- Both maximum and minimum temperatures were cooler than average for the summer 2022–23.
- Mean daily maximum temperatures were mostly around up to 1 °C cooler than their monthly averages, with a few sites being up to around 1.5 °C cooler than average.
- Mean daily minimum temperatures were around 1 °C to 1.5 °C cooler than their monthly averages.
- Mangrove Mountain AWS and Horsley Park Equestrian Centre AWS had their lowest summer temperature on record.
- Mangrove Mountain AWS and Horsley Park Equestrian Centre AWS had their lowest summer mean daily minimum temperature on record with several other site having their lowest summer mean daily minimum temperature since 1999.
Sydney (Observatory Hill)
- Estimated total rainfall was 445.6 mm, which is 150% of the average total over all years at the former site of 297.6 mm, or 151% of the 1991-2020 average total of 295.6 mm.
- The summer total rainfall includes around 70 mm (estimate based on nearby sites) missed from the 22-24 February due to an equipment fault.
- The mean daily maximum temperature for Sydney (Observatory Hill) was 26.4 °C, which is 0.7 °C above the average over all years at the former site of 25.7 °C, or 0.1 °C below the 1991–2020 average of 26.5 °C.
- This was the coolest summer mean daily maximum temperature since summer 2011-12.
- The warmest day was 30.6 °C on 3 February, and the coolest day was on 19 January when the temperature reached 20.3 °C.
- The mean daily minimum temperature for Sydney (Observatory Hill) was 18.4 °C, which is equal to the average over all years at the former site, or 1.0 °C below the 1991–2020 average of 19.4 °C.
- This was the coolest summer mean daily minimum temperature since summer 1999-2000, with December mean daily minimum temperatures being the coolest since 1967.
- The coldest morning was 12.5 °C on 16 December, and the warmest morning was on 29 January when the minimum temperature was 23.9 °C.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Extremes in summer 2022-23 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day |
38.7 °C at Badgerys Creek AWS on 11 Feb 2023 |
| Warmest days on average |
29.3 °C at Penrith Lakes AWS |
| Coolest days on average |
22.5 °C at Mount Boyce AWS |
| Coldest day |
10.0 °C at Katoomba (Farnells Rd) on 5 Jan 2023 |
| Coldest night |
3.1 °C at Mount Boyce AWS on 15 Dec 2022 |
| Coolest nights on average |
11.5 °C at Mount Boyce AWS |
| Warmest nights on average |
19.2 °C at Sydney Harbour (Wedding Cake West) |
| Warmest night |
24.1 °C at Gosford AWS on 29 Jan 2023 24.1 °C at Sydney Airport AMO on 29 Jan 2023 24.1 °C at Sydney Harbour (Wedding Cake West) on 29 Jan 2023 24.1 °C at Sydney Olympic Park AWS (Archery Centre) on 29 Jan 2023 |
| Warmest on average overall |
23.2 °C at Penrith Lakes AWS |
| Coolest on average overall |
17.0 °C at Mount Boyce AWS |
| Wettest overall |
462.6 mm at Terrey Hills AWS |
| Wettest day |
127.2 mm at Terrey Hills AWS on 22 Feb 2023 |
| Strongest wind gust |
146 km/h at Badgerys Creek AWS on 28 Feb 2023 |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Record lowest summer temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for summer |
|||
| Mangrove Mountain AWS | 6.6 | on 15 Dec 2022 | 6.9 | on 20 Dec 1995 | 29 | 16.4 |
| Horsley Park Equestrian Centre AWS | 8.9 | on 13 Dec 2022 | 9.0 | on 26 Dec 2006 | 26 | 17.3 |
| Record lowest summer mean daily minimum temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for summer |
||
| Mangrove Mountain AWS | 14.7 | 15.1 | in 1999 | 28 | 16.4 |
| Horsley Park Equestrian Centre AWS | 16.1 | = 16.1 | in 2011 | 25 | 17.3 |
| Lowest summer mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (°C) |
Most recent lower |
Average for summer |
|||
| Badgerys Creek AWS | 15.2 | 14.8 | in 1999 | 16.7 | |
| Camden Airport AWS | 15.3 | =15.3 | in 1999 | 16.4 | |
| Canterbury Racecourse AWS | 16.7 | 16.2 | in 1999 | 17.9 | |
| Parramatta North (Masons Drive) | 16.3 | 15.8 | in 1999 | 17.2 | |
| Richmond RAAF | 16.3 | 16.0 | in 1999 | 17.3 | |
| Sydney Airport AMO | 18.5 | 18.4 | in 1999 | 18.6 | |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for summer 2022-23 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for summer 2022-23 |
Diff from average |
Highest for summer 2022-23 |
Mean for summer 2022-23 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for summer 2022-23 |
Total for summer 2022-23 |
Average for summer |
Rank of summer 2022-23 |
Fraction of summer average |
|||
| Badgerys Creek AWS | 28.8 | -0.4 | 38.7 | 11 Feb 2023 | 15.2 | -1.5 | 8.5 | 15 Dec 2022 | ||||
| Bankstown Airport AWS | 27.6 | -0.4 | 36.9 | 11 Feb 2023 | 17.1 | -0.6 | 10.0 | 15 Dec 2022 | 265.2 | 272.6 | average | 97% |
| Camden Airport AWS | 28.1 | -0.9 | 37.1 | 11 Feb 2023 | 15.3 | -1.1 | 8.0 | 14 Dec 2022 | 281.4 | 247.6 | average | 114% |
| Campbelltown (Mount Annan) | 28.0 | -1.0 | 36.5 | 11 Feb 2023 | 15.1 | -1.4 | 6.2 | 15 Dec 2022 | 233.4 | 245.2 | average | 95% |
| Canterbury Racecourse AWS | 26.1 | -1.2 | 33.4 | 26 Jan 2023 | 16.7 | -1.2 | 8.9 | 13 Dec 2022 | 450.0 | 271.6 | high | 166% |
| Cooranbong (Lake Macquarie AWS) | 26.8 | -1.3 | 34.6 | 11 Feb 2023 | 15.6 | -1.5 | 8.1 | 13 Dec 2022 | 245.8 | 339.5 | average | 72% |
| Gosford AWS | 26.1 | 32.8 | 11 Feb 2023 | 17.0 | 11.0 | 13 Dec 2022 | 310.4 | |||||
| Holsworthy Aerodrome AWS | 27.1 | -1.5 | 36.4 | 11 Feb 2023 | 16.2 | -1.5 | 8.9 | 17 Dec 2022 | 203.2 | 258.7 | low | 79% |
| Holsworthy Defence AWS | 26.9 | 37.3 | 18 Feb 2023 | 15.5 | 8.9 | 17 Dec 2022 | 210.4 | |||||
| Horsley Park Equestrian Centre AWS | 27.7 | -1.3 | 37.2 | 11 Feb 2023 | 16.1 | -1.2 | 8.9 | 13 Dec 2022 | 204.0 | 262.6 | average | 78% |
| Mangrove Mountain AWS | 26.7 | -0.1 | 37.6 | 18 Feb 2023 | 14.7 | -1.7 | 6.6 | 15 Dec 2022 | 364.6 | 335.9 | average | 109% |
| Mount Boyce AWS | 22.5 | -0.8 | 32.5 | 18 Feb 2023 | 11.5 | -1.3 | 3.1 | 15 Dec 2022 | 222.6 | 344.4 | low | 65% |
| Norah Head AWS | 26.5 | +0.6 | 31.7 | 3 Feb 2023 | 18.9 | -0.5 | 12.0 | 16 Dec 2022 | 185.8 | 272.2 | low | 68% |
| Parramatta North (Masons Drive) | 27.1 | -0.9 | 36.8 | 11 Feb 2023 | 16.3 | -0.9 | 9.4 | 15 Dec 2022 | 350.0 | 307.6 | average | 114% |
| Penrith Lakes AWS | 29.3 | -0.8 | 38.6 | 11 Feb 2023 | 17.1 | -1.0 | 10.2 | 15 Dec 2022 | 168.4 | 273.4 | low | 62% |
| Richmond RAAF | 29.0 | -0.5 | 37.8 | 18 Feb 2023 | 16.3 | -1.0 | 8.4 | 15 Dec 2022 | 228.0 | 276.4 | low | 82% |
| Sydney (Observatory Hill) | 26.4 | 30.6 | 3 Feb 2023 | 18.4 | 12.5 | 16 Dec 2022 | ||||||
| Sydney Airport AMO | 26.4 | 0.0 | 33.3 | 26 Jan 2023 | 18.5 | -0.1 | 12.3 | 16 Dec 2022 | 362.0 | 284.8 | high | 127% |
| Sydney Harbour (Wedding Cake West) | 23.5 | -0.8 | 29.2 | 12 Dec 2022 | 19.2 | -0.7 | 13.2 | 16 Dec 2022 | ||||
| Sydney Olympic Park AWS (Archery Centre) | 27.0 | -1.2 | 36.6 | 11 Feb 2023 | 17.2 | -1.4 | 10.1 | 13 Dec 2022 | 335.0 | |||
| Terrey Hills AWS | 24.9 | -1.1 | 31.6 | 11 Feb 2023 | 16.7 | -1.0 | 10.0 | 16 Dec 2022 | 462.6 | 341.6 | high | 135% |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
Notes
The Seasonal climate summary, generally published on the first working day of each month, lists the main features of the weather in Greater Sydney 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.
This summary includes data from observing sites in or near the Greater Sydney “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 11 am on Friday 3 March 2023. 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
Unless otherwise noted, all maps, graphs and diagrams in this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
