The daily weather log

As sometimes happens, temperatures did not rise in September until late in the month. They then rose to several degrees above normal and stayed there until the end of October. Early November was very cool, and mid-November warm. The daily temperature range increased in dry periods and decreased in rainy periods.
There were two late frosts below 2.2° in September.

Only 2.2 mm of rain fell in September. Much more fell later, in short wet spells around October 12th and 26th, and November 7th and 24th. The two best daily falls were 17 mm each. Total spring rainfall was 122 mm, falling on 23 rain days.

Very cloudy or overcast skies became common in November.

Comparing spring seasons

Although each month this spring had unusual temperatures, the three months taken together did not. Daily maximum, minimum and mean temperatures for the spring, as well as the daily temperature range (16.0°), were all normal. In the extreme drought of spring 2002, the values had been two degrees higher, and the daily temperature range 17.1°. The spring of 2001 had the lowest temperatures in this record.

Two frosts this spring compare with three on the average. Spring 2004 had 10 frosts, including one in mid-October, and one on 3rd November!

Spring rainfall in 2007 (122 mm) fell 44 mm short of the long-term average (166 mm), due to September being 39 mm down. October was only 6 mm down, and November 2 mm up. Spring rainfall averaged over the last nine years is above the long-term average, because the droughty spring of 2002 is more than balanced by the very wet springs of 1999, 2000, and 2005. These were in the ninth decile for spring rainfall.

Data. Rainfall data is from Manilla Post Office, courtesy of Phil Pinch. Dew Point values before August 2005 are from Tamworth Airport 6 am data supplied by the Bureau of Meteorology. Temperatures, including subsoil at 750 mm, and other data are from 3 Monash Street, Manilla.