The daily weather log

Days were sunny and extremely hot in the first three weeks. Saturday the 12th had the highest temperature on this record: 43.2°. Later, days were cloudy, and the maximum temperature on the 28th was only 21.3°. That was 12.6° below normal, and the second coldest January day. Most nights were warmer than normal, helping to make the weekly average of 30.3° on the 10th the second hottest, after a week in November 2009.
Only a few showers had fallen until the 27th, when ex-tropical cyclone Oswald brought 89 mm in three days of steady rain.

 Comparing January months

Unlike recent arid months, March was near normal in day-time temperature, humidity and cloudiness. Nights were very warm, however .

The total rainfall of 101.6 mm is almost twice the March average of 53 mm, and in the 85th percentile. March has been wetter in nineteen years, including 2001 (103 mm) and 2007 (114 mm). Taking rainfall totals for more than one month, the greatest shortages are not serious (i.e. not below the 10th percentile). The twelve-month total (469 mm) is in the 14th percentile. Other totals have higher percentile values, and most totals for 30 months or more are above normal.

Data. Rainfall data is from Manilla Post Office, courtesy of Phil Pinch. Temperatures, including subsoil at 750 mm, and other data are from 3 Monash Street, Manilla.