November 2011 was the wettest

This was the wettest November, and the fifth-wettest month in the 129-year record.

The daily weather logWeather log November 2011.

After eight sunny dry days, half the remaining days were cloudy and wet. At first it was stormy, with over 60 mm falling in half an hour on the 13th. Persistent steady rain fell later in the month, with daily readings of 47.8, 25.0 and 62.8 mm.. The total reached 242.9 mm.
Some days in the middle of the month were rather warm, balanced later by cool days with the rain. Most nights were a little warm. Taking days and nights together, the weather was warm until the last week.

 Comparing November monthsClimate November 2011.

The record total rainfall of 242.9 mm is more than 100 mm higher than the very high November rainfalls of 2008 (132 mm), 2001 (133 mm) and 2000 (132 mm). All these are far above the November average, which is 67 mm.
Totals for groups of months up to 18 months are all very high. For longer periods, totals are not so high, but all are above the median (the 50th percentile) except for the 10-year total (43rd percentile) and the 12-year total (39th percentile).
Mean daily temperatures are above normal, especially the daily minimum, which is 2° up. However, temperatures in the heat-wave of November 2009 were much higher. This month was humid, with a morning Dew Point a degree higher than 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.

 

Wet cloudy October 2011 began cold

The daily weather logWeather log October 2011.

October began very cold throughout NSW, southern Queensland and central Australia. At Manilla the maximum on Sunday the 2nd was only 13.4°: 12.6° below normal, and the coldest October day in 13 years. During the month, the air slowly warmed up to normal. The subsoil was also very cold in the second week, but only slightly cool later.
Rain fell every few days except for the week beginning on Sunday the 16th. Most rain came as showers or storms. The highest reading was 22.6 mm on the 26th. In 10 rain days (3 more than usual) the total was 97.4 mm.

 Comparing October monthsClimate October 2011.

Mean temperature readings and the Dew Point were well below normal. The average October temperature has fallen steadily since October 2007.  While that month was rather dry and sunny, October 2002 was much drier (15 mm rain) and sunnier (only 6% cloudy days).
Fifty-eight percent cloudy mornings is a record high value for October, equal with last year, and more than twice normal.
The rainfall of 97.4 mm is very high, in the 84th percentile for October (Average: 58.1 mm.). Most rainfall totals for groups of months are now high. Among groups of 108 months or less, the driest is the 30-month total which is not very dry: in the 37th percentile. In that 30 months there was 1516 mm of rain, just 100 mm below 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.

 

September 2011: Dry Air with Rain

Humidity this month was extremely low. Early morning Dew Point readings averaged 1.7°, which is 3.7° below normal for September (5.4°). Relative humidity at sunrise was about 70% instead of 80%, and in the heat of the day 25% instead of 35%. This is the sixth month in a row with very low humidity, beginning with April, which had Dew Points 1.5° below normal.
In thirteen years only three months have had Dew Points further below normal. They were: July 2002 (down 3.8°), October 2002 (down 3.9°), and May 2006 (down 3.9°).
Plants are stressed by such dry air, and litter will burn easily.

The daily weather logWeather log September 2011.

Most September days were warm and sunny, but heavy rain registered on the 9th (38 mm) and on the 29th (40 mm) brought cold windy overcast weather. The 9th, at 12.9°, was the coldest September day on this record. There had been no days colder than 14°.
While many days had no cloud at all, seven days (marked “H”) had a thick smoke haze from Queensland.

 Comparing September monthsClimate September 2011.

Mean temperature readings were below normal by half a degree or more. The extremely low mean early morning Dew Point (1.7°) contrasts with the very high value last September: 7.3°
Twenty-seven percent cloudy mornings is a normal value, but lower than in the last three Septembers.
The rainfall of 91.4 mm is extremely high, in the 94th percentile for September (Average: 41.1 mm.). Rainfall totals for groups of months are all near normal. The nearest to a “drought” is the 6-month total (221 mm) which is in the 21st percentile; the nearest to a “deluge: is the 12-month total (724 mm) which is in the 68th percentile.


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.

August 2011: rain still scarce

The daily weather logWeather log August 2011.

There were warm sunny days early and late in the month. Otherwise, days were often cold and cloudy, with a bit of rain. Of four foggy mornings, the 28th had fog that kept visibility below 800 metres until 11 am.
Temperatures were never far from normal. Two years ago, August 2009 had one daily maximum (31.8°) which was 11.4° above normal and one daily minimum (18.2°) which was 14.0° above normal.
The highest rainfall reading was quite low: 8.2 mm, recorded on the 18th. There were ten rain days, four more than usual, but the total was only 30.8 mm.

 Comparing August monthsClimate August 2011.

Mean temperature readings were above normal by half a degree. The mean early morning Dew Point (1.9°) was 0.6° lower than normal, indicating low humidity.
With only nine frosts (below +2.2° in the Gill screen), this was the least frosty August of thirteen.
Fifty-five percent cloudy mornings equalled the August record, set in 2008.
The rainfall of 30.8 mm is fairly low, in the 44th percentile for August. Rainfall totals for 3, 4, 5 and 6 months have percentile values lower than 10, making them serious rainfall shortages. Totals for larger groups of months continue to be near normal. The 12-month total (691 mm) is well above the median, being in the 61st percentile.


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.

 

Dry air and little rain in July 2011

The daily weather logWeather log July 2011.

Despite a series of cloudy cold days in the middle of the month, most features of the weather in July were normal. Days got as warm as 20° at each end of the month, and never went lower than 11.7°. Nights were neither very warm nor very cold. There were 17 frosts, the coldest being -3.7°.
Humidity and rainfall recall the drought year of 2002.
Extremely low humidity was shown by the early morning Dew Point on the 12th, of 6.2°. This was the lowest July value since 2002, which had four lower values, down to 6.7°.
The highest rainfall reading was only 4 mm, recorded on the 20th. Four rain days totalled 6.4 mm.By the end of the month there had been 39 days with less than 5 mm of rain.

 Comparing July monthsClimate July 2011.

Mean temperature readings were normal. The mean early morning Dew Point (- 0.6°) was the lowest July value since 2002 (- 1.4°).
For frosts, this month was normal. Since 1999, the most frosty July was in 2002, with 27 frosts, down to -5.1°. The least frosty was 2010, with 12 frosts, down to only -1.4°.
The rainfall of 6.4 mm is very low: on the 8th percentile for July. Only ten Julies in 127 years have been drier. (July 2002 and July 1940 were equal driest, at 1 mm.) Rainfall totals for 2, 3, 4 and 5 months are in the 5th, 10th, 9th and 10th percentiles respectively. Percentile values lower than 10 are serious rainfall shortages. Totals for larger groups of months continue to be near 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.