May 2019 rain gives some relief

Posted in Australian Climate, Climate events, Manilla NSW, Rainfall from 1883 by

Rainfall status Apr-May 2019

Graph of Rainfall Shortages

This graph shows all the present rainfall shortages at Manilla, short term and long term, as percentile values. The latest values, as at the end of May, are shown by a thick black line with large circles. Those from one month earlier are shown by a thinner line with smaller circles. [The method is described in “Further Explanation” below.]

Changes from April to May

Above-average rainfall in May relieved the drought situation in some ways. Rainfall shortages of 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-month duration are no longer serious. The 9-month shortage is reduced from severe to serious, and the 12-month shortage from extreme to severe.

May rain did not prevent the rainfall total for 15 months falling to the record low value of 388 mm. The record, which had been set at 404 mm in 1912, has been broken three times in this drought: to 400 mm in September, 397 mm in April, and 388 mm in May.

Nearly all rainfall shortages at long and very long durations have been reduced to some extent. However, extreme shortages persist not only at 15-months, but also at 18-, 24-, 30-, 72- and 84-months.

Further Explanation

The following notes explain aspects of this work under these listed headings:

Data analysis

Cumulative rainfall totals
Percentile values
Severity of rainfall shortages

Limitations of this analysis

Monthly rainfalls form a single population
Observations are not retrospective
The rain gauge failed

Data analysis

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3-year trends to May 2019

Posted in 3-year climate trends, Manilla NSW by

May days not warm

3-year trends to May 2019

May raw anomaly data (orange)

In May 2019, the anomaly of daily maximum temperature returned to zero after years of positive values. Both daily minimum temperature and subsoil temperature anomalies were very high. Moisture anomalies, reflecting the high rainfall value (+21 mm), were low on the graphs (away from drought), but dew point was not as far down as “normal”.

 Fully smoothed data (red)

Fully-smoothed data now include the spring season ending November 2018.
Both daily maximum and daily minimum temperature anomalies were very high and rising. The minimum was rising faster and broke the record of +1.65°. Subsoil temperature anomaly, due to a phase lag, was normal and still slowly falling.
Moisture indicators in this spring were inconsistent. Rainfall anomaly decreased slowly to a new (20th century) record of minus 29.7 mm. The dew point anomaly was also low, but rapidly increasing. Both the cloudiness and the daily temperature range were normal.

Notes:

January data points are marked by squares.

Smoothing

Smoothing uses Gaussian functions.
For fully smoothed data the function has a Standard Deviation of 2.5 months, it spans 13 monthly data points, and has a half-width of 6 months, which suppresses cycles shorter than 12 months. For partly smoothed data, the span of the function is reduced to 11 months, 9 months and so on.
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Rainfall Shortage Sequence 04/2019

Posted in Australian Climate, Climate events, Manilla NSW, Rainfall from 1883 by

Sequence of raiinfall shortages to April 2019

By April 2019, driest-ever rainfall totals occur at durations of 15, 18, 24 and 30 months. The total for 12 months is the second driest for that duration.

This contour plot shows the progress of the drought at Manilla up to April 2019. Colours show rainfall shortages as percentiles. Dates plot along the top, and durations down the side.

One month rainfall totals (on the top row)

April 2019, which had no rain, followed eight months without serious monthly rainfall shortages. Months of serious rainfall shortage (light brown) had come earlier, in May, June and July 2018, and also in September 2017.

Shortages lasting less than one year (rows 2 to 9)

As the effects of low monthly rainfall added up, extreme shortages appeared (dark brown). That is, rainfall totals in the lowest 1% of the historical record.
By June 2018, the 2-month and 3-month totals were already extreme shortages. Similarly, by July, the 3-month, 4-month, and 5-month totals were all extreme shortages. By September 2018, extreme shortages extended as far as 9-month totals. That total, adding up the nine months from January to September 2018, included only one month (February) that had rainfall above normal.
In these shorter durations, extreme shortages were rare after September 2018. March 2019 included no shortages (not even “serious” ones) for durations from 2 months up to 6 months. However, April saw some serious shortages return.

Shortages of 1-year to 3-year duration (rows 12 to 36)

By August 2018, an extreme 15-month shortage appeared. The 15-month total then included not only the dry months of winter 2018, but also the dry month of September 2017. By September 2018, the 15-month total became the driest on record (400 mm). By October four totals in this group (12-, 15-, 18-, and 24-month totals) were extreme shortages. That was true again in January 2019. By that time, some dry months in 2017 were excluded, but dry months in the current summer were included.
In February 2019, as the four extreme shortages of the previous month persisted, the 12-month total became the driest ever (271 mm). March also had four extreme shortages in this group, but now they were at 12, 15, 24 and 30 months. The 24-month total (769 mm) was the second-driest on record and the 30-month total (1078 mm) equal driest.
April was much worse: lowest-ever or second-lowest values appeared for all five durations from 12 months to 30 months.

The 2002 extreme drought

Contour chart 2002 drought at Manilla NSWA similar graph was posted in “The 2002 drought contour chart”. It is clear that, in that case, extreme shortages did not extend through the 15- to 30-month durations that have the most extreme shortages now.

A line graph for April 2019

A profile of the rainfall status for April 2019 reveals that extreme shortages also exist at durations much longer than shown in this contour graph: durations of six years and seven years. Severe shortages even occur at durations of ten years and twenty years.

Data and method

This kind of graph simply displays the time sequence, month by month, of rainfall shortages that I have displayed on line graphs prepared for each month. In the post for the most recent line graph (April 2019) I have described my method of analysis and its limitations.

No Rain Days in April 2019

Posted in Manilla NSW, Monthly weather by

Split Rock Reservoir 4-5-19

A warm spell in the third week was 4.2° above normal. There were 29 days over 25°, many more than usual. Anzac Day (25th) was sunny, calm and warm. It reached 28.2°, which was four degrees above average for that day, but not up to the 28.7° of Anzac Day 2002.
There were no rain days (usually four) and the dew point on the 28th reached a record low April value of minus 3.2°. There were no frosts.

Weather log for April 2019

Comparing April months

This month was warm (average 19.8°), but not as warm as April 2018, 2016 or 2005. The mean daily maximum of 27.8° was well below that of April 2005 (29.5°).
There was no rain, as in April 1912, 1925, 1942 and 1971. Dry air was shown by early morning readings of low dew point (5.8°) and very low relative humidity (67%). However, normal moisture was shown by 30% cloudy days and a daily temperature range of 15.9°.

The last seven April months

Drought

The on-going unprecedented drought is reported in another post.

Data. A Bureau of Meteorology automatic rain gauge operates in the museum yard. From 17 March 2017, 9 am daily readings are published as Manilla Museum, Station 55312.  These reports use that rainfall data when it is available.  Since no 9 am readings have been recorded since August, I have substituted my non-standard gauge readings for all days.
All other data, including subsoil at 750 mm, are from 3 Monash Street, Manilla.

3-year trends to April 2019

Posted in 3-year climate trends, Manilla NSW by

April no rain

3-year trends to April 2019

April raw anomaly data (orange)

In April 2019, a rainfall total of zero made the raw anomaly for rainfall minus 40 mm. Rainfall, and the other moisture indicators (cloudiness, dew point, and daily temperature range) were much further up the graphs towards drought than they had been in March.
Daily maximum, minimum and subsoil temperatures were high, near the high-side limits of (smoothed) normal temperature.

 Fully smoothed data (red)

Fully smoothed data to October 2018 show rainfall just short of the record negative anomaly set in May 2018, and both maximum and minimum temperatures near record positive anomalies. However, cloudiness, dew point, and daily temperature range continued a movement (down) away from drought.

Notes:

January data points are marked by squares.

Smoothing

Smoothing uses Gaussian functions.
For fully smoothed data the function has a Standard Deviation of 2.5 months, it spans 13 monthly data points, and has a half-width of 6 months, which suppresses cycles shorter than 12 months. For partly smoothed data, the span of the function is reduced to 11 months, 9 months and so on.
Continue reading →