Tag Archives: climate

Spring 2011 the wettest by far

Posted in Manilla NSW, Season Weather by

 

Weather log spring 2011This spring’s rainfall of 431.7 mm far exceeded that of any other spring in the record from 1883. Winter had been very dry, with only 55 mm. While there was a lot of rain in September (91.4 mm) and October (97.4 mm), much more fell in November (242.9 mm), mainly in the second half.
The only other springs with more than 300 mm were in two small groups: 1916 (326 mm) and 1917 (327 mm); and 1949 (330 mm), 1950 (379 mm), 1954 (319 mm) and 1955 (321 mm).
Apart from the extreme rainfall, all other weather readings this spring were normal. By contrast, spring 2009 had been warm and sunny, and spring 2010, cool and cloudy.
During the season, there were two very cool spells, early in September and very early in October. They were separated by a sunny warm spell with very low humidity: it had people changing into summer gear (then back again!). By mid-November, both days and nights were very warm, but then returned to normal.Climate spring 2011

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.

November 2011 was the wettest

Posted in Manilla NSW, Monthly weather by
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

Posted in Manilla NSW, Monthly weather by

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

Posted in Manilla NSW, Monthly weather by

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.

Winter 2011 extremely dry

Posted in Manilla NSW, Season Weather by

Weather log winter 2011For temperature, this winter was normal. Otherwise, it was strange: it had the extreme low rainfall and low humidity that come with drought, without sunny skies or severe winter frosts.
During the season, two spells of weather stood out. In mid-June cool days and very warm nights came with rain, cloud, and high humidity. The last days of July and the first week of August had very warm sunny days with very low humidity. A mid-winter spell of cold weather in mid-July was not much colder than that in early June.
The number of frosts (40) was below the average number (44). The coldest screen reading was -3.7°, exactly on the average.
The percentage of mornings with more than 4/8 cloud (50%) was a new record for winter. Winters in 2008, 2009, and 2010 had percentages in the high forties, compared with the earlier average of 34%. On four mornings fog did not clear until late; five others had some fog in the valley.
Humidity was extremely low, marked by a mean early-morning Dew Point of 1.2°, the lowest winter mean on this record.
There were 19 rain days, which is normal. However, falls were extremely light: the highest daily reading of 8.2 mm was by far the lowest maximum reading in 13 winters. The winter total of 55.0 mm is in the 11th percentile: it was the 14th driest winter on record, only slightly wetter than that in the extreme drought year 2002 (44.6 mm).Climate winter 2011

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.