Tag Archives: record-breaking drought

May 2020: as in March, no new drought records

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

Rainfall shortages at Manilla NSW

Changing shortages

Nine extreme rainfall shortages persisted at Manilla in May, one fewer than in April. No serious shortages occurred at 9-months or less. However, the 12-month total (440 mm) once again became a serious shortage (9th percentile).
The two rainfall totals nearest to record values for dryness were those that made new records most recently. The 42-month total of 1485 mm (2nd driest) had reached the record value of 1468 mm in April, while the 96-month total of 4141 mm (4th driest) had reached the record value of 4104 mm in February.

How to read the graph

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

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

Continue reading →

April 2020: once again a new drought record

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

Changing shortages

Many extreme rainfall shortages persisted at Manilla in April. That is despite no serious shortages at 12-months or less. Extreme shortages, below the first percentile, occurred at 24-, 30-, 36-, 42-, 48-, 60-, 72-, 84-, 96-, and 240-month durations. Once again, the 42-month rainfall total broke the record for dryness with 1468 mm, surpassing the record of 1477 mm set in December.
The 96-month total of 4116 mm was also very close to the record low total of 4104 mm mm set in February.

How to read the graph

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

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

Continue reading →

March 2020: no new drought records

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

Changing shortages

Despite high rainfall (165 mm) in February and normal rainfall (53 mm) in March, many severe and extreme shortages persisted. Only at durations shorter than one year were rainfall totals near normal. As in February, the 12-month total remained at 432 mm: a serious shortage.

Three near-record low rainfalls

Although no records were broken this month, three rainfall totals were the third-driest ever: those for 42-months (1508 mm), 84-months (3495 mm) and 96-months (4142 mm).

How to read the graph

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

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

Continue reading →

February 2020: one drought record left

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

Rainfall status Manilla Jan-Feb 2020

Changing shortages

Very high February rainfall of 165.4 mm further reduced nearly all rainfall shortages, especially short-term ones. The 12-month rainfall total (432 mm) now just qualifies as a “serious shortage” below the 10th percentile.
Despite the general improvement, 10 of the longer-term totals are still extreme shortages, below the 1st percentile. However, only one breaks a record.

One record low rainfall

Only one rainfall total was a new record low value: the 96-month (8-year) total of 4104 mm. This record, having stood at 4405 mm since November 1919, was broken successively in November and December 2019 and January and February 2020.

Record-breaking low rainfall totals from 2018

Until 2018, no new records for low rainfall had been set since 1971. Most records had stood since the droughts of the 1940’s, more than 70 years ago.
In September 2018, a new record was set for the 15-month total (400 mm).
Since then (to include February 2020), new records have been set for 12-, 15-, 18-, 24-, 30-, 36-, 42-, 48-, 60-, 72-, 84-, and 96-months. That is, at 12 of the 25 selected durations. Some records have been broken repeatedly; five times in the case of the 15-month duration.
To judge by records broken, this drought is by far the worst at Manilla since readings began (1883).

How to read the graph

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 February 2020, are shown by a thick black line with large circles. Those from one month earlier are shown by a thinner line with small diamonds. [The method is described in “Further Explanation” below.]

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

Continue reading →

More drought records in September 2019

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

Rainfall status Aug-Sep 2019 Manilla

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 September, are shown by a thick black line with large circles. Those from one month earlier are shown by a thinner line with small diamonds. [The method is described in “Further Explanation” below.]

Record low rainfalls for 15-months to 36-months

With only 1.2 mm of rain falling in September 2019, most of the rainfall totals that had been record low values in August fell further to become new records. Some of these rainfall totals had been getting lower in each of the last four months. Until 2019, these records for low rainfall had not been broken in half a century, some having been set in the great drought of 1966.
Some of the current rainfall totals are very much lower than the previous long-standing records. For example:

  • 18-month total to Sep 2019: 384 mm; to Apr 1966: 514 mm; now lower by 130 mm.
  • 30-month total to Sep 2019: 853 mm; to Oct 1966: 1078 mm; now lower by 225 mm.
  • 36-month total to Sep 2019: 1161 mm; to Jan 1947: 1333 mm; lower by 172 mm.

Record low rainfalls for 72-months and 84-months

Record low rainfalls for 72-months and 84-months, which had appeared during 2019, got steadily lower. The earlier records had stood for more than a century, (Feb, Mar 1903) but are now beaten by about 100 mm.

The latest four months

September’s low rainfall has dragged down the totals for 2-, 3-, and 4-months. The 4-month total of 22 mm is the 2nd lowest ever.

The pattern of this drought

Two features of this drought are now clear from this data:

  • It is an extreme drought of two to three-year duration: one of Manilla’s six great droughts.
  • Record-breaking rainfall shortages at 72-month and 84-month duration show that the summer droughts of 2012-13 and 2013-14 still have an effect, not compensated by the wet winter of 2016.

Table of lowest-ever rainfalls

In a post of July 2018, I tabulated the lowest-ever rainfall for selected durations up to 360 months.

I commented that such records are rarely broken, and all had stood for at least forty-six years at that date.
The current drought has now broken most of those records for durations between 12-months 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

Continue reading →