Styx

Major thunderstorm outbreak to deliver much needed rain to Queensland and NSW - ABC News WWW.ABC.NET.AU While even a 50mm soaking is unlikely to put out the larger blazes, the rain should assist in controlling the future spread of fires while also preventing new ones igniting. Good news. Bushfire has destroyed 70 homes in eastern Australia so far this spring with 4 fatalities - the most destructive fires so early in the season, since 2013. September-October has been the driest start to spring in Australia on record, edging out 2019 (there is a historical graph of this in the embedded story). October was another warm month but not as anomalously warm as September.

BoM confirms Australia had its THIRD warmest September with a +2.4C temperature anomaly. For mean maximum temperature alone it was the SECOND warmest, just behind September 2013, with a +3.4C anomaly. The bigger statistic is how dry it is at the moment - the DRIEST September on record for Australia.

Western Australia latest area to be impacted by significant spring heat in Australia. Perth max of 34.3C on Wednesday (+13C above average) breaks September heat record (records since 1897), numerous other places across a very wide area in that state, more monthly records likely to fall by the 30th in the west. Perth Highest September Daily Maximum 34.3C....Sep 27th 2023 34.2C....Sep 20th 2014 33.1C....Sep 9th 2019 32.7C....Sep 30th 1918 32.3C....Sep 18th 1988 ABC News article looks at the situation. September temperature records broken across WA amid unusual wave of scorching spring weather - ABC News WWW.ABC.NET.AU September temperature records tumble across Western Australia today, including in Perth, as an unusual wave of scorching spring weather sets in over the state. By October 1, the heat makes it to the east, very hot again for New South Wales...inland near 40C, Sydney 35C. Intriguing worrisome developments at the beginning of the warming season; especially in light of current global events !

Quite a pronounced September heatwave across central eastern Australia just gone...lasting 5 or 6 days between 15th/16th through to the 20th, maxima somewhere between 8-12C above average, but peaking higher than that in some spots. A number of all-time September heat records were broken, almost all of them in New South Wales, but the duration of days in a row exceeding 30C for September ( 5 or 6 ) was the standout. Certainly very unusual to see such elevated fire danger ratings at the very beginning of spring. Sydney had 5 days in a row over 30C ( a September record ) and the peak of 34.6C on the 20th was the equal highest September temperature (records since 1859 ). Sydney September average maximum is 20C. Sydney Highest September Maximum: 34.6C.....Sep 19th 2023 34.6C.....Sep 26th 1965 34.2C.....Sep 25th 1980 33.9C.....Sep 20th 2023 33.8C.....Sep 13th 2017 ............................................... Winter across Australia was the warmest on record. Never known of a winter in Tasmania to have no snow below 700m asl, like we've just experienced. We now enter what may be an extended period of dry weather or drought into summer, with El Nino and IOD climate drivers pointing that way.

Adelaide - capital city of South Australia - recorded its third coldest July day on record yesterday, of 9.1c ( 7 below average ). Cold conditions there precedes a wintry weekend in south-east Australia with "low level" snow - widespread in Victoria and parts of New South Wales - with big falls in the Australia Alps. Not much snow in Tasmania this season ( Hobart's mountain is bare ) but plenty of time left for a turnaround! Adelaide - Lowest daily maximum temperature for July ( records since 1887 ) 8.8......1986.....8th 8.8......1931.....11th 9.1......2021.....22nd 9.6......1907.....8th 9.7......1984.....2nd

June - Hobart, Tasmania This was the warmest June since 2002 with a mean anomaly of +1.0c above 1991-2020 or +1.3c above 1961-1990. Mean maximum: 13.4 ( +0.7 ) Mean minimum: 6.8 ( +1.3 ) Rainfall: 60mm ( average 54mm ) Rain days ( +1mm ) : 8/from total 15 Wet and persistently cloudy during the first half of the month, with moist onshore easterly winds off the Tasman Sea. Nights were very mild under banks of low cloud and areas of fog. Sunnier from the 20th, with colder nights through until the end of the month with high pressure centered near Tasmania. The two coldest days, on the 22nd and 23rd, were dry and overcast, as high cloud streamed down across the country from he north west tropics. On the night of the 28th, a couple of showers on a front from the west. This was the only rainfall after the 19th. The only mountain snow day this month was a light covering to 600m on the 4th, after a brief cold outbreak from the south west. Extremes in daily temperature for June ( records since 1882 ) High max: 18.1.....8th ( record 20.6 in 1907 ) Low max: 8.7.....22nd ( record 4.3 in 1985 ) High min: 12.6.....12th ( record 15.0 in 2016 ) Low min: 2.3.....21st,29th ( record -2.8 in 1972 )

Just confirming it never got higher than 10.3c in Sydney on Thursday ( at the long-running Observation Hill site, near the harbor )-- making it indeed the second coldest June day on record there. The coldest day for any month was 7.7c in July 1868. Sydney - Lowest daily maximum temperature for June ( records since 1859 ) 9.7.......1899.....13th 10.3......2021....10th 10.4......1995....21st 10.6......1935....30th 10.7......1893....25th 10.7......1874....26th

I snapped the image from Meteye on Thursday afternoon. It shows the low readings across New South Wales which has been at the center of the first decent cold outbreak of the winter. Widespread snow settled across towns as low as 800m in New South Wales. Such a snow event happens once every second winter or so, but some places would have fared better, especially for snow depth. Sydney's maximum of 10.3c ( 7 below average ) was the coldest June day since 1899 - and second coldest June day in 163 years of records but it may exceed that before 9am Friday.

Thank you, spent several years living over there, regretfully never made it that far north. Tasmania's west would be quite comparable to your location temperature wise I suspect, except the winter season. Hobart ( in the south east ) is one of the warmer spots on the island. It's a shame we don't get 'proper' winters down here but Tasmania is quite mountainous; a few elevated settlements with the most basic services get winters with all day frost and occasional snow. My future dream is to move upward...

May - Hobart, Tasmania Very dry. A mean temperature anomaly of +0.3c above 1991-2020 or +0.8c above 1961-90 period. Mean maximum: 15.7 ( +0.5 ) Mean minimum: 7.8 ( +0.1 ) Rainfall: 17mm ( average 47mm ) Rain days ( +1mm ) : 4/from total 9 A very dry end to autumn with high pressure dominating across southern Australia and pressure building quickly behind occasional fronts. The coldest days were mostly dry. There were brief windows for settled snow on the mountain behind the city but totals were low. A dusting to near 700m into the 15th, a light covering to 700m on the 17th and a more modest fall to near 600m into the 28th. The snow stuck around the summit ( near 1200m ) until the end of the month after the last fall, with low overnight temperatures. The wettest day in the city was 4mm into the 3rd, 17th and into the 28th. The Tasmania minimum this month was -7.0c Extremes in daily temperature for May ( records since 1882 ) : High max: 23.2.....1st ( record 25.7 in 1997 ) Low max: 10.6.....28th ( record 6.1 in 1921 ) High min: 13.4.....20th ( record 16.2 in 2005 ) Low min: 2.4.....31st ( record -1.6 in 1902 )

Autumn 2021: Near average climate condition in Australia. Rainfall +3% from long-term average, mean temperature a shade above 1961-90. Autumn ended with chilled clear sky across the south-east, quite a number of record low May minima on May 30-31. BoM. Autumn mean temperature anomaly ( 1961-90 ) : +0.3c March: +0.2 April: +0.2 May: +0.5

April - Hobart, Tasmania A very dry month with a mean temperature anomaly of +0.7c above 1991-2020 or +0.6c above 1961-1990. This month included the hottest April day on record ( 3rd ). Mean maximum: 18.5 ( +0.6 ) Mean minimum: 10.1 ( +0.7 ) Rainfall: 24mm ( average 50mm ) Rain days ( +1mm ) : 6/from total 11 Hot and sunny ( 1st-3rd ) with a central Australia air mass drawn south from strong high pressure over east Australia. The 2nd was temporarily cooler behind a weak dry front. Dry weather continued up to the 9th in a mild to warm westerly wind but then progressively colder in the days that followed, with successive fronts and lowering snowfalls. Snow settling 800m on the 11th. Less cold up to 19th but occasional fronts from the west bringing a shower or two. A dusting of snow to 1100m on the morning of the 16th. The 20th was a very cold day - the coldest April day since 1995 - behind a southerly front with a few showers. Snow settling 800m. A cold and clear night followed with frost away from the coast. The extreme minimum that night was -7.4c in central Tasmania. Only a couple of showers after this, then dry from the 22nd-30th as high pressure dominated across southern Australia. Extremes in daily temperature for April ( records since 1882 ) High max: 32.3.....3rd ( previous record 31.0 in 2014 ) Low max: 10.2.....20th ( record 7.7 in 1967 ) High min: 15.7.....1st ( record 18.6 in 1959 ) Low min: 2.0.....21st ( record 0.7 in 1963 ) Record

March - Hobart, Tasmania Slightly wet with a mean temperature anomaly of +0.3c above 1991-2020 or +0.6c above 1961-1990. Mean maximum: 21.2 ( +0.5 ) Mean minimum: 11.6 ( +0.2 ) Rainfall: 60mm ( average 45mm ) Rain days ( +1mm ) : 6/from total 9 Generally cool at first with Southern Ocean fronts but showers few and far between. The trailing high to the west moved to the east on the 12th bringing a warm continental airflow. The cooler change was dry, with high pressure following through to the south and strengthening to the southeast of Tasmania and remaining stationary for several days, bringing a long warm sunny spell. Inversely, this strong southern high was directing considerably moist air off the Pacific onto the New South Wales coast. A cut off low formed off the New South Wales coast and tracked south, to be off Tasmania's northeast coast on the 24th, with 45mm in Hobart. There was another 6mm on the night of the 26th as a front crossed from the west, then dry. Extremes in daily temperature for March ( records since 1882 ) : High max: 29.1.....12th ( record 39.1 in 2019 ) Low max: 16.3.....2nd ( record 8.9 in 1925 ) High min: 16.4.....13th ( record 21.1 in 1906 ) Low min: 7.7.....14th ( record 1.8 in 1926 )

32.3c in Hobart today ( +14c above average ) and a new record high for April. It is also the highest April temperature recorded in Tasmania, beating 32.0c in 2005. Clear blue sky, fresh wind and humidity bottoming out at 15%...very summery indeed. Moving forward, trending cooler. Hobart highest April temperatures ( records since 1882 ) 32.3.....2021.....3rd 31.0.....2014.....1st 30.6.....1940.....1st 30.2.....1992.....4th 29.7.....2005.....1st

In a historical context it appears to be the worst flooding along the mid north coast of New South Wales since the 1960s. That was one of the biggest floods recorded along that stretch of the coastline. In Sydney it is approaching the major flood event of 1990. It is going to get worse in Sydney over the next day or two as they are forced to release water from the engorged Warragamba Dam in the city's west.

Australia had its coolest summer since 2010-11 and second coolest of the past 20 years. Rainfall was +29% above average. There was some expectation the eastern side would have a wetter season. Queensland for instance had a rainfall anomaly of just +8%. Few flooding events this summer ( and only in the tropics ) and just a single weak cyclone crossing the coast, certainly not typical of a La Nina summer.

February - Hobart, Tasmania This was the wettest February for 10 years with a mean temperature anomaly of +0.1c above 1991-2020, or +0.5c above 1961-1990. Mean maximum: 22.4 ( +0.2 ) Mean minimum: 12.9 ( +0.1 ) Rainfall: 52mm ( average 39mm ) Rain days ( +1mm ) : 3/from total 8 41mm fell on the night of the 5th - the bulk of the month's rain - as low pressure developed over the Great Australia Bight, rain feeding down in a muggy north-westerly airflow. The low lost its influence on its southward trajectory toward Tasmania, as cooler drier air began to feed through from the south. Another 7mm in a prefrontal rain band late on the 12th. Overwhelmingly calm and dry this month with southern latitude high pressure bringing a fair degree of cloudiness; with onshore winds from the southeast then east. Warmer and sunnier episodes with high pressure to the south east and a mainland airflow down Australia's eastern side, but this brought slightly elevated humidity. Extremes in daily temperature for February ( records since 1882 ) High max: 31.8.....19th ( record 40.1 in 1899 ) Low max: 15.8.....9th ( record 9.6 in 1964 ) High min: 17.4.....20th ( record 24.7 in 1912 ) Low min: 7.9.....24th ( record 3.4 in 1980 )

A reflection of Australia's summer which is about to come to an end: just 5 days exceeded 40c in the state capital cities this season ( in Perth and Adelaide only ), compared to 27 in total last summer - in which there were multiple days of 40c+ everywhere, almost all during the bushfire emergency of December 2019. The 27 days ( season 2019-20 ) 26 days ( season 2013-14 ) and 20 days ( season 2008-09 ) are in fact the three highest figures I could find going all the way back to the 19th century. The long-term averages reflect a cities complete record set. They are approximate figures and have been rounded. Not the most accurate measure of heat situation over a season but does show widespread, arid heat was very limited this season.

Possibly "over 100" homes lost to bushfire in the Perth hills yesterday, according to a radio broadcast this morning. I think it's the most destructive fires in Western Australia since 1961 - but I can't verify that, I earlier did my own quick search. Perth has had 0.2mm since December 15 - the summer monthly averages are just under 20mm. Nothing extreme or unusual about the temperatures in Perth this season, although they have been moderately elevated recently. The rest of Australia has had very little fire activity this summer, after last season's disaster.

January - Hobart, Tasmania This was the coolest January for 6 years with a mean temperature anomaly of -0.3c below 1991-2020. This 30 year bloc of years are the warmest in the 140 year climatology of the local weather site. So far, it is the coolest summer for 6 years. Mean maximum: 22.4 ( -0.3 ) Mean minimum: 12.7 ( -0.3 ) Rainfall: 29mm ( average 47mm ) Rain days ( +1mm ) : 5/from total 10 ----------- Extremes in daily temperature for January ( records since 1882 ) : High max: 37.5.....25th ( record 41.8 in 2013 ) Low max: 15.9.....15th ( record 11.1 in 1885 ) High min: 18.4.....25th ( record 23.9 in 2018 ) Low min: 6.3.....20th ( record 3.3 in 1902 )

These events really do become extra spectacular in a warming world with diminishing wintry action... I see Spain has recorded a new record low of -35.8 which is pretty special. Madrid is forecast to drop to -12 (!) on Monday which would be a record low for the city apparently, unless that is a forecast for Barajas airport, which has previously been colder?

2020 was quite an average year for temperature and rainfall in Tasmania. I have taken the extreme weather statistics for Tasmania and superimposed them onto a map.

December - Hobart, Tasmania This was the coolest December for 10 years with a mean anomaly of +0.1c above 1981-2010 or +0.4c above 1961-1990. Mean maximum: 20.7 ( +0.3 ) Mean minimum: 11.2 ( -0.1 ) Rainfall: 72mm ( average 56mm ) Rain days ( +1mm ) 7/from total 15 Windy at first with Southern Ocean fronts rumbling through. Bands of rain with these fronts followed by a cluster of showers in cooler air. A snowline of 1000m into the 2nd, with 15cm report at 1200m. Clearing as high pressure approached from the west, then hot and sunny between the 13-15th with high pressure moving to the east. The 16th brought a cool but dry change with heavy cloud and a southerly wind, then new high pressure moved to the south of Tasmania circulating onshore easterly winds up to the 23rd, as low pressure occupied eastern Australia. These winds off the sea brought low cloud, with low pressure moving south at times, bringing periods of showers but longer rain on the 22nd. A slack westerly wind change from the 24th-31st with mostly dry fronts, followed by high pressure ridging in from the south east. These onshore winds brought murky cool days even though dry - 31st most notable for murkiness. The wettest day was 34mm on 22nd. Extremes in daily temperature for December ( records since 1882 ) High max: 33.5.....14th ( record 40.8 in 2019 ) Low max: 15.5.....16th ( record 10.2 in 1964 ) High min: 20.7.....15th ( record 23.9 in 1920 ) Low min: 7.0.....8th ( record 3.3 in 1906 )

Australia had its fifth wettest December on record and the coolest since 2011. With warm seas and low pressure over tropical waters on both sides of the continent its probably a mild surprise not to see the first cyclone of the season yet ( Nov-April ). BoM are forecasting 11-14 with at least 4 land crossings. Recent cyclone note from BoM does suggest a "moderate" chance of the first one forming early next week, over northern waters, in The Gulf of Carpentaria between Queensland and Northern Territory.