Monday 05 JAN 2004

Home page

DWS ARCHIVE
2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
Before 2003

About the DWS

2004

Dec

M Tu W Th F Sa Su
    01 02 03 04 05
06 07 08 09 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31    

Nov

M Tu W Th F Sa Su
01 02 03 04 05 06 07
08 09 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30          

Oct

M Tu W Th F Sa Su
        01 02 03
04 05 06 07 08 09 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Sept

M Tu W Th F Sa Su
    01 02 03 04 05
06 07 08 09 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 24 24 25 26
27 28 29 30      

August

M Tu W Th F Sa Su
            01
02 03 04 05 06 07 08
09 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31          

July

M Tu W Th F Sa Su
      01 02 03 04
05 06 07 08 09 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31  

June

M Tu W Th F Sa Su
  01 02 03 04 05 06
07 08 09 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30        

May

M Tu W Th F Sa Su
          01 02
03 04 05 06 07 08 09
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31            

April

M Tu W Th F Sa Su
      01 02 03 04
05 06 07 08 09 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30    

March

M Tu W Th F Sa Su
01 02 03 04 05 06 07
08 09 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31        

February

M Tu W Th F Sa Su
            01
02 03 04 05 06 07 08
09 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29

January

M Tu W Th F Sa Su
      01 02 03 04
05 06 07 08 09 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31  

Monthly summaries:
from BoM

Find a place:
Google Maps |
Aust Gazetteer|
Geonames

Weather terms:
WeatherZone | BoM |
American Met Soc | NOAA | uk.sci.weather | India Meteorological Department

Birdsville, Oodnadatta heat records falls as scorcher moves NE

Above: Maximum temperatures (left) and departures from normal (right)
Below: Minimum temperatures (left) and departures from normal (right). BoM

When it's hot in the outback, the city journos always phone the Birdsville publican for a bit of tabloid colour. Today they had good cause. Birdsville, the home of heat, recorded its highest January maximum on record: 48.5, beating the previous record in 47 years by 0.5° and only 1.0° off the all-time record. It was 48.5 at the Police Station and 47.9 at the airfield, but Kim Fort, the Birdsville publican, told ABC News that it was a bit warmer at the pub. "Under the verandah we've got a thermometer hanging out there, it's around about the 51 mark, 51.5 and there's no better place to be when you've got temperatures like that than in the pub. But as I say hot's hot, when you get past 45 then a few degrees is not going to make any difference here or there." The mercury dropped below 45 just after 7pm and below 40 at about 10.30pm.

As the maps above show, the hottest minimum and maximum temperatures relative to normal lay in a band through northern NSW and SW QLD into Central Australia. At this stage, only Birdsville is believed to have set a new January maximum temperature record, but many locations came within a a degree or two.

The build-up of heat has caused progressively higher extreme minima to be reported, with Oodnadatta's temperature only falling to 34.1 this morning, 0.2 above its previous all-time record high minimum of 33.9 in 1973. The site has 53 years of records.

News sources: ABC

National weather extremes for today

Data provided by the Bureau of Meteorology

Records set this day (previous record and years of computerised record shown in brackets):
Highest daily maximum temperature for January
Queensland:
038002 BIRDSVILLE POLICE STATION 48.5 (48.0, 47)

Quality control note: Data is final. It includes late-received rainfall data and has been subject to BoM quality control checks.
Data is as received at 22:17EST, 27/10/2004.

Weather observations for today
Noteworthy  Weather         Capital  Cities         Regional  Cities       Alpine  Stations
Bureau of Meteorology Rainfall Bulletins and Weather Notes

Hottest
Highest maximum temperature>Greatest variation above normal maximum Highest minimum temperatureGreatest variation above normal minimum

48.5 BIRDSVILLE POLICE STATION Channel Country QLD
47.9 BIRDSVILLE AIRPORT Channel Country QLD
47.0 BEDOURIE POLICE STATION Channel Country QLD
46.7 MOOMBA AIRPORT NE Pastoral SA
46.7 BALLERA GAS FIELD Far SW QLD

+12.9   42.2 PATERSON (TOCAL AWS) Hunter Valley NSW
+12.6   42.3 CESSNOCK AIRPORT AWS Hunter Valley NSW
+12.5   42.7 CESSNOCK (NULKABA) Hunter Valley NSW
+11.7   39.5 WILLIAMTOWN RAAF Hunter Valley NSW
+11.7   43.5 JERRYS PLAINS POST OFFICE Hunter Valley NSW

34.1 OODNADATTA AIRPORT NE Pastoral SA
31.8 BALLERA GAS FIELD Far SW QLD
31.4 MOOMBA AIRPORT NE Pastoral SA
31.3 TIBOOBURRA POST OFFICE Far Northwest NSW
31.2 CURTIN SPRINGS N Plateau NT

+11.4   34.1 OODNADATTA AIRPORT NE Pastoral SA
+9.7   31.3 TIBOOBURRA POST OFFICE Far Northwest NSW
+9.4   31.2 CURTIN SPRINGS N Plateau NT
+9.2   30.3 MARREE NE Pastoral SA
+8.8   30.5 KULGERA N Plateau NT
+8.8   29.4 WHITE CLIFFS POST OFFICE Far Northwest NSW

Coldest
Lowest maximum temperatureGreatest variation below normal maximum Lowest minimum temperatureGreatest variation below normal minimum

7.2 MOUNT READ W Coast TAS
12.0 MOUNT WELLINGTON Southeast TAS
13.0 LAKE ST CLAIR NATIONAL PARK Central Plateau TAS
13.5 MAATSUYKER ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE Southeast TAS
14.0 GELANTIPY E Gippsland VIC
14.0 MT BAW BAW W Gippsland VIC

-13.3   17.7 WAGIN Cent Wheatbelt WA
-13.0   18.5 LAKE GRACE COMPARISON Cent Wheatbelt WA
-12.6   18.3 NARROGIN Cent Wheatbelt WA
-12.3   18.0 KATANNING COMPARISON Cent Wheatbelt WA
-12.2   16.5 ONGERUP Cent Wheatbelt WA

0.2 LIAWENEE Central Plateau TAS
1.5 MOUNT WELLINGTON Southeast TAS
1.9 LAKE LEAKE (ELIZABETH RIVER) E Coast TAS
2.0 PERISHER VALLEY SKI CENTRE Snowy Mtns NSW
2.2 ROSS (THE BOULEVARDS) Midlands TAS

-8.6   8.5 GOOMALLING Cent Wheatbelt WA
-7.4   3.7 WYNYARD AIRPORT N Coast TAS
-6.5   3.8 FINGAL (LEGGE STREET) E Coast TAS
-6.4   6.5 CASTLEMAINE PRISON N Central VIC
-6.4   1.9 LAKE LEAKE (ELIZABETH RIVER) E Coast TAS

Wettest Major City Extremes
Todays highest rainfall totals for the 24 hours to 9am. It includes the top 5 totals nationally followed by all reported falls of 50mm or more.

75.0 FARNSFIELD Wide Bay/Burnett QLD
71.0 FERNFIELD Wide Bay/Burnett QLD
66.4 MAPLETON POST OFFICE Brisbane/SE Coast QLD
64.0 HEATHLANDS NATIONAL PARK N Peninsula QLD
61.8 WEEDARRAH W Gascoyne WA

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
    W Gascoyne
61.8 WEEDARRAH

NORTHERN TERRITORY
    N Rivers
60.0 HODGSON RIVER

QUEENSLAND
    N Peninsula
64.0 HEATHLANDS NATIONAL PARK
57.2 BATAVIA DOWNS STATION
    Wide Bay/Burnett
75.0 FARNSFIELD
71.0 FERNFIELD
61.4 TURKEY STATION
56.0 EULEILAH CREEK
    Brisbane/SE Coast
66.4 MAPLETON POST OFFICE

  Max+/- norm Min+/- normRain to 9am
BROOME AIRPORT 31.8 -1.6 24.9 -1.4 0.0
ALBANY AIRPORT 17.0 -7.9 14.4 +0.8 0.6
PERTH AIRPORT 29.8 -1.7 20.1 +3.2 0.0
KALGOORLIE-BOULDER AIRPORT 22.9 -10.7 18.5 +0.3 15.8
DARWIN AIRPORT 33.2 +1.4 27.4 +2.6 0.0
ALICE SPRINGS AIRPORT 44.6 +8.4 27.4 +6.1 0.0
ADELAIDE (KENT TOWN) 27.4 -1.5 14.8 -2.1 2.6
MOUNT GAMBIER AERO 20.1 -5.0 7.0 -4.0 6.4
CAIRNS AERO 31.9 +0.5 23.4 -0.2 0.0
TOWNSVILLE AERO 33.6 +2.3 25.6 +1.4 0.0
ROCKHAMPTON AERO 32.6 +0.7 22.8 +0.8 1.2
AMBERLEY AMO 33.8 +2.7 23.3 +3.7 3.6
BRISBANE AERO 29.3 23.6 3.4
ARMIDALE AIRPORT AWS 34.1 15.3 0.0
COFFS HARBOUR MO 32.5 +5.7 23.5 +4.1 0.0
NEWCASTLE NOBBYS SIGNAL STATION AWS 25.7 +0.1 17.9 -1.2 0.0
SYDNEY (OBSERVATORY HILL) 28.8 +3.0 22.4 +3.8 1.8
PROSPECT DAM 30.6 +2.6 22.2 +4.7 0.4
WOLLONGONG UNIVERSITY 26.3 +0.7 22.0 +4.1 0.2
CANBERRA AIRPORT 33.9 +6.1 18.5 +5.5 0.0
WAGGA WAGGA AMO 35.3 +3.9 19.1 +3.0 0.0
MILDURA AIRPORT 32.3 +0.2 17.4 +0.9 0.0
EAST SALE AIRPORT 22.2 -3.1 11.8 -0.9 5.8
MELBOURNE REGIONAL OFFICE 22.4 -3.4 14.9 +0.7 8.4
LAVERTON RAAF 20.7 -4.9 11.5 -2.1 9.0
BALLARAT AERODROME 20.7 -4.2 7.0 -3.8 9.2
LAUNCESTON AIRPORT 22.3 -0.9 5.1 -5.1 0.0
HOBART (ELLERSLIE ROAD) 22.8 +1.2 10.6 -1.2 0.0

Downpours Gales & Gusts
High rainfall for periods of 6 hours or less. Highest wind gusts above 89km/h (storm force) or mean wind above 62km/h (gale force). Wind direction and mean windspeed shown in brackets.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
    N Kimberley
WYNDHAM AERO
6.4mm in 37 min to 23:02 10.4mm/h
    W Pilbara
LEARMONTH AIRPORT
4.8mm in 14 min to 17:05 20.6mm/h
9.8mm in 25 min to 17:30 23.5mm/h
19.6mm in 1 hr to 17:30 19.6mm/h
27.0mm in 3 hr to 18:00 9.0mm/h
    W Gascoyne
CARNARVON AIRPORT
11.0mm in 1 hr to 23:30 11.0mm/h
    Lower West
ESPERANCE
10.2mm in 1 hr to 03:00 10.2mm/h
COLLIE EAST
15.0mm in 3 hr to 12:00 5.0mm/h
    Goldfields
SALMON GUMS RES.STN.
10.0mm in 1 hr to 20:00 10.0mm/h
19.0mm in 3 hr to 21:00 6.3mm/h
BULGA DOWNS
17.0mm in 3 hr to 18:00 5.7mm/h
NORTHERN TERRITORY
    N Rivers
DALY WATERS AWS
11.4mm in 33 min to 22:05 20.7mm/h
LAJAMANU
4.2mm in 6 min to 23:55 42.0mm/h
DELAMERE WEAPONS RANGE
9.2mm in 11 min to 23:58 50.2mm/h
QUEENSLAND
    N Peninsula
WEIPA AERO
6.0mm in 9 min to 17:00 40.0mm/h
    Gulf Country
BURKETOWN POST OFFICE
15.0mm in 3 hr to 18:00 5.0mm/h
MORNINGTON ISLAND
11.0mm in 30 min to 12:30 22.0mm/h
11.0mm in 1 hr to 12:30 11.0mm/h
13.0mm in 1 hr to 13:00 13.0mm/h
BURKETOWN AIRPORT
13.0mm in 38 min to 17:00 20.5mm/h
14.4mm in 1 hr to 17:00 14.4mm/h
    Wide Bay/Burnett
ROCKHAMPTON AERO
4.0mm in 12 min to 14:08 20.0mm/h
GLADSTONE RADAR
10.0mm in 30 min to 02:00 20.0mm/h
11.8mm in 1 hr to 02:30 11.8mm/h
25.0mm in 3 hr to 03:00 8.3mm/h

TASMANIA
    Southeast
MAATSUYKER ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE : 76(310/ 63 ) at 16:00