Discussion: Australia General Weather

[rainfan]

Found a clipping from Dec. 1993 quoting this:

"Melbourne's Christmas weather was so abysmal that even Sydney's newspapers & radio stations got bored with comparisons between the two cities's temperatures & levels of rainfall" (for the record Melb. has its wettest Dec with 197mm; sunshine 229 hrs (44 hrs from 21st to 31st with no sun from 27th - 29th, 1.8 on the 26th).

[rainfan]

Originally Posted by RWood

Considering weather only, if I had to pick one of the 2 for all-year-round living, I'd pick Adelaide (drier, less humid). Of course I'd really rather move with the seasons....

Hmm, wonder if you would still think that after the 2 week March heatwave this year which saw temps over 38oC...

The first time I visited Adelaide way back in 1996, I had heard many "horror" stories of the heat & that it hardly ever rains so you can imagine I was naturally very curious to visit the place; of course it was June when I went there for 2 weeks; it was very cold & wet, nearly rained the whole time I was there with few sunshine, I loved it because it wasn't what I had expected at all (for the record Kent Town Adelaide during June had 119mm), I stayed in Unley which is very close so hence me choosing this site. Note that it was a very wet winter with July on 115mm and August with 105mm.

[ATO2]

Originally Posted by RWood

Considering weather only, if I had to pick one of the 2 for all-year-round living, I'd pick Adelaide (drier, less humid). Of course I'd really rather move with the seasons....

I am enjoying reading these posts! Yeh, Adelaide would be my pick, I think.(No offence to Sydney, rainfan!)
For three years in a row I did a switch between the northern hemisphere and here: leave NZ in April, return in October.
Then a couple of years later, I did it the other way. Nearly drove me mental, endless year of Winter!

[rainfan]

None taken , Sydney is a bit too much for some people. I love the weather here especially the "heavy rain" part.

Areas outside the NT to which I would live/not live:

Brisbane - too hot & humid in the summer due to it's inland location, nearer the Sunshine Coast would be nicer/cooler with frequent seabreezes & often has more heavy rain than Brisbane which is showing big declines in rainfall.

Sydney - of course the best for me Oz-wide as has everything, was the wettest state capital last year with 1499mm. Regular heavy rain/falls often better compared to other SCs. Changeable like Melbourne but to a lesser extent. Love the summer nights ranging from 19 -21oC. Humidity can be trying at times but not as bad as Brisbane. Dislike the winter westerlies as you all very well know!

Melbourne - Like the cloudy weather & frequent rain days but heavy falls lacking . Too extreme in temperature swings 40oC one day, 18 the next. Very changeable with 4 seasons in 1 day or even 1 hour!

Adelaide - Too dry & too hot in the summer. As in Melbourne, not enough rain.

Perth - Would live there during the "wet" season from Apr - Sep but definitely not during the "dry" as hardly ever rains & too much sunshine

[RWood]

Choosing from within Aus., I would pick Perth for the sunshine, but would want to be around the relatively windy parts. Would still see seasonal rain. My strong preference is for rather dry sunny climes of the kind found in much of California and various subtropical dry zones. Certain wetter places would be OK provided sunshine was high and the rain was seasonal or heavily biased to the night hours, or fell on a small number of days (no real candidates for this last version). A climate like Salvador in Brazil would be pretty much OK as a wettish one under these rules. I'd never pick Melbourne, too cloudy and too treacherous - I like "boring" weather.

Among my very best weather experiences was 22 days in Brazil in June-July 2007, mostly in the east-central savannah zone. At 1000m ASL the days were 22C-29C with 11C-14C minima, low humidity and wafty breezes. Sun for at least 90% of the time I would say but you could still detect subtle changes in airmass and the variations in cloud types when they appeared. I wasn't bored, loved it. Minutes after stepping off the return flight in Auckland in the early hours a shower was falling - did nothing for me!

January 1959 in the SI hinterland was a very sunny month and the Queenstown site recorded 300 hrs even with the restricted horizon. I was in the Alexandra area for 3-4 weeks courtesy of school holidays, and it was very pleasant indeed.

[ATO2]

What's it like around New England- is it Armidale (spelling?) a main centre there?
Funnily enough, I liked Singapore's climate. Three and half years, I spent there and the weather/climate seemed nice and predictable: it was easy to plan outside events. There were dramatic electrical storms and the odd impressive downpour and flash floods.
Temperature range was small, humidity high. You can stay outside all night, every night.Sunshine hours around 2200 hrs (I think).Plus, I didn't burn that much in the Sun, compared to here in NZ.

[RWood]

I can see from the averages that its rainiest months coincide with the northern winter monsoon outflow. I guess you would dry off in a reasonable time unless caught in a very heavy shower.

[ATO2]

Originally Posted by RWood

I can see from the averages that its rainiest months coincide with the northern winter monsoon outflow. I guess you would dry off in a reasonable time unless caught in a very heavy shower.

December was usually very wet and I remember one of kids being upset at the cold- there was one day, in all the time we were there, when the temperature plummeted down to an unthinkable 21 degrees in late afternoon while it poured for hours. Ceiling fans got turned off and air conditioning units were useless.
It felt cold! All you could do was wear an extra shirt- didn't have any warm clothing at all. It is usually around 30 at midnight.
That was the coldest temperature I experienced there- I used to read the published figures in the Straits Times and I don't recall any overnight low much below 22 degrees, let alone a daytime temperature of that ilk.
I read somewhere that the absolute minimum ever recorded in Singapore over 150 years was 19.8 degrees C. Can't recall the source, though.

[RWood]

Originally Posted by rainfan

Hmm, wonder if you would still think that after the 2 week March heatwave this year which saw temps over 38oC...

The first time I visited Adelaide way back in 1996, I had heard many "horror" stories of the heat & that it hardly ever rains so you can imagine I was naturally very curious to visit the place; of course it was June when I went there for 2 weeks; it was very cold & wet, nearly rained the whole time I was there with few sunshine, I loved it because it wasn't what I had expected at all (for the record Kent Town Adelaide during June had 119mm), I stayed in Unley which is very close so hence me choosing this site. Note that it was a very wet winter with July on 115mm and August with 105mm.

If living in any Aus. major centre outside Tasmania I would have air conditioning. I was in Adelaide at a conference in March 1991. One day the midday temp. was about 37C. I was wandering around the parks at the time and while it was clearly hot the humidity was very low and I didn't feel uncomfortable.

If I could afford the appropriate place in Sydney I would aim to maximise the benefit of sunny days with coldish winds by having the right kind of shelter on the property.

[RWood]

August values include:

Perth - mean max 19.8, mean min 5.6, 27.8mm rain (almost all of that by the 3rd), 264 hrs sun.

Norfolk Is - a mixture of ample sun and showers, with 94.4mm rain and 220 hrs sun.

Mawson (Antarctic, 67.6S) - sun has risen after its short disappearance. Shone for 118 hrs, mean daily temp. about -21C.