Quote:
Originally Posted by rogerg
I have been thinking the same. Seems a pretty bad situation over there, and like it's just come from nowhere.
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Hi Roger,
Not quite from nowhere and we have been bracing for it here in Sydney for the past month.
Sounds like it has been a lot cooler there in WA.
As the Bureau reported -
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Bureau of Meteorology
September was the warmest on record for Sydney, with a substantial number of records broken at Observatory Hill. Mean temperatures broke records at all six major temperature stations in the city, a consequence of widespread maximum temperatures more than 3 °C above normal and minimum temperatures more than 1 °C above normal, and persistent warm weather during the month.
The average maximum temperature at Observatory Hill was 24.4 °C, 4.4 °C above the historical average for September and 1.1 °C above the previous September record (23.3 °C in 1980), with temperatures more typical of November weather (average 23.6 °C).
Daytime temperatures were persistently warm during the month, with only three days dropping below 20 °C associated with a mid-month rain event, an equal record with September 2012 (average 17 cool days). This included 20 consecutive days above 20 °C between August 24 and September 12, the longest such spell on record for September and two weeks earlier than the previous record (19 days 7-25 September 2001).
There were also several very warm days during the month. Seven days reached at least 28 °C during the month, well above the historical average of 1 warm day and the most on record (previous record 6 days in 1928). Three of these days reached 30 °C, the equal-highest on record (4 other times), two of which occurred during the first ten days of the month.
The average minimum temperature was also the highest on record for Sydney Observatory Hill at 13.8 °C, 2.7 °C above the historical average. No nights dropped below 10 °C during the month for the first time on record (average 11 nights), while 10 nights exceeded 15 °C (average 2-3 nights), the equal highest on record with September 2009. The warmest night was 20.1 °C on the 10th, the earliest 20 °C night on record for Sydney.
The warmest days also featured unusually warm mornings. The 9am temperature was 25.9 °C on the 10th, the equal-warmest on record for September and the earliest such warm morning by two weeks (previous earliest was 24 September 2009). This record was later broken when temperatures reached 26.9 °C at 9am on September 26, before reaching 29.9 °C at 10 am.
The combination of dry weather, warm temperatures and strong winds resulted in significant early-season bushfire activity during the month. Major bushfires impacted western Sydney and the Blue Mountains on the 10th, resulting in some evacuations, closed roads, and two destroyed houses. Bushfires also burnt large areas of Barrenjoey Head in the Northern Beaches on the 28th.
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What is extraordinary is that normally records such as these are broken by fractions of a degree.
This year they are being broken by multiple degrees.
In fact it has been a year of records. On January 18th the city recorded its hottest ever day of 45.8C.
October 10th saw the third hottest October day. And so on.
Normally the bush fire season is November through March.
Anecdotally, late last month I ventured 30 meters into the neighbouring park, which covers
an area of 154 sq km on Sydney's north, to assess conditions. I have never
witnessed it so dry so early in the season. Water courses that normally
trickled out of the sandstone all year round, year in, year out have stopped
flowing. The goannas came out of hibernation about a month early. It has
felt like summer here since October.
So heaven knows what summer itself will be like.