Sydney in summer 2016-17: Warmest summer on record
Summer 2016-17 was the warmest on record for Sydney, with persistent warmth throughout the season and few cold spells. Records were broken for numbers of hot days and nights across the city, with many stations experiencing their warmest February day on record on the 10th and 11th. Rainfall was close to average, with a dry start to the summer followed by some heavy rain and thunderstorms during February.
Warmest summer on record
Summer 2016-17 was the warmest on record for Sydney Observatory Hill with the mean temperature 2.8 °C above average
Most stations, including Observatory Hill, broke summer records for all of average maximum, minimum, and mean temperatures
Temperatures were persistently warm throughout the summer, with only 14 days failing to reach 25 °C at Observatory Hill, the second-fewest on record behind summer 1990-91 (average 41 days)
Observatory Hill experienced a record-breaking 26 days of 30 °C or higher and 11 days of 35 °C or higher, with record numbers of days above 40 °C recorded in western Sydney including 11 days at Richmond
Summer temperatures peaked over 10 and 11 February, with many stations recording their hottest February day on record and some also breaking summer records, although the 47.0 °C at Richmond remained below Sydney's all-time record of 47.8 °C at the old Richmond site on 14 January 1939
Minimum temperatures were also persistently warm, with no nights below 15 °C at Observatory Hill and 58 nights reaching at least 20 °C, the second-most warm nights on record behind 64 nights in summer 1990-91 (average 22 nights)
Five nights reached at least 25 °C, the most hot nights on record, with ten nights reaching at least 24 °C; the previous records are 4 and 6 nights respectively in 2010-11
Temperatures reached 30 °C by 9 am on four days, with a temperature of 36.5 °C recorded at Observatory Hill at 9 am on January 18, the highest 9 am temperature since records began in 1955
For more information on heat records broken during summer, see
Special Climate Statement 61: Exceptional heat in southeast Australia in early 2017
A dry start and a wet finish
Rainfall was average to below average across the city, with a dry December and January but a wetter than average February
Observatory Hill recorded rain on 32 days, close to the summer average of 36 rain days
Five days had more than 25 mm of rain (average 3 days), mostly in February, with flash flooding in parts of the Sydney CBD on 7 February and severe thunderstorms with large hail in parts of the north and northwest on 18 February