Quote:
Originally Posted by gary
As a reliable dry and cloud free observing location, the Pilbara does not extend
far enough inland and is too far north to be a candidate. The rain at times
absolutely dumps down there and the tracks become impassable due to flooding.
Even the Great Sandy Desert, which is further inland still, can receive
quite a lot of rain during the Wet.
Even in very dry locations, like around Woomera and elsewhere deep in
the interior of SA, you can never completely escape the occassional
downpour and when it rains, the mud becomes so thick that one's boots start to
weigh one down like lead diving boots.
I was in Birdsville in SW Qld one day when we recorded the temperature at
50C and they put on soup with ice cubes in it in the pub for dinner. But even that
night it absolutely bucketed down, testimony to the land of extremes we live in.
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This argument could be made for anywhere in the country though. In the NW deserts, it's the exception rather than the rule. Overall, the Pilbara is still the sunniest place in the nation and most rainfall falls from shortlived storm cells, rather than cloud laden frontal systems and monsoon troughs. Ofcourse, the Pilbara will have their days of overcast when the monsoon trough links with a southern frontal system or the occasional cyclone, but the difference is the associated cloudiness in a given spot, rarely lasts more than a small handful of days at a time, unlike in the tropics or down here.