At 2:00pm it's 33ºC in Melbourne and 34ºC here in the city's SE suburbs. It's friggin hot here! Yet Geelong is only on 21C and Hobart on 15C
Places across northern Vic and inland SA are recording temps of 36-38ºC.
There's talk of an even worse outbreak of heat around next weekend, still too early to jump to conclusions but we'll see. It looks especially severe in the current progs!
50ºC is a very real possibility in northwestern Vic. Mildura saw 50.8C in Jan 1908 and more recently 47.6ºC was recorded at an AWS within town in Feb 2004. Reports of 50 at a farm AWS outside of town on that day.
From my recollection of comments from an Australian meteorologist, that Mildura reading would be in the dodgy category. I seem to recall that the highest clearly accepted reading was 50.5C at Eucla, or somewhere like that. But there's no doubt you have some scary readings coming up.
http://www.australiaeguide.com.au/weather.php
" On the topic of climate, some of the Australian records are interesting and surprising. For example, which capital city has recorded the highest temperature? When asked this question, many people guess Darwin. However, in fact all of the other seven capital cities, even Hobart (40.8ºC, 105.4ºF), have recorded higher temperatures than Darwin’s 40.5ºC (104.9ºF) on 17th October 1892. The capital city with the highest temperature is actually Adelaide with 47.6ºC (117.7ºF) on 12th January 1939. The highest temperature ever recorded anywhere in Australia was 53.1ºC (127.6ºF) in Cloncurry, Queensland on 16th January 1889. In recent years, the validity of this record has been challenged, since it was a while ago and the equipment used would not satisfy today’s standards. However, most people still regard this as the record. The Meteorological Office, however, is prepared to vouch only for the 50.7ºC (123.3ºF) recorded in Oodnadatta, South Australia on 2nd January 1960.
Marble Bar in Western Australia claims a world record by having recorded 160 consecutive days with a temperature of over 100ºF (37.8ºC), from 31st October 1923 until 7th April 1924."
maxed out at 33.5ºC in the city and 33.9 at home. Places in the north reached 37-38. Mildura has 37.2ºC, but Swan Hill and Hopetoun (also in the northwest) got closer 38
good chance of a hot night. Will certainly be hot in the northwest of Vic. Change has been delayed until tomorrow morning, and currently it is now full overcast so it may be a tough one for sleeping BOM says 19, which IMO is an underestimation, unless a seabreeze or something kicks in.
the BOM are also starting to go along with the models for next weekend's heat, atm they say 27 for Saturday (which has been upgraded from 21). After that looks like a sharp cold blast. Could get interesting if it eventuates.
That sounds about right, that's what I was told by BOM - the 1960 record is the most accepted one, the 1889 one has not been verified & also the equipment used back then wasn't of good quality as compared to nowdays, also not too sure about the Eucla 1906 one as well, the Mardie one of 50.5oC in Feb. 1998 is accepted by BOM. The NSW record is 52.8oC in Jan. 1877 but this is not accepted by BOM as is the 1909 record of 51.7oC in the same town.
Here is a list of each state capital's hottest day in order from top to bottom, Adelaide naturally tops the list and in spite of Darwin having the highest mean temp. - it is at the bottom of the list : -
Adelaide 47.6 January 12, 1939
Perth 46.2 February 23, 1991
Melbourne 45.6 January 13, 1939
Sydney 45.3 January 14, 1939
Brisbane 43.2 January 26, 1940
Canberra 42.2 February 1, 1968
Hobart 40.8 January 4, 1976
Darwin 40.5 17 October 1892
The BOM seem to officially recognise the Mildura 50,8C recording, and a 35.6ºC overnight minimum temp in the same month (which would be the 3rd highest in Australian weather history) as they're featured in their climate statistics:
There's also a 36ºC overnight min recorded in Renmark (140km west of Mildura) in Feb 1963, that would've been with standard instrumentaton. So these extreme temps are quite plausable. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/ ... 4016.shtml
It may depend on the agency's data recording practices. NIWA here has a "reliability" indicator for various monthly/annual records for its sites. Perhaps BOM doesn't drop a record unless it is clearly unacceptable.
rather warm night here. Small town of Mt Nowa Nowa near Orbost in eastern Victoria recorded an overnight min of 24.0ºC Other 20+ minimum temps include:
Bazza wrote:The BOM seem to officially recognise the Mildura 50,8C recording, and a 35.6ºC overnight minimum temp in the same month (which would be the 3rd highest in Australian weather history) as they're featured in their climate statistics:
There's also a 36ºC overnight min recorded in Renmark (140km west of Mildura) in Feb 1963, that would've been with standard instrumentaton. So these extreme temps are quite plausable. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/ ... 4016.shtml
Indeed so, as looking at all sites for Adelaide - all have recorded mininums of 32oC-35oC, the 1982 readings really stand out as 5 sites broke previous Jan, high min. records, probably the highest of all state capitals, Sydney has never recorded a min. of 30oC> ( highest for Ob Hill is 26.6oC Feb. 1973), although Parramatta has come close with 29.4oC in Jan. 1983, but a bit suspect because all other Syd sites records highest min temps. between 25oC-26oC.
^^ surprised to find that Sydney's record is only 26.6C. Here we can expect atleast a few of nights above 26C during a typical summer. Last summer featured some really hot nights, high min 28.6ºC in Melb and some extreme nocturnal temps aswell, most notably a 34.5ºC reading at midnight one night in early Jan, and a 35.1ºC reading around 1:30am on New Years day 2006.
Southern Oz record higher summer min temps than the E seaboard and NT, no doubt helped by hot N winds dragging heat from the inland to southern states, I remember one Jan. 1997 night in Melbourne when the min was only 28.8oC - a record, I was living at Yarraville at the time and that was really hot and uncomfortable due to the heat pentrating inside the house (brick). I think from memory Melb's highest min was 30oC in Feb. 1902.
the record is 30.6C and that was recorded sometime in the 1980's.
warmest Victorian min in recent times was 30.0ºC recorded in Mildura in Feb 2004.
Some absolutely stifling weather predicted in the synoptic charts for the weekend. Friday looks fairly mild, maybe about 25C, but Sat and Sun....
Wouldn't be surprised to see 35C in Melb and 40C in NW Vic if this synoptic situation pulls off. Looks like a decent cold spell after that.
It seems to me that a lot of extreme temperatures were recorded some time ago, rather than more recently as would be expected due to 'global warming'. The world's record of 58C in Libya was in 1922, and a lot of the dates quoted for extreme temps in some of the earlier posts are long ago (like 1902, 1889, 1906, 1909, etc.) Are these temperatures actually comparable to today's extremes? (with sensor protection and today's meteorology recording standards). Many of the thermometers which recorded the extreme temperatures 100 years ago would have a larger possible deviation from the recorded reading (higher margin of inaccuracy).
Also an interesting point about the stat you posted janewaystv - the record high minimum at Ob Hill being in February 1973. New Zealand's record high temperature of 42.4C was on the 7th Feb 1973, at Rangiora and Jordan (Marlborough). I seem to remember something about 44C temperature being reported from an unofficial source but was disregarded due to doubt of the reading's accuracy.
The Libyan reading, along with several others, is regarded as suspect. I've never seen a reference to a 44C value in NZ, and wouldn't believe it to be realistic.
^^ I agree. Interesting how these long standing records are yet to fall.
The highest temps of recent times:
Jan 2003
44.1ºC in Melbourne, 45.6ºC at Avalon Airport.
44.1ºC in Adelaide
Feb 2004
45.6ºC in Mildura, 47.6ºC at a private AWS in town. Reports of 50ºC at a private farm AWS south of town.
46.2ºC at Ouyen
48ºC at Ivanhoe, NSW
Jan 2006
45.3ºC at Sydney Airport
There's a private AWS (Davis weather station) at Renmark Town Center that claims that their readings are less than a degree different compared to the town's BOM station (now at the airport). It recorded 3 days above 46ºC in Jan 2006, and a 48ºC reading on Feb 5, 2007. A reading of 32.6ºC was obtained on Aug 26 this year. These may be plausable readings as the BOM station at the airport hit 44ºC (urban heat island in Renmark town could make it hotter) and reached 30.3ºC on the August date. There's a 36ºC min recorded by a town based BOM AWS in 1963, and since moving to the airport, there hasn't been a min temp remotely that high recorded in BOM archives. So that's another point to consider.
If these Renmark obs are plausable, and by some accounts they are, the Riverland/Mallee Towns are furnaces in summer. The same would apply to Mildura, the largest town in the area, their highest temps are all recorded before the station was moved to the airport, 10km from town. In town, temps could be reaching 46ºC quite regulary, just as in Renmark!
Bazza wrote:the record is 30.6C and that was recorded sometime in the 1980's.
warmest Victorian min in recent times was 30.0ºC recorded in Mildura in Feb 2004.
David wrote: Also an interesting point about the stat you posted janewaystv - the record high minimum at Ob Hill being in February 1973. New Zealand's record high temperature of 42.4C was on the 7th Feb 1973, at Rangiora and Jordan (Marlborough). I seem to remember something about 44C temperature being reported from an unofficial source but was disregarded due to doubt of the reading's accuracy.
Actually on the 6th of Feb. 1973 a max of 39.6oC was recorded, that night the record high of 26.6oC was recorded as well, if I remeber correctly eastern areas of the SI recorded record high temps of over 40oC the next day (7th) but around 38oc - 39oC for eastern NI areas.
Sydney has actually recorded a min. of 9.6oC once in 1863, needless to say we won't be seeing a 9oC temp ever again nowdays due to Ob Hill being in the city where it's a huge "urban heating" island, unless we had a very freak cold snap.
Bazza wrote:the record is 30.6C and that was recorded sometime in the 1980's.
warmest Victorian min in recent times was 30.0ºC recorded in Mildura in Feb 2004.
RWood wrote:The Libyan reading, along with several others, is regarded as suspect. I've never seen a reference to a 44C value in NZ, and wouldn't believe it to be realistic.
Correct, it actually depends on the location of where the temp. reading was taken, was it taken in the full sun or in a screened box & the type of instruments used.
You're right, it was in 1902. I am pretty sure I saw reference to a 30+ minimum in the '80's somewhere.
Other genuine chances for 30+ minimums were:
1st Jan 2006, were temps reached 35C in Melb at 1am, but seabreeze dropped them to 21C just before dawn, had there been a consistant northerly throughout the night, the min could've been very high, in the 33-34C range.
and 11th Jan 2007 when the overnight min was 28.6ºC, could've stayed above 30C if it had not been for the relatively clear skies.
When we had that 44oC - 45oC day in Sydney (1 Jan 06), the temp remained above 38oC until around 11pm when a gusty cooler S change swept thru, temps dropped to 19oC following the change, I'm sure if the S didn't come then Syd. possibly would have broken the prev. high min. record.
janewaystv wrote:When we had that 44oC - 45oC day in Sydney (1 Jan 06), the temp remained above 38oC until around 11pm when a gusty cooler S change swept thru, temps dropped to 19oC following the change, I'm sure if the S didn't come then Syd. possibly would have broken the prev. high min. record.
Now you know what its like, many times in Winter I think 'there could be good frost tonight' and I'm sure there has been potential for us to get -2 degrees where I am, but sadly some clouds spoil it. When skies actually stay clear here on a winter's night temps tend to hang around 0C because there isn't the potential for it to get as cold, but remain about 2C in the city. I don't think there will ever be the potential for the city to get down to -2C.
There are usually some limiting factors for new records to be achieved which are rarely absent, but when they are absent new records may be set.
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