Guyra Weather News Archive

2020

2020 MONTHLY STATISTICS TABLE here.

2020 RAINFALL TOTAL: 978 mm, 105 mm higher than the average. January, February, March and December all recorded above average rain with December being the wettest month recording 204 mm.

DRIEST NOVEMBER FOR 84 YEARS - With a total of just 15.0 mm on 4 days it was Guyra’s driest November since 1936 which recorded 14.2 mm. Higher than normal temperatures and a lack of rain bearing systems resulted in the unusually dry conditions.

GUYRA HOTTER THAN ARMIDALE - 30th November - The maximum temperature of 32.2C was a full 5.2C higher than the maximum in Armidale. This rather unusual event was brought about by a low pressure trough-line extending from the north-west of New South Wales towards the south-east passing between Armidale and Guyra. It remained in this position for most of the day. Thus north of the trough-line experienced hot north-westerly winds, while south of it enjoyed milder south-easterlies during the day. Glen Innes also experienced the “benefit” of this event with a maximum of 34.5C. Armidale recorded just 27.0C.

HAIL AND LIGHT SNOW - 22nd August - A severe cold front which passed through north-east New South Wales in the early morning brought showers of small hail and snow to higher parts of the Northern Tablelands. In Guyra there were a number of showers of soft hail (often referred to as sago snow or sleet) throughout the day, however there was only one brief very light shower of snow at around 12.20pm when the temperature dropped to 0.5C. The maximum for the day was 6.2C at 11am, however strong westerly winds kept the wind chill temperature to below zero degrees for most of the day.
Not recorded as a “snow” day.

AUGUST SNOW - 9th August - Light snow fell briefly at around 7am and 12 noon, and again in the evening. It did not settle on the ground but the Ben Lomond area received heavier falls which settled in the evening of the 9th and early morning of the 10th. An upper level cold pool of air combined with cold surface southerly winds associated with a low pressure trough produced the snowy conditions. The maximum temperature on the 9th was 4.4C.

LIGHT SNOW - 13th July - Very light snow fell briefly between 5 and 6pm but did not settle on the ground. Heavier falls occurred further north around Llangothlin and Ben Lomond. The icy conditions were caused by cold surface westerly winds generated by a low pressure system over southern New South Wales combining with upper level cold air. The maximum temperature on the following day the 14th was 5.0C.

COLD OUTBREAK AND SNOW - 22nd-23rd June - Very cold winds combined with an upper level cold pool following a cold front which passed through eastern New South Wales on Sunday 21st, resulted in very light snow on the higher parts of the Northern Tablelands on Monday evening the 22nd. Light non-settling snow fell briefly in the evening at around 9pm in Guyra. Low day temperatures followed on Tuesday 23rd with Guyra recording a maximum of just 3.8C.

JUNE SNOW - 2nd June - Snow fell for about an hour from 8.30 to 9.30am but did not settle on the ground. Very cold conditions resulted in light snowfalls along parts of the Northern Tablelands including Armidale. Cold south-westerly winds following the passage of a cold front the previous evening, and an upper level cold pool caused the extreme wintry weather. The maximum temperature in Guyra for the day was 5.3C.



2019

2019 MONTHLY STATISTICS TABLE here.

2019 DRIEST AND WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD - The rain total of 302.0 mm was 576 mm lower than the average or just 34 per cent of normal rainfall for the year. 2019 was Guyra’s driest year on record, the previous driest was 1919 which recorded 554 mm. Rainfall was below average in every month with the most severe deficits occurring in the seven months from April to October.
It was also Guyra’s warmest year on record with maximum temperatures averaging 20.3 degrees, 2.7 deg above the long term average. The previous warmest year was 1936. Temperatures reached 30.0 degrees or higher on 20 days compared to the long term average of 3.3 days.

DRIEST SEPTEMBER FOR 39 YEARS - With a total of just 6.4 mm it was the driest September since 1980 (6.2 mm)

SEPTEMBER SNOW - 9th September - Light snow showers or flurries from 3.30 to 4.30pm approximately. Snow did not settle on the ground. The snow showers developed in a cold southerly airstream in the wake of a cold front which passed through the region on the 7th.

DRIEST AUGUST FOR 24 YEARS - With a total of only 10.6 mm it was the driest August since 1995 (3.0 mm).

DRIEST WINTER FOR 131 YEARS - With a total of 33.8 mm it was the lowest June-July-August rainfall since 1888 (24.9 mm).

AUGUST SNOWFALLS - 10th & 11th August - Very cold surface air following the passage of cold fronts on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th combining with upper level cold air produced snow over the Central and Northern Tablelands on the weekend.
In Guyra light snow started in the late evening of the 10th and became heavier in the early hours of the 11th with snow settling on the ground to a depth of 3 to 4 cms. It remained on the ground, melting by 11am.
The second fall for the weekend started at 8.30pm on Sunday 11th, lasting for about an hour with snow settling to a depth of around 6 cms. It was still on the ground the following morning Monday 12th, but had mostly melted by 10am.
The maximum temperature on the 11th was just 5.4C, but strong westerly winds gusting to over 60 km per hour during the day caused the wind chill temperature to remain well below zero. The total weekend rainfall was 3.4 mm of melted snow.

DRIEST JULY FOR 17 YEARS - With a total of just 7.6 mm it was the driest July since 2002 (3.8 mm).
The April to July period recorded only 37.4 mm which was driest consecutive four month period on record (from 128 years of complete rainfall records).

WARMEST JULY DAY TEMPERATURES FOR 26 YEARS - Day or maximum temperatures averaged 13.1 degrees for July which was the highest since 1993 (13.2C). There were no daily record breaking extremes, but overall temperatures were much higher than the July long term average.

FIRST SNOW FOR THE YEAR - 4th June - Cold southerly winds combined with an upper level pool of cold air resulted in snowfalls over the Northern Tablelands in the early hours of the morning. Snow started falling in Guyra after midnight and there was a 6 cm cover on the ground at 8am. Light snow showers continued through the morning until around 11am. Snow on the ground melted slowly from 9am and was gone by around midday. The minimum temperature for the day was -1.9C with a maximum of just 5.0C.

DRIEST APRIL FOR 22 YEARS - As the drought of 2018/2019 intensifies the April rainfall total of just 3.6 mm was the lowest for the month of April since 1997 which recorded 3.4 mm.

DRIEST FEBRUARY FOR 96 YEARS - The rain total for the month of just 8.6 mm was the lowest for the month of February since 1923 which also recorded 8.6 mm.

HOTTEST JANUARY ON RECORD - With maximum temperatures averaging 28.7C, it was Guyra’s hottest January and hottest month on record from 85 years of available temperature records. The previous hottest was January 1929. Temperatures reached or exceeded 28.0C on 19 days, and reached or exceeded 30.0C on seven days. The unusually hot conditions were caused by low pressure troughs lingering over western New South Wales for most of the month drawing hot air into the state from central Australia.