Summer Weather Report

111.8 mm rain total.

December  5.8mm falling on two days.
January      23mm over six days.
February    83mm over four days (78mm falling in one night).

Wind: only a couple days in January where wind gusts pushed into 70kmh.
Minimum temperature: 6.9C

Maximum temperatures: 46.1C
December: twenty days over 30C, ten of which over 40C (two spells, five and four days).
January:     twelve days over 30C, four of which over 40C.
February:   eleven days over 30C, none over 40C.

Relative Humditity:
December average 41.3 (min 5.5, 11 below 10%)
January average 50 (min 4.5, five below 10%)
February average 62 (none below 10%)

Farmonline rain data is collected within 100m of our home, so will continue to use it.

After a hot dry spring, summer began the same way.  The intense heat waves (multiple days over 40) combined with wind and dry spells.  This weather created serious fire conditions.  We did not suffer locally from this, but the rest of the continent did.  This type of weather only broke properly on the first day of February, with the heaviest rain in a few hour period for home that's been recorded.  The towns in immediate vicinity had similar experience, but rest of state was less than half the rain we got that day (still very helpful to them).  The milder weather we've had since has been wonderful.

The heat events arose due a long patch of time where air over centre of continent didn't get shifted and just kept heating up.  This was apparently a result of Indian Ocean Dipole and Southern Ocean Ocellation events.  Long term climate changes made the result hotter and drier but didn't drive it per se (or so I'm told).  The heavy rain even came about when the monsoon turned 'on', sweeping the rain we got from North Queensland through the centre and to here (not seen this before).  That combined with Indian Ocean Dipole 'flipping' and the Southern Oscillation returning to 'normal', all in the space of about two or three days.  Was quite weird how it happened.  I watched it all on weather radars over that period.  New something was going to happen, didn't think it would a river forming across our street!  We weren't flooded, but was a close thing for a few of our neighbors.

Weather Report - Winter 2019

114mm rain total (106mm last year).  Fields around got a slightly late start but are reasonable at season's end.

June       63.0mm falling on eight days (43.8mm on one day).
July        26.6mm over thirteen days.
August   25.4mm over eleven days.

Winds not extreme, though strong on a couple days (south easterly wind was the worst, unusually).
Maybe a handful of minor mild frosts at end of season, didn't freeze up on actual garden beds though.

June        three days with minimums below 0'C.
July         0 days with minimums below 0'C.
August    five days with minimums below 0'C.

Weeding program kicked into gear through August, would finish early September.  Began the whole thing late July with harvesting of nettles for nettle 'tea' and then moved along, either concentrating on particular areas, or on particular species of weed as they started threatening to throw deep roots / drop bulbs / seed.

Cardboard covered front and back 'cottage garden' sites for weed suppression from the middle of winter (will probably have practically sterilised the soil), to be populated with plants in spring or after summer.

Propogation has been main activity, with around 100 plants in small to small-medium pots at present and 35 cuttings in the trays (will expand this with large number in near future).  Beans grew well, potatoes died off around turn of season (still to dig up spuds to see if was worth it), dill grew well in sun and shelter but not so elsewhere, silverbeet preferred sun but dealt with shade, coriander wanted sun, brussel sprouts grow best in sun and shelter but tolerate shade.

A lot of thought into how to develop yard and plantings through spring into summer.

Weather Report - Autumn 2019

This Report covers the calendar months for Autumn.  As such, it cross cuts my first weather report (here), in that they both include data for March 2019.  So be it.


Dry through March and April.  May rains equaled last year's (to two tenths of a millimetre!).

March      1.6mm falling on three days.
April        6.8mm over three days.
May        48.2mm over 15 days.

Classic 'shoulder'season for autumn.  No frosts.  A couple days of strong winds (mid 60km gusts).

March       40.7'C  15 days 30'C or higher, 3 over 35'C.
April          34.0'C max, 8 days 30'C or higher.

May           26.1'C max,  3.6' min



Garden labour has seamlessly shifted from watering to weeding.

The May rainfall total is exactly the same as last year, but the total rainfall is down about 10mm for the year.  The bureau is predicting another dry winter.  We'll see.

Weather Report - Jan to March 2019 summary

Dry.  There has been so little rain it seems silly to even talk about it.
January    2mm    falling on one day.
February  4.6mm falling on three days.
March      1.6mm falling on three days.

Hot.  UV extreme almost throughout.
January     46.9'C  17 days 35C or higher, 10 at 40C or higher.
February   42.2'C   8 days 35C or higher, 1 at 40'C or above
March       40.7'C  15 days 30'C or higher, 3 over 35'C.

Tough conditions.  I've been active in the garden since March.  Before then, it was watering and shade management of existing plants, the aim being survival of as many as possible.  Especially on the hottest day in January, which took more plants than any other single day.

Le sigh.