Guyra Weather News Archive
2021
2021 MONTHLY STATISTICS TABLE here.
2021 WETTEST FOR 71 YEARS: The
rainfall total for 2021 of 1,199.6 mm was 325 mm or 37 per cent higher
than the average, and was Guyra’s wettest year since
1950 (1257 mm). Above average rainfall was recorded in seven months of the year
with November being the wettest at 185 mm.
COOLEST NOVEMBER FOR 20 YEARS - November was an unusually wet and
cloudy month. The average maximum temperature of 18.7C was the lowest for the
month of November since 2001 (18.5C). The lowest daily maximum of 12.0C on the
13th was the coolest for November since 23rd November 2008 (11.8C).
SNOW AND HAIL-21st September - Very cold air following a severe cold
front which moved through north-east New South Wales late on the 20th produced
showers of snow and hail on the higher areas of the Northern Tablelands. In Guyra there were a several light snow showers during the
morning after 9am with a heavier snow shower at around 2pm which briefly
settled on the ground. At 4pm there was a heavy shower of small hail (sometimes
referred to as sago snow) which lasted for about ten minutes with 80 per cent
of the ground whitened. Maximum temp: 6.5C, rain to 9am on 22nd: 0.4 mm,
maximum wind gust: 55 km/hr at 12.45pm.
RAIN, SNOW, HAIL-24th August - A severe cold front passed through north-eastern New South Wales in
the early hours bringing moderate falls of rain to the Northern Tablelands and
snow in elevated areas. In Guyra rain in the early morning turned to snow at
around 7am, but only settled briefly on the ground. A moderate snow shower at
around 11am, lasting about 30 minutes, also settled briefly before melting.
During the afternoon there were a number of brief light snow showers, and also
small hail (often referred to as sago snow or sleet). The maximum temperature
was 4.4C at 9.50am, but strong winds throughout the day gusting to 60 km per
hour kept the wind chill temperature well below zero degrees. Rainfall: 33.8 mm
for the 4 hours to 9am with a further 6.0 mm falling during the day.
Further light showers of snow fell in the early morning of the 25th.
SNOW EVENT 20th-21st July - A cold front with associated upper level cold air moved through the
Northern Tablelands bringing snow to areas around Walcha
and to the Guyra-Black Mountain-Ben Lomond area. In Guyra snow showers commenced at around 10pm on the 20th
with snow settling on the ground. Further snow showers occurred through the
night and morning of the 21st. At 6am snow was about 4 cms
deep on the ground but gradually melted later in the morning. Very light snow
continued until around 12 noon.
SNOW EVENT 9th-10th June - Low temperatures, strong winds and showers of
rain and snow occurred on the Northern Tablelands after a cold front passed
through the region late on the 8th. A low pressure system associated with the
front developed over southern New South Wales on the 9th which generated cold
west to north-westerly winds over the north of the state. This surface system
combined with upper level cold air caused snow to fall over the higher areas of
the tablelands including Guyra, Black Mountain and Glen Innes on the 9th and
10th.
In Guyra:
Wed 9th - light flurries during the day, heavier in the evening with snow
settling on the ground to a depth of about 4cm. Max temp: 4.4C.
Thurs 10th - light snow showers during the day but not settling. Heavier snow in the evening between 9pm and around midnight with
snow settling to a depth of 8 to 9 cms. Max
temp: 2.5C
Fri 11th - rain and higher temperatures in the early hours of the morning
caused the snow to melt.
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.