© Compiled and written by Peter Burr, U.N.E, using data recorded at Bureau of Meteorology/University of New England weather station at East Armidale. No part of this review may be reproduced for commercial purposes without prior permission from the author

RAINFALL
Total rain for the year of 677.8 millimetres was 112 millimetres lower than the average. Above average rain fell in January, March, May and November, with below average rain in all other months. A very dry winter and early spring totalled only 118.2 mm from June to October which was 156 mm less than the average for this period. March was the wettest month with 127.0 mm, and the driest was June with just 4.2 mm.

TEMPERATURES
Day temperatures throughout the year were generally close to normal except in January and June which were much warmer than normal. Overnight temperatures were also mostly close to normal except in May and June which were much colder than normal.  The highest temperature for the year was 35.1 degrees on January 15th, and the lowest was -8.0 degrees on June 25th. The lowest maximum was 6.7 degrees on August 28th. Maximums reached or exceeded 30.0 degrees on 23 days, maximums were lower than 10.0 degrees on 9 days, and minimums were lower than 5.0 degrees on 174 days.

WINDS
Winds were lighter than normal in all months except for August and December. Winds were light to moderate in August, October and December, and light in the remaining months. The prevailing directions were easterlies in January, February, March and April, and westerlies for the rest of the year. The year totalled 12 windy days* (annual average 20 days), and 150 days with light winds** (annual average 143 days). Winds were westerly on 141 days, easterly on 86 days, south-westerly on 36 days, variable on 30 days, south-easterly on 28 days, north-westerly on 21 days, southerly on 16 days, north-easterly on 5 days, and northerly on 2 days.

EVAPORATION
Total for the year was 1211.6 millimetres which was 2 mm lower than the long term average. Average daily evaporation for the year was 3.3 mm, and the highest amount in a single day was 10.2 mm on December 24th.

FROSTS
There were 19 frosts more than normal with a total of 115 for the year. There were 34 light frosts, 51 moderate frosts and 30 severe frosts. The first frost was on April 12th which produced a frost-free period of 165 days over the summer of 2000-01. The last frost was on November 22nd.

FOGS
There were fogs on 43 days which is 12 days more than the annual average. The months with the most fogs were April and June with 9 fogs each.

SNOW
There were snowfalls on 2 days. August 26th - light continuous snow in the evening which settled on the ground briefly. August 27th - occasional small snowflakes mixed with rain and drizzle (this is normally referred to as sleet) throughout the morning. The annual average is 2.4 days of snow.

THUNDERSTORMS
Thunderstorm activity was close to normal with January being the month with the highest number of storms. There were 66 thunderstorm events during the year (the annual average is 60) - 31 slight storms, 8 moderate storms, 5 heavy storms, 1 severe storm, and 21 occasions of thunder without precipitation.
Severe thunderstorm:  A severe storm struck Armidale on January 28th from 2.10 to 4.00pm with torrential rain. From 3.00 to 4.00pm 55 millimetres fell causing flash flooding in Dumaresq Creek. There were no strong wind gusts or hail with this storm.

HAIL
There were hailfalls on 2 days (the annual average is 3.3 hail days). Hail fell on November 24th (up to 18mm diameter mixed with rain). Soft hail fell on May 19th.

FLOODS
Flash flooding in Dumaresq Creek occurred in the afternoon of January 28th caused by heavy rain during a thunderstorm. Minor flooding in Dumaresq Creek as a result of heavy rain occurred on the late evening of March 25th and morning of March 26th, and the evening of November 26th and morning of November 27th.

* Windy day - average wind speed higher than 20 kms per hour: 9am to 6pm
** Day with light winds - average wind speed less than 8 kms per hour: 9am to 6pm

2001 MONTHLY DATA FILES

    Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec