WINTER WEATHER REVIEW - ARMIDALE NSW
2012

Winter 2012 was cold and frosty with below normal rainfall.
June was cloudy, dry and cool, July was cold and wet, and August was frosty, sunny and very dry.
June recorded 30.8 mm of rain, July 97.0 mm and August 14.6 mm. The total for the three months was 142.4 mm with over half of this amount (82.4 mm) falling in one event on the 12th to 14th July.
The colder winter weather commenced on the 25th May and lasted for 12 weeks until 20th August when warmer conditions arrived.
Maximum temperatures were lower than 10 degrees on 7 days and there were no snowfalls.
Winds were light in June and July, and dry gusty westerly winds developed in August.
There were 63 frosts, 7 more than the average, with August being both the frostiest and sunniest month.

There were five noteworthy events and these are summarized below.

5th June - An upper level pool of cold air passed across northern New South Wales. This system, combined with moist south-westerly winds generated by an intense low pressure system in the Tasman Sea, produced very cold air over the Northern Tablelands with light snow showers falling in the Guyra/Black Mountain/Ben Lomond areas. There was no snow in Armidale where the maximum temperature was 6.5C, the coldest day temperature since 11th August 2008 (6.5C).

24th & 25th June - The minimum temperatures of -8.8C and -9.0C respectively were the lowest temperatures recorded in Armidale since 30th June 2010. Clear skies, combined with cold dry air following the passage of a cold front on the 22nd, resulted in the very chilly mornings.

11th to 14th July - A slowing moving low pressure trough passed through New South Wales generating moderate to heavy rain in the north of the state. In Armidale the rainfall total for the four days was 82.4 mm which was the heaviest for eight months. Minor to moderate flooding occurred in Dumaresq Creek on the 13th and 14th. The rain cleared in the early hours of the 15th.
During this event the 24 hour total of 49.4 mm to 9am on the 13th was the highest daily fall since 24th November 2011 (87.6 mm)

9th to 11th August - A cold front which passed through the region on the 9th, and an upper level pool of cold air, brought showers and cold winds along with light snowfalls to some parts of the Northern Tablelands on the 10th and early on the 11th. There was no snow in Armidale or Guyra. Light snow fell in Walcha in the early hours of the 10th, and there were further snow showers south of Walcha late that evening and early on the 11th. At this time snow also fell at Ebor and Point Lookout to the east of Armidale with a light cover on the ground. The maximum temperature in Armidale on the 10th was 9.3C and on the 11th it was 9.5C.

17th to 18th August - A severe cold front, passed through New South Wales on the 17th. An area of upper level cold air along with this front triggered snowfalls over the Central Tablelands but no snow reached Armidale or Guyra. Skies stayed mostly clear with strong westerly winds. The maximum temperature in Armidale on the 18th as the colder air arrived was 11.9C.

WINTER STATISTICS (long term averages in brackets)
Rainfall: 142.4 mm (151.4 mm)
Rain days: 28 (28)
Average maximum temp: 13.4 deg (13.2 deg)
Average minimum temp: -0.1 deg (0.1 deg)
Highest maximum temp: 23.3 deg on 23rd August
Lowest maximum temp: 7.5 deg on 5th June
Highest minimum: 9.2 deg on 24th August
Lowest minimum temp: -9.0 deg on 25th June
Fine days: 48 (47)
Days with thunderstorms: 2 (1.3)
Days with frosts: 61 (56)