Climate Of Adelaide
Adelaide has a hot Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa), which generally means cool, rainy wet winters and hot, dry summers. Of all the Australian capital cities, Adelaide is the driest. Rainfall is unreliable, light and infrequent throughout summer. The average in January and February is around 20 millimetres (0.8 inches) but completely rainless months are by no means uncommon and in 1893 sixty-nine days passed without measurable rainfall. In opposing contrast, the winter has fairly reliable rainfall with June being the wettest month of the year, averaging around 80 mm.
In the summer, maximum average is 29 °C (84 °F) but there is considerable variation and Adelaide can usually expect around 3 days a year when the daytime temperature is 40 °C (104 °F) or above. In January 1939, the temperature reached 46.1 °C (115.0 °F) twice. From 3 March 2008, Adelaide recorded 15 consecutive days of temperatures over 35 °C (95 °F), again a record for an Australian capital. In winter from June to August, maximum average is 15–16 °C (59–61 °F) and minimum is usually around 8 °C (46 °F). Frosts are common in the valleys of the Adelaide Hills, but rare elsewhere, with the most notable occurrences having occurred in July 1908 and July 1982. There is usually no appreciable snowfall in Adelaide, except on rare occasions at Mount Lofty and in some towns in the Adelaide Hills.
| Climate data for Continentaltown (Kent Town, 1981-2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 45.7 (114.3) |
44.3 (111.7) |
41.9 (107.4) |
36.9 (98.4) |
29.2 (84.6) |
25.4 (77.7) |
23.1 (73.6) |
30.4 (86.7) |
34.3 (93.7) |
39.0 (102.2) |
43.0 (109.4) |
42.5 (108.5) |
45.7 (114.3) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.3 (84.7) |
29.5 (85.1) |
26.5 (79.7) |
22.7 (72.9) |
19.0 (66.2) |
16.1 (61.0) |
15.3 (59.5) |
16.6 (61.9) |
19.0 (66.2) |
21.8 (71.2) |
25.2 (77.4) |
26.9 (80.4) |
22.3 (72.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 17.1 (62.8) |
17.2 (63.0) |
15.3 (59.5) |
12.5 (54.5) |
10.2 (50.4) |
8.1 (46.6) |
7.5 (45.5) |
8.2 (46.8) |
9.7 (49.5) |
11.4 (52.5) |
14.0 (57.2) |
15.5 (59.9) |
12.2 (54.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 9.2 (48.6) |
9.5 (49.1) |
7.2 (45.0) |
4.3 (39.7) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
0.4 (32.7) |
1.6 (34.9) |
2.6 (36.7) |
4.7 (40.5) |
5.3 (41.5) |
8.0 (46.4) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 19.7 (0.776) |
12.8 (0.504) |
26.5 (1.043) |
39.3 (1.547) |
61.1 (2.406) |
79.9 (3.146) |
75.7 (2.98) |
69.9 (2.752) |
59.4 (2.339) |
41.5 (1.634) |
30.3 (1.193) |
30.1 (1.185) |
546.3 (21.508) |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 2.9 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 5.1. | 8.8 | 11.3 | 12.0 | 12.1 | 9.0 | 6.7 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 82.5 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 269.7 | 221.2 | 226.3 | 189.0 | 142.6 | 123.0 | 136.4 | 167.4 | 183.0 | 226.3 | 225.0 | 260.4 | 2,370.3 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology | |||||||||||||
Recorded extremes:
- Hottest temperature – 12 January 1939, 46.1 °C (115.0 °F)
- Coldest temperature – 8 June 1982, −0.4 °C (31.3 °F)
- Wettest month – June 1916, 217.9 mm (8.58 in)
- Hottest Minimum - 33.9 °C (93.0 °F), 28–29 January 2009
(Records from West Tce weather station 1839-1977 & Kent Town weather station 1977-present)
| Climate data for Adelaide Airport (1981-2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 44.0 (111.2) |
43.6 (110.5) |
40.8 (105.4) |
36.9 (98.4) |
28.6 (83.5) |
26.1 (79.0) |
22.3 (72.1) |
29.9 (85.8) |
33.4 (92.1) |
38.0 (100.4) |
43.1 (109.6) |
42.4 (108.3) |
44.0 (111.2) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 28.1 (82.6) |
28.4 (83.1) |
25.6 (78.1) |
22.2 (72.0) |
18.7 (65.7) |
15.8 (60.4) |
14.9 (58.8) |
16.0 (60.8) |
18.3 (64.9) |
21.1 (70.0) |
24.2 (75.6) |
25.9 (78.6) |
21.6 (70.9) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 16.3 (61.3) |
16.4 (61.5) |
14.6 (58.3) |
11.8 (53.2) |
9.8 (49.6) |
7.8 (46.0) |
7.1 (44.8) |
7.7 (45.9) |
9.1 (48.4) |
10.8 (51.4) |
13.3 (55.9) |
14.9 (58.8) |
11.6 (52.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 8.9 (48.0) |
9.0 (48.2) |
5.6 (42.1) |
3.2 (37.8) |
1.2 (34.2) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
−1 (30.2) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
1.7 (35.1) |
3.1 (37.6) |
4.7 (40.5) |
7.3 (45.1) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 16.9 (0.665) |
13.1 (0.516) |
23.2 (0.913) |
31.1 (1.224) |
48.3 (1.902) |
60.9 (2.398) |
58.3 (2.295) |
52.7 (2.075) |
47.3 (1.862) |
36.5 (1.437) |
23.6 (0.929) |
25.5 (1.004) |
437.4 (17.22) |
| Avg. rainy days | 2.8 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 5.2 | 8.1 | 10.7 | 10.6 | 11.1 | 8.1 | 6.1 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 76.0 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 325.5 | 280 | 269.7 | 219 | 173.6 | 141 | 155 | 192.2 | 213 | 260.4 | 279 | 288.3 | 2,796.7 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology | |||||||||||||
Read more about Climate Of Adelaide: 2008 Heatwave (2–17 March 2008), 2009 Heatwave (26 January 2009- 3 February), November 2009 Heatwave
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