Weather In Australia 2018

[Mark]

Temperatures have soared above 40 degrees Celsius throughout Australia as extreme weather hits parts of South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, the Northern Territory and the ACT.



The mercury reached a record 49.3C in Marble Bar in Western Australia's Pilbara region shortly after noon — the hottest day in the town since temperature records began in 1901.

In South Australia's mid north region, Port Augusta and Whyalla each hit 46.8C.

Capital cities swelter

Alice Springs reached 44C, Adelaide hit 43.7C and Canberra, which was forecast to hit 37C, reached 36C.

South Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecaster Bonnie Haselgrove said that in the north-east corner of the state, forecast maximums were expected to remain in the 40s for the next week.

Weather News - Australian heatwave sees capital cities and regional towns swelter

[Mark]

Weather News - Capital Rainfall Summary

In Hobart, a total of 585mm has been recorded, just slightly below the long term average of 612mm. It is important to note that it would be much lower had 129mm not fallen on May 11th. While the city could expect the odd shower to end the year, it is unlikely that they would end up with an above average rainfall.

Melbourne and Adelaide fared slightly worse, partly due to the absence of many strong frontal systems throughout the winter months. While not the only cause, it did limit the rainfall the regions received during the southern wet season, causing both cities to end up below average. Melbourne received a total of 512mm, which is below the average of 648.6mm. Meanwhile, Adelaide’s 358mm was just less than 70% of its average. Both cities may see their totals rise slightly before the new year as light showers impact southern parts of the nation.

Along the east coast, slightly drier than normal conditions impacted the capitals there. Canberra’s 469mm is below the average of 618mm. In Sydney, almost half of the rain recorded at observatory hill this year has fallen in the last four months, though this does bring the total up to 1001mm, making it about 80% average. In Brisbane, it is a similar story, with 859mm of rain recorded putting it 15% below average.

The other two capitals did manage to record above average values. In the southwest, Perth scrapped past the average of 729mm with its recorded 741mm of rain. In the Top End, even with the late onset of the north australian monsoon, Darwin managed to record more than usual, with 1849mm currently putting it at 106% of average. It is likely that Darwin's value will rise, as the year is currently forecast to end with showers and storms in the region.

[ato2]

This is a good reminder of how much drier our big western neighbour is than we are. I presume someone has done the math, so I can ask the question: how close is Australia to a long term, semi permanent, water crisis?

[Mark]

Don't know if this answer helps ato2.

The largest east coast centres (Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney) have all faced water supply challenges, but Perth and Adelaide have really been pushed to extreme levels. Current water storage levels in Australian capital cities range from 94.2% in Hobart and 69.7% in Melbourne through to 40.4% in Perth – the lowest of the capital cities. Only a year ago it was an alarming 28.5%.

Why are Perth’s water storages so low? Because of steep declines in rainfall and catchment runoff into the city’s dams.

The world is watching Perth and its water supply crisis. The long-term volume of water flowing into the Perth supply has plummeted from an annual average of 338 gigalitres (1911 to 1974) to less than 50 GL/year (2010-2016). During this 43-year “big dry”, the number of people served by the Perth water supply has increased steeply.

How has Perth managed to survive? Desalination and groundwater have come to the rescue. Perth relies less on catchment runoff and surface storages and now has two giant desalination plants. It also has tapped into groundwater as a major source of domestic water.

https://www.opednews.com/populum/archive.php

[JennyLeez]

Thanks for that info Mark.
Scary stuff!!!!!