August: A wet month contrasting with a dry July. After a dry start to the month rain set in from August 6 with several very wet days. Daily totals of 14.6mm, 10.4mm and 28.1mm were recorded on August 8, 14 and 16 respectively. There were just 14 dry days.
The total rainfall for August was 81.8mm, which was 14.9mm above average and the wettest August since 2015. The contrasting months since this station was set up in 1984 were 139.5mm in 1992 and just 5.3mm in 1995.
To offset the rainfall, the equivalent loss of rainfall through evaporation from ground sources and plant life totalled 82.3mm, just exceeding the rainfall being 9mm above the 11-year average.
The mean temperature for August was 0.8C above the 35-year average with notably hot days toward the end of the month. During the four days from August 24 to the 27 each exceeded 28C (82F) with a peak of 30.7C (87F) on August 25.
Solar energy was 102 per cent of the 11-year average.
Summer overall: The three months of meteorological summer, June to August, gave a mean temperature 0.7C above the 35-year average. There has been an upward, if gradual, trend to the mean summer temperature over the past 30 years and now is 0.9C above that recorded in the late 1990’s.
Rainfall was 203.1mm, which was the wettest since 2012 and 23mm above the 35-year average. The wettest summer was in 2012 with 328mm contrasted by just 53mm in 1995.
Evaporation totalled 276mm, which was 73mm above the rainfall total.
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