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WA's September: rain records and summer heat
Western Australia's spring month brought record-breaking rainfall inland and unseasonable warmth across the state.
In brief
Western Australia's spring month brought record-breaking rainfall inland and unseasonable warmth across the state. Western Australia experienced extreme weather in September, with record rainfall inland and temperatures up to twelve degrees above normal, showcasing the state's climate variability. Originally reported…
Spring brought mixed extremes
Western Australia's first month of spring delivered unusually heavy rain inland and sudden bursts of summer-like heat, showcasing the state's climate variability from one end to the other.
Inland deluge breaks records
A slow-moving trough drew tropical moisture into the Goldfields and Interior, producing widespread rain and thunderstorms. Leonora picked up fifty-nine millimetres in twenty-four hours to nine am on September seven, its wettest September day on record.
Leonora's monthly total shatters century-old mark
By month's end, Leonora had accumulated more than one hundred thirty-six millimetres, a significant increase from its monthly average of just nine millimetres and smashing the station's old record of eighty-three point three millimetres from nineteen oh four.
Roads closed by flooding
The heavy rainfall led to flooded roads around Leonora and the closure of the Goldfields Highway and the Leonora-Laverton Road, disrupting transport through the interior.
Western WA swelters mid-month
Mid-way through September, western parts of Western Australia experienced summer-like conditions as daytime temperatures soared up to twelve degrees Celsius more than usual, while south-eastern states shivered through below average temperatures.
Perth hits thirty degrees in September
Perth rapidly climbed to thirty point three degrees Celsius on September sixteen, its first thirty of the season and its warmest day since April, sending residents flooding to beaches for summer-like conditions.
Warm nights break records statewide
Nearly a dozen locations observed their hottest September minimums. Murchison smashed its record from nineteen ninety after dropping to a warm nineteen point eight degrees Celsius, while Wongan Hills only got down to twenty-one degrees.
Day records tumble across the state
Katanning reached a toasty thirty-one point eight degrees Celsius on September seventeen, just tipping over its previous record from two thousand six. Rocky Gully South, North Walpole and Albany Airport also set new September records.
More rain expected to follow
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast an increased chance of unusually high rainfall across much of southern and central Western Australia over October, which could make up for the lack of rain Perth received during September.
What to remember
Western Australia experienced extreme weather in September, with record rainfall inland and temperatures up to twelve degrees above normal, showcasing the state's climate variability.
