Western Australia records contrasting rain and heat during September
Western Australia experienced unusually heavy inland rainfall and summer-like temperatures during its first month of spring, according to an ABC News review of viewer photographs and weather records. Leonora recorded its wettest September day, while Perth and several regional centres approached or exceeded temperature records.
Western Australia experienced sharply contrasting weather during September, with heavy rainfall inland and unusually warm conditions across parts of the south, ABC News reported. A slow-moving trough drew tropical moisture into the Goldfields and Interior early in the month, producing widespread cloud, rain and thunderstorms. Many locations received far more rain than their usual September totals.
Leonora recorded 59 millimetres in the 24 hours to 9am on 7 September, its wettest September day on record. More than 136mm fell there during the month, exceeding the previous monthly record of 83.3mm set in 1904. Flooding led to road closures, including the Goldfields Highway and the Leonora-Laverton Road.
Later in the month, the same weather system helped draw warm air south. Daytime temperatures in western parts of the state rose as much as 12 degrees Celsius above normal in some areas. Perth reached 30.3C on 16 September, its first 30C day of the season and its warmest day since April.
Warm nights also produced records. Wongan Hills recorded a minimum of 21C, while Murchison, Cunderdin, Beverley and Badgingarra all broke September minimum-temperature records. Katanning reached 31.8C on 17 September, and other centres including Albany Airport recorded new September highs.
Rainfall returned to the interior late in the month. Kalgoorlie-Boulder received just over 80mm, about six times its September average. Perth ended the month with slightly more than 38mm, less than half its average.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecast an increased chance of unusually high rainfall across much of southern and central Western Australia in October.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.