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Tuesday 18 January 2000

Today's weather extremes

 SA Heatwave enters 9th day
SA bushfire burns over 20,000ha07May00
SW Vic bushfire causes evacuations

Highest rainfall, 24 hours to 9am

61.2 Navilloween Cambooya Qld
59.6 Grantham Qld
57.6 Warruwi NT
54.8 Gudgerama Maningrida NT
 Relief of sorts came to Adelaide today after the capital's hottest night in 5 years. A sluggish trough moved through the city during the morning, capping the temperature at around 30°, while cooler SW winds arrived early evening dropping the mercury to around 20 by 9pm. Overnight, the temperature stayed above 30° until 5.30am, when it dropped to a minimum of 28.9. The 3am temperature was 33.2. Most locations within 200km of Adelaide recorded minimum temperatures 10 to 14 above average. The cooler change had little effect away from the coast, with locations in northeast SA reporting top temperatures of 45 to 46°, the highest so far this summer. Kulgera, on the NT/SA border, recorded its hottest January day on record in nearly 20 years. See details at left.

The bushfire which has burnt in the Hambridge Conservation Park on Eyre Peninsula of SA since 11 January had destroyed two-thirds of the park's 40,000 hectares of bushland by yesterday.

A bushfire NW of Portland in SW Victoria forced 200 campers from their campsites in Lower Glenelg National Park this afternoon. The fire was started by lightning hitting a windmill, sending hot metal into grass, and was brought under control early Thursday. It burnt through around 1,700 hectares of the national park and adjacent land, including 300 hectares of pine plantation.

Etceteras

Cooktown Qld reported a storm with hail just before midday today. Hail is unusual in thunderstorms so far into the tropics.

Highest & Lowest Temps

Maximum Minimum
46.5 Andamooka SA
46.2 Mt Dare SA
46.0 Roxby Downs SA
45.9 Oodnadatta AP SA		 32.0 Oodnadatta AP SA
31.8 Port Pirie BHAS SA
30.6 Arid Lands Port Augusta SA
17.5 =Erriba Tas, Mt Read Tas 0.7 Charlotte Pass NSW

Greatest variations from normal

Maximum Minimum
+17.5
38.8 Cashmere AP Portland Vic
+16.6
=38.2 C Northumberland SA
=38.8 Warrnambool Vic		 +14.5
31.8 Port Pirie BHAS SA
+14.3
28.0 Caliph CSIRO SA
+13.4
28.0 Snowtown SA
+13.1
28.6 Adelaide AP SA
-5.1
28.0 Musgrave Qld		 -5.4
=12.2 Merredin WA
=17.1 Yeelirrie WA
Other extreme readings
.
Records set this day
Kulgera NT: Maximum temp of 44.8 exceeds previous record of 44.5 in 19 years record.

  • Times stated are the clock time in force in the relevant state or territory

  • Stories, including those in the archives, are as new and corrected information becomes available, with updates underlined

  • Australian Weather News gratefully acknowledges the Bureau of Meteorology as the collector and main source of meteorological data in Australia, along with the thousands of observers who record the weather and rainfall daily. I also thank Don White and the many contributors to the Aussie Weather mailing list who routinely provide much appreciated information.