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Thursday 31 August 2000 |
Record
warmth continues on Qld coast Bushfire threatens Wollongong NSW A dry winter finishes across much of Australia |
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Warm, windy weather fanned a bushfire, apparently deliberately lit, in the escarpment behind Wollongong this afternoon and evening. About 45 fire fighters battled the blaze in difficult terrain behind Mount Kembla which dominates the skyline behind the city. The fire was brought under control Friday.
With today's 9am reading, rainfall observers around the country totalled up their winter rainfall and, in many areas, found it wanting. The map at left (click to open a larger map in a new window) shows below or well below average rainfall was recorded across almost all of Western Australia and in a band across the nation's centre as well as along most of the NSW and Victorian coasts. The darker red areas are where rainfall was decile 1, or in the lowest 10% of winter rainfall recordings over the past 100 years; light red areas are decile 2 or 3, or in the bottom 30% of readings. The Sydney metropolitan area was one of the pockets falling within the lowest 10%, with just 81.6mm recorded, 228.5mm below average, and making it the equal second driest winter in the past century along with the winter of 1905. In 1970, 78.7mm was recorded, while the driest winter on record was in 1895, when just 43.2mm fell. |
Today's highest rainfall totals for the 24 hours to 9am 49.0 Bickley WA High falls for other periods: Western Australia: |
Today's highest & lowest temps |
Other extremes Flood
peaks: Records set this day Highest
maximum temperature for August
(previous record and years of
computerised record shown in brackets): |
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Maximum | Minimum | ||
37.9 Flying Fox NT | 25.0
McCluer Is NT 25.0 Dum in Mirrie NT |
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-2.0 Crackenback NSW | -4.2 Glen Innes AP NSW | ||
Greatest variations from normal |
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Maximum | Minimum | ||
+9.3 33.9 Te Kowai Exp Stn Mackay Qld |
+8.9 18.1 Boulia Qld |
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-6.0 12.0 Southern Cross WA |
-6.9 11.7 Cooktown AF Qld |
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