A kookaburra enjoying the spring sun. Photo: Rene Martens.
Wide-brim hats are back in fashion, sunscreen is back in glove boxes and everyone is looking for the closest cold water.
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It’s officially summer. But what happened to our weather during spring?
September saw a warm and dry start to the season, with plenty of rain-free days.
Temperatures started to heat up, with September 6 recording a high of 29.4℃. On the flip side, Shepparton shivered through a top of 14.7℃ on September 14.
This September was warmer than last year, which had the hottest day of 28.1℃ and the coldest of only 9.6℃.
Bees and flowers were all the talk this spring. Photo: EPA/Larry W Smith.
The warmest Shepparton night was on September 25, with 14.1℃, while on September 18, the Bureau of Meteorology recorded a chilly overnight low of -0.1℃.
September nights were similar to 2023, with a mean low temperature of 5.5℃ last year and 5.9℃ this year. The temperature on the warmest night last September fell to 12.4℃, while the coldest dropped to 0.4℃.
It rained on only six days, making for a dry month. But it was a wet end to September, with Shepparton recording 8mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am on September 30.
The total rainfall for the month was only 13.2mm, below September 2023’s total of 15.6mm, and well below the mean average rainfall for September of 37.2mm.
In October, the highest maximum temperature was 30.9℃ on October 22, and the coldest day was on October 8, still reaching 17.9℃ in Shepparton. With an average of 24.1℃, the daytime temperatures were well above last year’s average of 21℃.
Nights were still cold, with the warmest night on October 18, when the mercury fell to 17.9℃. October 26 was the coldest, with an overnight minimum of 2.3℃.
Nights were warmer than last year, with October 2023 having an average nighttime temperature of 7.4℃, while this year’s was 9.2℃.
It was a dry month, with rain on only seven days.
The wettest day saw 15.6mm fall on October 18, with the total rainfall for the month coming to 28.8mm, below the month’s historical average of 36.8mm. Last year’s October total was 75mm.
The final month of spring saw slightly warmer days and much wetter weather.
In terms of daytime temperatures, November had a mean of 28.2℃ with the historical average for November in Shepparton being 26.3℃.
The hottest day was November 23, which reached a high of 37.7℃. This rolled into the warmest night, which had a minimum of 21.9℃.
The coldest day was November 1, with the mercury touching 21.3℃. The same day had the coldest night, with an overnight low of 5℃.
November nights were about 2℃ warmer than the average November. The historical average in Shepparton is 10.9℃, whereas this year had an average of 12.7℃.
November typically has seven days over 30℃ and two days over 35℃; however, last month had 10 days over 30℃ and four over 35℃.
It was wet. The number of rain days sat at the historical average of seven days. However, when it rained, it poured — the month had almost double the average rainfall.
There was 77.2mm of rainfall recorded in Shepparton, with November 25 having the highest rainfall at 24mm. The average November will see 45.2mm — it is the wettest month on average.
Springtime canola fields.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
November around the region
Tatura saw its warmest night on November 22 at 21.1℃, which led into the hottest day on November 23 — a scorching 36.6℃.
The coldest day was 20.2℃ on November 1 and the coldest night 5.8℃ on November 9.
Rainfall was similar to Shepparton, with a total of 76.2mm across the month, with the most rain falling on November 30 at 28.4mm.
Kyabram had similar numbers with 73.2mm of rain and the hottest day on Saturday, November 23 at 37.8℃.
In Echuca there was a little less rain but warmer nights. Across the month there was 69mm of rain with 27.4mm of that falling on November 30. The warmest night was on November 30 with an overnight temperature of 24.7℃.
Yarrawonga was wet, with temperatures being similar to the rest of the region — 81.6mm of rain fell in the border town, with 29.4mm of it on November 30.
Benalla was wetter again, drenched in 126mm of rain across the month with 34.9mm on November 30.
Puckapunyal mirrored Yarrawonga, with similar temperatures to the rest of the region and 83mm of rain.
Looking ahead, the Bureau of Meteorology has predicted above-average rainfall likely for most of Australia, particularly during December.
“Rainfall is likely (60 to 80 per cent chance) to be above average for much of eastern Australia, including ... Victoria,” the BOM long-range forecast said.
“Warmer-than-average days are likely across large parts of the country.”
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