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Record Heat Across South Australia In First Half of the Month

Story Added : 17th November 2009

• First ever Spring Heatwave in Adelaide
• The highest ever average maximum temperature for Adelaide over the first 15 days of November
• Heat records broken across many Regional Centres

Adelaide has experienced the first spring heatwave ever recorded across the entire Adelaide temperature record back to 1887 with 8 consecutive days in excess of 35°C from Sunday 8 November to Sunday 15 November.

The criteria for heatwaves in Adelaide is; “5 consecutive days with maximum temperatures of 35°C or more, or 3 days of 40°C or more”. Prior to this event the most days over 35°C consecutively in November for Adelaide had been 4 days in 1894.

The average maximum temperature for Adelaide over the first 15 days of November was 33.6°C. This is more than 8°C higher than the November maximum temperature average for Adelaide of 24.9°C.

A number of regional centres around South Australia also experienced record runs of hot days.

New records of 3 consecutive days or more with a maximum temperature of 40°C

• Ceduna 10th to 15th 2009 (6 days)
• Pt Augusta 9th to 15th 2009 (7 days)
• Pt Pirie 11th to 15th 2009 (5 days)
• Murray Bridge 10th to 15th 2009 (6 days)

New records of 5 consecutive days or more with a maximum temperature of 35°C

• Ceduna 7th to 15th 2009 (9 days)
• Pt Augusta 7th to 15th 2009 (9 days)
• Whyalla 7th to 15th 2009 (9 days)
• Pt Pirie 7th to 15th 2009 (9 days)
• Murray Bridge 7th to 15th 2009 (9 days)
• Renmark 7th to 15th 2009 (9 days)

New records of 5 consecutive days or more with a maximum temperature of 30°C

• Pt Lincoln 8th to 15th 2009 (8 days)
• Mt Gambier 7th to 15th 2009 (9 days)

Maximum temperatures across South Australia for the first half of November have generally been 6 to 8 degrees above the monthly average, with overnight minimum temperatures generally 3 to 5 degrees above the November monthly average.

The extreme heat event was the result of a near stationary weather pattern with a high pressure cell in the Tasman Sea directing hot dry continental winds across the state. El Nino events, such as the one currently in the Pacific, usually result in increased temperatures over Australia, so this, as well as the observed long term increases in mean temperatures across South Australia in recent decades, are contributing to the record heat in this event.