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Record heat hits the Hunter; Strong winds from Cold Front
Saturday, 27 January 2001
The maximum temperatures in some places of the
Hunter reached its highest values on record in the past two weeks. Jerrys
Plains recorded a maximum temperature of 44.4°C on the 15th, equalling
the highest January max temp ever recorded since the 1950's, and further
more recorded 4 consecutive days from the 23rd to the 26th with temperatures
above 40°C (see table below). Many stations that were more then 10 klm
away from the coast recorded 5 or more days with temperatures above
35° out of the 14 day period. The 15th was the hottest day, however,
the 23rd was nearly equally as warm at some locations. Scone SCS,
Tocal, Cessnock (Nulkaba) all broke there highest max temp record for
January on the 15th, while Lostock Dam broke its record on the 15th
also and matching it on the 23rd. Scone SCS reached 42.1° (previous
record 41.6°), Tocal; 43.7° (previous record; 42.0°), Cessnock (Nulkaba);
44.0° (previous record; 43.0°) and Lostock Dam; 42.4° (previous record;
40.5°).
Maximum temperatures for selected
stations in the Hunter
Date
|
Williamtown |
Morpeth
(Berry Park)
|
Jerrys Plains |
Scone AP AWS |
14/01/01 |
28.8 |
30.6 |
N/A |
34.8 |
15/01/01 |
42.2 |
43.4 |
44.4 |
42.3 |
16/01/01 |
25.0 |
24.1 |
27.0 |
28.1 |
17/01/01 |
29.0 |
30.0 |
34.2 |
34.3 |
18/01/01 |
28.1 |
28.4 |
29.2 |
29.2 |
19/01/01 |
27.5 |
27.8 |
28.5 |
28.0 |
20/01/01 |
29.5 |
30.4 |
33.0 |
32.3 |
21/01/01 |
33.1 |
33.6 |
37.7 |
36.1 |
22/01/01 |
35.1 |
37.2 |
39.8 |
38.2 |
23/01/01 |
40.0 |
41.9 |
44.0 |
41.6 |
24/01/01 |
39.7 |
40.6 |
43.0 |
41.7 |
25/01/01 |
37.2 |
38.8 |
42.5 |
39.6 |
26/01/01 |
30.4 |
34.0 |
40.4 |
38.9 |
27/01/01 |
30.4 |
34.8 |
37.6 |
36.3 |
Average |
32.6 |
34.0 |
37.0 |
35.8 |
*Units
in degrees Celsius (°C). Data supplied by the Bureau of Meteorology
except for Morpeth (Berry Park), which is a private station.
The coast managed to escape from most of the heat
with Nobbys Head only reaching 30.4° on the 15th. Newcastle Uni, which
is approximately 8 klm from the coast, reached 40.9°. The mountain areas
didn't escape the heat much with Nullo Mountain, on the Hunter Range
recording 35.5°. Some of the other temps recorded were 39.0°C at Murrurundi,
43.6°C at Singleton, 43.4°C at Cessnock AP AWS and 43.4°C at Maitland.
The heat was brought on by north
to north westerly winds, which directed hot air from the inland areas
of NSW. The western parts of NSW were recording temperatures in the
mid to high 40’s for a number of consecutive days at a time. High pressure
ridges were extending from the Great Australian Bight, while cold fronts
were approaching from the south. The cold fronts were creating splits
in the ridges, which this led to a development of new cells in the Tasman
Sea. The cold fronts (Southerly Busters) continued to move northward,
hitting the coast and the Lower Hunter after days of high temperatures.
On the evening of the 15th thunderstorms developed across the region
before a southerly buster, which hit Newcastle at approximately 8:30
pm bringing with it strong winds at almost 100 km/h. This southerly
also hit the Upper Hunter at around 9:45 pm with winds at about 50 km/h.
The maximum wind gust at Morpeth, near Maitland was 74 km/h at 9:22
pm from the SSE. A strong cold front hit the coast and the Lower Hunter
on the 27th also, while a much weaker one hit the coastline in the early
morning of the 24th.
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