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Temperatures soar into the 40's
Thursday, 2 December 2004
Temperatures across the Hunter hit well into the 40's in the last 2 days with
the highest temperature of 44.8°C recorded at Singleton yesterday afternoon
(1/12). This temperature broke Singleton's previous December record of 44.0°C.
Temperatures on Tuesday (30/11) were above 40 C in most parts of the Hunter,
including the western parts of Newcastle. These temperatures were the highest
temperatures recorded for November since 1997. Tuesday night saw an incredible
fluctuation of cool and hot air with extreme temperatures recorded well after
dark. Paterson (Tocal) recorded temperatures of above 35°C after mid night. At
11pm (EDST), Tocal was the second hottest station in Australia after Birdsville,
Queensland.
Because of the hot night on Tuesday, Wednesday morning (1/12)
warmed very quickly with 9am temperatures across the region already in the mid
to high 30's. Fresh to strong WNW winds set in and temperatures rose steadily
through the morning and afternoon with maximum temperatures reaching 40 - 43°C
at most locations across the Hunter. Wind gusts peaked in the lower Hunter
around 70 km/h from the WNW around midday.
A southerly buster reached the lower Hunter at around 6pm. Strong winds with
gusts close to 90 km/h along the coastline brought down small tress and caused
minor damages in some areas. The southerly buster caused a rapid drop in
temperature and by 7pm the temperatures across the lower Hunter were below 25°C.
The heat was caused by an extensive heat low that originated from north-west
Australia. The atmosphere was marked with hot air and combined with a WNW wind,
the temperatures rose substantially.
Max Temperatures across the Hunter for the past 2 days
Station |
Tuesday, 30 November 2004 |
Wednesday, 1 December 2004 |
Maximum |
Minimum* |
Maximum |
Minimum* |
Cessnock (Nulkaba) | 43.0 |
18.5 | 43.0 | 25.5 |
Forster | 35.0 | 19.3 |
43.0 | 22.2 |
Gosford | 41.8 | 17.4 |
42.1 | 18.9 |
Jerrys Plains | 44.2 | 17.9 |
43.5 | 24.4 |
Lostock Dam | 40.0 |
17.3 | 39.8 |
24.3 |
Maitland | 42.6 | 19.2 |
42.2 | 23.0 |
Morpeth (Berry Park) | 42.6 |
18.8 | 42.0 | 25.1 |
Murrurundi | 37.5 | 17.5 |
37.5 | 21.0 |
Nelson Bay | 33.5 | 19.5 |
38.3 | 22.5 |
Newcastle University | 41.2 | |
40.8 | 25.3 |
Nobbys Head | | |
40.0 | |
Norah Head | 36.6 | 19.3 |
40.3 | 20.7 |
Nullo Mountain | 32.5 | 18.2 |
31.2 | 22.9 |
Paterson (Tocal) | 42.0 | 18.7 |
42.0 | 24.9 |
Scone | 41.4 | 18.4 |
41.7 | 27.8 |
Singleton | 44.1 | 17.7 |
44.8 | 25.0 |
Williamtown | 42.1 | 19.0 |
41.8 | 24.1 |
*Minimum recorded in 24 hour period from 9am previous day.
Units in degrees celsius (°C). Data provided by the Bureau of Meteorology except for
Morpeth (Berry Park), which is a private station.back...
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