Wunderground-16 March 2013-Christopher Burt
Southern Australia has endured an anomalous ‘Summer in March’ heat wave the first two weeks of this month akin to what the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. experienced in March 2012. Temperatures have averaged as much as 10°C (18°F) above normal.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology released a special statement concerning this unusual heat event. The one statistic that seemed the most remarkable was that Melbourne, Victoria recorded 9 consecutive days (from March 4 to 12) when temperatures peaked at 30°C (86°F) or warmer (in fact all 9 days exceeded 32°C/89.6°F). This was the longest string of 30°C+ temperatures ever measured in the city for any month of the year since records began in 1855 (the previous record was 8 days on January 24-31, 1974). The nights were mild as well with 7 consecutive days (March 7-13) recording minimum temperatures of 20°C (68°F) or warmer, also an all-time record for such for any month. On the night of March 13th the minimum fell to only 26.5°C (79.7°F), the city’s warmest March night on record. Adelaide, South Australia experienced 10 consecutive days with highs above 32°C (89.6°F) from March 3 to March 12, the 2nd longest such streak in March on record (the longest was 15 days on March 3-17, 2008).
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