LAST weekend marked the halfway point of 2024 and rainfall statistics for Hamilton revealed the first six months to be the second-driest January to June period in the town’s recorded history since 1878.
Only 141 millimetres fell (the average is 291mm) with the only drier first half-year being 1967 at 100mm.
In that year, the recorded months’ rainfall from January to June were a more evenly spread 16, 26, 15, 12, 19 and 12mm, with 2024 looking comparatively more up-and-down with 60, 1, 1, 29, 22 and 28mm respectively.
However, excluding the above-average January Hamilton experienced (average is 34mm), the February to June period revealed even more sharply the lack of rainfall the area has had recently, with the mere 81mm recorded meaning this year was drier than 1967 at 84mm over the same five-month period.
Now that winter is here, if you think nights seemed to be colder than normal in June, you’d be right, with minimum temperatures 0.9 degrees Celsius colder than the average of 5.0°C at 4.1°C.
Locals experienced the coldest morning of the month about two weeks ago on Tuesday, June 18 with -1.1°C and the warmest daytime maximum a week earlier with 16.7°C, the same day as the strongest wind gusts at 74 kilometres per hour.
The heaviest 24-hour rainfall for the month was recorded at 9am on Saturday with 9.6mm and the June average maximum temperature was about average at 12.6°C, only 0.3°C below the mean.
But the outlook for the next week and beyond appears to be a continuation of crisp and calm weather, with mainly clear skies bringing a risk of frost overnight and daytime conditions sunny after fog in the morning.
The Bureau of Meteorology said a ‘blocking-high’ pressure system will place itself directly over Tasmania this week, and has been forecast to become so strong, it may challenge some records.
The system is crossing the Great Australian Bight after a cold front swept over southeastern Australia this weekend; while a high pressure is common after a cold front, this particular high-pressure system will slow down to a crawl.
The record for the highest Mean Sea Level Pressure could be under threat; the all-time Australian record stands at 1044.3 hectoPascals, recorded at Launceston, Tasmania on June 7, 1967.
Due to its position and breadth of the system’s ridges, it is possible that Melbourne (1041.2 hPa), Canberra (1042.9 hPa), and even Sydney (1040.0 hPa) could also see their pressure records under threat.
A ‘blocking-high’ occurs when the jetstream splits around a high-pressure centre, locking it in place for days or even weeks at a time.
With the lack of an early-enough autumn break now too late to stimulate grass growing due to the colder temperatures, livestock farmers, particularly those beginning to see their lambs drop, may have significant challenges ahead this winter.
