View from the Trentham to Ballarat Road on 25th Sept. Photo Jane Herbert.
Light snow at Teesdale on 25 September. Photo courtesy Jodie Holman.
SUMMARY
September was a slightly warmer month and a very much wetter month than normal.
TEMPERATURE
Geelong’s daily temperatures averaged 8.2 C for minimums and 17.8 C for maximums; these figures were about 0.9 C warmer than the latest 30-year average (13.0 C compared to 12.1C).
Variation of the daily figures include: coldest night 2.1 C on the 28th, warmest night 16.1 C on the 8th, coldest day 11.4 C on the 25th and warmest day 24.4 C on the 19th.
However during the 4th week of September a cold spell hit southeastern Australia with low temperatures and large areas of low altitude snowfalls, rain and hail. On the 25th snow fell on much of southwestern Victoria as the above photographs show. Snow fell on some areas only 200 metres above sea level and did not evaporate for several hours in towns such as Beech Forest, Ballarat, Shelford, Sutherlands Creek and Dereel when a cold front pushed from the Antarctic Ocean.
RAINFALL
Most of the region recorded well above average rainfall within the Geelong urban area, Surf Coast, Bellarine Peninsula, Otway Ranges and the Golden Plains. The urban area averaged almost double the 30-year normal 49.7 mm.
The wettest 24-hour period occurred as 35.4 mm on the 13th and total rain fell on 19 days.
The La Nina situation which tends to provide higher than average spring and summer over eastern Australia seems to be affecting the Geelong region this year. This situation creates warmer than average seas close to Australia’s north coast which provides a better chance of higher than average rain falls in this region although this is not a 100% guarantee.
Snow near Beech Forest on 25th September. Photo Geelong Advertiser.
Accumulated snow at Ballarat on 25th. Photo David Brehaut.
OTHER FEATURES
As a result of such good rainfall on wet catchments Barwon Water now records a total of 77 % of capacity.
There were two very windy days in Geelong, on the 3rd (65 km/h gust) and the 22nd (69 km/h gust). Gusts at Avalon reached 80 km/h on the 3rd and 78 km/h on the 22nd. No major damage resulted on these days apart from a few broken branches and signs.
No frosts or storms occurred in Geelong.
RAINFALL DATA
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| GEELONG SUBURBS | ||
| Location |
Total for Month (mm) |
Monthly Average (mm) |
| Armstrong Creek | 83.0 | (45.9) |
| Avalon | 77.0 | (45.9) |
| Belmont | 82.0 | (50.2) |
| Bell Post Hill | 87.9 | (50.0) |
| Breakwater (AWS) | 84.8 | (51.1) |
| Charlemont | 93.0 | (60.3) |
| Corio | 85.8 | (46.6) |
| Grovedale | 77.4 | (51.0) |
| Grovedale South | 95.0 | (51.0) |
| Hamlyn Heights | 87.0 | (51.9) |
| Herne Hill | 93.0 | (51.9) |
| Highton | 113.5 | (51.8) |
| Lara | 74.2 | (47.5) |
| Leopold | 103.2 | (50.8) |
| Leopold East | 100.5 | (50.8) |
| Manifold Heights | 90.8 | (51.9) |
| Marshall | 91.0 | (51.0) |
| Moolap | 74.8 | (52.0) |
| Newtown | 93.4 | (51.0) |
| North Shore | 110.6 | (51.0) |
| Waurn Ponds | 88.4 | (49.7) |
| Whittington | 86.2 | (50.3) |
| Urban Area Average | 90.0 | (49.7) |