APRIL 2012:
Total Monthly Rain: 38.0mm (10 days)
Percentage of Average: 42%
Maximum Rain Rate: 39.4mm/hr on 28/04 at 12:01am
Most Rain to fall in 1 hour: 7.8mm on 28/04 from 2:05am to 3:05am
Highest 24hr to 9am total: 31.2mm to 9am on 28/04
Year-To-Date Rain total: 1782.0mm (62 days)
Total Rain since 1/01/01: 16444.7mm

Lowest Temperature: 13.8°C on 28/04 at 3:55am
Highest Temperature: 31.8°C on 03/04 at 2:02pm
Highest Minimum: 20.1°C on 05/04 at 6:17am
Lowest Maximum: 22.8°C on 26/04 at 2:05pm
Average Minimum: 17.2°C
Average Maximum: 27.1°C
Average 9am Temp: 23.1°C
Average 3pm Temp: 25.9°C
Month's Average Temp: 21.85°C

Lowest Barometric Pressure: 1008.61hPa on 24/04 at 2:35pm
Highest Barometric Pressure: 1021.95hPa on 12/04 at 8:59pm
Month's Average Pressure: 1014.20hPa

Maximum Wind Gust: 56 km/hr on 12/04 at 3:28pm
Month's Average Wind Direction: 123° - SE
No. of days where the dominant wind direction was N, NNE, NE or ENE: 0 days
No. of days where the dominant wind direction was E, ESE, SE or SSE: 26 days
No. of days where the dominant wind direction was S, SSW, SW or WSW: 3 day
No. of days where the dominant wind direction was W, WNW, NW or NNW: 0 day

Highest Heat Index: 33.6°C on 03/04 at 2:11pm
Month's Average High Heat Index: 28.1°C
No. of days with Heat Index >40°C: 0 days
No. of days with Heat Index >45°C: 0 days

Lowest Steadman Apparent Temp: 9.5°C on 27/04 at 10:54pm
Highest Steadman Apparent Temp: 34.1°C on 03/04 at 12:31pm
Month's Average Apparent Temp: 22.9°C (+1.1°C from Actual Temp)

Links:
My Weather Page
Detailed Graphs
Summary of April 2012
My data on OzForecast

Have a good day!

April was my third lowest rainfall month in my years of recording. Only got to 57.7mm. Lowest was 29.8mm in 1995 and 39mm in 2008. Not much else to talk about in April. Generally mild and fine. May's average temp should drop around 5C, according to what happened last year on my staton.

Get ready! Cool mornings and dry days are only just around the corner.
EC shows humidity levels dropping to around 30% over the weekend.


Cooler and Drier here currently compared to in town.
Eton, QLD - 03 May 2012, 21:25 PM
Temperature 20.4°C || 17.6°C 26.7°C
Dew Point 15.6°C
Humidity 74% || 49%
Wind E at 4 km/h
Gusting to 8 km/h || 25 km/h
Pressure 1014.02 hPa
Rainfall 0.0 mm since 9am || 0.0 mm 24 hrs to 9am || 0.0 mm Month || 1782.2 mm Year
Rain Rate 0.0 mm/hr || 0.0 mm/hr

I'm heading out to a lil' town called Barcaldine, near Longreach tomorrow morning, will definitely be cool out that way over the next few days with BOM's forecast of 9° for Longreach on Saturday and OCF showing minimums around 7° on Sun/Mon & Tue.

Can I get a link to the EC site showing that ?

18 mm over the past week here beginning to get the mould under control finaly. Looking forward to may 19.
Please someone bring a laptop for some thumb drive slide shows as I would like to share some of my magical photography shots from up here in the gorge...

I've just recently set up what I've called the "Forecast and Observation Archives" on my webpage. Basically, what it does is keeps an archive copy of the daily forecasts and model outputs, as well as weekly rainfall bulletins for the local area on my website. The process is completely automatic, so I don't have to remember to do anything everyday.

Link is here

I GOT TO GO HELP READ THE BOM POST OFFICE WEATHER STATION HERE THIS MORNING

The benefits of being in a small town.
Just spent a very interesting morning with the local post office operator/BOM weather observer for the Barcaldine Post Office.

I met up with her out the back of the post office and went into the fenced off area with the Stevenson screen. Inside the stevenson screen was the standard dry/wet bulb thermometers as well as a maximum thermometer and a minimum thermometer, also in the box was a book, ready to go with the boxes, etc. to be filled out.

The funniest part about it was watching how the min/max thermometers are reset, they are taken out of the stevenson screen and quickly dropped (still held in hand) towards the ground. We tend checked the sky, which was nearly completely clear except for one little bit of what is classed as "C11", which looked just like a little wispy bit of cirrus cloud.

The next part I found interesting was Wind Speed, as there is no wind recording equipment at the station, we basically just worked out the direction by where we could feel it coming from and the speed using the Beaufort scale, she said that the wind felt like a "Light Breeze". Once we got inside she looked at the scale she was given by the BOM which said to enter a "Light Breeze" in as 5 knots.
She told me that they used to have a kestrel for recording wind speed, but it stopped working and they didn't bother to get it replaced.

After the Observations were all recorded we went into the post office to a laptop. The Laptop and Modem had been supplied by the Bureau of Meteorology. The Laptop didn't have windows or anything on it, simply just a black screen with words and questions?
She turned it on and it said on the screen "Calling 1800 (something)", obviously connecting to the BOM, then it said "Connected to (some really long code).bom.gov.au". The first thing that came up was the choice of Observation Time, the choices were "Midnight, 3am, 6am, 9am, Midday, 3pm, 6pm and 9pm". After that the date had to be entered in the format of "06052012". The computer then asked if the observation time was correct. Then it asked to enter Wet and Dry Bulb temperatures, followed by choosing the wind direction from a drop down list and then entering the speed, then Visibility, the current weather, the current cloud conditions, rainfall obs, min/max temperatures and rain to 9am, then any final comments. After that she pressed finish and the modem dialled the phone number and sent the data in at 9:16am. I checked on my phone at 9:29am and the observations we'd just recorded were already listed on Weatherzone under the Central West district observations.

She told me that they actually get paid by the BOM to read the station. They pay more for the readings done at 9AM & 3PM, than for the reading she does at 6AM.
At 6am, the BOM asks her to just check the Dry/Wet Bulb Temps and the Wind.
At 9am, everything gets checked.
At 3pm, the Dry/Wet Bulbs, Max temp, Wind and Rain is checked.
As well as Cloud/Weather obs which are checked all the time.

Here's a picture of the page for the 9am observation this morning from the book inside the Stevenson screen that the observer has to fill out with each observation.

You wanna come and do the weather with me sometime??

You wanna come and do the weather with me sometime??

Meanwhile very sad to see Byrnsie finish up last week. He’s an absolute legend, and will be sorely missed by all. Was talking to one of his brothers at work on Friday, and he too is planning to retire very soon...

And that 3°C sounds a bit cold for me yet PDM, had enough trouble this morning and it was only 15°C. Need another month or so to acclimatise.

If a small group (up to 5) of weather nuts wanted to come one day and see how its done - let me know and will organise it, a Friday morning would be best. Weather is not read on weekends

Beachcomber has gone into hibernation.

So has TeeCee

I HATE the COLD, COLD dry season - bring on November!

This time of the year is great, I can get out and have a coffee without sweating my arse off.

On the radar at the moment Hamilton Island looks like its getting some good rain, meanwhile I've got the sprinkler on for the first time here.

Can't help thinking it must be false echos, not sure what from but I was in Airlie a short while ago and there was no sign of rain and little in the way of any cloud.

TC, what are you going to do when winter actually arrives? I have visions of you rugged up like an eskimo,

Next Saturday is going to be cold.

The tropical coast of Queensland had an unusually dry start to May, however rain is set to increase.

Mackay had its heaviest rain in precisely two months, when flooding rain hit the area. The showers struck yesterday morning with 21mm falling before midday. April and May have been quite dry, with only 40mm in April and 60mm so far in May. The average rainfall for both months is above 100mm.

Thanks for posting that pic Ree, great to put the names to faces!!

Oh and you guys are MUCH better looking than us Townsville lot!!

Was thinking of putting the late Autumn lawn fertliser on before winter sets in, its in pellets and needs to be soaked in... what are the odds it will be heavy enough rain here ? It's one of those all natural fertilisers , blood and bone, sea weed, fish etc.

I hered on the news you guys had a "mini-twister" ?

17.7 degrees, that's not cold TeeCee. Below are the obs here (Listed next to Eton obviously), with the strong winds the "Feels Like" Temperature is 7.0 degrees.

To be honest, I’m actually a little surprised at the BoM’s maximum temperature forecast of 21C for Mackay on Saturday. Not too sure why they are being so conservative, because the setup has the potential for record breaking maximum temperatures. By Friday night / early Saturday the surface trough would have moved offshore, leaving behind a cool S/SW airstream, yet the upper trough will be still playing catch-up and lingering behind producing a blanket of cloud with light drizzle falling from higher altitudes. So unless I’m missing something, the BoM are going to be way off in their maximum temperature forecast....

Vinnie, it might be cold down where you are, but up here, 350km north of you, we're slightly more tropical. Today's temp range is expected to be 17 to 25 & currently it's 19.2. That's not cold, in fact it's still t-shirt weather. The Rockhampton/Yeppoon area is nearly always colder/hotter depending on the season, than the Mackay/Whitsunday area. It will get cooler as we get closer to winter, but that's natural. Just because OCF has predicted, 8 days out, that you will have a 9.7 to 18.9 deg day next Saturday, doesn't mean we all will & it might not necessarily happen on that day. Weather predictions that far out are more about possibilities than definites. If you look at the OCF forecast for Mackay MO on that day, it says we should expect 11.4 to 20.7. That's cool, but not what some of us would call cold. And 2 deg warmer all round than your area. Proserpine's supposed to be even warmer, although with a lower min. Just remember that these are estimates only & that the OCF predictions system is still in trial mode, so might not be completely accurate.
It's great to see how interested you are in weather all over the place, keep it up & keep popping in to visit us. You will learn a great deal studying all the other areas.

Brrr ... the temperature keeps on falling!!
Currently at 2:50pm it is 11.8 degrees here.

11.8 Degrees - If it's going to be THAT cold it may as well be snowing!

Here it would have broken the record, max 15.5C at 10.40am and min 12.9 at 4.10pm. Too cold for me .... back into hibernation.

IDQ10060
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Queensland


FORECASTS FOR CENTRAL QUEENSLAND
Issued at 4:15pm EST on Saturday the 20th of March 2010
for Saturday night and Sunday

IDQ1006001
CENTRAL REGION OVERVIEW
A Cyclone WARNING is current for coastal areas from Cardwell to Yeppoon and
inland to Charters Towers to Clermont.
A Cyclone Watch is current for areas extending further inland of the warning
area.
Showers increasing to rain areas with moderate to heavy falls overnight about
the Central Coast and northern Capricornia then spreading throughout during
Sunday. Fresh to strong SE winds increasing to gale to storm force about the
Central Coast overnight. Winds then easing during Sunday afternoon.

IDQ1006002
CENTRAL COAST AND WHITSUNDAYS DISTRICT
A Cyclone WARNING is current.
Saturday night: Showers increasing to rain with heavy falls developing. Damaging
SW to SE winds developing. Dangerous beach conditions.
Sunday: Rain areas with scattered heavy falls. Gale to storm force winds easing
during the morning and shifting to the E/NE.
Outlook for Monday ... Scattered showers and rain areas easing during the
day.
Outlook for Tuesday ... Showers

IDQ1006003
MACKAY
A Cyclone WARNING is current.
Saturday night: Showers increasing to rain. Moderate to heavy falls developing.
Damaging S'ly winds developing.
Sunday: Rain heavy at times mainly during the morning. Gale to storm force winds
easing and shifting to the E/NE.
MIN 23 MAX 28
UV Alert - 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, UV Index predicted to reach 13 [Extreme]
Outlook for Monday ... Rain and showers easing

IDQ1006004
CAPRICORNIA DISTRICT
A Cyclone WARNING is current for coastal and inland areas north of Yeppoon.
Saturday night: Showers increasing to rain areas. Moderate falls developing
north of Yeppoon. Fresh to strong SE winds gale force about the coast. Dangerous
beach conditions.
Sunday: Rain areas with some moderate to heavy falls mainly in the north. Fresh
to strong SE/E winds gale force about the coast easing during the morning.
Dangerous beach conditions easing during the morning.
Outlook for Monday ... Rain and shower areas easing
Outlook for Tuesday ... A few showers chiefly coastal

IDQ1006005
ROCKHAMPTON
Saturday night: Showers increasing. Fresh to strong and gusty SE winds.
Sunday: Rain at times. Fresh to strong and gusty SE/E winds easing.
MIN 24 MAX 28
UV Alert - 8:30 am to 3:50 pm, UV Index predicted to reach 12 [Extreme]
Outlook for Monday ... Rain and showers easing

IDQ1006006
GLADSTONE
Saturday night: Showers increasing. Fresh to strong and gusty SE winds.
Sunday: Rain at times. Fresh to strong and gusty SE/E winds easing.
MIN 24 MAX 28
UV Alert - 8:20 am to 3:50 pm, UV Index predicted to reach 12 [Extreme]
Outlook for Monday ... Rain and showers easing

IDQ1006007
CENTRAL HIGHLANDS AND COALFIELDS DISTRICT
A Cyclone WARNING is current for north-east parts.
Saturday night: A few showers. Moderate to fresh SE winds.
Sunday: Rain developing over most parts during the morning. Scattered moderate
to heavy falls in the north. Fresh to strong SE/E winds shifting E/NE in the far
north.
Outlook for Monday ... Rain and shower areas. Moderate to heavy falls in the
north.
Outlook for Tuesday ... showers

IDQ1006008
CENTRAL CITIES PRECIS
for Saturday night and Sunday

Forecast for Saturday
Night

Mackay Rain. Windy
Rockhampton Showers. Windy
Gladstone Showers. Windy
Yeppoon Showers. Windy
Biloela A few showers
Emerald Mostly fine

Forecast for Sunday MIN MAX UV FORECAST

Mackay Rain, heavy at times 23 28 13
Rockhampton Rain. Windy 24 28 12
Gladstone Rain. Windy 24 28 12
Yeppoon Rain. Windy 23 26 12
Biloela Rain at times 21 29 12
Emerald Rain 22 29 13

UV ratings are : greater than 10 - extreme (ex); 8-10 very high (vh); 6-7 high
(h); 3-5 moderate (m). The first figure is for clear skies or scattered cloud.
If there is a second figure it is the UV rating when under cloud.