Perth has shivered through one its coldest starts to winter on record, while a series of cold fronts late in the month failed to bring the city to even average rainfall.
Figures from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) show the mean temperature for June, a combination of maximums and minimums, was 12.9 degrees — the second coldest June on record and the coldest for 26 years.
BOM climatologist Yanhui Blockley said it was largely driven by a cold front in late June which brought a strong and cold air mass up from the Antarctic.
“[It] brought a period of not just cold nights but daytime temperatures in the mid-teens,” she said.The Perth metro recorded five consecutive cold nights with minimum temperatures below 5C during June.
Rainfall was 32 per cent below-average for Western Australia as a whole, and 25 per cent below-average for Perth.
“Below average rainfall in June in a large part of the south-west is a reflection of an overall drying trend in cool season,” Ms Blockley said.
Despite a dry June, however, overall rainfall figures for the year are looking healthy.
Powerful storms over the south coast, Exmouth
Meanwhile over the south coast of WA it’s been anything but a dry year, including the month of June.
On the 21st of June a powerful storm brought heavy downpours to the region, setting daily rainfall records for the town of Denmark and propelling Albany’s monthly rainfall figures to nearly 50 per cent above average.
The low pressure system left a trail of destruction over the south coast region, destroying major roads, flooding farms and leaving thousands without power.
Flooding also occurred in Western Australia’s north this month, where a heavy cloud band released nearly a years’ worth of rain in the space of hours over the town of Exmouth, causing major flooding to roads.
Both regions are currently sitting “very much above average” rainfall for the year.abc.net.au