Australian Weather

Summer hottest on record
By David Braithwaite
March 2, 2006 - 1:48PM
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NSW has sweltered through the hottest summer on record and its driest summer in more than 20 years, new Bureau of Meteorology figures show.

And Sydney has endured its third-hottest summer since records began in 1859.

NSW's average maximum summer temperature was 34.1 degrees, while below average rainfall in "vast areas" of the State made for the driest summer since 1984.

Sydney 's average daytime maximum temperature was 27.8 degrees, two degrees above average, making it the sixth consecutive summer with above average temperatures.

It was Sydney 's equal second hottest daytime maximum on record, the same as 1998.

The State's average rainfall for summer was 112mm, well below the seasonal average of 169mm, with Sydney receiving 198mm, down on its 298mm average.

Sydney 's hottest summer day was the blistering New Year's Day 2006, with 44.2 degrees at Observatory Hill and 45.2 degrees at the airport.

The combination of hot weather and humidity made for steamy nights in Sydney with 47 nights recorded above 20 degrees, almost three times the average.

Sydney 's western suburbs copped the brunt of the fierce summer heat, with 49 days above 30 degrees, with 19 recorded in the CBD.

With the very warm weather came fewer storms - there were seven storms recorded in the city, two down on average, with last Sunday's the most severe.

Avalon on Sydney 's northern beaches topped the city's rainfall table with 342mm, while Sydney airport received the low of 124mm.