Weather News

Adelaide staring at a rainless February

Anthony Sharwood, Tuesday February 27, 2024 - 12:00 AEDT

Hot and bone dry: that's been the story of the weather in Adelaide in February 2024.

Indeed with the final three days of the month upon us and virtually no chance of a shower in the forecast, it appears highly likely that Adelaide will not see a drop of rain this February. That would make it:

The first completely dry February since 2007

The 11th completely dry February in records going back to 1839

The first completely dry February in a leap year since 1860

February is Adelaide's 2nd-driest month of the year (both January and February see around 20 mm on average) so it's hardly unusual to cop a dry spell at this time of year. But this month has been a stark difference from late spring and early summer, when rainfall was well above average as you can see on the graph below.

It's also interesting to note that large portions of SA's northeast saw rainfall in February, due to moisture with tropical origins tracking south from Queensland that didn't reach the state's south.

The map below presents quite an unusual picture, as the southeast is usually by far the wettest part of SA.

Source: BoM.

What about temperatures?

Adelaide days have also been very warm this February, with average maximum temperatures to date sitting on 30.2°C compared to the long-term average of 28.5°C, although the mostly cloudless skies have kept minimum temps a degree or so below average.

Despite the warmer-than-average maximums, Adelaide has seen no 40-degree day this February, although Feb 4 came close with a top of 39.6°C. Some media outlets may have reported this as a 40-degree day, as they tend to round-up or down.

Image: The Pelicans don't mind the dry February but Adelaide's human population would love a drop of rain. Source: iStock.

Meanwhile this Tuesday is set to be a very warm one indeed with a top of 36°C in store and high fire danger across most South Australian forecast districts.

Winds will pick up on Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday with an approaching cold front, however winds are not expected to be quite as strong in SA as they will be in Victoria on Wednesday, which is why some western parts of that state are staring at catastrophic fire danger ratings midweek (as detailed in our Monday story).

As ever, please check the latest fire and other info on our warnings page.

- Weatherzone

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