The
Weather at Guyra NSW
The town
of
Prior to this the post office operated a weather station from 1965 to 1972.
Rainfall has been recorded for a longer period starting in 1886 at the post
office.
Readings are taken daily at the hospital at the standard observation times of
9am and 3pm.
Right:
Snow on the ground next to the New England Highway in Guyra
in the evening of July 15th 2009. Image
by Michael Gill.
RECENT WEATHER CONDITIONS
Last
six observations (9am and 3pm) over the last 72 hours here.
MONTHLY
Daily
data for this month and the previous 12 months here.
CLIMATE AVERAGES
Climate averages and extremes for Guyra Post Office here.
This set of statistics uses rainfall data from 1886, but temperature
data is limited to the period 1965 to 1972.
Climate averages and extremes for Guyra Hospital here.
This set of statistics uses rainfall and temperature data from 1981 which means
the rainfall averages are not reliable for such a short period. It is
recommended that rainfall averages from the post office site be used for
greater accuracy.
ABOUT GUYRA'S WEATHER
Guyra is the highest town on the Northern Tablelands and as such records the
lowest day time temperatures in the region. Overnight temperatures however,
particularly in the winter months, are frequently higher than nearby Armidale
and Glen Innes. This is because Guyra is at the top of an exposed plateau where
the wind may blow all night, whereas Armidale and Glen Innes are in protected
valleys where cold air drainage and temperature inversions are common events
allowing overnight temperatures to drop to lower levels.
If you want to see snow, Guyra is the place to be with an average of five
snowfalls per year. Most years Guyra manages at least one good snowfall with
snow several centimetres deep on the ground, easily enough to build a good
sized snow person! During such events the New England Highway is often
closed to the north and south of the town for a few hours or maybe a full
day.
Guyra's climate can be summed up as mild in summer and cold in winter.
Highest temperature on record: 32.8C on January 31st 2003.
Lowest maximum temperature: -0.3C on July 3rd 1984 during a particularly heavy
snowfall.
Lowest minimum temperature: -7.8C on June 26th 1971.
Below: Winter snow scene in Cave
Place, Guyra, in the
afternoon of July 8th 2007.
Photograph by Trish Martin.

GUYRA WEATHER NEWS 2010
COOLEST
JANUARY MORNING ON RECORD - January 19th - The minimum of 3.7C, along with
a light frost, was the coldest on record for January (35 years of records). The
previous lowest was 3.9C on Jan 12th 1965. This was the first January frost
recorded in Guyra from 31 years of frost records.
GUYRA WEATHER NEWS 2009
HOTTEST DAY
FOR 8 YEARS - February 9th - The maximum of 32.0C was the hottest day for any month
since January 15th 2001 which also recorded 32.0C. It was the hottest February
day for 26 years since February 10th 1983 which also recorded 32.0C.
Guyra’s highest temperatures from 36 years of records: 32.8C on 31/1/03, 32.5C
on 28/1/90, 32.4C on 27/1/03, 32.3C on 19/1/03, 32.2C on 8/1/94, 32.0C on
10/2/83, 15/1/01 & 9/2/09.
LIGHT
SNOWFALLS - A severe cold front brought the first snow of the year on June 10th
when there was a light snow shower at 8.45am for about 15 minutes. Later in the
morning at around 10am there were light snowflakes mixed with rain (sleet) for
a brief period. The maximum temperature for the day was 5.7C with a 3pm wind
chill temperature of -10C due to strong 46 km per hr westerly winds.
JULY SNOW - July
15th - As very cold air moved over the Northern Tablelands, Guyra received snow
showers in the afternoon and evening. The heaviest fall was from 7.00 to 7.30pm
with large flakes settling on the ground to a depth of around 5 to 7 cms. The
snow remained on the ground until soon after dawn the following morning when it
melted rapidly. Cold showery conditions on Thursday the 16th kept the
temperature down to a maximum of only 4.7C. At 3pm it was 3.0C with a wind
chill temperature of -9C.
There was no snow on Thursday the 16th apart from a little sleet.
RECORD AUGUST
HEAT - August 24th/25th - Warm north-westerly winds on the 24th produced a
record high August temperature. The maximum of 25.2C was the highest August
temperature on record from 36 years of records. The previous highest was 24.0C
on Aug 19th 1995.
The evening of the 24th was also extremely mild with the minimum in the early
morning of the 25th being 12.6C. This was the highest minimum temperature on
record for August. The previous highest was 11.1C on Aug 23rd 1988.
The average maximum temperature for the whole of August of 16.2C was the
highest for August for 63 years since 1946 (16.8C).
DUST STORM -
September 23rd - Residents awoke to
find the town covered in a choking cloud of thick brown dust. Horizontal
visibility was 300 metres at 9am and gradually improved as the day progressed.
The dust which arrived at around 5am, was blown in from South Australia and
western New South Wales by a severe cold front with strong winds. It cleared
during the evening.
DUST HAZE - September 26th - More dust was blown in from the
west in the early hours with visibility around 2000 to 3000 metres during the
morning. It cleared during the evening.
NOVEMBER HEATWAVE - November 16th to 23rd - Hot
north-westerly winds brought record breaking temperatures to many parts of
northern New South Wales. In Guyra maximum temperatures exceeded 28.0C on eight
consecutive days from the 16th to the 23rd peaking on Friday the 20th at 31.6C
which was Guyra’s hottest November day on record (35 years of records). The
previous highest was 30.2C on Nov 10th 2002.
GUYRA WEATHER NEWS 2008
COOLEST
FEBRUARY FOR 12 YEARS - February
2008 was an unusually cool and cloudy month with an average maximum temperature
of just 21.0 degrees - the coolest February since 1996 when it was 20.5C.
LOWEST MARCH
AVERAGE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE ON RECORD - Days during March were warm and sunny, but
overnight temperatures were unusually cool. The average minimum of 7.5C was the
lowest from 33 years of Guyra temperature records. The previous lowest March
average minimum was 8.4C in 1988.
EARLY FIRST
FROSTS - The first
frosts of the year arrived much earlier than normal on the last three days of
March: 29th: 3.6C, 30th: 0.8C, 31st: 2.7C. The minimum of 0.8C on the 30th was
Guyra’s coldest March temperature for 24 years since March 28th 1984 when it
dropped to -0.3C.
COLD SNAP IN
LATE APRIL - A cold
front passing through the region on April 28th held the maximum temperature
down to just 9.8C, the lowest April maximum since 1995. The minimum temperature
the following morning (the 29th) of -2.8C was the lowest on record for April
from 34 years of records. The previous lowest was -2.2C on April 29th 1970.
Temperatures were generally much cooler than normal during April. The average
maximum for the month of 16.1C was the lowest for April for 18 years since
1990, and the average minimum of 4.8C was the coolest for April since 1972.
AUTUMN
SNOWFALLS ON
SNOWFALLS ON
JULY 9TH - A strong
cold front and upper level cold pool passed through the region bringing light
snow showers in the morning, and heavier snow showers in the afternoon from
around 2.30 to 6pm. By late afternoon snow was 8 cms deep on the ground where
it remained until late the following morning when it melted. Temperatures were
very low on Wednesday the 9th. The 9am temp was -1.0C with a wind chill temp of
-14C. At
MORE
AUGUST
SNOWFALLS - A cold
change brought a brief blast of cold air in the late evening of Tuesday August 5th
when light snow fell overnight and early the following morning. At
A further cold change in the evening of the 7th brought very light snow to the
August 23rd - A cold front passing through the region on the evening of Friday
the 22nd brought strong winds, low temperatures and light snow to Guyra. After
a little sleet early in the evening, the main snowfalls started around midnight
settling on the ground to a depth of about 2 cms. It was still there the next
morning, the 23rd, at 7am, but melted quickly under early morning sunshine.
This system also delivered settling snow to Walcha and further south at Hanging
Rock.
OCTOBER SNOW - A severe cold front
passed through in the afternoon of October 22nd plunging the temperature from
12C at 3pm to around 3C at 4pm. Snow fell from 4.00 to 4.25pm in large wet
flakes, but did not settle on the ground. There were further light snowfalls in
the evening.
COLD SNAP
& STRONG WINDS – A severe
cold front brought strong westerly winds on November 22nd and 23rd with gusts
in excess of 80 km per hour. The cold air arrived on the 22nd with the maximum
for the day of just 11.8C. Although there was no rain or snow, some locals
claimed there were a few light snowflakes in the early hours of the 23rd when
the temperature dropped to 1.0C.
SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM - At around
GUYRA WEATHER NEWS 2007
WET START TO MARCH -
Storms and heavy rain on March 1st and 2nd totaled 86.4 mm which is 14 mm
higher than the average rainfall for the whole month.
GUYRA WARMER
WARMEST
SNOWFALLS ON JUNE 8TH & 9TH - The first
snow in 2007 arrived on Friday June 8th with showers of sago snow falling in
the late afternoon and evening. Heavier snow fell between midnight and 4am on
Saturday the 9th. Snow lay on the ground up 5 cms deep in places until mid
morning when it melted off. Friday's maximum temperature was a chilly 5.0C
while Saturday's minimum was -1.0C.
SNOW
MORE SNOWFALLS ON JUNE 27TH & 28TH - In
the third snow event for 2007 Guyra was once again cloaked in white in the the
morning of June 28th after moderate overnight falls which started the previous
evening. The snow cover in the morning was around 3 centimetres deep aided by a
brief heavy fall at 9am with further lighter intermittent falls throughout the
day until sunset. The snow remained on the ground until around mid afternoon.
It was extremely cold with the wind chill temperature at 3pm being around -9C.
The maximum to 3pm was just 1.8C, although the official top for the day was
3.8C as measured at 9am the following day.
JUNE COLDEST MONTH FOR 16 YEARS - With an
average maximum temperature of just 9.1C, June 2007 was Guyra's coldest month
since July 1991 when it was 8.7C. The June long term average is 11.1C. It was
also the lowest on record for June (32 years of records). Cloudy and windy
conditions, and three severe cold snaps bringing snow on 6 days of the month
were all contributing factors to the unusually low day temperatures.
HEAVIEST SNOWFALLS ON JULY 8TH - The fourth
severe cold snap this year brought the best snowfalls so far in 2007 on Sunday
July 8th. Snow showers fell throughout the day from 8.30am with the heaviest
falls around 3pm and 6 to 7pm after which snow lay on the ground about 8
centimetres deep. Snow remained on the ground until late morning the following
day when it melted off. The maximum temperature on the 8th was just 4.1C.
LOWEST TEMPERATURES FOR 36 YEARS - During a run
of cold mornings with severe frosts, minimums of -7.1C were recorded on July
16th and 19th. These were the lowest temperatures recorded in Guyra since June
26th 1971 when it was -7.8C which was the lowest on record.
WARMEST OCTOBER ON RECORD - With an average
maximum temperature of 21.2C, October 2007 was Guyra's warmest October on
record from 33 years of records. The previous highest was 20.9C in 2002.
COOLEST DECEMBER FOR 8 YEARS - With an average
maximum temperature of 21.3C, December 2007 was the coolest December since 1999
when it was 19.8C.
SNOW DATES
The following
is a list of all dates on which it has snowed in Guyra since 1982, including
light non-settling falls.
Average annual number of snow days 1982 to 2008: 5.0
1982: 5
days: 21/6, 22/6,
19/7, 20/7, 30/9
1983: 5 days: 27/6,
8/7, 1/8, 28/8,
6/10
1984: 8 days: 29/6,
30/6, 3/7, 4/7,
5/7, 11/8, 12/8,
19/9
1985: 9 days: 20/5,
21/5, 5/6, 6/6,
21/6, 19/7, 8/8,
2/9, 3/9
1986: 3 days: 23/6, 9/7, 6/8
1987: 3 days: 28/5,
23/7, 1/9
1988: 2 days: 8/8,
20/9
1989: 11 days: 10/6,
11/6, 21/6, 22/6,
24/6, 17/7, 18/7,
23/7, 24/7, 8/8,
26/9
1990: 8 days: 28/6,
2/7, 3/7, 3/8, 10/8,
23/8, 26/8, 22/10
1991: 6 days: 13/6,
10/7, 11/7, 14/7,
24/8, 12/9
1992: 10 days: 11/6,
24/6, 25/6, 26/6,
10/7, 20/7, 8/8,
13/8, 16/9, 29/9
1993: 1 day: 4/8
1994: 8 days: 13/4,
28/6, 30/7, 31/7,
21/8, 21/9, 27/9,
8/10
1995: 4 days: 17/6,
21/6, 19/7, 28/7
1996: 8 days: 12/7,
13/7, 14/7, 15/7,
21/7, 30/7, 19/8,
3/9
1997: 0 days
1998: 5 days: 23/6,
30/6, 29/7, 30/7,
31/7
1999: 3 days: 16/6,
14/8, 15/8
2000: 10 days: 28/5,
29/5, 30/5, 31/5,
1/6, 30/6, 27/7,
28/7, 24/8, 25/8
2001: 4 days: 7/7,
8/7, 26/8, 27/8
2002: 0 days
2003: 2 days: 24/7,
26/7
2004: 6 days: 20/6,
8/7, 17/7, 18/7,
5/8, 18/8
2005: 4 days: 22/6,
23/6, 10/7, 17/9
2006: 3 days: 4/8,
7/9, 16/11
2007: 9 days: 8/6,
9/6, 19/6, 20/6,
27/6, 28/6, 8/7,
9/7, 10/7
2008: 9 days: 17/5,
18/5, 9/7, 27/7, 28/7, 5/8, 6/8, 23/8, 22/10
2009: 2 days: 10/6,
15/7
Above:
Snow had settled high in the trees along Inn Road near Ben Lomond
village,
north of Guyra in the morning of
July 16th 2009. Photo by Samantha Pye.
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