During the past week a third tropical cyclone named Lincoln passed through the Gulf of Carpentaria and delivered heavy rain mainly at Sweers and Burketown where 202 millimetres fell in the 24 hours to 9am Saturday, February 17, the wettest February day since 211.4 millimetres in 2017.
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Burketown has recorded 540 millimetres to date this month, the 10th time over 500 millimetres in the last 135 years. Two of those, 1983 and 2009, were followed by heavy rain in February 1984 and 2010 and there was heavy rain in April and July of both 1984 and 2010 at most places from Victoria to outback Queensland. Heavy rain in both November and December as well.
The cyclone Lincoln then moved very quickly into the Northern Territory where Tennant Creek recorded 138 millimetres to Sunday morning, February 18, the fourth wettest February behind 153.6 millimetres in 2003, 234 in 1919 and 234 in 1910.
The month's rainfall at Tennant Creek has reached 220 millimetres and on top of 328.6 during January the combined January-February rainfall has now exceeded 500 millimetres for the third time in 150 years of records. The other two over 500 millimetres occurred in 1919 and 1997. Both those years were decidedly drier than average in our region apart from above average rainfall in May, August and December. Both those years were notably warmer than usual from August right through to December with very hot days late in November with maximum temperatures well over 40 degrees.
The extreme heat is certainly on with a vengeance over the western half of Western Australia. Carnarvon recorded 49.9 degrees, Shark Bay also recorded 49.8, easily the hottest ever day recorded at these two towns in well over 100 years. It was not surprising that Carnarvon last year had its driest ever year with only 53 millimetres rainfall. This did set up these all-time record hot days this month.
Further south, Geraldton with a maximum of 49.2 recorded its hottest ever day. The previous hottest February days were in 1933, 1985 and 1991. This will undoubtedly set up a much warmer than usual autumn in our region, the hottest days being most of March and up to the third week of April.
Many places could record maximum temperatures higher than the highest temperature recorded during this summer. The records for Rutherglen showed that March 1940 had a much higher temperature than the summer of 1939-40 with a remarkable heatwave during the second week of March 1940, which was Melbourne's hottest ever March. Later in 1940 there was a phenomenal heatwave in October.
The previous hottest February days at Geraldton, being 1933, 1985 and 1991, all led to high temperatures in Victoria in October. Perth has now recorded seven days of over 40 degrees this month, easily a record for any month as well.
