January Weather for Blacktown for 2011
The January weather for my local area seems to have gone against the expected trend. It was a drier month with just 38 mm of rain falling on 9 days and a warmer than normal month where average daytime and night time temperatures were 1.4C above the long term average. There were 2 thunderstorms that passed over Blacktown and a third decaying storm passing to the north on the 5/1/11 and having no impact on my local area. In terms of monthly numbers since January 1998, a trend cannot be seen but for the season overall, a lesser number is becoming evident.
It reached 30C on 13 days and as at 31/1/2011, there had been 37 days this season where the maximum temperature had reached 30C or higher. It reached 35C or more on 6 days including 1 day where the maximum temperature reached 40C. The hottest day was 31/1/2011 when it reached 40.3C. When looking at my records, this is the first La Nina episode that I have experienced in Western Sydney where the maximum temperature has reached 40C. Of note it reached 40.3C on 31/1/11 and 41.3C on 1/2/11 (2 days in a row).
There has been a hot spell which has carried into the first week of February in which daily temperatures has exceeded 35C being 6 days in a row up to 4/2/11 and if 41C is reached today being 5/2/11 as forecast, then that would make it 7 successive days. This has made the nights uncomfortably warm making it hard to sleep.
The table for my home location is provided below. The rainfall derived is from my local weather station at Collins Street Seven Hills Station Number 67026 being less than 1 km from where I live.
Harley Pearman