Ramblings

Local weather measurements

Rainfall

I have been recording rainfall in my suburb since 2015. I share it here for no reason whatsoever.

The rainfall is recorded before 0800 each morning. This means rain which falls on the last day of a month is recorded under the first day of the next month.

The graph shows the average rainfall since 2015 as well as the monthly rainfall for the preceding ten years. Values for 2026 have not yet been included in calculating the average line.

The following table shows the data used in drawing the graph.

Table 1. Monthly rainfall in mm

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2015	104	33	109	37	0	1	9	0	58	12	46	87	496
2016	105	95	217	12	47	12	0	0	0	58.5	85.5	105	737
2017	247	166	3	77.5	28	0	1.5	0	9	114	107	116	869
2018	103.5	131	237	53	15	0	1	1	18	57	28	87	731.5
2019	140	169	15	104	0	0	0	0	1	8.5	154	293	884.5
2020	116	91	76	136	0	4	0	0	5	61	114	123	726
2021	181	99	47	35	11	0	0	0	12	96	148	233	862
2022	195	149	62	177	18	20	1	0	0	74	228	131	1055
2023	29	289	47	37	127	12	4	0	24	19	104	135	827
2024	162	70	65	127	0	5	0	0	2	38	83	153	704
2025	196	251	134	120	6	1	6	5	5	69	150	240	1183
2026	60	69	137										266
Av	143.4	140.3	92.0	83.2	22.9	5.0	2.0	0.5	12.2	55.2	113.4	154.8	825.0

The readings for 2026 have not yet been included in the averages.

(updated: 2 March 2026)

Temperature

I extended my weather measurements by recording weekly maximum and minimum temperatures at the beginning of 2025. For this I used a TFA Maxima-Minima Thermometer.

I had previously used this thermometer to measure ambient temperature highs and lows in the vicinity of my fermenter while brewing. Unfortunately, the alcohol in this thermometer separated very easily. The slightest bump would cause air gaps in the alcohol column, and the maximum or minimum markers would then become blocked by these gaps, rendering the max/min capability useless.

These air gaps could be removed by moving the maximum and minimum markers towards the top of the housing with a magnet and then vigorously flicking the thermometer. This took a lot of effort and often resulted in rather painful wrists and forearms.

I then decided to use the thermometer for its intended purpose and mounted it in a semi-shetered spot outside to measure weekly highs and lows. Unfortunately, becuase of the design of the thermometer, when the wind was in the right direction it allowed the instrument to vibrate, again causing air gaps in the alcohol column.

Eventually, I ended up with a tiny air gap, which no amount of flicking would remove, and this caused the minimum marker to jam permanently. I therefore started looking for a digital thermometer.

Unfortunately, most digital thermometers are intended for indoor use only. Some models have an outdoor probe, but these require a wired link between the probe outside and the display inside. I eventually found a thermometer on Temu which does exactly what I was looking for.

The readings on this thermometer corresponded well with an alcohol thermometer which had previously been checked against a reference thermometer.

The table below shows the readings taken to date. The gap between the end of June and the beginning of September 2025 is when the TFA thermometer failed.

Table 2. Average monthly maximum and minimum temperatures in °C

	Jan		Feb		Mar		Apr		May		Jun		Jul		Aug		Sep		Oct		Nov		Dec
	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min
2025	29.7	17.3	29.3	16.8	27.8	15.5	25.3	11.8	20.0	9.0	17.6	5.4					28.4	14.9	30.6	13.9	29.9	14.4	29.7	16.9
2026	31.8	17.5	32.5	17.0	28.7	16.6

Weekly maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded on Mondays at around 0800.

(updated: 19 March 2026)