How could professional met people make such a huge mistake? BoM withdraws advice Alice Springs recorded its hottest day ever, blames faulty thermometer –
It just shows the pressure people in the organization must feel after a damp and mild start to January. To not take time checking that before blurting out their twaddle to the ABC. Even now at 4pm AEST this BoM page shows 46 – and the AWN page with feed from deep in the BoM shows 42 – why 42 – where did that come from if their spokesfolk are telling the ABC 41.5.
I’m a long time resident of Alice Springs and I can tell you it was hot but not BoM 46 degrees hot. What a load of BS that it was an automatic weather station fault, there are BoM public servants employed at the Alice Springs airport. The station is south of Alice Springs on the other side of the MacDonnell ranges and is something of a local joke in reporting the actual weather for the Town of Alice Springs.
They need to install a Davis system.
I don’t know what equipment BoM has at the Alice Springs airport where it is located not far from the main runway. That false maximum temperature was packaged up by the BoM and given to the ABC to run with. The recent heavy rain in the Centre as recorded at the airport was way less than what actually fell on the Town. The rain gauge at the Alice Plaza in the Town centre and many others recorded far more rain than the airport but it never goes into the official records. I’m looking forward to this parliamentary inquiry into the BoM.
Another possible hottest ever, courtesy of ABC and BoM: www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/western-australia-heatwave-tipped-to-smash-pilbara-records/story-fnhocxo3-1227193245460?utm_content=SocialFlow&utm_campaign=EditorialSF&utm_source=PerthNow&utm_medium=Facebook&nk=315f2a8e54fa07f06f4073208ac166b5
We’re doomed, ABC tells us, doomed: www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-23/doomsday-clock-moved-closer-to-midnight/6040208
Because climate change, and, nuclear …
Not the hottest: pindanpost.com/2015/01/23/not-the-hottest/
I must say that I really do not understand where they get their figures from, especially their history.
I flew into Alice Springs on 2nd of January 1979, the temperature at the airport was officially recorded as 49.5C that day. Notably, Cocklebiddy (WA) was reported in the Adelaide ‘Advertiser’ newspaper as having hit 52.1C the next day.
What has become of these records?
46° Error still present at AWN 3 years later.
www.australianweathernews.com/data/archive/15B/2015_01.HTM
But the day has been deleted at CDO
www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/cdio/weatherData/av?p_nccObsCode=122&p_display_type=dailyDataFile&p_startYear=2015&p_c=-48617275&p_stn_num=15590
I can not find BoM data for Cocklebiddy so the Adelaide Advertiser must have had their own source but
Forrest Aero 13Jan79 and Mundrabilla 3Jan79 rank high in WA hottest days
www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/extremes/annual_extremes.cgi?period=%2Fcgi-bin%2Fclimate%2Fextremes%2Fannual_extremes.cgi&climtab=tmax_high&area=wa&year=2018
and AWN shows the Nullabor heat Jan 1979
www.australianweathernews.com/data/archive/11/1979_01.HTM
The BoM map indicates the extent of that heat anomaly for 3Jan79 – you can change the date.
www.bom.gov.au/jsp/awap/temp/archive.jsp?colour=colour&map=maxanom&year=1979&month=1&day=3&period=daily&area=nat
Good memory Tony – Trove newspapers does not have an Adelaide paper for 1979 but the Canberra Times reported the Cocklebiddy heat you remember.
trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/136973168?searchTerm=Cocklebiddy&searchLimits=
The article also reminds us that in 1979 the highest official recording in W.A. was 50.7C at Eucla, on
January 22, 1906. The BoM no longer recognises that but prefers the 50.5 at Mardie from 1998.
www.bom.gov.au/climate/extreme/records.shtml