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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Matthew Kelly

Hunter records new December rainfall records

Swansea, Norah Head, the University of Newcastle and Wyong recorded new records for the highest December rainfall.

Bureau of Meteorology data shows NSW recorded its wettest December since 2010. Much of the wet weather was the result of a low pressure system that developed over the state's northeast in the middle of the month.

Swansea recorded 216.6mm in December, which broke the 212.5mm record that had stood since 1992. The suburb also recorded a new daily rainfall record of 79.8mm, which broke the previous record of 77mm that had stood since 1992.

Norah Head recorded 172.8mm for the month, breaking the previous record of 133.8mm that had stood since 2007.

The University of Newcastle's weather station recorded 183.4mm, breaking the previous record of 146mm that was set in 2002.

The Kulnura weather station near Wyong recorded 188mm, which broke the previous December 175mm that was set in 2007.

The highest monthly total was 812.6 mm at Mount Seaview and many other sites received over 600 mm.

The Lower Hunter's water storages also continued to climb as a result of the wet weather.

On Friday afternoon the region's total storage stood at 93.5 per cent. The figure compared to 79.9 percent in January 2020.

Grahamstown Dam stood at 97.1 per cent, Tomago 86.3 per cent, Chichester 100 per cent and Anna Bay 69.2 per cent.

Last year was the fourth-warmest year on record for Australia, with the nation's area-averaged mean temperature for the year 1.15 °C above the 1961-1990 average.

Mean annual maximum and minimum temperatures were above average for all states.

While rainfall for 2020 was close to average for most of Australia, some regions, such as including the west of Western Australia, southeastern Queensland and western Tasmania, received below average rainfall.

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