Bureau of Meteorology figures prove this summer was third-wettest on record

YES, it really was a wet summer, and Adelaide’s rainfall totals for the season have rewritten the record books.

ADELAIDE has had its wettest summer in 80 years and the total rainfall amount of 167.4mm is our third biggest soaking on record.

With four expected “dry days” before autumn, Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Simon Timcke said it was unlikely the total will change.

He said the rainy summer was not far off Adelaide’s “big wet” in 1925 when 172.8mm of rain fell and in 1937 when a total of 168.5mm was recorded.

So far this month, 33.4mm of rain – about half the summer average of 66mm – has been recorded at Adelaide’s Kent Town weather station.

The highest February rainfall totals were recorded in the Mid North, including 57mm at Balaclava, while 52mm fell at Owen and Penong.

New rainfall records were recorded over the summer at towns across the state.

These records included the state as a whole in December, when the previous 1988 record was surpassed.

The wettest town in December was Ernabella in the APY Lands where a drenching 217mm of rain fell.

It fell 10mm short of taking the wettest January’s title, which went to the coastal town of Elliston on the Yorke Peninsula, where 97.2mm of rain fell.

Meteorologists have attributed the wet conditions to above average ocean temperatures off Western Australia, increasing the amount of tropical moisture that this summer has been dragged further south.

February’s average maximum temperature has been 28.5C – a degree below the long-term average.

Henry Duigan, 4, cools off at his grandparents Gilberton home. Picture: Dylan Coker

Mother of two Jessie Duigan said despite the wet conditions her children Emily, 7, and Henry, 4, have enjoyed spending the summer in the water.

“They go in no matter the weather,” she said. “They’re water babies ... they love going to their swimming lessons, grandparents’ pool, and the beach.”

SUMMER RAINFALL RECORDS IN ADELAIDE

1925 — 172.8mm

1937 — 168.5mm

2017 — 167.4mm

SUMMER 2017 IN ADELAIDE

December — 86.8mm

January — 47.2mm

February — 33.4mm

HIGHEST SA RAINFALLS

December

— Ernabella 217mm

— Mt Lofty 133.6mm

— Snowtown 121.2mm

January

— Elliston 97.2mm

— Oodnadatta 94.8mm

— Ernabella 87mm

February

— Balaclava 57mm

— Owen 52mm

— Penong 52mm