Short presentation for anyone interested in Weather in Australia. We talk about the four seasons, temperatures, activities and natural disasters for your viewing pleasure!

1. Weather and Seasons in
Australia
Nicholas Ong
Meiko Taylor

2. An Australian summer is typically warm and sunny.
Summer starts on the 1st December and finishes on the
last day of February.
The average daytime temperature is 26°C in Sydney, but
it is possible for it to rise above 30°C. The further north
of the country you travel, the warmer it gets. It also
gets much cooler when you travel south.
SUMMER

3. “Over the past 69 years, the Rolex Sydney Hobart has
become an icon of Australia's summer sport, ranking in
public interest with national events such as the
Melbourne Cup horse race, the Australian Open tennis
and the cricket tests between Australia and England. No
regular annual yachting event in the world attracts such
huge media coverage than does the start on Sydney
Harbour.” (“The Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race”, 2014)
The Rolex Sydney To Hobart Yacht
Race

4. Australia’s tourist destinations are predominantly along
the coast or on surrounding islands. Summer is the peak
beach season.
The Beaches and Islands of Australia

5. On the 7th February 2009, Victoria experienced what has
been dubbed The Black Saturday Bushfires. This bushfire
killed 173 people and injured 414. 2100 homes were
destroyed, and The Black Saturday Bushfires killed 173
people, injured 414 people, destroyed 2,100 homes and 7,562
were evacuated.
“It is estimated the energy released by the Black Saturday
Bushfires, was the equivalent of 1,500 Hiroshima atomic
bombs. In total 1,100,000 acres were burnt.” (“Black Saturday
Bushfires”, 2015)
Black Saturday Bushfires

6. Autumn begins in March and ends on 31st May. In Sydney,
the March equinox will occur on March 20th this year.
“This is the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator. On
the equinox, night and day are nearly exactly the same
lengths – 12 hours – all over the world. This is the reason it's
called an “equinox”, derived from Latin, meaning "equal
night". (Time and Date.com, n.d)
Autumn in Australia is quite cool with frequent rainfall.
AUTUMN

7. Source: australiangrandprix (30th November 2014) 2015 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix – TVC. Retrieved
from http://youtu.be/itVxgq-TCOk
The Formula 1 Grand Prix

8. The category 5 Cyclone Mahina struck Bathurst Bay in
Far North Queensland on the 4th March 1899, claiming
the lives of over 400 people.
Cyclone Mahina

9. Winter is the coldest season compared to all other seasons.
Winter is caused by when the northern hemisphere is not
facing the sun, which results in cold weather. Winter peaks at
its strongest when the sun’s altitude is in connection with the
North Pole, or South Pole is at its most adverse value.
In southern capital cities, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne,
Hobart, Adelaide and Perth, the average temp during winter
is a minimum of 6 degrees and maximum of 14 degrees.
WINTER

10. In Tasmania during winter you can ski in Ben Lomond
National Park, walk through the snow of the highlands of
Cradle Mountain, or enjoy a warm fireside in Wineglass Bay.
Winter in Freycinet National Park is a beautiful place to
experience. During the days it is ideal for bushwalking and
enjoying the scenery on the coastline. You can also
experience climbing across the pink hazards, past sea birds,
Tasmanian wildflowers and rock pools.
Tasmania’s Winter Secrets

11. “On Monday 17th August, intense rainfall
caused major flash flooding to the city and the suburbs…
Within a short time water that was lapping at the bottom of
yards was now gushing through houses, meters deep. The
once quiet suburban streets now became fast flowing rivers;
the current that flowed was washing everything away
including, people, cars, animals, BBQ gas bottles, fuel and
other hazardous substances. Houses were being moved off
their foundations. Once secure road bridges were moved due
to the build up of debris that was blocking the flow.” (Cliffe, S.
n.d)
August 1998 Storm Wollongong

12. Spring in the northern hemisphere, is when the Southern Hemisphere
will be experiencing Autumn. Spring is known for the time of
‘revitalization’. During the prime time of Spring days are roughly 12
hours long in day length, this increases as the season goes on. Spring in
Australia begins in September and finishes on the 30th November.
Spring in 2014 was the warmest it’s been for on record for almost a
decade. Maximum temperatures were almost above average across all
Australia, while minimum temperatures were also above average as
well.
Western Australia experienced the hottest temperatures while New
South Wales and South Australia came closely after.
SPRING

13.  Centennial Parklands are known to be one of the
biggest areas in Sydney, you can enjoy all of the
beautiful scenery and also be able to horse ride or
bike ride across the river, while you enjoy the breeze.
 Australian Garden Show enjoy all of the blooms in
one place.
Spring in Sydney

14. On the 12th November 1902 during a severe drought in
eastern Australia, a dust storm spread quickly from South
Australia, to Victoria and to South Western New South Wales.
Due to static electricity generated by dust particles moving
quickly past each other, organic material in the dust ignited
creating sparks described as “balls of fire” and showered
down from the sky – which even set fire to buildings.
Dust storms occur when the soil becomes very dry, and
strong winds throw the dusty soil in the air.
The Great Dust Up of 1902

15. With our group of two people, which included Nick Ong
and Meiko Taylor. The topic we decided to choose was
Weather. We broke it down into the four seasons for
the sub topics, and chose three themes which were
Temperature, Activities and Natural Disasters.
Meiko sourced information on Summer and Autumn,
while Nick sourced the information on the other two
seasons of Winter and Spring.
Conclusion

16.  2015 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. (2015), Retrieved from <http://www.grandprix.com.au/>
 Bureau of Meteorology. (2014). Australia in Spring 2014, Retrieved from
<http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/season/aus/summary.shtml>
 Bureau of Meteorology. (n.d). Climate Education The Great “Dust-Up” of November 1902, Retrieved from
<http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/c20thc/storm5.htm>
 Cliffe, S. & Young, J. (n.d). The August 1998 Wollongong Storm, Retrieved from
<http://wollongong.ses.nsw.gov.au/aug98-storm.html>
 Rivera, L. (2015). About Travel: Summer in Australia, Retrieved from
<http://goaustralia.about.com/od/discoveraustralia/ss/Summer-in-Australia.htm>
 Tasmania’s Winter Secrets. (2015). Retrieved from <http://www.australia.com/explore/states/tas/tas-winter-
secrets.aspx>.
 The Black Saturday Bushfires. (2015). Retrieved from <http://www.blacksaturdaybushfires.com.au/>
 The Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. (2015). About The Race, Retrieved from
<http://www.rolexsydneyhobart.com/about-the-race/>
 Time And Date.com. (n.d). March equinox - equal day and night, nearly, Retrieved from
<http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/march-equinox.html>
 Wells, K. (2013). Australia weather and seasons – a variety of climates, Retrieved from
<http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-weather-and-the-seasons>
 Winter. (2015). Retrieved from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter>
References