Folks,

trying to research sun conditions in Perth up to Geraldton in December. Is it true temperatures can reach 40 degrees. Would it usually be this hot and what would be the average temperature for December? Would the sea breeze (hopefully a lot of it) lower the temp

Your help would be much appreciated

Dave

Yep it can hit 40 in December, (known localy as a heat wave), and when this happens there isn't much of a breeze, (troughed out).
Average for December is more like mid to low 30s.
here's my chart from last year.




This is my record of how our passive solar house works, red is outside temps, blue is in.

It's on the Mandurah foreshore, so is a bit cooler than Perth or Geraldton.
The 2009 chart, was warmer on average but only hit 35deg max.
80% of the 2008 chart was under 30deg, with one day hitting 36 and 2 reaching 38
So it's hard to predict just what will happen.

i like your house mr decrepit.

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saltiest1 said...

i like your house mr decrepit.

So do we Mr salty. Sailing tomorrow?

The 40 degree days are usually later in the season.
As Decrepit says they are also the days when there is no sea breeze, and that's why it gets so hot.
Our weather used to go in roughly a weekly cycle with a range of temps over that week, but after last year, which was very unusual, who knows?
In general temps will be higher the further north you go.

Great info, thanks. Just about to book trip to WA for Christmas but having reservations about the temperatures. Don't fancy camping for a month in that heat. Had small dose of skin cancer last year so have reservations about windsurfing in that heat. But then WA is the mecca of windsurfing......

Because of that you'll find plenty of high power sunscreen available at reasonable prices, USE IT!

It's not the heat that's the problem, it's the hole in the ozone layer.
The UV index will be just as high on a cool day as a hot day.
Cloud cover gives you a false sense of security, infra red radiation doesn't penetrate as well but UV is almost unaffected.
reflection off the water makes it worse, in the afternoon seabreeze, on port tack, your sailing into the sun.
Sunglasses aren't a bad idea either.

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decrepit said...

saltiest1 said...

i like your house mr decrepit.

So do we Mr salty. Sailing tomorrow?

i did yesterday in the northerly but the ocean was too confused to be any fun. ended up sipping a coffee with the mrs.

www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/annual/wa/perth.shtml