The big dry spell continues for Sydney

27 days and counting: The big dry spell continues for Sydney
June and July 2002

Sydney is currently enduring its 6th longest dry spell on record (since 1858). The current length of consecutive rainless days has extended to 27 days, and the current forecast is for a further 4 rainless days to add to this tally. The main factor behind the dry spell has been the persistent dry westerly winds, which have kept the skies effectively cloudless throughout June and July.

This is the second longest dry spell for the June/July period, and the driest start to Winter since 1938. The longest was in 1970 with 34 days (23/6/70 to 26/7/70). Sydney has not received rainfall since the 20th of June when 4.8mm fell. Only 28.4mm was recorded on 6 days during June, compared to the average of 129.8mm on 11 rain days.

The longest dry spell was the infamous August 1995 dry spell with 47 consecutive rainless days. This is Sydney's only rainless calendar month.

The latest 4 day forecast issued by the NSW Regional Forecasting Centre this morning, suggests the dry spell will continue for at least a further 4 days, bringing the total to 31 days. This would move the ranking of the current dry spell up to the 4th longest ever for Sydney.

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