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ClimateRainfall
Photo: Cattle Creek - DERM
Photo: Kangaroon Creek - DERM
Photo: Red kangaroo - DERM Annual mean precipitation is largely moderate across the province. Areas receiving high rainfall are located along the coast. There is a north to south gradient of values for the driest quarter mean precipitation ranging from dry to wet, the lowest value being 0 mm. Rainfall erosivity, the potential for rainfall-induced soil loss (Stein, 2005), is low to high throughout the province, though it decreases with distance from the coast. Areas of the province that receive the highest annual mean precipitation have the highest rainfall erosivity values. The minor occurrence of valley bottom flat areas suggests floodplains and the processes associated with floodplain inundation are not as important to the ecology in this province as they are in the Murray-Darling. Heavy rainfall events in this province are unlikely to result in increased periods of productivity due to the decreased occurrence of floodplain inundation. The dominance and broad distribution of erosional areas suggests most rainfall will run off the landscape and into the instream channel.
Central FBP Rainfall Maps State Rainfall Map
Temperature
Photo: Teemburra Creek - DERM
Photo: Teemburra Creek - DERM On average the mean temperature for the province ranges from cold to moderate; there is a rough north-south gradient with hotter temperatures to the north. There also appears to be an east-west gradient related to the maximum and minimum weekly temperatures. Coastal areas consistently have lower maximum and minimum temperatures than inland areas. The ratio of the weekly maximum and minimum temperatures is greatest in the south-east corner, though it is variable throughout the province. Seasonality in temperature is pronounced in the south of the province but not in coastal areas.
Central FBP Temperature Maps State Temperature Map
Water balanceMean annual run-off in most of the province, particularly the inland areas, is low to negligible (0.01 mm), meaning that most rainfall is lost as evaporation. Mean annual run-off along the coast ranges from low to high.
Last updated: 21 February 2012 |
— Department of Environment and Resource Management
