Special Climate Statement 72—dangerous bushfire weather in spring 2019
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longer periods over larger areas, with fire spotting over greater distances than expected. The season placed
increased pressure on fire agency resources and fire-fighting tactics, including the use of water-bombing aircraft.
4. Previous notable events in New South Wales
Most significant historical fire weather situations in eastern New South Wales have been relatively short-lived.
They have typically been associated with strong westerly winds, bringing dry air from inland areas to the coast.
Whilst temperatures in such situations are typically well above average in eastern coastal areas, they have mostly
not approached record high levels. Such westerly flow is more characteristic of winter and early spring than it is of
summer. Some of the most significant historical fire weather events in eastern New South Wales, such as those of
January 1994 and December 2001, have occurred as a result of winter-type weather systems occurring out of
season with westerly flow well north of its usual seasonal location, and have been accompanied by well-below
average temperatures (and often unseasonable mountain snow) in Victoria and Tasmania.
Whilst antecedent rainfall in the one to three months prior to the events was below average, of these events only
the 1968 event took place under severe drought conditions.
October–November 1968
Spring 1968 was exceptionally dry in coastal New South Wales, with Sydney only receiving 29.5 mm for the
season, easily its driest spring on record (1968 as a whole was Sydney's driest year of the 20th century). There
were numerous severe fire weather events during October and November, and a number of major fires, particularly
in the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra region, with substantial property losses. The Blue Mountains fire burned for
more than a month, with properties lost on three separate occasions separated by several weeks. There was also
an exceptional heatwave in northeastern New South Wales in mid-November; Coffs Harbour experienced its
hottest day on record for any month (43.3 °C) on 19 November, whilst several other sites set all-months records
that were not exceeded until February 2017.
In terms of its duration and the contribution of drought to the event, the 1968 event is probably the closest
analogue to the current event, although in 1968 the fire activity was less extensive than in 2019, being primarily
focused on regions between the Hunter and Illawarra.
January 1994
Dangerous fire weather conditions occurred around Sydney and in northeast New South Wales during early
January 1994. This was a prolonged episode of significant fire weather, with persistent westerly flow and
temperatures of 34 °C in Sydney on four consecutive days from 5 to 8 January, one of only three instances of such
extended heat. Major fires, with extensive property loss, occurred within the Sydney metropolitan area in both the
northern and southern suburbs, as well as in some northern coastal areas; more than 800 000 hectares were
burnt, including the vast majority of the Royal National Park. The westerly flow was also associated with extreme
heat in northeast New South Wales and much of eastern Queensland, with record high temperatures set at a
range of locations extending from Kempsey north to Charters Towers, including some sites in metropolitan
Brisbane.
December 2001
Severe fire weather affected eastern New South Wales at Christmas 2001. Major fires occurred on 24 and
25 December, particularly on the southern fringes of Sydney, with fires travelling up to 50 kilometres within a few
hours. There were also significant fires in the ACT. Temperatures in the Sydney Basin on both days were generally
in the mid-30s, with strong westerly winds; the air was also exceptionally dry, with dewpoint temperatures at