BAMOS
Dec 2018
Figure 1. Annual average count of “nice” days for each of the cities used in this study, sorted by the mean count of ‘nice’ days
(based on data from 1970–2017). For each city, the plot shows a box extending from the first quartile to the third quartile of the
annual data, inside which is the median (as a line) and the mean (as a cross). The lines extending outside of the box show the
range of values from the minimum to the maximum, with any data more than 1.5 times the interquartile range displayed as
outlier points beyond those lines.
conditions are not conducive to moderate to vigorous activities
during the warmest period of most days.
No index is perfect though, and other places in Australia’s north
that we flock to for holidays were further down the list using
these criteria than might be expected. Cairns, for example,
dropped below Melbourne and Hobart in the annual average
count of ‘nice’ days because of its high humidity in the wet
season and strong winds at times of the year.
Extending the analysis to weather stations outside of the major
cities, Inverell, in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales,
was the only town other than Brisbane in the analysis that
averages more than 100 such ‘nice’ days per year. Other towns
with large counts of these ‘nice’ days include Charleville, in
Figure 2. Location of the included cities.
The size of the circle is a relative indication
of the annual average count of ‘nice’ days.
Queensland’s Warrego district, which averages more than 90
‘nice’ days per year, and both Cobar (NSW) and Kalbarri (WA)
each average more than 80.
North of Brisbane, several locations along the Sunshine Coast
have fewer than 50 ‘nice’ days per year, but as you travel further
north to the Capricornia coast, Rockhampton and Gladstone
each average about 80 per year.
There is a west to east gradient in Tasmania, with Scottsdale
averaging 30 more “nice” days per year than Strahan.
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