Paul Rosser 
Paul Rosser has been sharing his weather observations and rainfall reports with friends and fellow residents of the Aldinga Arts and Eco Village for some years now. When we started publishing Aldinga Village Voice last year, it seemed only natural that we ask Paul if we could share his notes with the wider community, to which he kindly agreed. The Editor
Well, 2023 has come around & no doubt some have made resolutions that may have been forgotten already. Let’s make 2023 one to remember as a year of positive thoughts & actions.
Now the weather – 2022 was a very wet year, especially the latter two thirds from May onwards. November will be remembered for a long time as the wettest in the last 12 years that we’ve been here in the Village. We got 108 mm in November & saw us race past the 500mm mark for 2022. It was a year of floods in every state, as the effects of the La Niña in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean Dipole & the swirling winds of the Antarctic all came together drenching all of our country. Every email we got from my cousin in the Lincolnshire in the UK spoke of our weather & their heatwaves. Have you ever noticed that our cold & wet abnormal events & their extreme heatwaves happen simultaneously, as if the earth is maintaining its balance.
In December we only got 10.0 mm, which took us up to 574.0 mm for the year. That is the second highest recording for the years from 2012 to the present day. Well, La Niña is easing & will be neutral by the end of summer, the Indian Ocean is neutral at present & the Antarctic winds are abating as usually happens at this time of year. That makes for average rainfall this summer, the same for temperatures both day & night & bushfire risk for those who have taken precautions.
Good time to thank Marc & Raj for the timely cuts on the AAEV’s northern boundary & also to Dearnne from DEW for getting a cut of the flood plain & Bowering Hill in late November. The crop is also gone from the paddocks on the crest of the hill & bailing is now completed. It is good to know we have all our safety measure in places should a fire occur.
The only thing we need to do now is to get Brook Road closed on the top of Bowering Hill. The hoons that frequent it don’t have our interests in mind as they drive over the dry grass with their hot exhausts touching the stubble. Write to “your say” at the Council & express our concern & get it closed off to protect our Village.
How have we compared with previous years:
Year December Annual Total
2022 10.0mm 574.0mm (2nd)
2021 3.0mm 492.5mm
2020 14.0mm 481.5mm
2019 4.0mm 359.0mm
2018 21.5mm 353.5mm
2017 34.0mm 507.0mm (3rd)
2016 59.5mm 670.0mm (1st)
2015 13.0mm 420.0mm
2014 14.0mm 378.0mm
2013 13.0mm 491.0mm
2012 7.0mm 498.0mm
2011 31.0mm (Incomplete record for that year)
We are now mid season between the Kaurna Wirltuti & Warltati seasons. The winds are easing & the heat is coming on. The people are on the coast & it was a time for conferencing, the exchange of knowledge & for trading. Controlled low heat fires were lit to prepare the country for crops & animals in the winter. The Grey Teal Duck would appear in the mid north & even down here, if the Darling River was in flood. Keep an eye out for it now. Google it & do some citizen science.
Well, that’s it for now. Have a good positive year.
Paul
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