AN APRIL HEAT WAVE. 08 April 1908. Only once before in the history of the Observatory has this run been exceeded in April, and that was in 1865, when there were five days in succession on which the shade reading was over 90. From April 3 to April 7, 1865.
AN APRIL HEAT WAVE. (1908, April 8). The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA : 1867 – 1922), p. 2 (4 O’CLOCK EDITION.). Retrieved April 8, 2025, from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/208920523#
AN APRIL HEAT WAVE.
South Australians are unaccustomed to a spell of heat in April similar to that which they are experiencing at present.
Yesterday was the fourth day on which the thermometer had registered over 90 in the shade
at the Observatory.
On Saturday the reading was 90.1- deg., on Sunday it was 95.2 deg., on Monday, 93.0 deg., and yesterday the record was 91.5 deg.
Only once before in the history of the Observatory has this run been exceeded in April, and that was in 1865, when there were five days in succession on which the shade reading was over 90. From April 3 to April 7, 1865, inclusive, the readings were:—90.5, 95.5, 97.0, 91.0, and 95.0 deg. In only two other years in April have we had three successive days with the shade reading going over 90—in 1866 and 1902—and the years when over 90 has been recorded in April on three days and over are 1864, .3; 1865, 5; 1866, 4; 1871. 3; 1902, 3; 1904, 4; 1907, 4.
The highest shade reading ever recorded in April was 98 deg., on April 10, 1866. It will be seen,
therefore that the present spell is most unusual.
On Saturday morning there was every appearance of a change within 48 hours, but by Monday all hope of refreshing breezes had to be abandoned, and a strong anti-cyclonic pressure in the interior yesterday made it impossible for altered conditions to be brought about.
It was raining in the West on Tuesday, but whether the rain will come eastward is a problem Mr. Dodwell did not care to hazard an opinion about.