Cricket Returns to S.A as Weekly Heat Cycle Breaks

 

Weather and Australian life: It’s been a horror month for cricketers throughout South Australia, with extreme temperatures over the last three consecutive weekends forcing the postponement of matches across the length and breadth of the state.

Brett Dutschke is a senior meterologist with Weatherzone and has some good news for cricketers from South Australia. 

 

On each of the last three Saturdays much of South Australia heated up to near 40 degrees, leading to cancellations of suburban and country cricket but now the heat cycle is breaking, allowing games to go ahead this weekend.

This Saturday the cricket will be back apart from in the Riverland and further north where temperatures in the high thirties and forties are likely for the fourth weekend running.

For western and southern parts of the state, including Adelaide, a cooler change will arrive early enough in the day to ensure it doesn’t get too hot.

The only likely interruption will be due to rain which should develop in the afternoon in the form of showers and thunderstorms. These showers and storms will generally not bring much rain, less than five millimetres, but may be heavy enough to drop the temperature to the low twenties with help from a southwesterly wind change.

For the first time in a month cricketers will be donning jumpers.

It is not uncommon for the weather pattern to fall into a weekly cycle but for temperatures to reach near 40 degrees on the same day of the week is unusual.

On the last three Saturdays Adelaide reached 38.5, 41.6 and 39.5 degrees respectively. This is only the fourth time in more than 120 years of records that the city has been this hot on the same day for three consecutive weeks. And it is only the second time that it has been this hot on three consecutive Saturdays (the only other occurrence was in the summer of 1899/1900).

In each of the last three Saturdays, Murray Bridge hit 40 degrees, Kadina 39 and Maitland 37. It has been at least 70 years since each of these towns have been this hot on three consecutive Saturdays.

The state’s cricketers deserve a break.

With March starting off cool the chances of another hot Saturday this season are slim.

 

Got an anecdote to share about extreme heat playing havoc with your sporting endeavours? Share it with us in the comments section below.