page_title: Geography of Sydney
section_title: Climate
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of Sydney / Climate
caption_attribution_description: Sydney Lightning
context_page_description: The geography of Sydney is characterised by its coastal location on a basin bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Blue Mountains to the west, the Hawkesbury River to the north and the Woronora Plateau to the south. Sydney lies on a submergent coastline on the east coast of New South Wales, where the ocean level has risen to flood deep river valleys carved in the Sydney sandstone. Port Jackson, better known as Sydney Harbour, is one such ria.
  The Sydney area lies on Triassic shales and sandstones. The region mostly consists of low rolling hills and wide valleys in a rain shadow area. Sydney sprawls over two major regions: the Cumberland Plain, a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney Harbour, and the Hornsby Plateau, a plateau north of the Harbour rising to 200 metres and dissected by steep valleys. Sydney's native plant species are predominantly eucalyptus trees, and its soils are usually red and yellow in texture. The endemic flora is home to a variety of bird, insect, reptile and mammal species, which are conspicuous in urban areas.
  There are more than 70 harbour and ocean beaches in the urban area.
context_section_description: Sydney has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) with warm, sometimes hot summers, and winters shifting from mild to cool. Although Sydney is predominantly humid subtropical, the hilly wet areas in the North Shore, Northern Suburbs, Forest District and Hills District have an oceanic climate (Cfb).  The weather is moderated by proximity to the ocean, and more extreme temperatures are recorded in the inland western suburbs.
  The warmest month in the CBD is January, with an average air temperature range at Observatory Hill of 19.6–26.5 °C (67.3–79.7 °F). The coldest month is July, with an average range of 8.7–17.4 °C (47.7–63.3 °F). In the west, the temperatures average between 17.5–28.4 °C (63.5–83.1 °F) in summer. In winter, they're normally between 6.2–17.4 °C (43.2–63.3 °F). In late spring and summer, Sydney can sometimes get northwesterly winds from the Outback, which are dry and hot, making the temperatures reach above 40 °C (104.0 °F). Frost is oftentimes observed in the outer suburbs.
  Rainfall is spread throughout the year, but is slightly higher during the first half of the year when easterly winds dominate. Sydney's coast generally receives around 1,000 mm (39.37 in) to 1,200 mm (47.24 in) of rain annually. The western suburbs receive around 800 mm (31.50 in) to 900 mm (35.43 in) of precipitation, since moist onshore winds do not penetrate inland. Australian east coast low brings large amounts of rain in late autumn and winter.
caption: Thunderstorms and lightnings occasionally occur in the warm months.
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