Climate
Over half of New South Wales is arid to semi arid. However, most areas in the eastern portion have a temperate climate, ranging from humid subtropical to the northern coast and oceanic to the southern coast. The Snowy Mountains region in the south-east falls in the alpine climate/highland climate zone, with cool to cold weather all year around and snowfalls in the winter.
The climate is generally mild and mostly free from extremes of heat and cold, though very high temperatures occur in the northwest and very cold temperatures on the Southern Tablelands. The climate of the coast is influenced by the warm waters of the Tasman Sea, which usually keep the region free from extremes of temperature and provide moisture to increase rainfall; the annual rainfall ranges from about 750 millimetres (30 in) in the south to 2,000 millimetres (79 in) in the north. In the far northwest, the hottest temperatures in the State mostly occur, and where the annual mean rainfall drops below 200 millimetres (8 in).
The highest maximum temperature recorded was 49.7 °C (121 °F) at Menindee in the state's west on 10 January 1939. The lowest minimum temperature was −23 °C (−9 °F) at Charlotte Pass in the Snowy Mountains on 29 June 1994. This is also the lowest temperature recorded in the whole of Australia excluding the Antarctic Territory.
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