Climate trends - Central West
The Central West region extends north from the South West region to Coral Bay and inland to Mount Magnet. This region is classified as arid with an average annual rainfall of around 300 mm.
Winter fronts, troughs and cut-off lows are the dominant rainfall mechanisms. Due to the region’s proximity to the tropics, summer rainfall is more common compared with the South West.
Past observations
Rainfall has been variable in the Central West region. Rainfall has decreased in coastal areas while inland areas have shown an increasing rainfall trend over recent decades. There were no significant changes in average annual rainfall for the region for the recent 1990–2010 period in comparison with the 1900–1960 record.
Future climate projections
Most of the global climate models show a drying trend into the future, mostly because of lower rainfall in winter and spring. The driest case scenarios show a 12 per cent reduction in annual average rainfall and the wettest case scenarios a 1 per cent reduction in mean annual rainfall at 2050.
