Whyalla Weather

Whyalla is a dry area, with an annual average rainfall at Whyalla of 271 mm (1906 to 1990) and an estimated annual potential evaporation of 2400 mm. Whyalla averages 65 rainy days per year. The remaining 300 days are, on average, clear and sunny and this contributes to high evaporation rates. There are no recorded figures for evaporation at Whyalla, the figures for nearby Minnipa are included as indicative values.

Averages	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
Temperature Max (oC)	28.8	28.5	26.7	23.8	20.2	17.5	16.8	18.2	20.6	23.4	25.7	27.3	23.1
Temperature Min (oC)	18.6	18.9	17.2	14.1	10.8	8.3	7.3	8.1	10	12.5	15	16.8	13.1
Rainfall (mm)	18	24	18	19	28	25	23	24	25	26	22	19	271
Humidity 3pm (%)	45	47	48	46	53	55	54	49	46	42	43	40	48
Minnipa Evap. (mm)	350	293	250	165	109	69	76	100	142	211	274	324	2363
Rain Days	3	3	3	5	7	7	8	8	7	6	4	4	65

Whyalla is South Australia's 2nd largest regional city, with a population of approximately 21,600, located on the western shore of upper Spencer Gulf, approx. 394 kms northwest of Adelaide by road and 241 kms by air.

Whyalla - where you can relax lazily in a Mediterranean style climate (300 days of sunshine) on the shores of the beautiful Spencer Gulf and enjoy some unique and diverse visitor attractions.

There's the Whyalla Maritime Museum featuring the biggest permanently land-locked ship in Australia, and the Whyalla Steelworks tours that are the only ones in the nation. Then there is the very different Whyalla Wildlife and Reptile Sanctuary, the Mount Laura Homestead Museum proudly displaying the relocated telecommunications collection from Adelaide, and the magnificent views from Hummock Hill. If you're into fishing, then you've come to the right place. Shore anglers can throw in a line from the foreshore fishing jetty, or do a spot of safe rock fishing from around Point Lowly. If you're a boatie, then you'll be in for a treat as the Whyalla waters are famous for King George whiting and snapper. In fact, Whyalla is regarded as the home of the best and biggest red snapper.

Whyalla has a lot to offer the tens of thousands of people who visit every year. Its lifestyle provides an abundance of sporting and recreational opportunities. It's ideal. If you have just arrived in Whyalla, please enjoy the city's hospitality. If you are still planning your visit to our part of South Australia - the beautiful Eyre Peninsula - then make sure you plan a stop over at Whyalla.

Whether you're strolling along the foreshore beach, swimming or fishing in the sparkling waters, exploring everything from our parks to the many visitor attractions, or just sampling the taste of country life in a city, we're sure you'll enjoy the friendliness, warmth and hospitality extended by the people of Whyalla.  After all, its just part of the Whyalla experience.

Whyalla the City of Contrasts   

Come on in - See what we have to offer.

Port Augusta - Whyalla 76km 
Whyalla is the northern gateway to Eyre Peninsula and the first centre on Alternative Highway One - the sealed coastal road around the peninsula - where your new adventure starts.
With a population of approx. 22,000, Whyalla is a seaside city, just 390kms from Adelaide. A Mediterranean style climate offers the visitor around 301 days of sunshine each year to enjoy its expanding tourist attractions, and its top class recreational, accommodation and shopping facilities.

HISTORY
Captain Matthew Flinders, while navigating Spencer Gulf in 1802, noted a small hillock which was to become known as Hummock Hill, now the easternmost point of the city. The township of Hummock Hill developed as a community from 1901, being renamed Whyalla in 1914. 
The BHP Company (now OneSteel) had a major influence on the town's development. When iron ore was discovered in the Iron Knob area in the 1890's, a "tramway" was built from the mine to Hummock Hill. Whyalla's first big leap forward occurred in 1941 when a blast furnace producing pig-iron for the foundry market was commissioned. A shipyard and deep water harbour was also built - the shipyard closing in 1978. The second boom period, and by far the biggest, began in 1958 when BHP announced a fully integrated steelworks would be established. It opened in 1964. 

FACILITIES
Whyalla has a good range of facilities. These include hotels, motels, hotel/motels; caravan parks and cottages at Point Lowly Lighthouse. There are two major shopping areas - City Plaza and Westland Shopping Centre; supermarkets, and smaller suburban shopping districts. Motorists are well served by service stations open 7 days and a 24hr facility. 

There is a big range of recreational facilities for visitors including, lawn and ten-pin bowls, racing (dirt circuit, drag, go-kart, greyhound, harness and speedway), roller-skating, shooting, squash, indoor heated swimming, an 18-hole grassed golf course, and a range of water sports (boating, diving, fishing, sail-boarding and yachting). Whyalla has developed into a regional shopping centre with some of the best shopping this side of Adelaide.