MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY - TASMANIA
A cool month - Tasmania in May 2004
Temperatures were well down on normal during May 2004, with several stations (including Launceston) reporting their lowest-ever mean daily maximum temperatures for May, whilst others (including Hobart) reported their lowest for many years. Rainfall was below normal in the east and Midlands, but above normal in the west and the Derwent Valley.Included in this summary are tables of State extremes, some more details, some new records, and summaries for sites across the State appear below.
A separate summary for autumn 2004 has also been prepared.
Tasmania and Antarctica Regional Office
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 6221 2043
Email climate.tas@bom.gov.au
Extremes
Weather extremes during May 2004 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest temperature Hottest day |
19.9 °C | Grove Research Station on 24th | |
| Highest mean daily maximum temperature Warmest days on average |
15.5 °C |
Bicheno (Council Depot)
and Scamander | |
| Lowest mean daily maximum temperature Coolest days on average |
5.4 °C | Mount Wellington | |
| Lowest daily maximum temperature Coldest day |
-0.8 °C | Mount Wellington on 28th | |
| Lowest temperature Coldest night |
-4.8 °C | Liawenee on 8th | |
| Lowest mean daily minimum temperature Coldest nights on average |
-0.5 °C | Liawenee | |
| Highest mean daily minimum temperature Mildest nights on average |
10.1 °C | Swan Island | |
| Highest daily minimum Warmest night |
13.9 °C | Scamander on 31st | |
| Highest total rainfall Wettest overall |
500.0 mm | Mount Read | |
| Lowest total rainfall Driest overall |
14.8 mm | Tunbridge (Austin-Vale) | |
| Highest daily rainfall Wettest day |
79.2 mm | Mount Read on 4th | |
Details
Despite a burst of mild temperatures at the very end of the month, May was colder than normal across Tasmania. Cool days prevailed for the first three weeks, with the main warm weather being on the 24th and again on the 31st.
At several stations, mean daily maximum temperatures for May were the lowest they have been since records began. These included Orford, Strathgordon, Scottsdale and Launceston (see the table below). At many others, it was the coldest it has been for many years. Launceston Aiport (lowest since 1968), Flinders Island Airport (1968), Strathgordon (1970) and Bushy Park (1979) were among those seeing their coldest May in recent years. In Hobart (where the average for 2004 was 13.6 °C), it was the coldest May since 1968 (when it was 13.4 °C). The long-term average daily maximum for Hobart in May is 14.4 °C.
Mean minimum (overnight) temperatures were also lower than normal in
most areas, except at a few stations in the southeast. Nights were
generally cooler than normal in the first half of the month. The last
week saw dramatic swings from mild conditions around the 24th to a very
cold 27th and back to a mild 31st. The averaged daily minimum
temperatures for May were the lowest for many years at a few stations,
including Burnie (coolest since 1979) , Scottsdale (1977) and
Strathgordon (1977).
Rainfall was below average on the East Coast and the Midlands and at
some locations in the north of the State. In the west, on the Central
Plateau and into the Derwent Valley rain was generally above the May
normal. Huonville had its wettest May since 1973, and at
several other sites (including Bothwell, Grove, Maydena, Rotherwood,
Waddamana, Bagdad and Franklin) it was the wettest since 1994. Rain was
scattered fairly evenly through the month, apart from the 9th to 15th
when southeasterly winds allowed the another and west to be generally
dry. As is typical for May, the major falls were associated with the
passage of cold fronts.
It was a windy May, especially around the 4th, the 20th and
near the end of the month. Wind gusts in excess of 100 km/h were
reported from several locations, with a peak of 141
km/h at Maatsuyker Island on the 4th.
Records
Record Lowest Mean Maximum Temperature for May |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily maximum temperature for May 2004 (°C) |
Previous lowest for May |
Years of record |
||
| Strathgordon Village | 10.4 | = 10.4 | in 1970 |
35 |
| Scottsdale | 13.6 | 14.1 | in 1973 |
25 |
| Launceston | 14.6 | 14.8 | in 2001 |
22 |
| Swan Island Lighthouse | 14.9 | 15.0 | in 1998 |
21 |
| Tarraleah Village | 9.8 | 9.9 | in 1994 |
21 |
| Geeveston | 12.9 | 13.5 | in 2001 |
18 |
| Dover | 13.6 | 13.7 | in 2001 |
15 |
| Lake Leake | 10.2 | 10.3 | in 2001 |
15 |
| Bull Bay | 13.3 | 13.8 | in 2001 |
13 |
| Powranna | 13.5 | = 13.5 | in 1995 |
13 |
| Maydena Post Office | 11.8 | 12.1 | in 1994 |
12 |
| Strahan Aerodrome | 13.6 | 13.8 | in 1997 |
12 |
Record Lowest Mean Daily Minimum Temperature for May |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily minimum temperature for May 2004 (°C) |
Previous lowest for May |
Years of record |
||
| Port Arthur | 7.1 | = 7.1 | in 1994 |
23 |
| Scamander | 6.3 | = 6.3 | in 1981 |
21 |
| Swan Island Lighthouse | 10.0 | 10.1 | in 1994 |
20 |
| Strahan Aerodrome | 6.2 | = 6.2 | in 2001 |
12 |
Summaries
Summary statistics for May 2004 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures for May (°C) |
Minimum temperatures for May (°C) |
Rainfall for May (mm) |
||||||
| Mean for 2004 | Difference from normal | Highest for 2004 | Mean for 2004 | Difference from normal | Lowest for 2004 | Total for 2004 | Normal total | |
| Hobart | 13.6 | -0.8 | 19.0 | 7.2 | +0.3 | 2.9 | 47 | 47 |
| Launceston | 14.6 | -1.2 | 17.4 | 4.1 | -1.1 | -0.3 | 54 | 66 |
| Burnie | 15.0 | -0.2 | 17.5 | 7.7 | -0.6 | 3.0 | 72 | 96 |
| Devonport Airport | 14.6 | -0.5 | 16.8 | 5.9 | -0.8 | 0.7 | 49 | 78 |
| Swansea | 14.9 | -1.0 | 17.8 | 6.2 | 0 | 2.8 | 20 | 48 |
| Strathgordon |
10.4 | -1.1 | 16.3 | 4.7 | -0.8 | -0.1 | 357 | 236 |
| King Island Airport | 15.1 | -0.4 | 18.1 | 8.7 | -0.4 | 1.4 | 76 | 87 |
| Flinders Island Airport | 15.1 | -1.1 | 19.6 | 9.4 | +0.4 | 1.4 | 51 | 82 |
| Bicheno | 15.5 | -0.9 | 19.5 | 7.8 | -0.6 | 3.2 | 26 | 58 |
| Bull Bay | 13.3 | -1.7 | 18.5 | 7.5 | -0.7 | 3.2 | 56 | 40 |
| Bushy Park | 13.4 | -0.9 | 19.1 | 3.5 | -0.6 | -2.2 | 76 | 46 |
| Cape Bruny | 13.2 | -1.3 | 18.5 | 8.0 | -0.7 | 4.3 | 93 | 53 |
| Cape Bruny |
13.1 | -0.3 | 18.4 | 8.1 | -0.1 | 3.1 | 111 | 85 |
| Cape Grim |
14.3 | -0.5 | 17.0 | 9.9 | -0.4 | 7.0 | 52 | 78 |
| Dover | 13.6 | -1.2 | 19.0 | 6.0 | +0.3 | 1.5 | 75 | 72 |
| Eddystone Point | 15.2 | -0.5 | 17.4 | 8.9 | -0.8 | 3.3 | 76 | 68 |
| Fingal | 13.7 | -1.6 | 16.6 | 2.5 | -0.3 | -2.7 | 31 | 51 |
| Friendly Beaches | 14.9 | -1.2 | 19.3 | 7.1 | -1.4 | 3.5 | 27 | 58 |
| Geeveston | 12.9 | -1.7 | 19.7 | 5.1 | +0.8 | -0.5 | 96 | 71 |
| Grove | 13.9 | -0.6 | 19.9 | 4.7 | +0.4 | -0.2 | 77 | 61 |
| Hartz Mountain | 8.0 | -1.0 | 14.0 | 2.4 | -1.3 | -1.3 | ||
| Hobart Airport | 14.2 | -0.9 | 19.5 | 7.0 | +0.4 | 3.4 | 22 | 36 |
| Lake Leake | 10.2 | -1.3 | 15.4 | 1.7 | -0.5 | -3.6 | 36 | 75 |
| Lake St Clair | 9.1 | -1.3 | 14.0 | 1.0 | -0.5 | -3.7 | 211 | 155 |
| Launceston Airport | 13.3 | -0.7 | 16.1 | 3.2 | -1.4 | -2.3 | 43 | 61 |
| Luncheon Hill |
11.9 | -1.4 | 16.7 | 5.7 | -1.4 | 1.5 | 215 | 156 |
| Maatsuyker Island |
12.0 | -0.8 | 17.5 | 7.8 | -0.6 | 4.7 | 111 | 116 |
| Marrawah | 14.1 | -0.6 | 16.5 | 8.3 | -0.8 | 2.0 | 95 | 105 |
| Maydena | 11.8 | -1.5 | 17.6 | 4.1 | -0.1 | 0.0 | 146 | 92 |
| Melton Mowbray | 12.6 | -1.8 | 17.8 | 4.0 | -0.2 | -3.7 | 45 | 25 |
| Moogara | 9.8 | -1.4 | 15.0 | 3.6 | -0.6 | -1.7 | 103 | 58 |
| Mount Read | 5.9 | -0.8 | 10.4 | 1.3 | -1.2 | -2.4 | 500 | 383 |
| Mount Wellington | 5.4 | 0 | 11.6 | 0.2 | -0.3 | -4.6 | ||
| Orford | 14.3 | -1.4 | 18.8 | 6.6 | +0.4 | 2.0 | 35 | 61 |
| Port Arthur | 12.8 | -0.7 | 17.9 | 7.1 | -0.7 | 3.6 | 106 | 84 |
| Powranna | 13.5 | -1.0 | 16.4 | 2.9 | -1.1 | -3.6 | 30 | 46 |
| Ross | 13.2 | -1.1 | 16.1 | 3.0 | -0.3 | -4.4 | 20 | 25 |
| Scamander | 15.5 | -1.1 | 19.0 | 6.3 | -1.2 | 1.0 | 35 | 59 |
| Scottsdale | 13.6 | -1.4 | 17.8 | 4.6 | -1.4 | -0.7 | 91 | 103 |
| Sheffield | 12.6 | -1.1 | 15.1 | 4.3 | -1.6 | -0.9 | 79 | 98 |
| Smithton |
14.7 | -0.8 | 17.6 | 5.1 | -1.2 | -1.4 | 90 | 81 |
| Strahan |
13.6 | -0.8 | 18.7 | 6.2 | -1.4 | 0.2 | 175 | 137 |
| Tarraleah |
9.8 | -1.3 | 15.1 | 2.8 | +0.5 | -1.4 | 141 | 103 |
| Wynyard |
14.5 | -0.4 | 17.0 | 4.3 | -0.8 | -2.1 | 97 | 99 |
Note
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 11 am on Tuesday 1 June 2004. Although every effort has been made to check them, it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.Further information
Climate and Consultancy SectionTasmania and Antarctica Regional Office
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 6221 2043
Email climate.tas@bom.gov.au