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SEASONAL CLIMATE SUMMARY - TASMANIA
The "roaring forties" were the dominant influence on Tasmania's weather during winter 2004, ensuring the southwestern third of the state was extremely wet. Temperatures ranged widely, but were mostly below normal when averaged across the season.
Included in this summary are a table of State extremes,
some more details,
some new records,
and summary statistics for sites across the State.
Separate summaries have been prepared for each of the months June 2004, July 2004 and August 2004.
Weather extremes during winter 2004 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest temperature Hottest day |
22.8 °C | Grove on 26th Aug | |
| Highest mean daily maximum temperature Warmest days on average |
14.1 °C | Bicheno (Council Depot) | |
| Lowest mean daily maximum temperature Coolest days on average |
2.0 °C | Mount Wellington | |
| Lowest daily maximum temperature Coldest day |
-3.6 °C | Mount Wellington on 17th Jul | |
| Lowest temperature Coldest night |
-9.1 °C | Liawenee on 16th Aug | |
| Lowest mean daily minimum temperature Coldest nights on average |
-2.2 °C | Mount Wellington | |
| Highest mean daily minimum temperature Mildest nights on average |
8.5 °C |
Cape Grim | |
| Highest daily minimum Warmest night |
14.4 °C | Friendly Beaches on 1st Jun | |
| Highest total rainfall Wettest overall |
1181.4 mm | Lake Margaret Power Station | |
| Lowest total rainfall Driest overall |
97.8 mm | Scamander | |
| Highest daily rainfall Wettest day |
76.8 mm | Strathgordon Village on 28th Jun | |
The "roaring forties" were a recurrent feature of Tasmania's weather during winter 2004. These westerly winds dominated in June, faded for a while in late July but reasserted themselves in August. Damaging winds with gusts in excess of 100 km/h were relatively common. Mount Wellington recorded a gust to 193 km/h on August 21, the second-strongest wind gust recorded in Tasmania (the strongest was 200 km/h, also on Mount Wellington, in March 1998).
There were a number of marked cold outbreaks during winter, which helped to keep average temperatures down. June's maximum (daytime) temperatures were mostly close to normal, but July was well down on normal and August was below normal in most areas. Taken together, winter maxima were below normal at most sites across the State, typically by between 0.2 and 0.5 °C. At many sites, daytime temperature averages were their lowest since at least 1996. Despite this, some places recorded their highest-ever winter temperature, during a warm burst peaking on August 26 (see the table of Records, below).
In the north of the State, averaged daily minimum temperatures were
slightly above normal over winter. But in the south and east, they were
mostly slightly below normal. June's nights were mostly warmer than
normal, but in July and August the colder temperatures dominated.
Launceston had its warmest-ever winter night (ending on June 1) and then its warmest-ever winter day (on August 26). Several other sites also broke or neared records on these days.
Over most of the State, winter rainfall was above normal. The
southwestern third was especially wet, with many sites having their
wettest winter in decades (and some with short records having their
wettest ever). A
pocket on the northern East Coast had below-normal winter rain. This is a
reflection of the dominance of westerly winds across the State.
Snowfalls were quite common, especially during July and August. Many of the higher peaks were snow-capped from late June right through the winter.
Record Highest Total Rainfall for winter |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total rainfall for winter 2004 (mm) |
Previous highest for winter |
Years of record |
||
| Strahan Aerodrome | 654.2 | 648.0 | in 1996 |
15 |
Record Highest Temperature for winter |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest temperature in winter 2004 (°C) |
Previous highest for winter |
Years of record |
||||
| Maatsuyker Island |
21.8 | on 26th Aug |
20.4 | on 11th Aug 1977 |
68 | |
| Launceston Airport |
18.7 | on 26th Aug |
18.4 | on 29th Aug 1982 |
66 | |
| Strathgordon |
20.8 | on 26th Aug |
19.0 | on 25th Aug 1977 |
35 | |
| Launceston | 20.3 | on 26th Aug |
19.6 | on 30th Aug 1997 |
21 | |
| Tarraleah |
18.2 | on 26th Aug |
17.8 | on 28th Aug 1998 |
18 | |
| Geeveston | 22.5 | on 26th Aug |
20.2 | on 28th Aug 1994 |
17 | |
| Dover | 22.4 | on 26th Aug |
21.2 | on 27th Aug 1994 |
15 | |
| Lake Leake | 18.4 | on 26th Aug |
17.1 | on 30th Aug 1999 |
15 | |
Record Highest Daily Minimum Temperature for winter |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest daily minimum temperature in winter 2004 (°C) |
Previous highest for winter |
Years of record |
||||
| Launceston | 13.2 | on 1st Jun |
13.0 | on 9th Jun 1995 |
21 | |
Summary statistics for winter 2004 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures for winter (°C) |
Minimum temperatures for winter (°C) |
Rainfall for winter (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 | 12.2 | +0.1 | 21.0 | 4.9 | -0.1 | 0.5 | 216 | 161 |
| Launceston | 12.9 | -0.2 | 20.3 | 3.3 | +0.5 | -2.7 | 262 | 231 |
| Burnie | 13.0 | 0 | 17.2 | 6.9 | +0.8 | 2.4 | 338 | 345 |
| Devonport Airport | 12.6 | -0.4 | 16.6 | 5.3 | +0.4 | -0.9 | 264 | 271 |
| Swansea |
13.5 | -0.2 | 20.8 | 4.1 | 0 | -2.2 | 102 | 150 |
| Strahan | 12.3 | -0.5 | 22.1 | 5.5 | -0.1 | -2.4 | 654 | 526 |
| Strathgordon |
9.0 | -0.5 | 20.8 | 3.1 | -0.3 | -1.2 | 1106 | 779 |
| King Island Airport | 13.0 | -0.4 | 18.9 | 7.9 | +0.1 | 0.6 | 406 | 327 |
| Flinders Island Airport | 13.5 | -0.2 | 20.0 | 7.4 | +0.8 | -1.2 | 211 | 235 |
| Bicheno | 14.1 | -0.2 | 18.8 | 6.1 | -0.3 | 0.9 | 140 | 165 |
| Bridport | 13.1 | -0.6 | 17.4 | 5.8 | +0.1 | 0.2 | 292 | 258 |
| Bull Bay | 12.2 | -0.5 | 18.5 | 5.6 | -0.6 | 1.0 | 201 | 163 |
| Bushy Park | 12.0 | +0.2 | 20.9 | 1.3 | -0.7 | -3.4 | 246 | 152 |
| Cape Bruny | 11.6 | -0.9 | 20.5 | 6.1 | -0.8 | 2.0 | 320 | 239 |
| Cape Grim |
12.7 | 0 | 16.0 | 8.5 | -0.1 | 4.0 | 197 | 267 |
| Dover | 12.3 | -0.3 | 22.4 | 3.8 | 0 | -1.4 | 329 | 256 |
| Eddystone Point | 13.7 | +0.3 | 17.6 | 7.2 | -0.2 | 1.9 | 189 | 225 |
| Fingal | 12.2 | -0.5 | 20.1 | 1.0 | +0.2 | -6.1 | 124 | 181 |
| Friendly Beaches | 13.5 | -0.7 | 19.4 | 5.6 | -0.5 | -0.1 | 149 | 159 |
| Geeveston | 11.7 | -0.7 | 22.5 | 2.8 | +0.5 | -3.9 | 419 | 266 |
| Grove | 12.4 | +0.2 | 22.8 | 2.6 | +0.3 | -3.2 | 262 | 214 |
| Hobart Airport | 12.7 | -0.1 | 21.5 | 4.4 | 0 | -0.6 | 151 | 124 |
| Lake Leake | 8.6 | -0.3 | 18.4 | 0.2 | -0.3 | -6.7 | 245 | 244 |
| Lake St Clair |
7.0 | -0.7 | 15.5 | 0.1 | 0 | -5.0 | 782 | 641 |
| Launceston Airport |
11.4 | 0 | 18.7 | 2.6 | 0 | -3.3 | 245 | 216 |
| Luncheon Hill |
10.3 | -0.8 | 16.8 | 4.5 | -0.8 | -0.6 | 730 | 557 |
| Maatsuyker Island |
10.7 | -0.5 | 21.8 | 6.3 | -0.4 | 2.8 | 443 | 374 |
| Marrawah | 12.5 | -0.1 | 16.4 | 7.0 | +0.1 | 1.5 | 428 | 398 |
| Maydena |
10.4 | -1.0 | 21.2 | 2.0 | -0.4 | -2.8 | 498 | 383 |
| Melton Mowbray | 11.1 | -1.0 | 20.6 | 1.9 | -0.4 | -5.0 | 184 | 116 |
| Moogara | 8.3 | -0.7 | 18.0 | 1.5 | -0.7 | -2.5 | 362 | 263 |
| Mount Read | 3.5 | -0.7 | 11.5 | -0.5 | -1.0 | -4.7 | ||
| Mount Wellington | 2.0 | -0.8 | 11.0 | -2.2 | -0.8 | -6.1 | ||
| Orford | 12.8 | -0.7 | 18.6 | 3.7 | -0.2 | -2.9 | 170 | 174 |
| Port Arthur | 11.2 | -0.1 | 19.0 | 5.3 | -0.5 | 1.0 | 324 | 349 |
| Powranna | 11.9 | -0.1 | 19.0 | 1.8 | -0.6 | -3.5 | ||
| Ross | 11.6 | -0.2 | 19.6 | 2.1 | +0.2 | -5.2 | 170 | 127 |
| Scamander | 13.6 | -0.7 | 17.7 | 4.8 | -0.2 | 0.2 | 98 | 169 |
| Scottsdale | 11.8 | -0.6 | 17.7 | 3.7 | -0.1 | -1.2 | 350 | 353 |
| Sheffield |
10.5 | -0.9 | 16.5 | 3.6 | -0.3 | -2.0 | 545 | 367 |
| Smithton |
13.0 | -0.5 | 18.0 | 5.2 | +0.1 | -2.0 | ||
| Tarraleah |
8.3 | -0.5 | 18.2 | 1.3 | +0.8 | -4.0 | 498 | 344 |
| Wynyard |
12.6 | -0.2 | 15.6 | 4.1 | +0.2 | -2.9 | 420 | 358 |
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Wednesday, 1 September 2004 . Although every effort has been made to check them, it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
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