Monday, 2 May 2005

MEDIA STATEMENT

Warm nights in Tasmania

The last two nights have seen record-breaking warmth in Tasmania, especially in the southeast of the State. Minimum temperatures have typically been 5 to 10 degrees above the May normal on both nights, with overnight temperatures in the mid-teens common. Several long-standing records have been broken, including one of 123 years at Hobart.

Record Highest Daily Minimum Temperature for May
	Highest daily minimum temperature in May 2005 (°C)		Previous highest for May		Years of record	Long-term average minimum for May
Hobart	16.2	on 4th	16.1	on 2nd in 1889	123	6.9
Grove	17.7	on 5th	15.7	on 11th in 1969	50	4.2
Hobart Airport	16.0	on 5th	15.1	on 4th in 1982	47	6.5
Tarraleah Village	11.5	on 4th	11.0	on 2nd in 1997	22	2.3
Geeveston	14.1	on 4th	13.4	on 28th in 1998	19	4.4

Hobart Airport actually broke the previous record twice. On the 4th, it recorded a new record high minimum temperature of 15.2 °C, but it exceeded that with 16.0 °C on the 5th.

Several other sites (Dover, Maydena, Ross, Moogara and King Island Airport) also had record high minima, although they have relatively few years of observations.

Tarraleah had its warmest-ever May day on the 4th, with a maximum of 22.0 °C exceeding the previous highest of 21.0 °C (on the 1st in 1985).

Warm air has been carried from the mainland across Tasmania over the last few days. Persistent strong winds and generally cloudy skies have prevented the temperature from dropping away much overnight. A cold front is crossing Tasmania today, bringing cooler conditions.

Further information

Climate Services Section
Tasmania and Antarctica Regional Office
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 6221 2043
Email climate.tas@bom.gov.au

Forecasts and current observations

Regional Forecasting Centre
Phone (03) 6221 2000 (24 hours)
Or on the web at www.bom.gov.au/weather/tas/