Thursday, 29 January 2009

MEDIA RELEASE - TASMANIA / ANTARCTICA REGIONAL OFFICE

Tasmania records all-time record high temperature for the state

The hot conditions currently affecting southern Australian mainland states extended to Tasmania by 4pm today.

A northerly airflow brought all-time record maximum temperatures to northern Tasmania in particular, with temperatures up to 19 degrees Celsius above the January average.

At 3.39 this afternoon, Flinders Island airport reached 41.5 degrees, an all-time record high temperature for Tasmania. The previous record was 40.8 degrees set in Hobart on 4 January 1976. The previous record for Flinders Island was 38.8 degrees, set in January 2003.

Other extreme hot spots around Tasmania today included the Fingal Valley, where Fingal recorded a maximum of 40.6 degrees, the town's highest since records began in 1986.

Launceston recorded 36.9 degrees, the highest for the current site which opened in 1980. The temperature didn’t quite reach the record of 37.3 degrees recorded at the Pumping Station in 1908.

Launceston airport recorded a maximum of 37.2 degrees, its hottest day since 1943, while Marrawah in the northwest of the state reached 33.0 degrees, it’s hottest January temperature since 1972.

The outlook for tomorrow is for similar conditions, while hot conditions are expected to persist in the central northern areas on Saturday.

Further information:
Melanie Webb, Climate Services Centre meteorologist
tel: (03) 6221 2043 (before 6pm), (03) 6221 2000 (after 6pm), fax: (03) 6221 2045