Thursday, 3 February 2005

MEDIA RELEASE

Melbourne's unprecedented weather 'much more than four seasons in one day'

Greg Hunt, MP, Parliamentary Secretary with ministerial responsibility for the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, said today that Victoria's weather records would need a new chapter following unprecedented weather in the past 24 hours. "Victoria has experienced extreme weather during the past 24 hours, with all-time rainfall records tumbling, very cold temperatures for this time of the year, and very strong winds," Mr Hunt said.

"The combination of rain and winds has caused widespread damage across the state, with much of it being reported in Melbourne. As well as conditions being severe over the land, extreme conditions have been observed over coastal waters, with 12.5-metre waves recorded at Point Nepean. Port Phillip Heads was impassable due to high seas on an outgoing tide."

Mr Hunt said the unusual weather was caused by a very deep low pressure system (triggered by very cold air from the deep southern ocean) interacting with warm, relatively moist air over the continent. "The low developed and deepened almost right over the top of Melbourne and was close to stationary for a 24-hour period. That is why the rainfall totals were so extreme," Mr Hunt said.

"Yesterday (Wednesday) was the eighth coldest February day on record, with the maximum temperature reaching only 15.5 degrees," Mr Hunt said. Melbourne's record lowest maximum temperature for February is 14.7 degrees, recorded on 18 February 1951.

"The 24-hour rainfall total (to 9am today) of 120.2 millimetres is the highest ever recorded in Melbourne," Mr Hunt said. The previous record was 108 mm, recorded on 29 January 1963. "This is almost three times Melbourne's average February rainfall of 47.0 mm, and nearly 19 per cent of the annual rainfall. If you consider the entire event, which started on the previous day, the rainfall is 23 per cent of the annual total," Mr Hunt said.

"It is not unusual to get severe thunderstorms which can bring extreme local rain in February, but this time the rainfall was steady and continuous for a period of 31 hours until it finally stopped at 8 am this morning, an exceptionally long period of continuous rain for any time of the year," Mr Hunt said.

Greg Hunt, MP, is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment & Heritage and the Federal Member for Flinders.

Ends

Further information:
Fiona Murphy: tel: 0423 577 045