Monday, 1 August 2005

MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY - VICTORIA

Warm, wet in the East, dry elsewhere - Victoria in July 2005

July was mainly dry across Victoria except the East.  The East of the state received between 50 and 100mm in one day on the 10th, and finished the month with well above average totals.  The remainder of the state received only half their expected July rainfall, following above average rains during June.  A huge contrast was observed between the West and East of the state, with 20-30mm (less than 40% of the average) recorded in the Western areas and over 140mm (twice the average) recorded in the East.

Temperatures were slightly above average across the state.  Daytime temperatures were up to 1 degree above average and night-time temperatures were 1 to 2 degrees above average, especially in the East.  There were a couple of minimum temperature records broken, see records below.

Synoptic Situation

July was dominated by mostly zonal westerly airflow, with high pressure systems situated to the north of the state, and fast moving frontal systems delivering short bursts of rainfall as they passed.  Unfortunately, there wasn't much substance to the rainfall received from each passing front, contributing to the below average rainfall totals across most of the state.  Two significant weather features for July are detailed below:

Heavy rains in East Gippsland on the 10th

An intense low pressure system developed over the East Gippsland region on the 9th with heavy rainfall recorded for the next 2 days.  Totals of over 100mm in a day were recorded to 9am in some areas on the 10th.  This was the heaviest rains in the area since February 2002, and followed 3 months of below average rainfall in the region.

An intense high pressure system:- 20-21 July

An intense high pressure system, causing clear sunny days and cold nights, positioned itself over Victoria between the 20th and 21st.  The highest pressure readings were recorded over the Alpine region, with Mt Hotham recording 1044.4hPa.  This was the highest pressure reading in Victoria since 14th June 2000.  Other notable intense high pressure systems affecting Victoria in the last 50 years, have been on the 27th May 1972 and 7th June 1967.

Melbourne

Melbourne temperatures in July were above average, with daytime temperatures 1.6 degrees above average (15.3°C, average for July is 13.7°C).  Night-time temperatures averaged 8.4°C (1.8 degrees above average), the equal warmest on record with 1975.  There was also 7 nights in a row (23rd to 29th) when temperatures did not drop below 10 degrees. This was the 2nd longest spell recorded, behind 1974 when 8 nights in a row did not drop below 10 degrees.
Rainfall in Melbourne was below average with a total of 25.2mm recorded over 13 days, average is 49mm.  The wettest day in Melbourne was on the 10th but only 6.4mm fell.  The March to July total of 117.6mm is the second driest March to July period on record, behind 1976 when 115.8mm fell.  The total of 117.6mm is less than 50% of the expected 262mm for this 5 month period (March to July).

Included in this summary are a table of State extremes, some new records, and summaries for sites across the State. Visit our maps of rainfall and temperatures for this month.

Please contact us for further information.

Victoria Climate Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Mr Neal Moodie (03) 9669 4949
Email climate.vic@bom.gov.au

Extremes

Weather extremes during July 2005
Highest temperature Hottest day	21.2 °C	Mildura Airport on 24th
Highest mean daily maximum temperature Warmest days on average	16.1 °C	Orbost
Lowest mean daily maximum temperature Coolest days on average	0.2 °C	Mt Hotham
Lowest daily maximum temperature Coldest day	-3.6 °C	Mt Hotham on 17th
Lowest temperature Coldest night	-6.5 °C	Mt Hotham on 17th
Lowest mean daily minimum temperature Coldest nights on average	-2.9 °C	Mt Hotham
Highest mean daily minimum temperature Mildest nights on average	10.1 °C	Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse
Highest daily minimum Warmest night	12.4 °C	Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse on 23rd
Highest total rainfall Wettest overall	204.2 mm	Gabo Island
Lowest total rainfall Driest overall	18.2 mm	Nhill
Highest daily rainfall Wettest day	132.2 mm	Gabo Island on 10th

Records

Record Highest Mean Maximum Temperature for July
	Mean daily maximum temperature for July 2005 (°C)	Previous highest for July		Years of record
Ballarat Aerodrome	11.6	= 11.6	in 1999	96

Record Highest Mean Daily Minimum Temperature for July
	Mean daily minimum temperature for July 2005 (°C)	Previous highest for July		Years of record
Melbourne Regional Office	8.4	= 8.4	in 1975	151
Wonthaggi	7.8	7.7	in 1991	38
Noojee	4.7	4.2	in 1991	21

Highest Mean Minimum Temperature for 20 years or more for July
	Mean daily minimum temperature for July 2005 (°C)	Most recent higher for July
Melbourne Regional Office	8.4	8.4	in 1975

Record Highest Daily Minimum Temperature for July
	Highest daily minimum temperature in July 2005 (°C)		Previous highest for July		Years of record
East Sale Airport	11.9	on 26th	11.4	on 3rd in 1992	60

Record Lowest Temperature for July
	Lowest temperature in July 2005 (°C)		Previous lowest for July		Years of record
Portland	-2.3	on 21st	-1.6	on 17th in 1982	24

Summaries

Summary statistics for July 2005
	Maximum temperatures for July (°C)			Minimum temperatures for July (°C)			Rainfall for July (mm)
	Mean for 2005	Difference from normal	Highest for 2005	Mean for 2005	Difference from normal	Lowest for 2005	Total for 2005	Normal total
Albury Airport	13.7	+0.9	18.1	4.3	+1.7	-0.9	72	89
Bairnsdale Airport	15.7	+1.4	20.6	5.1	+1.3	-1.4	95	53
Ballarat Aerodrome	11.6	+1.6	14.8	3.3	+0.3	-2.7	26	67
Benalla	13.6	+0.9	18.0	4.1	+1.5	-1.5	49	75
Bendigo Airport	13.2	+1.1	17.5	3.2	-0.3	-2.6	34	63
Cape Otway Lighthouse	13.2	+0.5	16.1	9.0	+1.4	4.1	104	122
Castlemaine Prison	12.3	+0.6	15.9	3.7	+1.3	-2.3	44	61
Cerberus	14.3	+1.5	18.0	7.1	-0.5	-0.4	71	72
Colac	12.2	-0.5	15.9	6.0	+2.1	2.6	34	90
Coldstream	13.7	+0.5	18.3	4.1	+0.9	-3.4	56	78
East Sale Airport	14.8	+1.0	18.9	4.8	+1.9	-3.2	73	43
Echuca Aerodrome	14.4	+0.8	19.5	4.3	+0.8	-2.4	31	42
Geelong Airport	15.1	+1.5	19.5	6.3	+1.2	0.0	41	52
Hamilton Airport	12.7	+0.5	15.3	5.3	+1.1	1.0	37	66
Horsham	14.4	+1.0	20.0	4.5	+0.8	-1.2	29	54
Kerang	14.8	+0.8	20.6	4.6	+0.5	-1.2	21	39
Kilmore Gap	9.6	+1.8	14.2	4.7	+2.2	1.8	61	83
Lake Eildon	12.9	+1.4	17.1	4.6	+1.2	-1.1	80	104
Longerenong	14.1	+0.8	19.4	3.9	+0.4	-1.5	24	50
Mangalore Airport	13.1	+0.8	16.7	4.4	+1.3	-2.2	43	61
Maryborough	12.9	+0.8	16.3	4.1	+0.9	-1.8	39	59
Melbourne Regional Office	15.3	+1.6	19.1	8.4	+1.8	4.2	25	49
Mildura Airport	16.0	+0.6	21.2	5.2	+0.8	-0.3	39	26
Morwell	14.6	+1.2	19.0	5.3	+1.6	-3.1	75	69
Mt Hotham	0.2	-0.1	3.5	-2.9	+1.2	-6.5	158	244
Nhill	14.7	+1.0	19.8	4.4	+0.7	-1.4	18	49
Noojee	12.5	+0.6	17.2	4.7	+1.9	1.1	85	105
Orbost	16.1	+1.2	21.0	6.8	+2.5	1.7	121	74
Ouyen	15.9	+0.6	20.7	5.7	+1.5	1.0	33	31
Point Hicks	15.2	+1.3	20.0	9.3	+1.4	5.6	176	101
Portland	13.7	+0.7	16.7	6.8	+0.7	-2.3	67	104
Shepparton Airport	13.6	+0.8	17.8	4.2	+1.3	-2.4	29	55
Stawell Aerodrome	13.2	+1.0	17.9	4.6	+0.7	-1.0	33	68
Swan Hill Aerodrome	14.8	+0.3	20.7	4.9	+0.8	-1.7	24	35
Wangaratta Aero	13.5	+0.8	17.2	3.8	+1.5	-2.7	46	70
Warracknabeal Museum	14.7	+0.7	19.6	5.1	+1.6	0.0	25	42
Warrnambool Airport Ndb	14.2	+1.2	16.5	6.0	+0.9	-0.1	52	96
Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse	13.2	+1.2	17.1	10.1	+1.7	6.6	138	134
Wonthaggi	14.2	+1.0	18.0	7.8	+2.0	2.5	85	104
Yarrawonga	13.7	+0.2	18.1	4.9	+1.7	-0.6	37	48

Note

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 12 PM on Monday 1 August 2005 . Although every effort has been made to check them, it is possible that results may change as new information becomes available.

Long term averages are calculated using the WMO standard of 1961 to 1990.

Localities with blank averages may not have long enough records for a WMO average. However, climate averages for nearby Victoria localities are available here.

Please use the following localities to cover these regions: Coldstream for the Yarra Glen area; Ceberus for the Mornington Peninsula; Morwell for the Latrobe Valley; Mangalore for Seymour; Mt Hotham for the Alpine area.

Daily Weather Observations for selected Victoria localities are available here.

Please contact us for further information.

Victoria Climate Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Mr Neal Moodie (03) 9669 4949
Email climate.vic@bom.gov.au