Monday, 3 April 2006

MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY - VICTORIA

Very warm in the West, dry in the East - Victoria in March 2006

Rainfall Summary

The passage of a cold front on the 12th and 13th of the month was responsible for most of the rain for March. A rain band on the 15th of the month benefited the northeast of the state. Most northern districts ended up with slightly below average totals. The Mallee was the only district with average to slightly above average rainfall. The Southern districts had well below average totals, East Gippsland and the Otways being very much below average.  Some of the low totals in Gippsland were Point Hicks 17mm (average 67mm), Orbost 21mm (average 67mm), and East Sale 12mm (average 57mm).  Colac, in the Otways, had only 8mm (average 45mm). In contrast Mildura had 14mm (average 21mm) which is two thirds of the average for March.

Click here to view maps of rainfall for Victoria, and long term climate trends for Victoria.

Temperature Summary

Central Western areas of Victoria recorded daytime temperatures during March that were up to 3-4 degrees above normal.  Most of Victoria recorded above average monthly maximum temperatures in the order of 2 to 3 degrees.  Some locations recorded their highest average daytime temperatures for March. These location include Warracknabeal 29.6 (mean 26.9), Portland 22.7 (mean 20.8), Morwell 26.7 (mean 24.0), Hamilton Airport 26.2 (mean 23.9), Noojee 24.9 (mean 22.3).

Overnight temperatures in the Central Western areas of Victoria were approximately 1 degree below normal (due to an abundance of cloudless nights), while the Alpine region was 1-2 degrees above normal.

Click here to view maps of temperature for Victoria, and long term climate trends for Victoria.

Significant Weather Systems

March was highlighted by prolonged periods of high pressure, centred in the Tasman Sea.  These systems directed warm Northerly winds over Victoria and kept conditions sunny for most of the month.  The dry conditions were punctuated by a cold front and accompanying rain band during the middle of the month.  Most of Victoria recorded their only rainfall during this period.

Melbourne Summary

Melbourne’s average minimum temperature for March 2006 was slightly above normal (by 1.2deg C) at 15.3°C.  The average maximum temperature was also slightly above normal (by 2.1deg C) at 26.1°C, the warmest since 2000. The highest recorded maximum for the month for Melbourne was 38.1°C on the 12th.  This was the warmest March day since 22nd March 1998, when the temperature reached 38.7°C. Melbourne recorded 8 days above 30 degrees, which is the highest number for 21 years when 9 days was recorded in 1985.

Melbourne’s rainfall for March 2006, at 16 mm,  compared with the average of  44mm.  Most of the rain fell on the 12th March when 15mm was recorded.

Included in this summary are a table of State extremes, some new records, and summaries for locations 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
Dr Harvey Stern (03) 9669 4949
Email climate.vic@bom.gov.au

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 11 AM on Monday 3 April 2006 . Although every effort has been made to check them, it is possible that results may change as new information becomes available.

Extremes

Weather extremes during March 2006
Highest temperature Hottest day	41.4 °C	Mildura Airport on 12th and Swan Hill Aerodrome on 12th
Highest mean daily maximum temperature Warmest days on average	30.3 °C	Albury Airport and Ouyen (Post Office)
Lowest mean daily maximum temperature Coolest days on average	15.7 °C	Mt Hotham
Lowest daily maximum temperature Coldest day	7.3 °C	Mt Hotham on 31st
Lowest temperature Coldest night	0.1 °C	Mt Hotham on 17th
Lowest mean daily minimum temperature Coldest nights on average	7.7 °C	Mt Hotham
Highest mean daily minimum temperature Mildest nights on average	15.8 °C	Point Hicks (Lighthouse) and Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse
Highest daily minimum Warmest night	22.2 °C	Point Hicks (Lighthouse) on 13th
Highest total rainfall Wettest overall	91.8 mm	Mt Hotham
Lowest total rainfall Driest overall	2.8 mm	Shepparton Airport
Highest daily rainfall Wettest day	41.4 mm	Mt Hotham on 16th

Records

Record Lowest Total Rainfall for March
	Total rainfall for March 2006 (mm)	Previous lowest for March		Years of record
Noojee	23.6	23.8	in 1986	25

Record Highest Mean Maximum Temperature for March
	Mean daily maximum temperature for March 2006 (°C)	Previous highest for March		Years of record
Warracknabeal Museum	29.6	29.5	in 1986	32
Portland	22.7	22.5	in 2000	24
Morwell	26.7	26.0	in 1988	23
Hamilton Airport	26.2	25.8	in 1985	22
Noojee	24.9	24.3	in 2000	22

Highest Mean Maximum Temperature for 20 years or more for March
	Mean daily maximum temperature for March 2006 (°C)	Most recent higher for March
Longerenong	29.2	29.4	in 1985
Albury Airport	30.3	31.2	in 1986
Echuca Aerodrome	29.7	30.1	in 1986
Lake Eildon	28.1	28.4	in 1986
Mangalore Airport	28.3	29.2	in 1986
Maryborough	28.0	28.1	in 1986

Record Highest Temperature for March
	Highest temperature in March 2006 (°C)		Previous highest for March		Years of record
Albury Airport	39.0	on 12th	38.9	on 12th in 1998	23

Record Highest Daily Minimum Temperature for March
	Highest daily minimum temperature in March 2006 (°C)		Previous highest for March		Years of record
Point Hicks	22.2	on 13th	22.0	on 5th in 1983	35

Summaries

Summary statistics for March 2006
	Maximum temperatures for March (°C)			Minimum temperatures for March (°C)			Rainfall for March (mm)
	Mean for 2006	Difference from normal	Highest for 2006	Mean for 2006	Difference from normal	Lowest for 2006	Total for 2006	Normal total
Albury Airport	30.3	+3.1	39.0	13.2	+0.9	9.5	22	45
Bairnsdale Airport	25.2	+1.6	37.0	11.8	+0.7	7.5	15	47
Ballarat Aerodrome	25.5	+3.0	36.9	10.5	+0.2	6.3	9	43
Benalla	29.5	+2.1	37.8	12.8	+0.5	6.6	13	43
Bendigo Airport	28.3	+2.8	38.0	12.3	-0.5	7.0	22	36
Cape Otway Lighthouse	21.0	+0.9	35.4	14.3	+0.8	10.8	40	63
Castlemaine Prison	27.2	+2.1	37.0	11.7	+0.8	5.5	21	39
Cerberus	24.1	+1.8	36.5	12.4	-2.0	8.3	23	48
Colac	24.9	+1.2	38.1	12.2	+1.9	8.5	8	45
Coldstream	26.9	+2.1	37.4	9.1	-0.2	4.4	14	58
East Sale Airport	24.9	+1.2	36.7	11.8	+0.2	6.4	12	57
Echuca Aerodrome	29.7	+2.3	39.6	12.8	-0.1	7.6	6	33
Geelong Airport	24.8	+1.6	39.4	12.2	+0.2	8.2	7	38
Hamilton Airport	26.2	+2.1	37.8	10.6	+0.5	5.8	17	35
Horsham	29.9	+3.4	41.2	10.2	-1.7	5.5	6	23
Kerang	30.1	+2.2	40.8	13.7	+0.2	8.8	7	32
Kilmore Gap	23.9	+3.9	34.6	11.7	+1.7	8.2	17	55
Lake Eildon	28.1	+2.7	36.2	11.0	+0.3	6.3	18	50
Longerenong	29.2	+2.8	39.8	11.4	-0.1	5.8	6	23
Mangalore Airport	28.3	+2.0	37.7	12.7	+0.3	7.8	6	38
Maryborough	28.0	+2.5	38.1	11.6	-0.3	6.9	9	33
Melbourne Regional Office	26.1	+2.1	38.1	15.3	+1.2	11.0	16	44
Mildura Airport	30.2	+1.9	41.4	15.0	+1.0	9.8	14	21
Morwell	26.7	+2.7	38.2	11.9	+0.7	4.5	16	50
Mt Hotham	15.7	+2.1	21.4	7.7	+2.0	0.1	92	95
Nhill	29.3	+2.7	38.8	10.6	-0.8	5.4	6	24
Noojee	24.9	+2.6	35.6	9.5	-0.1	4.8	24	71
Orbost	24.3	+0.1	37.1	12.9	+0.5	8.3	21	67
Ouyen	30.3	+1.8	41.1	13.8	+0.6	9.6	19	27
Point Hicks	23.1	+1.0	31.2	15.8	+0.6	12.8	17	67
Portland	22.7	+1.8	34.2	11.2	-0.6	5.3	25	47
Shepparton Airport	29.3	+2.9	38.5	12.6	0	6.9	3	41
Stawell Aerodrome	28.0	+3.4	38.2	11.5	0	5.9	6	37
Swan Hill Aerodrome	29.9	+2.0	41.4	13.2	-0.6	7.3	7	29
Wangaratta Aero	30.1	+3.0	39.2	10.4	-0.4	5.3	21	37
Warracknabeal Museum	29.6	+2.5	40.5	12.7	+0.4	8.0	8	25
Warrnambool Airport Ndb	24.5	+2.7	37.7	10.3	-0.7	5.9	24	53
Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse	19.5	+0.1	28.7	15.8	+1.2	12.8	25	70
Wonthaggi	24.1	+1.5	36.8	13.1	+1.1	9.8	20	62
Yarrawonga	30.0	+2.8	39.9	13.3	+1.2	7.1	19	40

Note

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 11 AM on Monday 3 April 2006 . 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.
Climate averages for 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
Dr Harvey Stern (03) 9669 4949
Email climate.vic@bom.gov.au