Tuesday, 5 January 2010 - Annual Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC27R0

Tasmania in 2009: Wet and warm

Tasmania experienced a wide range of weather through 2009, but it was the abundance of wet weather and some record-breaking hot days that characterised the year.

• Wetter than usual, especially in the southeast
• Widespread and frequent flooding, mainly from June to September
• Record hot temperatures
  
• Warm overall but still some cold days

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Much wetter than recent years

After three "dry" years, 2009 was wetter than usual across almost all of Tasmania. Not since 1996 has there been such widespread wet conditions across the state. Several sites in the southeast had their wettest year on record or their wettest year since the 1970s, and some had one and a half times their usual rainfall. Hobart received 862 mm, making it the sixth wettest year since records began in 1882 and the wettest year since 1958. Hobart was also over 100 mm wetter than any other year since 1975, and over 500 mm wetter than 2006 (the driest year on record). 

Months with above average rainfall were common throughout the year, but particularly between June and September and many sites in the east had their wettest winter on record. There were still periods of dry weather in parts of the state: for example much of the east and northeast had the driest January in 40 or 50 years, King Island had its driest February on record and some sites in the west had their driest October on record. The lowest rainfall total for the year was 518 mm at Tunbridge, but most of the state received more than 700 mm and more than half of the state had over a metre of rain. Strathgordon Village was the wettest location, receiving a total of 2765 mm (although the normally very wet Mt Read was out of action for several months during the year).

Heavy rain and lots of flooding

A large contribution to the wet year came from several two- to three-day events with very heavy rain that caused flooding, road closures and damage to infrastructure. Over 30 sites had at least one daily rainfall total in excess of 100 mm, including Bream Creek (140 mm), Nugent (137 mm), Copping (135 mm) and Strathgordon (125 mm) who had their highest daily rainfall on record. Flooding was common between June and September after heavy rain in the east on 3-7 June, 25-26 June, 11-13 August and 22-23 September and in the north on 11-12 July. One of the wettest Augusts on record and a record wet September in the east led to repeated flooding of many rivers in the east and north until early October. Almost all rivers in the state flooded at some time during August or September, with a major flood in the South Esk River on 13 August. More heavy rain fell in the east on 28-29 November, including 150 mm at Maria Island (Darlington) on 29 November — the highest daily total for the year.

Tasmania's hottest day

Between the 28th and 31st of January a heatwave affected northern Tasmania. Hot tropical air was directed over the southern mainland and then onto Tasmania by a slow-moving high pressure system in the Tasman Sea and an intense tropical low off the northwest coast of Western Australia. The previous state record of 40.8 °C, set in Hobart on 4 January 1976, was broken when Flinders Island Airport reached 41.5 °C on 29 January 2009. But the record only lasted for one day — it was beaten by Ross (41.6), St Helens (41.8) and Scamander (42.2) on the 30th. The temperatures at Cressy (41.4) and Fingal (41.3) on the 30th also exceeded the old Tasmanian record. Several other sites, mostly in the north, had their hottest day on record between the 29th and 31st, with many beating the previous record by 2 or 3 degrees on multiple days. Seven of the eight highest temperatures ever recorded in Tasmania occurred on the 29th and 30th, and eight sites reached 40 °C, a mark which had only been reached on 16 previous occasions in the state’s recorded history. 

Overnight temperatures were also very warm between 29 and 31 January. The warmest was the night of the 29th, when a cloudband crossed the state overnight and inhibited cooling. Several sites had their warmest night on record, and Melton Mowbray's 24.0 °C was the warmest night for the year.

A very warm year

Temperatures in nearly every month of 2009 were warmer than usual, especially in November (which was the warmest on record for Tasmania) and August (when almost every site had its warmest August nights on record). Annual mean maximum temperatures were mostly about half a degree above normal, though somewhat less in the southeast. Launceston had the warmest days on average (18.9 °C), and was at least 0.5 °C warmer than all other sites. Mean overnight temperatures were half to one degree above normal in most areas, and Launceston, Hobart Airport and Fingal equalled their highest mean daily minimum temperature on record. 

Despite being warm overall, there were still some very cold days and nights. Many of the coldest temperatures were in July; the coldest day was -2.3 °C at Mount Wellington on the 6th and the coldest night was -8.6 °C at Liawenee on the 17th. Liawenee had three other nights below -7 °C in July, and only one during the rest of the year (30 April). The cold temperatures at the end of April were unprecedented for the time of year and many records were broken. There was also some late season frost in October. One of the most significant snow days of the year was 10 June, when snow settled as low as 300 metres in the south and forced the closure of many roads in the north and west.

Tornadoes, thunderstorms and damaging winds

A line of severe thunderstorms moved across the north of the state on 15 April causing widespread damage, some of which suggested tornadoes were present. Winds gusted to 194 km/h at Scottsdale; the strongest gust for the state in 2009 and the second-strongest gust ever measured in Tasmania (the strongest is 200 km/h on Mount Wellington). Other days when damaging winds affected the state included 22 January (when winds fanned severe bushfires and whipped up a rare dust storm in the south), 27 September (when unclimatologically strong southerly winds caused widespread damage) and several days in August (which was one of the windiest months on record by many measures and Maatsuyker Island had a record gust of 174 km/h).

Severe thunderstorms developed on a number of days: tennis-ball sized hail fell in the northeast on 31 January, damaging winds and large hail affected parts of western, southern and central areas on 23 February and thunderstorms caused localised heavy rain and flash flooding on 20 February (in the northern Midlands and northeast), 14 March (in Hobart) and 16 November (in Launceston).

Month by month

• January was very warm in the northeast, and a new record was set for Tasmania's highest temperature (42.2 °C at Scamander). There was also damaging winds and a dust storm in the south on the 22nd and tennis-ball sized hail in the northeast on the 31st.
• February saw severe thunderstorms in parts of the west and south on the 23rd followed by heavy rain on the 24th. It was the first month of above average rainfall in the southeast.
• March was wetter than usual across the state, with flash flooding in Hobart on the 14th.
• April brought widespread wind damage across the north on the 15th and some tornadoes. Winds in Scottsdale gusted to 194 km/h — the second-strongest gust on record for Tasmania. The end of the month was very cold for so early in the year.
• May had a marked rainfall gradient across the state — over 500 mm fell in the west compared to less than 10 mm in parts of the east. Conditions were wild, wet and windy in the west and south between the 14th and 17th.
• June brought heavy rain to the east which caused many days of flooding. There was less snow than normal, though falls did settle to 300 metres in the south on the 10th.
• July saw even more heavy rain and flooding, though this time in the north and west, along with several very cold nights. Liawenee fell below -7 °C four times.
• August was wetter than usual in nearly all of Tasmania, with frequent flooding in the north and east. Winds were strong and gusty on most days, making it the windiest August on record by many measures. Overnight temperatures were record warm for the time of the year.
• September was another wet month and flooding continued in many areas. Strong southerly winds on the 27th caused widespread damage.
• October was drier than usual, especially in the west, with little wind and some late season frost.
• November was the warmest on record for Tasmania, after many hot days and few cold nights. Heavy rain fell in many areas on the 28th and 29th, including 150 mm in one day at Maria Island (Darlington) — the highest daily total for the year.
• December was cool at the start and warm at the end. Many sites in the south had their warmest day of 2009 on the 31st, and the year finished with a spectacular lightning show in the southeast during the countdown to midnight.

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Maps
	Mean	Anomaly	Deciles
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures
Total rainfall

These maps are just a small selection of those available as part of AWAP – the Australian Water Availability Project.

Further information

Ian Barnes-Keoghan
Climatologist
Tasmania and Antarctica Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 6221 2043
Email climate.tas@bom.gov.au

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Extremes in 2009
Hottest day	42.2 °C at Scamander on 30 Jan
Warmest days on average	18.9 °C at Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)
Coolest days on average	8.2 °C at Mount Wellington
Coldest day	-2.3 °C at Mount Wellington on 6 Jul
Coldest night	-8.6 °C at Liawenee on 17 Jul
Coolest nights on average	1.5 °C at Mount Wellington
Warmest nights on average	11.8 °C at Hogan Island
Warmest night	24.0 °C at Melton Mowbray (North Stockman) on 30 Jan
Wettest overall	2765.4 mm at Strathgordon Village
Driest overall	517.8 mm at Tunbridge (Austin-Vale)
Wettest day	150.0 mm at Maria Island (Darlington) on 29 Nov
Highest wind gust	194 km/h at Scottsdale (West Minstone Road) on 15 Apr

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Record highest daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall in 2009 (mm)		Previous annual highest		Years of record
Bream Creek (Stroud)	140.0	on 5 Jun	127.0	on 26 Mar 1946	92
Copping	134.8	on 5 Jun	123.7	on 2 Feb 1971	43
Strathgordon (Gordon Power Station)	125.0	on 24 Feb	113.6	on 19 Sep 1994	39
Nugent (Twilight Valley)	137.0	on 26 Jun	117.2	on 19 Dec 1995	27

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Record highest annual rainfall
	Total rainfall for 2009 (mm)	Previous annual highest		Years of record	Annual average
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	1172.0	1164.9	in 1996	34	878.2
Bull Bay (Lauriston)	844.2	829.4	in 1996	26	606.7
Risdon Vale (Poplar Road)	839.6	789.4	in 1971	26	559.2
Nugent (Twilight Valley)	1403.0	1149.2	in 1995	24	822.9
Tea Tree (The Point)	789.0	787.2	in 1996	23	537.7
Blackmans Bay Treatment Plant	832.6	791.4	in 1996	20	619.3

Highest annual rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for 2009 (mm)	Most recent higher annual		Years since higher	Annual average
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	862.2	928.9	in 1958	51	616.9
Levendale	1122.2	1293.4	in 1970	39	754.6
Dover	1076.0	1147.9	in 1970	38	879.8
Orford (Aubin Court)	963.5	1140.1	in 1970	38	674.3
Copping	1101.0	1165.3	in 1970	35	774.1
Swansea Post Office	761.0	830.2	in 1974	35	593.0
Hobart Airport	689.0	735.4	in 1975	34	497.4
Lewis Hill (St Pauls River)	856.6	921.8	in 1974	32	630.8
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	1050.8	1102.0	in 1978	30	830.3
Fort Direction	699.4	703.0	in 1971	25	534.1
Woodbridge	1184.0	1236.2	in 1958	25	904.9
Premaydena Hatchery	1005.2	1051.0	in 1985	22	786.8

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Record highest temperature
	Highest temperature in 2009 (°C)		Previous annual highest		Years of record	Annual average
Flinders Island Airport	41.5	on 29 Jan	38.8	on 25 Jan 2003	48	17.7
Burnie (Round Hill)	33.8	on 31 Jan	32.8	on 20 Jan 1982	45	16.9
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	37.7	on 30 Jan	35.9	on 1 Feb 1983	39	17.3
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	39.0	on 30 Jan	35.4	on 11 Jan 1982	29	18.4
Scamander	42.2	on 30 Jan	39.8	on 1 Feb 1983	27	18.0
Wynyard Airport	35.1	on 31 Jan	32.6	on 3 Feb 2000	25	16.8
Fingal (Legge Street)	41.3	on 30 Jan	38.0	on 25 Jan 2003	24	17.7
Cape Grim BAPS	30.5	on 29 Jan	29.0	on 25 Jan 2003	21	15.6
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	36.2	on 30 Jan	33.9	on 25 Jan 2003	20	13.8

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Record highest daily minimum temperature
	Highest daily minimum temperature in 2009 (°C)		Previous annual highest		Years of record	Annual average
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	21.3	on 30 Jan	20.0	on 21 Jan 1997	39	7.1
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	20.9	on 30 Jan	20.3	on 14 Jan 1998	29	7.2
Tarraleah Village	20.9	on 30 Jan	20.7	on 12 Dec 1998	28	3.6
Fingal (Legge Street)	20.9	on 30 Jan	19.5	on 9 Feb 2001	24	5.2
Cape Grim BAPS	20.9	on 30 Jan	19.8	on 18 Feb 2007	21	10.6

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Record highest annual mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature for 2009 (°C)	Previous annual highest		Years of record	Annual average
Hobart Airport	9.0	= 9.0	in 1988	50	8.1
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	8.2	= 8.2	in 2007	24	7.2
Fingal (Legge Street)	6.3	= 6.3	in 1988	22	5.2

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for 2009
	Maximum temperatures (°C)				Minimum temperatures (°C)				Rainfall (millimetres)
	Mean for 2009	Diff from average	Highest for 2009		Mean for 2009	Diff from average	Lowest for 2009		Total for 2009	Average annual total	Rank of 2009	Fraction of annual average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	17.5	+0.1	31.0	30 Jan	9.3	+0.2	1.2	7 Jul	795.7	722.7	average	110%
Burnie (Round Hill)	17.5	+0.6	33.8	31 Jan	10.3	+1.1	2.0	7 Jul	840.2	955.5	low	88%
Cape Grim BAPS	15.8	+0.2	30.5	29 Jan	10.7	+0.1	3.4	7 Jul
Cressy Research Station	18.4		41.4	30 Jan	6.4		-4.7	18 May	671.4
Devonport Airport	17.3	+0.5	29.7	29 Jan	9.0	+0.9	-0.5	7 Jul	682.8	766.3	average	89%
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	18.9	+0.5	39.0	30 Jan	8.2	+1.0	-2.3	17 Jul	746.3	670.1	high	111%
Launceston Airport	18.1		40.4	30 Jan	6.8		-3.5	17 Jul	752.6
Low Head	16.6	+0.1	26.3	29 Jan	10.9	+0.5	1.2	7 Jul	702.2	646.2	average	109%
Marrawah	16.4	+0.3	33.0	29 Jan	9.7	+0.4	2.0	7 Jul	1174.8	1063.2	high	110%
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	17.5	+0.2	37.7	30 Jan	7.6	+0.5	-0.8	31 Jul	943.6	984.9	average	96%
Sheffield School Farm	16.5	+0.4	37.1	30 Jan	6.9	+0.1	-2.5	17 Jul	1184.2
Smithton Aerodrome	17.4	+0.2	36.6	30 Jan	8.0	+0.3	-2.4	7 Jul	958.0	885.5	high	108%
Wynyard Airport	17.8	+1.0	35.1	31 Jan	7.7	+0.8	-2.4	7 Jul	1006.3	973.6	high	103%
East Coast (district 92)
Eddystone Point	18.2	+1.1	35.1	29 Jan	10.8	+0.4	2.7	7 Jul	845.4	765.5	high	110%
Fingal (Legge Street)	18.0	+0.3	41.3	30 Jan	6.3	+1.1	-4.8	30 Apr	726.0	606.3	high	120%
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	14.2	+0.4	36.2	30 Jan	4.5	+0.5	-5.9	29 Apr	1050.8	830.3	high	127%
Maria Island (Point Lesueur)	16.8		30.9	30 Jan	10.5		4.3	24 Jul	762.0
Orford (Aubin Court)	17.5	-0.1	36.7	30 Jan	8.7	+0.9	-1.0	8 Jul	963.5	674.3	v high	143%
Scamander	18.2	+0.2	42.2	30 Jan	9.5	+0.7	0.5	18 Jul	787.0	666.5	high	118%
St Helens Aerodrome	18.1		41.8	30 Jan	9.4		-0.4	18 Jul	862.2
Swansea Post Office	18.0	+0.1	35.3	31 Dec	8.2	+0.4	-1.8	24 Jul	761.0	593.0	high	128%
Midlands (district 93)
Ross (The Boulevards)	17.9	+0.3	41.6	30 Jan	6.7	+1.2	-4.0	29 Apr	604.6	484.2	high	125%
Southeast (district 94)
Campania (Kincora)	18.3		38.6	30 Jan	7.7		-1.4	30 Apr	678.0
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	15.8	-0.1	36.1	31 Dec	9.3	+0.1	2.6	8 Jul	934.6
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	15.3	+0.5	35.2	31 Dec	9.4	+0.6	3.0	8 Jul
Dover			37.3	31 Dec	6.8	0.0	-2.0	30 Apr	1076.0	879.8	v high	122%
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	17.0	+0.2	37.0	31 Dec	6.8	+0.7	-2.8	30 Apr	1172.0	878.2	highest	133%
Grove (Research Station)	17.2		37.1	31 Dec	6.3		-3.5	18 Jul	1051.6
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	17.6	+0.7	38.3	31 Dec	9.1	+0.8	0.5	8 Jul	862.2	616.9	v high	140%
Hobart Airport	17.6	+0.1	37.1	31 Dec	9.0	+0.9	1.3	30 Apr	689.0	497.4	v high	139%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	14.0	+0.1	30.4	31 Dec	9.2	+0.6	3.7	27 Aug	1097.8	1229.7	average	89%
Melton Mowbray (North Stockman)	17.1	-0.3	38.3	30 Jan	6.8	+0.9	-3.3	29 Apr	597.0	442.2	v high	135%
Mount Wellington	8.2	+0.6	27.7	30 Jan	1.5	+0.2	-6.2	10 Jun
Tunnack Fire Station	15.0	-0.3	36.9	30 Jan	5.6	+0.5	-4.1	30 Apr	982.2	624.6	v high	157%
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	18.3	+0.7	38.6	30 Jan			-3.8	24 Jul	612.4	574.7	average	107%
Maydena Post Office	15.9	-0.2	35.2	31 Dec	5.7	+0.4	-2.4	8 Oct	1288.4	1188.4	high	108%
Ouse Fire Station	18.2	-0.2	38.7	30 Jan	6.0	+0.6	-5.6	30 Apr	578.8
Tarraleah Village	14.3	+0.4	33.0	30 Jan	4.5	+0.9	-3.0	17 Jul	1291.9	1168.8	high	111%
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	13.5	+0.8	32.5	29 Jan	3.4	+0.5	-6.6	8 Jul	1819.8	1685.1	high	108%
Lake St Clair National Park	13.3	+0.2	32.5	30 Jan	3.1	+0.4	-5.5	8 Jul	2060.5	1885.1	high	109%
Liawenee	12.3		32.0	30 Jan	2.0		-8.6	17 Jul	1167.2
West Coast (district 97)
Hartz Mountain (Keoghs Pimple)	11.2	-0.4	30.9	31 Dec	4.0	0.0	-2.2	10 Jun	1386.4
Scotts Peak Dam	15.0		34.4	31 Dec	6.3		-0.9	10 Jul	2024.0
Strahan Aerodrome	16.6	+0.2	34.5	31 Dec	8.1	+0.3	-1.6	16 Jul	1696.0	1410.1	high	120%
Warra	13.6		33.1	31 Dec			-2.7	8 Jul
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	17.2	+0.4	35.2	31 Dec	10.2	+0.4	1.3	29 Apr	976.8	860.2	high	114%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	18.3	+0.6	41.5	29 Jan	10.0	+0.3	-1.4	7 Jul	787.1	747.1	average	105%
Hogan Island	17.4		39.3	29 Jan	11.8		4.8	26 Aug	701.0
Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300)
Macquarie Island	6.5	0.0	10.6	22 Jan	3.2	+0.2	-6.1	15 Jun	925.2	966.7	average	96%

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Further information

Ian Barnes-Keoghan
Climatologist
Tasmania and Antarctica Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 6221 2043
Email climate.tas@bom.gov.au

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