Wednesday, 5 January 2011 - Annual Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC27R0

Tasmania in 2010: another warm year

2010 was warmer than usual across Tasmania, especially by day and especially from January to July. Several heavy rain events gave the north a wetter than usual year, but the south was drier than usual overall. Significant weather events included huge waves and snow in September.

• Warmer than average, especially early in the year
  
• Wet in the north
  
• Dry in the south
• Huge waves and snow in September
• Record warm days for Hobart

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Warm overall

2010 was a warm year across Tasmania, with higher than normal temperatures in most months. Mean daytime maximum and overnight minimum temperatures were both around half a degree warmer than the long-term average, and Hobart and Eddystone Point had their highest mean daily maximum temperature on record.

January had several hot days, including 40.7 °C at Ouse on 11 January, one of only four days when temperatures this high have ever been measured in Tasmania. More hot weather included 9 January in the northwest when Devonport reached 33.2 °C, its hottest temperature on record by several degrees. The warm conditions continued from February to April, with Hobart having a record long run of mild days and a handful of sites having their warmest night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record. March and April were particularly warm. There was a cool period at the end of April and in mid-May, but milder than usual conditions returned in June and July. The seven months from January to July gave the warmest such period on record for Tasmania. Cooler than normal temperatures became more common from August, especially in September and December, but it was still a warm year overall.

Daytime temperatures were more anomalous than overnight temperatures: while days were warmer than usual in nearly every month of the year, cold nights became common from May. The coldest night was -10.2 °C at Liawenee on 22 May. Unusually, the coldest days for the year occurred in September, with Mount Wellington reaching only -2.2 °C on the 28th and -2.1 °C on the 29th. On these days, snow settled to around 200 metres in the south. The first morning of the year was the warmest, with a very mild minimum temperature of 22.0 °C at Friendly Beaches.

Unusually wet in the north, but a dry year in the south

Overall, 2010 was wetter than usual in the north but drier than usual in the south. Several months between August and December were much wetter than usual, but failed to fully compensate for the record dry conditions that developed in the southeast during January to July. The driest sites were in the southeast, with just 409 mm falling at Hobart Airport and 420 mm at Campania. Parts of the Derwent Valley were also very dry, with Ouse having only 418 mm. In contrast, Mount Read was the wettest site with a total of 3955 mm. Most of the state was drier than in 2009, but a few sites in the north were their wettest for quite a few years, and Launceston had its wettest year since records began at the current site in 1980. A few sites had their highest daily rainfall on record during one of the heavy rain events through the year.

Little rain fell in January, with several sites having their lowest January rainfall on record. There were average to above-average falls in the north between February and April, but drier than usual conditions persisted in the south. May was again drier than usual in most areas, except for a small part of the east coast that had record heavy falls on 28-29 May. Gray received 203 mm in one day, the highest daily total for the year. After record low rainfall in the southeast during June and July, several sites, including Hobart, had their driest January-to-July on record.

Weather patterns changed in August, and statewide rain became more common. The 11th of August was especially wet, with daily totals reaching 199 mm on Mount Wellington (Tasmania's second-wettest August day on record) and 182 mm at Gray. Major flooding developed in the South Esk River with moderate flooding in several other rivers. September, November and December were also wetter than usual over large areas of the state.

A very warm year for Hobart

The first seven months were record warm and record dry for Hobart, but there was a prevalence of cooler and wetter weather after that. Averaged over the whole year, the mean daily maximum temperature for Hobart was a record high 18.2 °C, 1.3 °C above the long-term average and fully 0.2 °C clear of the previous record from 1988. The mean overnight minimum temperature was 9.0 °C, 0.7 °C above the long-term average. Taken together these gave Hobart a mean annual temperature of 13.6 °C, just below the record 13.7 °C recorded in 1988.

Rainfall was very low in Hobart until August, but some wetter weather during spring meant the total for the year was 524 mm, below the long-term average of 616 mm. This is well below the 2009 total of 865 mm but well above the record dry 347 mm that occurred in 2006.

Some significant events in Tasmania in 2010

Huge waves: Near-record waves around Tasmania were generated by a deep low pressure system on 16 September. At the waverider buoy off the west coast, waves averaged over 8 metres for most of the day and peaked at 18.4 metres, approaching the record wave of 19.8 metres measured by a similar buoy operated by CSIRO in July 1985. Both Maatsuyker Island and Cape Bruny reported swells of at least 10 metres on this day.

Snow: Most of the significant snow for the year fell in spring with falls to low levels on 15-16 September, 27-29 September and 15-16 October. There were also several snow days in August, but prior to that it was a mild autumn and winter with little snow except on the highest peaks.

Tsunami: A tsunami was generated by an earthquake off the coast of Central Chile on 27 February. After moving through the Pacific Ocean, it reached the east coast of Tasmania the next morning and caused tidal fluctuations of 17 cm at Maria Island and Southport.

Strong winds: Usually Tasmania experiences strong winds in autumn, winter and spring. This year, however, it was calmer than usual during these seasons. The strongest winds occurred on 10 December, with gusts reaching 157 km/h at Maatsuyker Island.

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Extremes in 2010
Hottest day	40.7 °C at Ouse Fire Station on 11 Jan
Warmest days on average	19.0 °C at Campania (Kincora) and Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)
Coolest days on average	8.3 °C at Mount Wellington
Coldest day	-2.2 °C at Mount Wellington on 28 Sep
Coldest night	-10.2 °C at Liawenee on 22 May
Coolest nights on average	1.7 °C at Mount Wellington
Warmest nights on average	12.0 °C at Hogan Island
Warmest night	22.0 °C at Friendly Beaches on 1 Jan
Warmest on average overall	14.8 °C at Eddystone Point
Coolest on average overall	5.0 °C at Mount Wellington
Wettest overall	3955.4 mm at Mount Read
Driest overall	408.6 mm at Hobart Airport
Wettest day	202.6 mm at Gray (Blueberry Cottage) on 29 May
Highest wind gust	157 km/h at Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse on 10 Dec

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Maps
	Observed	Anomaly	Decile rank
Total rainfall
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

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Record highest daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall in 2010 (mm)		Previous wettest		Years of record
Fern Tree (Grays Road)	156.0	on 12 Aug	117.3	on 3 Jan 1970	44
Swansea (Belmont)	138.2	on 29 May	108.0	on 4 May 1978	32
Campbell Town (Elizabeth R)	80.2	on 12 Feb	60.8	on 19 Feb 1977	27
Hobart (Strickland Reserve)	101.6	on 12 Aug	84.0	on 31 Dec 2001	25

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Record highest total rainfall
	Total rainfall for 2010 (mm)	Previous annual wettest		Years of record	Annual average
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	850.7	829.6	in 1992	28	673.8
Campbell Town (Elizabeth R)	697.4	695.6	in 1970	20	516.9

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Record highest temperature
	Highest temperature in 2010 (°C)		Previous warmest		Years of record	Annual average
Devonport Airport	33.2	on 9 Jan	30.9	on 12 Dec 1998	20	16.8

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Record highest annual mean daily maximum temperature
	Mean daily maximum temperature for 2010 (°C)	Previous warmest		Years of record	Annual average
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	18.2	18.0	in 1988	126	16.9
Eddystone Point	18.8	18.6	in 2007	50	17.1

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Record highest daily minimum temperature
	Highest daily minimum temperature in 2010 (°C)		Previous warmest		Years of record	Annual average
Bicheno (Council Depot)	20.0	on 26 Mar	19.1	on 10 Mar 2001	37	9.4
Dover	20.2	on 4 Feb	19.7	on 30 Dec 2002	21	6.8
Bull Bay (Lauriston)	21.0	on 12 Jan	= 21.0	on 14 Jan 1998	20	8.8
Devonport Airport	20.0	on 4 Feb	= 20.0	on 16 Feb 1995	20	8.2

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for 2010
	Maximum temperatures (°C)				Minimum temperatures (°C)				Rainfall (millimetres)
	Mean for 2010	Diff from average	Highest for 2010		Mean for 2010	Diff from average	Lowest for 2010		Total for 2010	Average annual total	Rank of 2010	Fraction of annual average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	17.6	+0.2	28.0	20 Feb	9.3	+0.2	0.5	27 Jun	808.5	728.7	high	111%
Burnie (Round Hill)	17.4	+0.5	32.7	9 Jan	10.1	+0.9	1.9	26 Aug	956.5	955.5	average	100%
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	15.9	+0.3	26.7	16 Mar	10.7	+0.1	3.7	16 Oct	940.0	757.6	v high	124%
Cressy Research Station	18.2	0.0	35.6	9 Jan	6.0	+0.4	-5.1	23 May	766.2
Devonport Airport	17.5	+0.7	33.2	9 Jan	8.8	+0.6	-0.8	13 Jun	815.4	767.5	average	106%
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	19.0	+0.6	33.3	9 Feb	8.0	+0.8	-2.4	13 Jun	850.7	673.8	highest	126%
Launceston Airport	18.0		33.1	9 Jan	6.6		-3.7	27 Jun	700.2
Low Head	16.8	+0.3	25.0	27 Feb	10.8	+0.3	2.3	30 Sep	754.2	654.6	high	115%
Luncheon Hill (Forestry)	15.6	+0.1	30.0	9 Feb	7.7	+0.2	0.3	16 Oct	1625.6	1523.6	high	107%
Marrawah			28.8	31 Jan	9.7	+0.4	2.5	7 Aug	1282.4	1068.7	high	120%
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	17.4	+0.1	31.9	9 Jan	7.7	+0.6	-2.2	30 Sep	1020.2	985.8	average	103%
Sheffield School Farm	16.2	+0.1	31.3	9 Jan	6.9	+0.1	-2.1	27 Jun	1327.0
Smithton Aerodrome	17.2	0.0	27.8	9 Feb	7.6	-0.1	-2.4	22 May	968.6	892.4	high	109%
Wynyard Airport	17.6	+0.8	33.6	9 Jan	7.6	+0.6	-2.0	22 May	1098.5	977.2	high	112%
East Coast (district 92)
Bicheno (Council Depot)	18.4	+0.6	32.5	23 Nov	9.9	+0.5	1.7	8 Sep	641.3	680.5	average	94%
Eddystone Point	18.8	+1.7	31.8	9 Jan	10.8	+0.4	1.7	28 Aug	643.4	764.2	low	84%
Fingal (Legge Street)	17.9	+0.1	33.4	9 Jan	5.5	+0.2	-6.4	22 May	689.6	607.0	high	114%
Friendly Beaches	18.4	+0.1	33.9	23 Nov	9.4	0.0	0.3	23 May	562.2
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	14.1	+0.2	28.3	31 Jan	4.1	+0.1	-5.8	27 Jun	853.4	830.5	average	103%
Maria Island (Point Lesueur)	17.2		30.0	12 Jan	10.5		2.5	16 Oct	478.8
Orford (Aubin Court)	17.5	-0.1	34.3	12 Jan	8.1	+0.3	-1.0	23 Jun	622.7	673.3	average	92%
Scamander	18.3	+0.3	33.5	12 Jan	9.3	+0.5	1.0	22 May	615.3	673.5	average	91%
St Helens Aerodrome	18.3		33.2	12 Jan	9.2		-0.3	17 Aug	625.8
Swan Island	17.2		28.2	12 Jan	11.7		2.8	27 Jun	627.8
Swansea Post Office	18.3	+0.4	33.3	23 Nov	7.4	-0.4	-2.5	3 Jul	670.7	593.7	high	113%
Midlands (district 93)
Ross (The Boulevards)	17.9	+0.3	33.7	12 Jan	5.5	-0.1	-6.5	23 May	593.6	490.6	high	121%
Southeast (district 94)
Campania (Kincora)	19.0		35.8	11 Jan	6.9		-2.7	15 Jun	420.0
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	16.3	+0.4	32.2	31 Jan	9.3	+0.1	2.2	16 Oct	796.6	768.8	average	104%
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	15.7	+0.9	31.3	23 Nov	9.4	+0.6	1.2	17 Oct	976.6	945.8	average	103%
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	17.3	+0.5	37.4	11 Jan	6.2	+0.1	-3.3	24 May	833.4	877.5	average	95%
Grove (Research Station)	17.9		37.4	11 Jan	5.3		-4.1	27 Jun	755.8
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	18.2	+1.3	36.5	11 Jan	9.0	+0.7	1.1	23 May	524.0	616.2	low	85%
Hobart Airport	18.3	+0.8	36.0	11 Jan	8.4	+0.3	-0.8	10 Jul	408.6	495.8	low	82%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	14.2	+0.3	31.4	4 Feb	9.3	+0.7	2.6	14 Sep	1079.8	1231.1	average	88%
Melton Mowbray (North Stockman)	17.6	+0.3	35.2	11 Jan	5.8	-0.2	-6.0	27 Jun	460.8	443.6	average	104%
Mount Wellington	8.3	+0.6	27.9	11 Jan	1.7	+0.4	-6.1	16 Oct
Tasman Island	14.4		31.7	23 Nov	9.1		0.8	17 Sep	760.4
Tunnack Fire Station	15.4	+0.1	31.2	12 Jan	4.8	-0.3	-6.8	22 May
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	18.9	+1.2	39.0	11 Jan	5.6	-0.3	-4.9	23 May	482.4	574.1	low	84%
Maydena Post Office	16.2	+0.1	37.2	11 Jan	5.4	+0.1	-3.4	22 May	1012.2	1178.7	low	86%
Ouse Fire Station	18.5	+0.1	40.7	11 Jan	5.3	-0.1	-4.4	9 Jul	418.4	511.1	low	82%
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	13.3	+0.5	33.0	11 Jan	3.1	+0.2	-6.2	2 Jul	1506.2	1681.9	low	90%
Lake St Clair National Park	13.4	+0.3	31.0	11 Jan	2.9	+0.2	-4.9	24 May	1686.2	1875.2	low	90%
Liawenee	12.1		27.8	11 Jan	1.8		-10.2	22 May	1034.8
West Coast (district 97)
Hartz Mountain (Keoghs Pimple)	11.5	0.0	34.4	11 Jan	4.0	0.0	-3.2	16 Oct	916.0
Mount Read	8.5	-0.2	25.5	11 Jan	2.8	+0.1	-4.7	16 Oct	3955.4
Scotts Peak Dam	15.4	+0.7	35.8	11 Jan	6.3	+0.2	-1.6	8 Sep	1870.6
Strahan Aerodrome	16.7	+0.3	35.6	11 Jan	8.0	+0.2	-0.6	3 Sep	1716.4	1428.1	high	120%
Strathgordon Village	14.5	+0.4	31.0	31 Jan	6.4	+0.1	-0.5	7 Aug	2403.6	2522.7	low	95%
Warra	14.0		34.8	11 Jan	5.3		-3.3	7 Aug	1581.4
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	17.2	+0.4	32.5	20 Feb	10.0	+0.2	1.2	22 May	967.6	863.7	high	112%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	18.3	+0.6	35.6	12 Jan	10.1	+0.4	-1.7	27 Jun
Hogan Island	17.3		31.7	22 Jan	12.0		2.6	20 Aug	734.6
Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300)
Macquarie Island	6.9	+0.4	11.9	19 Jan	3.4	+0.4	-6.8	25 Sep	1106.0	969.3	v high	114%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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