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Wednesday, 2 January 2013 - Annual Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC27R0
Tasmania in 2012: Warmer than average and mostly dry
2012 was warmer than average, with fewer very cold days and nights than usual. Most months were drier than average, but a few wet months brought annual totals to near normal. Significant weather events included tornadoes in Hobart, and record waves off the west coast.
- Warm days and nights overall
- Only a few very cold nights
- More dry months than wet
- Tornadoes and record waves
The Australian Annual Climate Statement 2012 contains information about the whole country.
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
Some very hot days; warmer than average overall
There were some very hot days in 2012, notably over the last weekend of February when temperatures reached into the mid to high 30s. Hobart Airport reached 39.4 °C that weekend, the warmest day of the year.
There were also a few very cold days in winter, the coldest being on 25 June when Mount Wellington recorded a maximum of only -2.9 °C, the coldest day of the year.
Overall, mean daily maximum temperatures were above average, by up to half a degree. Almost all sites were warmer than 2011, and for several sites mean maximum temperatures were among the warmest on record.
Cold nights, mild nights; warm overall
There were a few very cold nights, but less than usual in most places. The coldest were between 20 and 28 June, Liawenee observing the lowest temperature of the year with -10.6 °C on the 27th.
There were some very warm nights in 2012, especially around 26 February when the temperature only dropped to 23.6 °C at Tasman Island, and Maatsuyker Island, Geeveston, Devonport and Bull Bay all recorded their warmest night on record.
Overall, mean minimum temperatures were a little above average, especially in the south and west but less so in the north. At some inland sites the mean daily minimum was the warmest it had been for many years.
More dry months than wet
There were more dry months than wet in 2012, most of those in the second half of the year. There were a number of wet events, but not as many as 2011 and none were as significant.
Rainfall totals were generally average to below average across the state, with some sites particularly dry. Tunbridge had only 370 mm for the whole year, whilst Lake Margaret Power Station was the wettest location with 2930 mm (the rain gauge on Mount Read registered 3859 mm but was affected by snow on some days and the full total there is not known).
Tornadoes and big waves
As is typical with Tasmania's weather, there were several significant events through the year.
On 6 August the waverider buoy at Cape Sorell reported a wave height of 20.0 m when a deep low pressure system passed to the south of Tasmania. This is a new record wave for Cape Sorell, eclipsing both the 18.68 m reported there in July 2011 and the 19.83 m reported from the old CSIRO buoy in July 1985.
Three weak tornadoes were observed with thunderstorms in Hobart on 9 November, which is an extremely rare event.
Hobart: Very warm and often dry
Hobart was warmer than usual in 2012, with both maximum and minimum temperatures at least a degree warmer than average. The mean daily maximum of 18.1 °C was second only to 2010, and the mean daily minimum of 9.3 °C was the 4th-warmest on record. Combined, these gave Hobart a mean temperature of 13.7 °C, equalling the record from 1988. The last weekend of February was exceptionally warm, the temperature reaching above 36 °C during the day and remaining above 22 °C over two consecutive days.
Hobart's annual total rainfall of 477 mm was below the annual average of 617 mm, due to persistently dry conditions. The exception was May, which was the wettest May since 1986.
Further information
Ian Barnes-Keoghan or Lorien MartinClimatologists
Tasmania and Antarctica Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 6221 2043
Email climate.tas@bom.gov.au
| Extremes in 2012 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day | 39.4 °C at Hobart Airport on 25 Feb |
| Warmest days on average | 18.9 °C at Launceston (Ti Tree Bend) |
| Coolest days on average | 8.3 °C at Mount Wellington |
| Coldest day | -2.9 °C at Mount Wellington on 25 Jun |
| Coldest night | -10.6 °C at Liawenee on 27 Jun |
| Coolest nights on average | 1.7 °C at Mount Wellington |
| Warmest nights on average | 11.6 °C at Swan Island |
| Warmest night | 23.6 °C at Tasman Island on 26 Feb |
| Warmest on average overall | 14.6 °C at Larapuna (Eddystone Point) |
| Coolest on average overall | 5.0 °C at Mount Wellington |
| Wettest overall |
3858.6 mm at Mount Read* 2929.6 mm at Lake Margaret Power Station |
| Driest overall | 370.2 mm at Tunbridge (Austin-Vale) |
| Wettest day | 115.2 mm at St Helens (Kellraine) on 26 May |
| Highest wind gust |
159 km/h at Hogan Island on 7 Sep 156 km/h at Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison) on 5 Feb and at Mount Wellington on 9 Sep |
* The true total at Mount Read is higher, as it is likely some snow was lost.
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Maps | |||
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Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window
| Month by month | ||
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| January had both record warm and record cold temperatures. Overall the month was warmer than average. Rainfall was near average in most areas, mostly due to a wet burst on the 30th, and in the north and west mid-month. | ||
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| Rainfall rank | Maximum temperature rank | Minimum temperature rank |
| February had an exceptionally hot final weekend, with maximum and minimum temperatures records set at some sites. Rainfall was below average in the south and on King Island, but a couple of bursts of heavy rain saw above average rainfall in parts of the north. | ||
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| March brought a cold snap around the 23rd which saw some record low temperatures and highland snow, but temperatures across the month were near average overall. Most of the state was wetter than usual after several low pressure systems moved near Tasmania bringing moderate to heavy falls. Only a section of the east had below average rainfall. | ||
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| April was much warmer than usual despite a couple of cold periods around the 9th and 29th. Several sites had their warmest start to April on record during the first six days. Most areas had near average rainfall, although the southeast was drier than usual with less than 30 mm falling at many locations. | ||
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| May was wetter than usual across almost all of Tasmania after two bursts of heavy rain and several cold fronts. Some areas, mainly in the east and on King Island, had their wettest May on record. Days were cool while nights were mostly mild. | ||
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| June had some wintery weather. Overall, daytime temperatures were slightly cooler than usual while nights were slightly cooler than usual in the north and warmer than usual in the south. Rainfall was near average in most areas. | ||
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| July ended cold and wet, but overall was drier and had milder days than usual. | ||
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| August had temperatures and rainfall generally close to average. The northeast was much drier than normal and the northwest was wetter than normal. | ||
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| September was a classic Tasmanian spring month: a cold burst at the end, several warm days but a few cold nights, rain and showers, and destructive winds. Overall it was warmer than usual, with rain above average in most areas. | ||
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| October saw some wet days, but rainfall was below average in most of the state and especially so in the central north. There were some warm days, but also plenty of cool weather. | ||
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| November had a very warm last two days, reaching into the mid-thirties in the east during the day and not dropping below 20 °C at night at some sites. It was drier than average in most areas, particularly in the west. Three tornadoes were observed in the Hobart area on the 9th, though no damage was reported. | ||
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| December was wet in the north but dry in the east. Daytime temperatures were warmer than average in most areas, reaching up to 2 °C above average in the east. Minimum temperatures were generally within 1 °C of average. | ||
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| Rainfall rank | Maximum temperature rank | Minimum temperature rank |
| Record highest daily rainfall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest daily rainfall in 2012 (mm) |
Previous annual wettest |
Years of record |
||||
| Longford (Denton Close) | 77.2 | on 26 May | 70.0 | on 24 Mar 2011 | 110 | |
| Record highest annual mean daily maximum temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily maximum temperature for 2012 (°C) |
Previous annual warmest |
Years of record |
Annual average |
||
| Burnie (Round Hill) | 17.8 | 17.7 | in 1972 | 54 | 16.9 |
| Record highest daily minimum temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest daily minimum temperature in 2012 (°C) |
Previous annual warmest |
Years of record |
Annual average |
|||
| Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse | 23.5 | on 26 Feb | 20.6 | on 27 Mar 1990 | 56 | 8.6 |
| Geeveston (Cemetery Road) | 21.0 | on 27 Feb | 19.4 | on 25 Mar 1971 | 28 | 6.1 |
| Bull Bay (Lauriston) | 21.8 | on 27 Feb | 21.0 | on 12 Jan 2010 | 22 | 8.8 |
| Devonport Airport | 20.0 | on 27 Feb | = 20.0 | on 4 Feb 2010 | 22 | 8.2 |
| Highest annual mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Mean daily minimum temperature for 2012 (°C) |
Most recent annual at least this warm |
Years since warmer |
Annual average |
||
| Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates) | 6.2 | 6.7 | in 1988 | 24 | 5.9 |
| Record highest annual mean temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Mean daily temperature for 2012 (°C) |
Previous annual warmest |
Years of record |
Annual average |
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| Hobart (Ellerslie Road) | 13.7 | = 13.7 | in 1988 | 128 | 12.6 |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for 2012 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for 2012 |
Diff from average |
Highest for 2012 |
Mean for 2012 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for 2012 |
Total for 2012 |
Average annual total |
Rank of 2012 |
Fraction of annual average |
|||
| Northern (district 91) | ||||||||||||
| Bridport (Sea View Villas) | 17.5 | +0.1 | 27.9 | 27 Feb | 8.9 | -0.2 | 0.1 | 26 Jun | 685.1 | 736.7 | low | 93% |
| Burnie (Round Hill) | 17.8 | +0.9 | 28.8 | 26 Jan | 1.8 | 31 Aug | 916.8 | 956.0 | average | 96% | ||
| Cape Grim | 15.6 | 26.5 | 26 Feb | 10.8 | 4.4 | 9 Aug | 958.8 | |||||
| Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison) | 16.0 | +0.4 | 27.1 | 26 Feb | 10.7 | +0.1 | 4.7 | 29 Sep | 1011.0 | 769.7 | v high | 131% |
| Cressy Research Station | 18.3 | +0.1 | 34.1 | 25 Feb | 5.8 | +0.1 | -5.2 | 27 Jun | ||||
| Devonport Airport | 17.4 | +0.5 | 28.0 | 18 Jan | 8.2 | 0.0 | -1.7 | 27 Jun | 714.5 | 769.1 | average | 93% |
| Launceston (Ti Tree Bend) | 18.9 | +0.4 | 31.4 | 25 Feb | 7.5 | +0.2 | -3.5 | 27 Jun | 652.1 | 675.5 | average | 97% |
| Launceston Airport | 18.3 | 33.0 | 25 Feb | 6.1 | -5.6 | 27 Jun | 594.0 | |||||
| Low Head | 16.8 | +0.2 | 26.0 | 26 Feb | 10.6 | +0.1 | 1.7 | 27 Jun | 637.8 | 669.8 | average | 95% |
| Luncheon Hill (Forestry) | 15.6 | +0.1 | 31.1 | 25 Feb | 7.6 | +0.1 | 0.2 | 31 Aug | 1558.8 | 1520.1 | average | 103% |
| Marrawah | 16.4 | +0.3 | 31.0 | 26 Feb | 9.9 | +0.6 | 3.4 | 31 Jul | 1123.0 | 1069.9 | average | 105% |
| Scottsdale (West Minstone Road) | 17.4 | +0.1 | 31.5 | 25 Feb | 7.1 | -0.1 | -2.8 | 26 Jun | 841.2 | 982.3 | low | 86% |
| Sheffield School Farm | 16.5 | +0.4 | 29.0 | 25 Feb | 6.5 | -0.3 | -1.6 | 20 Jun | ||||
| Smithton Aerodrome | 17.2 | 0.0 | 28.0 | 26 Feb | 7.7 | 0.0 | -1.4 | 26 Jun | 905.2 | 893.4 | average | 101% |
| East Coast (district 92) | ||||||||||||
| Fingal (Legge Street) | 18.2 | +0.4 | 35.9 | 25 Feb | 5.2 | -0.1 | -6.9 | 27 Jun | ||||
| Friendly Beaches | 18.7 | +0.4 | 38.6 | 25 Feb | 9.3 | -0.1 | -0.6 | 27 Jun | 656.0 | |||
| Lake Leake (Elizabeth River) | 14.1 | +0.2 | 30.7 | 25 Feb | 4.3 | +0.3 | -6.8 | 27 Jun | 592.5 | 829.4 | low | 71% |
| Larapuna (Eddystone Point) | 18.7 | +1.6 | 33.0 | 25 Feb | 10.5 | +0.1 | 2.5 | 29 Jul | ||||
| Maria Island (Point Lesueur) | 17.1 | 32.6 | 25 Feb | 10.6 | 3.9 | 26 Aug | 512.8 | |||||
| Orford (Aubin Court) | 17.8 | +0.2 | 38.2 | 25 Feb | 8.2 | +0.4 | -1.5 | 28 Jun | 565.3 | 671.3 | average | 84% |
| Scamander | 18.2 | +0.2 | 37.2 | 3 Jan | 8.9 | +0.1 | 0.4 | 28 Jun | 541.1 | 688.6 | low | 79% |
| St Helens Aerodrome | 18.3 | +0.4 | 35.1 | 3 Jan | 8.8 | -0.1 | -0.8 | 27 Jun | 678.2 | 688.9 | average | 98% |
| Swan Island | 17.3 | +0.3 | 30.2 | 25 Feb | 11.6 | +0.1 | 3.2 | 29 Jul | ||||
| Swansea (Francis Street) | 18.3 | 37.7 | 25 Feb | 8.1 | -2.1 | 28 Jun | 471.6 | |||||
| Midlands (district 93) | ||||||||||||
| Ross (The Boulevards) | 17.9 | +0.3 | 35.0 | 25 Feb | 5.7 | +0.1 | -6.5 | 27 Jun | 464.8 | 492.9 | average | 94% |
| Southeast (district 94) | ||||||||||||
| Campania (Kincora) | 18.8 | +0.2 | 39.3 | 25 Feb | 7.4 | +0.2 | -2.9 | 28 Jun | 478.4 | |||
| Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny) | 16.3 | +0.4 | 37.3 | 26 Feb | 2.7 | 28 Jun | ||||||
| Cape Bruny Lighthouse | 15.7 | +0.8 | 36.0 | 26 Feb | 9.6 | +0.8 | 0.7 | 25 Jun | 914.8 | 945.3 | average | 97% |
| Dover | 16.7 | +0.3 | 37.4 | 25 Feb | 7.1 | +0.3 | -1.3 | 28 Jun | 823.6 | 878.6 | average | 94% |
| Geeveston (Cemetery Road) | 17.1 | +0.3 | 36.9 | 25 Feb | 6.8 | +0.7 | -3.2 | 28 Jun | 871.8 | 882.0 | average | 99% |
| Grove (Research Station) | 17.6 | 37.2 | 25 Feb | 5.7 | -4.1 | 27 Jun | ||||||
| Hobart (Ellerslie Road) | 18.1 | +1.2 | 38.8 | 25 Feb | 9.3 | +1.0 | 0.9 | 28 Jun | 476.6 | 615.7 | low | 77% |
| Hobart Airport | 18.2 | +0.7 | 39.4 | 25 Feb | 8.6 | +0.5 | -0.6 | 28 Jun | 457.6 | 497.1 | average | 92% |
| Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse | 14.3 | +0.4 | 30.9 | 26 Feb | 9.3 | +0.7 | 2.9 | 24 Sep | 1295.3 | 1230.3 | average | 105% |
| Melton Mowbray (North Stockman) | 17.3 | 0.0 | 37.6 | 25 Feb | 6.2 | +0.2 | -4.2 | 20 Jun | 436.2 | 449.4 | average | 97% |
| Mount Wellington | 8.3 | +0.6 | 28.3 | 25 Feb | 1.7 | +0.4 | -5.5 | 26 Aug | ||||
| Tasman Island | 14.6 | +0.3 | 35.1 | 25 Feb | 9.1 | +0.3 | 2.1 | 26 Aug | 908.6 | |||
| Tunnack Fire Station | 15.3 | +0.1 | 33.5 | 25 Feb | 5.1 | 0.0 | -4.1 | 23 Jul | ||||
| Derwent Valley (district 95) | ||||||||||||
| Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates) | 18.7 | +1.0 | 39.1 | 25 Feb | 6.2 | +0.3 | -2.7 | 20 Jun | 483.8 | 573.4 | low | 84% |
| Maydena Post Office | 16.1 | 0.0 | 35.9 | 25 Feb | 6.0 | +0.7 | -1.4 | 1 Sep | 1044.1 | 1168.8 | low | 89% |
| Ouse Fire Station | 18.5 | +0.1 | 38.4 | 25 Feb | 5.9 | +0.4 | -4.8 | 8 Jul | ||||
| Central Plateau (district 96) | ||||||||||||
| Butlers Gorge | 13.3 | +0.5 | 31.6 | 25 Feb | 3.7 | +0.8 | -6.7 | 8 Jul | 1491.8 | 1678.6 | low | 89% |
| Lake St Clair National Park | 13.1 | 0.0 | 32.0 | 25 Feb | 3.4 | +0.6 | -4.6 | 8 Jul | 1797.1 | 1872.9 | average | 96% |
| Liawenee | 11.9 | -0.1 | 28.9 | 29 Jan | 1.9 | +0.4 | -10.6 | 27 Jun | 923.6 | |||
| West Coast (district 97) | ||||||||||||
| Cape Sorell | 16.3 | +1.4 | 27.8 | 14 Mar | 10.3 | +0.9 | 3.7 | 31 Aug | 1173.4 | 1325.4 | average | 89% |
| Hartz Mountain (Keoghs Pimple) | 11.2 | -0.3 | 32.0 | 25 Feb | 4.1 | +0.1 | -2.8 | 26 Aug | ||||
| Scotts Peak Dam | 15.4 | +0.6 | 34.4 | 29 Jan | 6.5 | +0.4 | 0.1 | 28 Jun | 2052.8 | |||
| Strahan Aerodrome | 16.9 | +0.5 | 34.9 | 26 Feb | 8.3 | +0.4 | -0.5 | 1 Aug | 1626.8 | 1532.0 | average | 106% |
| Strathgordon Village | 14.4 | +0.3 | 33.2 | 25 Feb | 6.6 | +0.3 | 0.0 | 28 Jun | 2393.4 | 2518.3 | low | 95% |
| Warra | 13.9 | 34.0 | 25 Feb | 5.3 | -2.6 | 20 Jun | 1724.4 | |||||
| King Island (district 98) | ||||||||||||
| King Island Airport | 17.2 | +0.3 | 36.1 | 25 Feb | 10.2 | +0.3 | 2.5 | 1 Aug | 877.6 | 866.7 | average | 101% |
| Flinders Island (district 99) | ||||||||||||
| Flinders Island Airport | 18.2 | +0.5 | 34.7 | 25 Feb | 9.9 | +0.1 | -1.7 | 26 Jun | ||||
| Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300) | ||||||||||||
| Macquarie Island | 6.9 | +0.3 | 10.9 | 6 Feb | 3.3 | +0.3 | -4.4 | 5 Jun | 1070.0 | 970.8 | high | 110% |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
Notes
An Annual Climate Summary is prepared to list the main features of the weather in Tasmania using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. Later information, including data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review, usually published in the fourth week of the month.
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 9 am on Wednesday 2 January 2013. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
Averages are long-term means based on observations from
all available years of record, which vary widely from site to site.
They are not shown for sites with less than 10 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median
is sometimes more representative than the
mean
of long-term average rain.
The Rank indicates how rainfall this time compares with the climate record for the site,
based on the
decile ranking
(very low rainfall is in decile 1, low in decile 2 or 3,
average in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9
and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of average shows how much rain has fallen this time as a
percentage of the long-term mean.
Further information
Ian Barnes-Keoghan or Lorien MartinClimatologists
Tasmania and Antarctica Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 6221 2043
Email climate.tas@bom.gov.au
