Friday, 8 January 2021 - Annual Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC57R0

Tasmania in 2020: Drier in the west and south, wetter in the east and warmer nights everywhere

Annual rainfall was below average for parts of the western half of Tasmania and the south, but was above average for much of the north-east. Days were warmer than usual in the south-west but close to average elsewhere, whilst nights were warmer than usual across the state and especially so in the north-east.

A wet year for much of the east but parts of the west and south miss out

• It was a typical start to the year for rainfall with close to average totals in most parts during January and February.
• Tasmania had its wettest autumn since 1975 with a very wet March in the north-east followed by the 9th wettest April on record for Tasmania. April, May and December were the only months of 2020 with large areas of above average rainfall in the west.
• Winter was very dry in the north-west thanks to the 2nd driest July on record for Tasmania, conversely seasonal rainfall was very much above average in the south-east due to a very wet June and August.
• Whilst October was very wet in the east, November was the 9th driest on record for the state, resulting in a drier than average spring for the west and south, and close to average seasonal rainfall for the east.
• Tasmania's total rainfall for the year was 5% below average.
• Annual rainfall was in the lowest 10% of records for the far south, and in the highest 10% of records for parts of the north-east coast.
• Several sites had their highest daily rainfall on record.
• Melton Mowbray (North Stockman) had its highest total rainfall on record.

Warmer than average nights for much of the year, with warmer winter and spring days making up for a cooler autumn

• A very hot air mass late in January delivered Hobart Airport its highest temperature on record, which turned out to be Tasmania's hottest day in 2020.
• Mean maximum temperatures were cooler than average for much of Tasmania from February to April, and generally warmer than average from June to November (4th warmest November days on record).
• Mean minimum temperatures were warmer than average in January, then close to average until a very warm April (5th warmest April nights on record) and were mostly warmer than average from August to November (5th warmest November nights on record).
• A complex low pressure system and cold front crossing southern Australia gave a couple of sites their lowest temperature on record, and Launceston even got some snow.
• Tasmania's mean temperature (a combination of the maximum and minimum temperatures) for the year was 0.20 °C above average but the lowest since 2015.
• Tasmania's mean maximum temperature for the year was only 0.06 °C above average and the lowest since 2006.
• Tasmania's mean minimum temperature for the year was 0.33 °C above average, the warmest since 2018.
• Even though it was a warmer than average year for maximum temperatures for Tasmania overall, Cressy Research Station had its equal lowest mean daily maximum temperature on record and Ross (The Boulevards) had its lowest mean daily maximum temperature since 1996.

• Total rainfall for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 656.2 mm, which is 107% of the long-term average of 612.2 mm.
• Monthly rainfall was mixed; Hobart recorded around double its average rainfall during August and October (9th highest on record) but less than half its average rainfall during February, May, July (4th driest on record), and November (6th driest on record).
• Hobart's highest daily rainfall was 46.2 mm recorded on 5 August.
• kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle) had its wettest winter on record with 558.6 mm due to a very wet June and August.
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 17.7 °C, which is 0.7 °C above the long-term average of 17.0 °C.
• The warmest day was 40.4 °C on 31 January, and the coolest day was on 10 July when the temperature reached 8.6 °C.
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 9.1 °C, which is 0.7 °C above the long-term average of 8.4 °C.
• The coldest morning was 0.4 °C on 10 August, and the warmest morning was on 15 December when the minimum temperature was 20.7 °C.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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

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Monthly maps
	Rainfall rank	Maximum temperature rank	Minimum temperature rank
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

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Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top