Wednesday, 6 January 2016 - Annual Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC57R0

Tasmania in 2015: some heat, some cold, drier than usual

2015 was a mixed year for Tasmania, including both very warm and very cool weather. Rainfall for the year was below average in most areas.

• Statewide mean temperature close to average
• Temperatures above average in the warmer months, but below average in the cooler months
• Several bursts of snow through winter
• Rain below average, well below average in some areas
• Very dry in spring, but wet in January, March and May

Tasmania's mean temperature for 2015 was 0.14 °C above average, with the mean maximum temperature 0.28 °C above average and the mean minimum temperature right on average. These are all markedly cooler than 2014. Temperatures were well above average February, and again from September to December, but March, July and August had temperatures below average. With the very mixed year, very few annual temperature records were broken. But there were plenty of extreme temperatures and records in individual months: in particular cold days in March and August, warm days in September, very warm temperatures in October and a burst of heat in December. The winter months saw snow to low levels on several occasions, most notably during August. In early October, high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds combined with persistently dry conditions to bring an early start to the fire weather season.

Rainfall was below average in most parts of Tasmania, and especially so in the west, the northwest, and through the Midlands. The State mean rainfall was 20% below average, making it the eighth-lowest on record. Rain was generally above average in January, March and May, mostly below average in the other months, and record low in October. Very heavy rain fell in the southeast in mid-January, giving a few stations their wettest day on record. Persistent westerly winds through May made that month especially wet in the west, but a marked lack of westerlies led to the State's driest spring on record.

Hobart's mean daily maximum temperature of 17.7 °C was 0.8 °C above average, whilst its mean minimum temperature of 8.7 °C was 0.4 °C above average; both are about half a degree cooler than 2014. The hottest day in the capital was 36.0 °C on 25 December, with the coldest morning 0.3 °C on 22 June. Total rainfall for the year was 528 mm, about 86% of the long-term average. Hobart registered 71.6 mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9 am on 14 January, its wettest day since April 2011.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Notable events in 2015

Further information on these events can be found in the Monthly Weather Review.

Heavy rain

Even in a generally dry year there were some significant rain events, with the most notable being:

• 13 and 14 January: some sites in the the east and southeast reported well over 100 mm as a low moved slowly down the East Coast
• 26 March: slow-moving thunderstorms near Hobart and the Tasman Peninsula brought some flash flooding

Hot weather and bushfires

The 2014–15 fire weather season was tempered by significant rainfall in late summer and a lack of warm, windy weather over autumn. In early October, high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds combined with persistently dry conditions saw an early start to the 2015–16 fire weather season. The event is discussed in a Special Climate Statement: Early-season heat across southern Australia. Notable hot weather in 2015 included:

• 3 January: high temperatures (Friendly Beaches reached 39.7 °C) bring locally severe fire danger to the south and east of the State and King Island
• 3 October: locally extreme fire danger in the south and east, marking an early start to the normal fire weather season
• 6 October: Friendly Beaches reached 33.6 °C, the earliest in spring that a Tasmanian site has ever reported such a warm day
• 20 December: Many sites had their warmest December night on record, and 39.8 °C at Friendly Beaches was the hottest December day in Tasmania since 1897; details are discussed in a Special Climate Statement: Widespread record December temperatures in southeast Australia

Cold outbreaks and snow

The winter months saw snow to low levels on several days, especially during August. Most notable among these were:

• 7 May: snow settled below 200 m in the south in the wake of a cold front
• 3 August: Tasmania's most significant snow event since July 1986. Snow to sea level in the south and west, with snow flurries in Launceston
• 5 August: another burst of snow, down to around 100 m in the south and light falls to sea level
• 17 August: further road and school closures with snow to 200 m in the western, central and southern areas
• 26 November: In the wake of a strong cold front, Mount Read did not get above freezing, the latest in the year the site has reported such a cold day

Strong winds

Strong, gusty and damaging winds occurred in Tasmania several times through 2015. Persistent strong winds in January resulted in a significant reduction in the yield of leatherwood honey. Other strong wind events included:

• 5 and 6 May: strong and gusty winds, together with localised heavy rain, caused considerable disruption and some damage in many parts of Tasmania; on the 6th Mount Wellington's 159 km/h became Tasmania's strongest May wind gust on record
• 12 May: strong winds intensified, causing localised damage. Many sites registered gusts in excess of 100 km/h, and several had their strongest-ever May wind gust
• 8 June: Maatsuyker Island had a gust to 185 km/h, a new Australian record June wind gust, after a strong cold front crossed Tasmania

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

*Note: Mount Read was affected by snow several times during the year, and the true total was most certainly higher but not known exactly. The highest confirmed total was 2165.4 mm at South Queenstown.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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

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

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

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a lower value has gone unreported.

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a lower value has gone unreported.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top