Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - Annual Climate Summary for Melbourne Metropolitan Area and Environs - Product code IDCKGC1xx0

Melbourne Metropolitan Area: Record breaking rain

• Rainfall the highest on record at some stations
• Night-time temperatures much warmer than normal
• Daytime temperatures generally close to average

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Several stations in the Melbourne metropolitan area recorded their highest annual totals in 2011. Exceptional rainfall at the start of the year made a large contribution to the positive annual anomaly. Rainfall totals for autumn were mixed, ranging from average to highest on record. Winter rainfall was below average with many stations only recording about half of their seasonal average. Spring was much wetter than usual with many stations receiving about one and a half times their usual amount. Annual totals ranged from 1158.0 mm at Coldstream to 678.6 mm at Melbourne Airport. Melbourne Regional Office recorded 834.6 mm, well above its long-term average of 649.8 mm. This was the second year in a row that Melbourne Regional Office recorded above average rainfall after 13 consecutive years of below average rainfall. Bundoora (Latrobe University) had their highest total rainfall on record. The wettest single day was the 5th of February when Moorabbin Airport recorded 140.8 mm (their highest daily rainfall on record).

Maximum temperature

Average maximum temperatures where generally close to average in the Melbourne area, however there were some significant outliers. The hottest day was the 1st of February when Laverton RAAF recorded 40.5 °C. Autumn was cooler than usual with most station recording average maximum temperatures 1 – 2 °C below normal. Winter produced warmer than normal average maximum temperatures but most stations recorded temperatures within 1 °C of their long-term means. Spring was warmer than usual with most stations recording average maximum temperatures 1 – 2 °C above average. The warmest days on average were recorded at Melbourne Regional Office with 20.9 °C and the coolest days on average were recorded at Cerberus with 19.0 °C. The coldest day was the 7th of July when Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) recorded 4.6 °C.

Minimum temperature

Average minimum temperatures ranged from close to normal to warmest on record. Generally they were much warmer than usual for the year. Autumn saw stations record average minimum temperatures within 1 °C of their long-term mean. Average minimum temperatures during winter were typical for the season with most stations reporting temperatures within 0.5 °C of normal. Spring brought average minimum temperatures that were very much warmer than normal. The coldest night was -2.1 °C recorded at Coldstream on the 16th of June and Avalon Airport on the 16th of July. The coolest nights on average were recorded at Coldstream with 8.3 °C and the warmest nights on average were recorded at Melbourne Regional Office with 12.0 °C. The warmest night of the year was the 1st of February when Melbourne Regional Office recorded 24.5 °C.

Wind

The strongest wind gust was at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) with 102 km/h on 21 Jun.

Some significant weather events in 2011

Rain: Heavy rainfall from the 4th to the 6th of February delivered totals of 100 mm to 200 mm to parts of Melbourne's east and south-east.

Heatwave: A warm spell at the start of August produced maximum and minimum temperatures never seen before so soon after the winter solstice.

Hail: Thunderstorms on Christmas day produced large hail over parts of Melbourne.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top