Thursday, 10 January 2019 - Annual Climate Summary for Victoria - Product code IDCKGC56R0

Victoria in 2018: drier and warmer than average

Victorian rainfall in 2018 was below average, with all months except December being drier than average. Both mean maximum and minimum temperatures were above average overall.

The Australian annual climate statement provides a comprehensive summary of Australia's climate during 2018. Information about changes and long-term trends in Australia's climate can be found in State of the Climate 2018.

Drier than average across Victoria

• Rainfall in Victoria during 2018 was about 25% below average, the lowest since 2006
• The year was much drier than 2017 for the State as a whole
• Statewide rainfall was below average in all months except December, when it was above average
• Gippsland, Mallee and North districts had below average rainfall in most months; consequently, most areas in these districts had annual rainfall totals in the driest 10 per cent of records
• Large areas of Victoria had April rainfall that was very much below average, while in parts of East Gippsland it was lowest on record; statewide it was the driest April since 1997
• Victoria's rainfall in September was nearly 65% below average (the second-driest September on record) and in October it was 51% below average, resulting in the State's ninth-driest spring on record
• The middle of December saw several very wet days due to a slow-moving low pressure trough which brought moisture from the tropics; it subsequently deepened into a low pressure system over central parts of the State
• The highest daily rainfall total during the year, 134.0 mm, was recorded at Bloomfield Park on 13 December
• Birchip and Charlton had their highest daily rainfall on record on 14 December
• The wettest place in Victoria was Falls Creek (Rocky Valley), where 2132.4 mm was recorded in 2018; in contrast, Mildura Airport had only 135.0 mm during the year
• Some sites had their lowest total rainfall on record, or their lowest total rainfall since at least 1994

Third-warmest year on record

• 2018 was Victoria's third-warmest year on record overall, with the State's mean temperature 1.14 °C above average
• All of Victoria had much warmer than average maximum temperatures, with parts of the southeast and northwest warmest on record
• Many sites had their highest annual mean daily maximum temperature on record
• The State's mean maximum temperatures was 1.44 °C warmer than average and highest on record
• The State's mean minimum temperature was 0.83 °C warmer than average, the sixth-warmest on record
• Nights were warmer than average in most of Victoria, and very much above average in the large areas in the south and east of the State, as well as in the smaller area in the northwest
• January was Victoria's overall fourth-warmest January on record, and the warmest since 2006, contributing to Victoria having its warmest summer since 2000-2001
• The highest daytime temperature in Victoria in 2018, 46.4 °C, was recorded at Walpeup Research on 19 January
• Minimum temperatures were also very warm in January, when Victoria had its warmest night during the year: a minimum temperature of 31.4 °C was recorded at Mildura Airport on the 29th
• Walpeup research, Wonthaggi and Rhyll had their warmest night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record also on 29 January
• In contrast, clear skies and cold, dry air over Victoria towards the end of August resulted in cooler than average night-time temperatures across large areas of the State
• The coldest daytime and night-time temperatures recorded in Victoria during the year were −5.4 °C and −9.8 °C at Mount Hotham on 27 and 29 August respectively
• Mount Nowa Nowa and Falls Creek had their record lowest temperatures on 28 and 29 August
• September nights in Victoria were cooler than in any September since 1994, while in December mean night-time temperatures were the highest December temperatures on record

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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* 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 higher value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top