Tuesday, 2 April, 2013 — Monthly Summary for Australia — Product Code IDCKGC1A00

Australia in March 2013

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

In Brief

March maximum temperatures were 0.66 °C above average for Australia as a whole. Maxima were above average for southern South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania (highest on record), and most of the northern half of Australia. Maxima were generally below average for the east coast between Mackay and northeastern New South Wales, and also for Western Australia south of Geraldton. Minimum temperatures were also above average, at +0.82 °C for Australia as a whole. Minima were above average across the majority of Australia, and near average for most of the southern half of Western Australia away from the South Australian border, the northeastern half of New South Wales, and the southeastern half of Queensland. Both maxima and minima were also above average for each individual State and Territory average.

Averaged over Australia, March rainfall was near average. Across the Top End and Cape York Peninsula, southwest Western Australia, central Australia and inland northern New South Wales rainfall was generally above average. Below-average rainfall was mostly restricted to western Victoria, the Pilbara and an area of Queensland's Gulf Country.

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Temperatures

March continued the recent string of warm months for Australia, following on from Australia's warmest summer on record and giving the second warmest start to the year in terms of maximum temperatures (January–March). Southeast Australia experienced a significant heatwave during the first half of March. Melbourne recorded 9 days above 32 °C between 4 and 12 March, setting a record for the longest string of consecutive days above 30 °C in any month and for the month as a whole. Other records set in this heatwave are summarised in Special Climate Statement 45 – A prolonged autumn heatwave for southeast Australia. A number of late season State records were also set across the southeast on 27 March, including 42.9 °C at Birdsville Airport (Queensland), 40.9 °C at Fowlers Gap (New South Wales) and 38.8 °C at Swan Hill Aerodrome (Victoria).

Maxima were above average for Australia as a whole, with a national anomaly of +0.66 °C. Tasmania and Victoria recorded the largest departures from the long-term average; +2.86 and +2.10 °C respectively for those State's highest and fifth highest March maxima on record. Maxima were above to very much above average for the South Australian coast and adjacent Western Australia, Victoria and southwestern and Riverina New South Wales, much of the Pilbara and Kimberley, the Northern Territory excluding the Top End, and the western half of Queensland south of the Cape York Peninsula. As previously mentioned, maxima were the highest on record across Tasmania. Maxima were below average for Western Australia south of Geraldton, and mostly in the lowest 10% of records along the southern coast, and also below average for eastern Queensland south of Mackay and for northeastern New South Wales.

Minima were above to very much above average for most of Australia, for a nation-wide anomaly of +0.82 °C. A large part of Northern Territory, a band along the Western Australian border and eastern Kimberley, southern South Australia and most of Victoria excluding the central north and east recording March minima in the highest 10% of records (decile 1). Tasmania recorded decile 1 minima in the north and highest on record over-night temperatures in the south of the State. Tasmania's March-averaged minima was the third highest on record for that State (+1.59 °C), Victoria and South Australia's their eight highest (+1.71 and +1.56 °C, respectively), and the Northern Territory's its ninth highest (+1.30 °C). No State or Territory recorded a below average monthly minima, although overnight temperatures were near average for Western Australia west of Esperance and south of Carnarvon, and a large area of the eastern States northeast South Australia across southeastern Queensland to Townsville and across New South Wales excluding the southwest and Riverina. Small areas of below-average minima were recorded near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and in Queensland near Mackay.

Areal average temperatures
	Maximum Temperature			Minimum Temperature
	Rank (out of 104)	Anomaly* (°C)	Comment	Rank (out of 104)	Anomaly* (°C)	Comment
Australia	75	+0.66		93	+0.82
Queensland	65.5	+0.35		80.5	+0.51
New South Wales	62	+0.19		77	+0.60
Victoria	100	+2.10	fifth highest	97	+1.71	eighth highest, highest since 1989
Tasmania	104	+2.86	highest, previous record +1.94 (1971)	102	+1.59	third highest, highest since 1974
South Australia	79	+0.96		97	+1.56	eighth highest
Western Australia	52	+0.02		84.5	+0.44
Northern Territory	94	+2.01		96.5	+1.30	ninth highest

^*Anomaly is the departure from the long-term (1961–1990) average.
A fractional rank indicates that the value is tied for that rank.

Temperature maps
	Mean	Anomaly	Deciles
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Rainfall

For Australia as a whole, March monthly rainfall was 562.1 mm, a scant 1% above the long-term average. March rainfall was above average across the northern Cape York Peninsula and the Top End, northern Tasmania, most of southern Western Australia excluding the Eucla, and in a band extending through central Australia to northern and eastern New South Wales west of the Great Dividing Range and adjacent parts of southern Queensland. South Australia recorded the largest departure from the long-term average, with rainfall 29% above the March average. A large part of southwest Western Australia recorded rainfall in the highest 10% of records, as did parts of the Top End.

Victoria and Queensland recorded below-average monthly totals (24 and 13% below the March average, respectively). Western Victoria and some adjacent parts of southeastern South Australia recorded below average rainfall, as did parts of coastal northwestern Western Australia (most notably through the Pilbara), part of the Gulf Country extending in a narrow band from the coast to central Queensland, as well as other scattered areas of the north.

Area-average rainfall
	Rank (out of 114)	Average (mm)	Departure from mean*	Comment
Australia	67	62.1	+1%
Queensland	55	79.1	−13%
New South Wales	76	53.9	+10%
Victoria	51	31.3	−24%
Tasmania	74	101.3	+13%
South Australia	85	24.2	+29%
Western Australia	68	46.4	+6%
Northern Territory	82	107.0	+9%
Murray-Darling Basin	75	43.2	+12%

^*The mean is calculated for the 1961–1990 reference period.

Rainfall maps
	Totals	Percentages	Deciles
Total rainfall

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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Australian weather extremes in March 2013
Hottest day	46.0 °C at Roebourne (WA) on 20 March
Coldest day	2.2 °C at Mount Hotham (Vic.) on 17 March
Coldest night	−3.6 °C at Perisher Valley AWS (NSW) on 18 March
Warmest night	32.1 °C at Gascoyne Junction (WA) on 8 March
Wettest day	329.0 mm at Mooral Creek (The Den) (NSW) on 3 March

Temperatures Rainfall Extremes Important notes the top

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