Monday, 5 January 2009 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in December 2008: A cool end to the year

It was cool end to the year with most temperatures in December cooler than normal and only a few warm days. Nights were also cold, especially near the start of the month when Liawenee dropped to −4.5°C, the third coldest December temperature for Tasmania. A low pressure system on the 13th brought flooding rain to the northeast and led to above average rainfall there and in the northwest, but rainfall for the rest of the state was mostly near average.

An archive of previous monthly summaries for Tasmania is also available, as are summaries for other states and many other climate summaries and diagnostics.

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Details

Few warm days: It was a cool start to summer with temperatures for the first three weeks generally below average and struggling to reach into the low 20s. There were even snowfalls on the higher peaks for a number of days in the first week. The coldest days were behind cold fronts on the 1st to 3rd and 10th, and in easterly winds with cloud and rain on the 13th. It finally warmed up on the 21st and 22nd as a northerly pattern developed. Temperatures reached into the low 30s in the southeast on the 22nd, and this combined with very strong winds gusting over 100 km/h to produce some extreme fire dangers. The following week was mild, but a series of cold fronts on the final three days saw a return to cooler conditions with highland snow. Average daytime temperatures for the month were mostly 1 to 2 degrees below normal, and most places had their coolest December since 2001.

Cool nights too: There were several cold nights in the first half of the month, especially on the 4th and 10th when light winds and a cold, clear airmass allowed temperatures to drop below 2°C across much of the state. On these mornings, temperatures were up to 10 degrees below average and several sites had their coldest December night in over 10 years. Liawenee fell to −4.5°C early on the 10th, the third coldest December temperature recorded in Tasmania and the coldest since 1969. Overnight temperatures were milder in the last part of the month, but mean minima for December were still around a degree below normal. Many locations had their coolest December nights since 1996 or 2001.

Flooding in the northeast: A low pressure system to the northwest of Tasmania on the 12th intensified as it moved near Flinders Island on the 13th and brought rainfalls in excess of 80 mm to many sites in the northeast. St Marys was the wettest location, receiving 173 mm over 2 days, including 103 mm in the 24 hours to 9am on the 14th. The rain caused moderate flooding of the South Esk River at Fingal and flooding of several buildings on Flinders Island. Wind gusts reached 113 km/h at Swan Island, but Flinders Island bore the brunt of the strong and gusty southeasterly winds which accompanied the low, and significant damage was reported.

Rainfall mostly around average: Apart from a few sites in the southeast, rainfall for December was average or above. The rain event on the 13th led to wetter than normal conditions in the northeast and northwest, and a series of thunderstorms on the 9th, 16th, 18th and 20th pushed totals above average for a few sites in the lower east. Many sites in the east had their wettest December since 1993 or 1995. Most of the rainfall in the west came from a series of cold fronts near the start and end of the month, each of which saw falls in the order of 15 to 25 mm. These fronts were not strong enough to bring much rainfall to the southeast, and a number of sites there had below average rainfall. Hobart Airport and Ross were the driest locations in the state, receiving only 25.6 mm for the month.

Further information

Ian Barnes-Keoghan
Meteorologist
Tasmania and Antarctica Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 6221 2043
Email climate.tas@bom.gov.au

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Extremes

Hottest day Highest temperature	31.0°C at Dover and Geeveston on the 22nd
Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature	21.7°C at Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)
Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature	9.4°C at Mount Read
Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature	3.6°C at Mount Read on the 7th
Coldest night Lowest temperature	−4.5°C at Liawenee on the 10th
Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature	1.0°C at Mount Wellington
Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature	12.1°C at Swan Island
Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature	16.2°C at Hobart (Ellerslie Road) on the 23rd
Wettest overall Highest total rainfall	355.6 mm at Mount Read
Driest overall Lowest total rainfall	25.6 mm at Hobart Airport and Ross
Wettest day Highest daily rainfall	102.6 mm at St Marys (Clive Street) on the 14th
Highest wind gust	128 km/h at Mount Wellington on the 22nd

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Summaries

In this table, key sites have been highlighted to make them easier to find. This table is very wide and may not fit if printed.

Summary statistics for December 2008
	Maximum temperatures for December (°C)				Minimum temperatures for December (°C)				Rainfall for December (millimetres)
	Mean for December 2008	Diff from average	Highest for December 2008		Mean for December 2008	Diff from average	Lowest for December 2008		Total for December 2008	Average for December	Rank of December 2008	Fraction of December average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport	18.5	−1.7	22.6	23rd	10.1	−1.1	4.5	4th	79.1	42.4	very high	187%
Burnie	18.7	−0.7	24.0	27th	10.8	−0.2	5.5	10th	59.4	65.0	average	91%
Cape Grim BAPS	16.0	−1.2	20.6	22nd	10.9	−1.0	8.4	10th	83.4	44.5	very high	187%
Cressy Research Station	21.0		27.8	23rd	7.0		−2.2	4th	51.6
Devonport Airport	18.8	−0.7	23.7	27th	9.3	−1.2	2.1	10th	46.4	53.4	average	87%
Launceston	20.8	−1.6	27.7	23rd	9.6	−1.1	2.2	4th	50.0	46.1	average	108%
Launceston Airport	20.3		26.6	22nd	7.6		0.8	4th	44.6
Launceston Airport Comparison	19.7	−1.5	26.0	22nd	8.1	−0.7	1.6	4th	51.8	50.7	average	102%
Low Head	17.5	−1.3	21.0	27th	11.7	−1.1	8.4	11th	49.2	44.6	average	110%
Luncheon Hill	14.8	−3.7	20.8	21st	5.8	−2.8	1.0	10th	122.4	94.3	high	130%
Marrawah	16.9	−1.4	22.0	22nd	9.8	−0.7	6.2	10th	87.8	64.6	high	136%
Scottsdale	18.7	−2.1	24.3	22nd	8.0	−1.1	0.8	4th	83.6	68.2	high	123%
Sheffield School Farm	17.7	−1.9	23.7	27th	7.1	−2.0	1.2	4th	61.6	61.7	average	100%
Smithton Aerodrome	18.2	−1.2	22.3	14th	8.6	−1.1	1.1	10th	118.6	63.2	very high	188%
Wynyard Airport	19.1	−0.3	24.5	27th	8.3	−1.2	1.5	4th	62.2	64.2	average	97%
East Coast (district 92)
Bicheno	19.6	−0.3	26.2	28th	11.1	−0.3	6.0	10th	73.0	68.7	average	106%
Eddystone Point	19.6	+0.3	25.5	27th	11.3	−1.0	6.1	4th	107.6	60.2	high	179%
Fingal	19.5	−2.0	26.6	27th	7.9	−0.8	0.4	4th	71.2	49.8	high	143%
Friendly Beaches	20.3	−1.6	24.9	6th	10.6	−1.2	5.5	10th
Lake Leake	16.4	−1.2	24.8	22nd	5.4	−1.6	−2.7	4th	71.0	73.1	average	97%
Maria Island	19.0		25.8	28th	11.1		7.3	4th	71.6
Orford	19.6	−0.8	29.2	22nd	9.7	−0.9	5.4	10th	75.2	63.9	high	118%
Scamander	19.3	−1.0	27.3	27th	10.6	−0.7	6.1	4th	117.2	62.4	high	188%
St Helens Aerodrome	19.7		26.1	27th	10.6		4.3	4th	140.8
Swan Island	18.2		23.2	22nd	12.1		7.6	4th	89.4
Swansea Post Office	20.1	−0.6	29.4	22nd	9.4	−1.1	3.7	10th	66.2	59.9	average	111%
Midlands (district 93)
Ross	21.0	−1.7	28.4	22nd	7.7	−0.8	−0.6	4th	29.4	37.8	average	78%
Southeast (district 94)
Bull Bay	18.9	−0.9	29.7	22nd	9.7	−0.9	5.5	4th	30.0	63.4	low	47%
Campania	21.1		30.5	22nd	8.9		2.6	10th	36.8
Cape Bruny	17.4	−0.8	30.9	22nd	9.5	−1.2	6.5	4th	32.0	61.3	very low	52%
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	16.6	−0.3	29.9	22nd	9.7	−0.7	7.0	4th	44.8	76.9	low	58%
Dover	18.4	−0.6	31.0	22nd	7.8	−1.2	2.6	4th
Geeveston	18.9	−1.0	31.0	22nd	8.2	−0.5	2.0	10th	54.6	73.0	average	75%
Grove	19.5	−0.7	30.5	22nd	7.8	−0.8	1.1	4th	63.0	62.9	average	100%
Grove	19.6		30.4	22nd	7.1		0.3	4th	72.6
Hobart	20.2	−0.2	29.9	22nd	10.2	−0.6	5.0	4th	38.6	56.9	average	68%
Hobart Airport	20.2	−0.4	30.3	22nd	9.9	−0.8	4.3	10th	25.6	53.6	low	48%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	14.2	−1.5	26.9	22nd	8.7	−0.8	5.4	2nd	66.0	90.4	average	73%
Melton Mowbray	20.0	−2.0	28.9	22nd	8.0	−1.1	1.0	10th	29.6	37.8	average	78%
Mount Wellington	9.8	−1.2	18.8	22nd	1.0	−1.8	−3.6	4th	121.0	88.6	high	137%
Tasman Island	15.5		23.0	28th	9.2		6.5	4th	43.8
Tunnack Fire Station	17.8	−1.9	24.4	27th	6.4	−1.1	−1.0	4th	75.8	52.0	high	146%
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park	21.7	−0.3	30.9	22nd	8.4	−0.7	1.1	10th	28.8	50.8	low	57%
Maydena Post Office	17.6	−2.2	28.2	22nd	7.2	−0.2	1.6	10th	97.5	89.6	average	109%
Ouse Fire Station	21.0	−2.1	30.3	21st	7.9	−0.7	1.4	10th	33.6	37.1	average	91%
Tarraleah Village	15.9	−1.9	25.4	21st	5.5	−0.6	−0.4	10th	94.6	91.9	average	103%
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	14.7	−1.9	24.3	21st	4.7	−0.8	−1.1	10th	143.4	127.5	average	112%
Lake St Clair National Park	15.0	−2.4	24.8	21st	4.2	−0.9	−1.0	10th	139.4	134.6	average	104%
Liawenee	14.0		21.3	21st	2.5		−4.5	10th	39.4
West Coast (district 97)
Hartz Mountain	13.1	−1.8	25.4	22nd	3.7	−1.5	−0.1	10th	101.0	81.0	high	125%
Mount Read	9.4	−2.4	20.2	21st	2.6	−1.3	−1.6	10th	355.6	298.2	high	119%
Scotts Peak Dam	17.1	−1.3	28.6	22nd	6.5	−1.5	2.7	10th		151.3
Strahan Aerodrome	17.7	−2.1	28.0	22nd	8.8	−0.8	4.4	10th		93.6
Strathgordon Village	15.8	−1.4	27.0	22nd	7.7	−0.6	3.0	4th	219.5	201.2	average	109%
Warra	15.5		27.7	22nd	5.8		1.1	10th	137.8
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	17.4	−1.2	26.3	22nd	10.2	−0.7	2.8	11th	63.6	50.9	high	125%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	18.8	−1.3	25.5	5th	11.3	−0.4	4.5	11th	134.4	58.0	very high	232%
Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300)
Macquarie Island	7.6	−0.3	9.3	29th	4.1	−0.1	0.7	5th	81.2	77.3	average	105%

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Notes

Further information

Ian Barnes-Keoghan
Meteorologist
Tasmania and Antarctica Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 6221 2043
Email climate.tas@bom.gov.au

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