Wednesday, 1 July 2009 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC27R0

Tasmania in June 2009: Very wet and foggy in the east, but drier than usual in the west

The "normal" June weather pattern dominated by westerly winds over Tasmania was supplanted for June 2009 by slow-moving high pressure systems over the Tasman Sea and troughs in easterly winds. This led to well above average rainfall in the east but below average falls in the west. The easterly weather patterns also led to relatively mild nights, frequent foggy mornings, a lack of thunderstorms and strong winds, and less snow than is usual for this time of the year.

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

Some heavy rain events: From the 3rd to the 7th a complex easterly trough formed over Tasmania bringing extraordinary rainfall totals to the east of the state, and much the same occurred again on the 25th and 26th. Both Copping (on the 5th) and Nugent (on the 26th) had their wettest day on record, with totals of over 130 mm in 24 hours. Several other sites in the southeast had their highest June daily rainfall on record on either the 5th or 26th (or both in the case of Mount Wellington), and Deal Island's 79.0 mm on the 7th is its highest June daily rainfall in 113 years. Totals of 50 to 80 mm were widespread in the east and southeast during both events. The heavy rain caused minor to moderate flooding of several rivers in the east.

A wet month in the east: Heavy rainfall in the east at the start and end of the month meant that June was much wetter than normal along in the east of Tasmania. Totals in most areas reached 100 mm, several sites had more than 200 mm, and over 400 mm fell at Gray and on Mount Wellington. Many sites in the southeast and a few in the east had their wettest June on record, including St Marys, Premaydena (on the Tasman Peninsula) and Lunawanna (on Bruny Island), all of which have been recording rainfall since the early 1900s. It was the wettest June in over 20 years for most remaining sites in the east, and for some it was the wettest month for decades. Hobart, for example, had its wettest June since 1954, and its wettest month since April 1996, whilst Orford had its wettest month since December 1970.

It was a different story in the west where many sites had only half of their normal June rain. Although the normally wet Mount Read received 161 mm, this is less than the rain from just the first week at several sites in the east. In a typical June, westerly winds are dominant and cold fronts cross the state at regular intervals bringing rainfalls of over 200 mm to the west and around 50 mm to the east. This month, however, there were only eight or so days of westerly winds and only three cold fronts. The only significant snow falls of the month were behind a cold front on the 9th when snowfalls settled to around 300 metres in some southern areas. Rainfall in the central north was mostly near normal.

In the area around Hobart, June was the fifth consecutive "wet" month. Hobart received 401 mm for the first half of 2009, which is the wettest start to a year since 1996. However only the southeast, southern Midlands and lower east have received this consistent wet weather, and it comes after a long series of very dry seasons.

Warm and foggy mornings: Winds were predominately easterly during June, dragging moist air from the Tasman Sea over Tasmania. Along with the rain this brought, it also ensured overnight temperatures remained above average on most nights. Mean minima for the month were one to two degrees warmer than usual at most sites in the east and northwest and slightly warmer than usual elsewhere (except for the Bass Strait Islands which were slightly cooler than usual). On average, nights at Fingal were three degrees warmer than usual and it, along with Launceston and Scamander, had its highest June mean daily minimum temperature on record. The rainy nights were the warmest, including the 4th, 5th, 6th, 21st and 27th when many sites in the north and east had double-digit minima. Tarraleah had its warmest June night on record when it didn't fall below 8.6°C in the 24 hours to 9 am on the 5th. The high moisture content in the air also led to many foggy mornings, with fog lasting well into the afternoon in the Derwent Valley on several days.

Mostly near average daytime temperatures: There were no very warm days during June — the highest temperature was just 18.2°C at Eddystone Point on the 4th - and the last day of the month was the warmest for many sites. There were a few cold days between the 9th and 15th when winds were mostly southerly, but otherwise maxima were mostly near or slightly warmer than usual. Ouse and Bushy Park were two exceptions; they had several cold days when fog persisted for most or all of the day. The coldest was the 23rd when Ouse only reached 4.6°C. Except for Ouse (which was a degree and a half cooler than usual), mean maxima for the month were generally within half a degree of normal; mostly warmer than usual but a little cooler than usual near the east coast. 

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	18.2°C at Eddystone Point on the 4th
Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature	14.4°C at Eddystone Point
Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature	4.7°C at Mount Wellington
Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature	−0.4°C at Mount Wellington on the 14th
Coldest night Lowest temperature	−6.2°C at Mount Wellington on the 10th
Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature	−0.7°C at Liawenee
Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature	10.2°C at Hogan Island
Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature	13.6°C at Flinders Island Airport on the 4th
Wettest overall Highest total rainfall	481.8 mm at Gray (Dalmayne Rd)
Driest overall Lowest total rainfall	54.6 mm at Kimberley (Mersey River)
Wettest day Highest daily rainfall	137.0 mm at Nugent (Twilight Valley) on the 26th
Highest wind gust	124 km/h at Mount Read on the 30th

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Records

Record highest June daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall in June 2009 (mm)		Previous highest for June		Years of record
Deal Island	79.0	on the 7th	69.9	on the 12th in 1891	113
Dover	77.2	on the 5th	63.0	on the 1st in 1964	62
Grove (Comparison)	70.8	on the 26th	59.7	on the 7th in 1956	58
Taroona (Taroona Crescent)	53.4	on the 5th	39.9	on the 1st in 1964	47
Copping **	134.8	on the 5th	33.4	on the 3rd in 1981	40
Risdon Vale (Poplar Road)	58.2	on the 26th	41.4	on the 22nd in 2005	30
Mount Wellington	114.2	on the 26th	89.8	on the 22nd in 2005	29
Blackmans Bay Treatment Plant	56.2	on the 5th	34.8	on the 25th in 1998	28
Nugent (Twilight Valley) **	137.0	on the 26th	58.4	on the 25th in 1998	27
Tea Tree (The Point)	47.4	on the 26th	33.4	on the 14th in 1988	24

** These daily totals for Copping and Nugent and their highest daily totals for any month.

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Record highest total June rainfall
	Total rainfall for June 2009 (mm)	Previous highest for June		Years of record	Average for June
St Marys (Clive Street)	357.6	356.0	in 1922	104	99.3
Premaydena Hatchery	182.4	173.7	in 1923	102	72.6
Lunawanna **	295.0	250.5	in 1954	99	83.0
Dover	192.0	180.4	in 1956	74	80.1
Orford (Aubin Court)	230.0	194.8	in 1954	57	53.6
Hobart Airport	134.8	71.2	in 1998	52	32.1
Memana (Babel Farm)	130.5	126.0	in 2002	46	75.3
Taroona (Taroona Crescent)	156.2	92.0	in 1981	44	42.9
Huonville (Tutton Avenue)	141.9	132.6	in 2002	40	57.5
Copping **	320.0	109.6	in 1981	39	60.5
Rotherwood	135.0	114.0	in 1981	38	43.9
Risdon Vale (Poplar Road)	175.8	67.2	in 1998	28	39.5
Nugent (Twilight Valley) **	359.8	132.2	in 1998	27	66.8
Mount Wellington **	411.4	155.6	in 2005	25	77.2
Tea Tree (The Point)	137.4	63.2	in 2004	24	38.7

** These sites also had their highest monthly total on record for any month (however, there may be gaps in the records).

Highest total June rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for June 2009 (mm)	Most recent higher for June		Years since higher	Average for June
Oatlands Post Office	134.8	221.2	in 1889	115	47.6
York Plains (Handroyd)	119.0	140.6	in 1947	62	44.7
Bagdad Post Office	128.3	156.2	in 1952	56	44.6
Bothwell (Cluny)	120.8	175.8	in 1952	56	46.8
Mangalore (Mangalore Farm)	133.6	159.8	in 1952	56	43.5
Grove (Comparison)	158.6	199.5	in 1954	55	62.1
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	144.2	238.3	in 1954	55	54.5
Glenorchy (Glenorchy Reservoir)	141.8	236.8	in 1954	54	61.4
Fort Direction	124.4	145.3	in 1954	49	42.4
Deal Island	143.0	151.0	in 1961	47	78.3
Bicheno (Council Depot)	171.4	201.6	in 1956	46	61.3
Eaglehawk Neck (Jetty Road)	255.4	255.8	in 1954	46	91.3
Eddystone Point	131.2	132.0	in 1964	44	74.8
Tooms Lake (Tooms River)	185.6	219.5	in 1970	30	47.3
Woodbridge	194.4	200.0	in 1956	29	81.0
Fingal (Legge Street)	108.2	194.8	in 1981	28	64.6
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	178.4	317.6	in 1981	28	86.9
Lewis Hill (St Pauls River)	158.8	237.0	in 1981	28	61.0
Swansea Post Office	132.6	178.4	in 1981	28	57.5
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	181.4	225.0	in 1983	26	90.7
Mauriceton (Jordan River)	85.0	96.6	in 1981	20	40.7

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Record highest June daily minimum temperature
	Highest daily minimum temperature in June 2009 (°C)		Previous highest for June		Years of record	Average for June
Tarraleah Village	8.6	on the 5th	8.5	on the 2nd in 1999	25	0.6

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Record highest June mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature for June 2009 (°C)	Previous highest for June		Years of record	Average for June
Scamander	7.4	6.7	in 2008	26	5.5
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	4.8	4.6	in 2004	25	2.8
Fingal (Legge Street)	4.1	2.9	in 1991	22	1.0

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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 June 2009
	Maximum temperatures for June (°C)				Minimum temperatures for June (°C)				Rainfall for June (millimetres)
	Mean for June 2009	Diff from average	Highest for June 2009		Mean for June 2009	Diff from average	Lowest for June 2009		Total for June 2009	Average for June	Rank of June 2009	Fraction of June average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport	13.8	−0.3	16.1	2nd	6.9	+0.7	3.6	9th	64.7	85.4	average	76%
Burnie	13.9	+0.5	16.0	22nd	8.4	+1.7	3.3	10th	88.0	103.3	average	85%
Cape Grim BAPS	13.2	+0.3	15.8	27th	8.9	+0.2	4.4	10th	82.4	80.1	average	103%
Cressy Research Station	12.4	+0.1	15.3	30th	3.6	+2.0	−2.5	16th	90.4	59.0	high	153%
Devonport Airport	13.4	+0.1	17.2	2nd	6.3	+1.3	0.1	10th	67.2	79.1	average	85%
Launceston	13.2	+0.2	17.5	21st	4.8	+2.0	−0.2	16th	77.4	66.0	average	117%
Launceston Airport	12.2		16.0	30th	3.9		−1.5	16th	67.0
Low Head	13.2	−0.3	15.7	30th	7.7	+0.2	4.3	10th	57.2	71.6	average	80%
Luncheon Hill	11.6	+0.4	16.6	5th	6.5	+0.9	0.3	10th	109.4	142.6	low	77%
Marrawah	13.2	+0.4	16.0	21st	8.2	+0.8	4.0	10th	99.2	122.9	average	81%
Scottsdale	12.9	+0.3	16.1	4th	5.0	+0.9	0.7	11th	72.6	102.3	low	71%
Sheffield School Farm	11.8	+0.2	14.0	30th	4.8	+0.9	0.8	24th	125.8	108.9	average	116%
Smithton Aerodrome	13.7	0.0	16.4	29th	6.0	+1.1	0.6	9th	66.6	94.3	low	71%
Wynyard Airport	13.6	+0.3	15.9	30th	5.5	+1.4	0.0	10th	92.8	110.6	average	84%
East Coast (district 92)
Eddystone Point	14.4	+0.7	18.2	4th	8.9	+0.9	4.6	11th	131.2	74.8	high	175%
Fingal	12.6	−0.2	15.7	30th	4.1	+3.1	−2.3	19th	108.2	64.6	high	167%
Lake Leake	9.2	+0.2	12.4	20th	2.4	+1.9	−3.6	16th	178.4	86.9	high	205%
Maria Island	12.7		15.7	30th	8.4		5.2	16th	178.0
Orford	12.9	−0.4	15.8	21st	5.9	+1.8	0.4	16th	230.0	53.6	highest	429%
Scamander	14.3	−0.1	17.2	29th	7.4	+2.0	3.5	16th	164.4	52.9	very high	311%
St Helens Aerodrome	14.0		17.7	4th	6.9		2.4	16th	157.8
Swan Island	14.0		17.5	4th	9.5		4.3	10th	96.2
Swansea Post Office	13.6	−0.2	16.9	30th	5.7	+1.3	0.4	19th	132.6	57.5	very high	231%
Midlands (district 93)
Ross	12.0	+0.3	15.9	30th	4.0	+2.2	−2.0	16th	78.8	38.1	high	207%
Southeast (district 94)
Campania	12.8		16.1	30th	4.3		0.2	2nd	118.2	41.4	very high	286%
Cape Bruny	12.2	−0.2	15.9	21st	7.5	+0.3	3.8	16th	193.2	77.9	very high	248%
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	12.0	+0.4	15.5	21st	7.4	+0.7	4.1	16th	181.4	90.7	very high	200%
Dover			14.9	16th	4.2	+0.4	−0.5	2nd	192.0	80.1	highest	240%
Geeveston	12.6	+0.3	17.1	30th	3.0	+0.8	−2.2	2nd	130.4	72.2	very high	181%
Grove	12.5	+0.3	17.7	30th	3.6	+1.2	−2.3	16th	158.6	62.1	very high	255%
Grove	12.1		17.5	30th	3.0		−3.0	16th	152.2
Hobart	12.4	+0.5	16.7	30th	5.8	+0.7	2.1	16th	144.2	54.5	very high	265%
Hobart Airport	12.7	−0.2	16.8	30th	5.7	+1.2	2.1	3rd	134.8	32.1	highest	420%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	12.1	+0.7	16.1	30th	8.5	+1.3	4.2	10th	106.4	118.4	average	90%
Melton Mowbray	11.3	−0.6	15.3	30th	3.1	+1.0	−3.0	1st	80.8	35.9	very high	225%
Mount Wellington	4.7	+1.2	8.3	23rd	0.4	+1.2	−6.2	10th	411.4	77.2	highest	533%
Tunnack Fire Station	9.9	0.0	13.5	4th	3.0	+0.7	−1.0	16th	178.4	58.1	very high	307%
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park	11.2	0.0	17.0	30th	3.1	+1.0	−2.3	16th	70.6	48.6	high	145%
Maydena Post Office	10.6	−0.2	14.6	30th	3.4	+1.0	−1.1	20th	90.3	99.0	average	91%
Ouse Fire Station	10.7	−1.3	17.4	30th	2.5	+1.2	−2.8	1st	70.0	48.3	high	145%
Tarraleah Village	9.3	+0.5	13.6	30th	1.7	+1.1	−2.1	1st	131.4	102.7	high	128%
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	9.0	+1.3	12.5	30th	0.9	+0.7	−5.0	19th	94.4	153.2	low	62%
Lake St Clair National Park	8.3	+0.7	11.0	20th	0.3	+0.1	−4.0	1st	77.8	169.1	low	46%
Liawenee	7.0		9.5	22nd	−0.7		−5.1	23rd	114.4
West Coast (district 97)
Hartz Mountain	7.6	+0.4	12.0	23rd	3.2	+1.0	−2.2	10th	210.6	97.1	very high	217%
Mount Read	5.4	+0.8	11.1	23rd	1.8	+0.9	−4.0	10th	161.0	343.5	very low	47%
Scotts Peak Dam	10.2	+0.6	13.8	20th	4.3	+0.3	0.4	2nd	104.8
Strahan Aerodrome	13.3	+0.7	16.8	21st	5.5	+0.1	1.2	15th	103.4	160.4	low	64%
Strathgordon Village	10.2	+0.7	16.0	30th	4.2	+0.4	0.5	20th	97.0	214.3	very low	45%
Warra	9.4		12.7	30th			−1.3	16th
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	14.4	+0.5	17.4	30th	7.9	−0.3	2.9	27th	142.8	97.6	high	146%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	14.4	+0.4	17.6	30th	6.5	−0.5	0.6	16th	72.4	71.9	average	101%
Hogan Island	13.9		17.4	30th	10.2		5.4	10th	63.2
Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300)
Macquarie Island	5.0	0.0	7.4	8th	2.0	+0.5	−6.1	15th	52.4	76.0	low	69%

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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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