Thursday, 1 October 2009 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in September 2009: another wet month

• Wettest September on record at some eastern sites
• Temperatures mostly above average
• Floods and damaging winds
• A wet year so far

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

Jump to:  Extremes  Records  Summaries  Notes  the top

Another wet month

September was another wet month in Tasmania after a number of low pressure systems passed close to the state. It was the wettest September on record at some sites in the east, the southeast and the southern Midlands. Two that stand out are Oatlands where 116.8 mm was the wettest September in 122 years of record, and Bicheno where 180.2 mm while not quite a record was more than four times normal September rain. For many others (including Hobart) it was the second-wettest September on record or the wettest for many decades. Even the driest locations (Ouse and Hummocky Hills) had over 60 mm. Areas of the north and the southwest had near-normal rainfall for the month.
The wettest days were the 8th, 22−23rd and 27th. To 9 am on the 23rd a total of 122 mm fell at Gray (near St Marys in the northeast), which was the highest daily total for the month. Totals also exceeded 50 mm at a number of sites along or near the east coast on this day and a number had their highest September daily rainfall on record, including Eddystone Point and Bagdad.

A wet year so far

The rain of September, when added to that of the very wet August, a July that was wet in many areas, a June that was very wet in the east, and more rain scattered through the year has led to one of the wettest January-to-September periods for many decades, especially in the southeast.

An example is Hobart, where the total of 133.8 mm is the second-wettest September on record there (although well behind the record 202 mm in 1957). Hobart has had 672.6 mm in the nine months from January to September, which is the third-wettest on record (behind 713 mm in 1956 and 820 mm in 1946). This total is also above the average annual rain of 615 mm (over the period 1882 to 2008), and well beyond the 275 mm recorded in the nine months from January to September 2008. A table of some other records for the 9 month period appears below.

Some warm days, some cool days

There were several periods of cool weather, especially in the east and southeast when it was overcast and raining (such as the 9th, 22nd and 27th) or in the wake of cold fronts (such as the 1st and 14th). The warmest weather was on the 12th, when temperatures into the low 20s were reported in the east in northerly winds ahead of a cold front; Flinders Island Airport and Hogan Island (in northern Bass Strait) almost reached 25°C. The north of the state saw some more warm weather on the 28th, and for much of the south and west the warmest day was the 30th.

Overall, maximum daytime temperatures were mostly about half a degree warmer than usual for September, except in the inland east where they were cooler than usual by a similar amount.

Night temperatures mostly above average

Mild nights were much more common than cold ones right through the month. There were several sub-zero temperatures reported at some sites in the first few days, again on the 11th, and on the 29th, but these were more than balanced by several nights with temperatures staying in double digits. The night of the 12th and morning of the 13th were especially mild for the time of year, with overnight minimum temperatures in most areas kept high by strong winds as a cold front crossed. Bicheno had its warmest September night on record to 9am on the 13th, with the temperature there not dropping below 15.8 °C. The morning of the 17th was also very mild.

Overall, minimum temperatures were above average by around a degree, somewhat more in the inland northeast. Many sites had their warmest September nights since 2001.

Floods and damaging winds

The weather brought considerable damage across the state during the month. With sodden soils developing over previous months, the rain caused dramatic rises in streams and rivers. Moderate flooding was reported in many eastern and southern rivers through the month. A deep low pressure system close to the state on the 27th brought strong to gale force southerly winds and caused widespread damage. Two things that may have exacerbated the amount of damage were that the direction was unusual for such strong winds, and the wet ground had loosened some tree roots.

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

---

Extremes

Hottest day Highest temperature	24.7°C at Flinders Island Airport and Hogan Island on the 12th
Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature	16.5°C at Scamander
Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature	5.2°C at Mount Wellington
Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature	0.2°C at Mount Wellington on the 1st
Coldest night Lowest temperature	−5.7°C at Liawenee on the 29th
Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature	−1.1°C at Mount Wellington
Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature	9.7°C at Hogan Island
Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature	15.8°C at Bicheno (Council Depot) on the 13th
Wettest overall Highest total rainfall	298.8 mm at Lake Margaret Power Station
Driest overall Lowest total rainfall	61.8 mm at Hummocky Hills
Wettest day Highest daily rainfall	122.6 mm at Gray (Dalmayne Rd) on the 23rd
Highest wind gust	146 km/h at Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse on the 27th

Jump to:  Extremes  Records  Summaries  Notes  the top

---

Records

Record highest September daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall in September 2009 (mm)		Previous highest for September		Years of record
Eddystone Point	85.8	on the 23rd	73.6	on the 6th in 1983	102
Bagdad Post Office	44.0	on the 23rd	38.4	on the 15th in 1957	86
Mount Wellington	73.8	on the 23rd	50.0	on the 13th in 1999	29
Nugent (Twilight Valley)	88.4	on the 23rd	72.2	on the 12th in 2005	27
Scamander	90.0	on the 23rd	50.6	on the 22nd in 1984	26
Richmond (Strathayr)	27.4	on the 27th	19.0	on the 20th in 1996	21

---

Record highest total September rainfall
	Total rainfall for September 2009 (mm)	Previous highest for September		Years of record	Average for September
Oatlands Post Office	116.8	110.8	in 1966	122	42.9
Levendale	210.0	126.4	in 1984	64	59.4
Orford (Aubin Court)	170.4	162.9	in 1960	57	52.2
Tooms Lake (Tooms River)	160.4	135.0	in 1984	47	49.5
Huonville (Tutton Avenue)	180.6	160.4	in 2003	39	79.2
Risdon Vale (Poplar Road)	120.4	92.0	in 2005	31	45.7
Nugent (Twilight Valley)	245.6	152.1	in 1984	27	74.0
Mount Wellington	225.4	188.0	in 1997	24	72.0
Tea Tree (The Point)	132.8	87.4	in 2005	24	48.1

Highest total September rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for September 2009 (mm)	Most recent higher for September		Years since higher	Average for September
Eddystone Point	158.4	173.3	in 1916	93	63.7
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	133.8	201.6	in 1957	52	53.2
Swansea Post Office	151.0	161.6	in 1960	49	41.1
Lewis Hill (St Pauls River)	154.2	202.0	in 1966	43	52.0
Bicheno (Council Depot)	180.2	186.5	in 1959	42	44.7
Fort Direction	92.2	96.8	in 1966	36	40.7
Blackmans Bay Treatment Plant	126.4	130.8	in 1983	25	57.0
Fingal (Legge Street)	129.2	139.4	in 1984	25	49.7
Grove (Comparison)	169.0	174.6	in 1983	25	74.7
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	175.0	188.7	in 1984	25	71.2
Rotherwood	125.6	140.8	in 1984	25	56.3
York Plains (Handroyd)	104.2	126.9	in 1984	25	44.4
Copping	138.0	139.0	in 1983	24	62.2
Taroona (Taroona Crescent)	121.8	137.0	in 1983	23	54.0

---

Record highest September daily minimum temperature
	Highest daily minimum temperature in September 2009 (°C)		Previous highest for September		Years of record	Average for September
Bicheno (Council Depot)	15.8	on the 13th	15.5	on the 29th in 1998	35	7.3

---

Records for the 9 months from January to September

Record highest total January to September rainfall
	Total rainfall for January to September 2009 (mm)	Previous highest for January to September		Years of record	Average for January to September
Grove (Comparison)	836.2	808.0	in 1996	56	548.0
Copping	868.0	815.5	in 1996	40	570.7
Rotherwood	625.0	573.4	in 2003	37	421.3
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	978.8	873.1	in 1996	34	651.7
Zeehan (West Coast Pioneers Museum)	2289.4	2253.4	in 1980	34	1854.0
Risdon Vale (Poplar Road)	639.2	621.6	in 1996	27	399.5
Nugent (Twilight Valley)	1143.0	924.6	in 1996	25	609.2
Blackmans Bay Treatment Plant	673.8	651.6	in 1996	21	447.1
Campbell Town (Elizabeth R)	522.2	491.8	in 1970	21	371.1
Cape Grim BAPS	797.0	775.4	in 1988	21	603.5

Highest total January to September rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for January to September 2009 (mm)	Most recent higher for January to September		Years since higher	Average for January to September
Dover	896.0	1186.2	in 1946	56	646.5
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	672.6	713.2	in 1956	53	444.2
Hobart Airport	528.6	584.3	in 1960	49	355.1
Oatlands Post Office	589.6	648.5	in 1960	46	390.9
Orford (Aubin Court)	753.4	761.2	in 1960	45	483.2
Premaydena Hatchery	807.4	821.4	in 1964	43	586.2
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	893.6	1296.7	in 1970	39	619.4
Levendale	919.0	923.1	in 1970	39	541.5
York Plains (Handroyd)	527.4	555.6	in 1970	38	396.8
Lewis Hill (St Pauls River)	671.0	702.8	in 1974	33	464.3
Irishtown	1071.8	1258.0	in 1975	28	926.0
Gladstone (Old Post Office)	814.9	946.1	in 1977	27	647.5
Savage River Mine	1787.8	1860.0	in 1975	24	1515.1
St Marys (Clive Street)	1085.8	1121.3	in 1984	22	767.4

Jump to:  Extremes  Records  Summaries  Notes  the top

---

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 September 2009
	Maximum temperatures for September (°C)				Minimum temperatures for September (°C)				Rainfall for September (millimetres)
	Mean for September 2009	Diff from average	Highest for September 2009		Mean for September 2009	Diff from average	Lowest for September 2009		Total for September 2009	Average for September	Rank of September 2009	Fraction of September average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport	15.1	+0.4	17.9	23rd	7.3	+0.5	3.8	2nd	82.8	76.4	average	108%
Burnie	15.2	+0.9	19.0	28th	8.1	+1.3	5.2	11th	98.0	87.5	average	112%
Cape Grim BAPS	13.8	+0.5	17.4	12th	9.2	+0.6	7.2	11th	103.6	76.0	high	136%
Cressy Research Station	14.4	−0.3	18.6	12th	5.2	+1.5	−1.0	2nd	75.4	64.4	average	117%
Devonport Airport	14.7	+0.7	17.6	23rd	6.7	+0.8	1.9	10th	86.2	74.6	average	116%
Launceston	15.4	−0.1	19.7	12th	6.3	+1.1	1.6	2nd	71.0	66.5	average	107%
Launceston Airport	14.5		18.7	12th	4.9		1.3	2nd	83.0
Low Head	14.3	+0.4	17.0	27th	9.5	+1.2	5.2	2nd	87.2	65.5	high	133%
Luncheon Hill	12.7	+0.5	18.0	12th	5.6	+0.2	2.7	11th	184.2	178.7	average	103%
Marrawah	14.1	+0.4	19.0	12th	8.1	+0.7	4.0	11th	147.0	105.4	high	139%
Scottsdale	14.1	−0.1	17.5	12th	5.7	+1.0	0.8	2nd	82.6	98.7	average	84%
Sheffield School Farm	13.2	+0.1	16.7	10th	4.9	+0.2	1.6	5th	122.6	128.7	average	95%
Smithton Aerodrome	15.1	+0.3	18.0	12th	6.4	+0.2	0.5	11th	103.0	106.3	average	97%
Wynyard Airport	15.6	+1.3	18.8	10th	5.4	+0.6	0.9	11th	100.0	94.6	average	106%
East Coast (district 92)
Bicheno	16.2	+0.1	22.2	12th	8.2	+0.8	4.6	5th	180.2	44.7	very high	403%
Eddystone Point	15.9	+1.1	21.2	12th	8.8	+0.8	5.4	2nd	158.4	63.7	very high	249%
Fingal	14.8	−0.5	20.7	12th	4.7	+1.5	−0.9	2nd	129.2	49.7	very high	260%
Friendly Beaches	16.4	−0.3	24.0	12th	8.1	+0.6	4.1	11th	99.8	38.8	very high	257%
Lake Leake	11.1	−0.2	16.3	12th	3.4	+1.4	−1.3	2nd	175.0	71.2	very high	246%
Maria Island	14.8		18.6	12th	8.5		4.8	1st	134.8
Orford	15.8	0.0	20.3	12th	6.3	+0.8	2.1	2nd	170.4	52.2	highest	326%
Scamander	16.5	+0.2	22.2	12th	7.4	+0.8	3.8	2nd	146.2	55.2	very high	265%
St Helens Aerodrome	16.0		21.5	12th	7.5		2.7	2nd	123.2
Swansea Post Office	16.2	+0.2	22.4	12th	6.3	+0.5	1.5	20th	151.0	41.1	very high	367%
Midlands (district 93)
Ross	13.8	−0.6	17.9	12th	5.0	+1.4	−0.8	2nd	89.2	54.9	high	162%
Southeast (district 94)
Campania	15.8		20.7	12th	5.7		0.0	11th	115.4
Cape Bruny	14.6	+0.2	20.0	30th	7.5	0.0	3.8	11th	91.0	66.1	high	138%
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	14.1	+0.8	19.1	30th	8.0	+1.0	5.1	11th	106.8	80.8	high	132%
Dover	15.0	+0.3	20.9	30th	5.3	+0.4	−0.1	11th	143.0	83.3	high	172%
Geeveston	15.4	+0.6	19.5	30th	5.0	+0.7	−0.8	11th	144.6	91.9	high	157%
Grove	15.6	+0.8	20.5	30th	5.5	+1.4	0.1	2nd	169.0	74.7	very high	226%
Grove	15.2		20.3	19th	5.0		−0.8	2nd	176.0
Hobart	16.1	+1.0	21.2	30th	7.1	+0.7	3.1	29th	133.8	53.2	very high	252%
Hobart Airport	15.6	+0.3	20.4	12th	6.9	+0.9	2.5	15th	98.0	41.8	very high	234%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	12.8	+0.6	18.0	3rd	7.5	+0.7	3.7	1st	102.0	109.4	average	93%
Melton Mowbray	14.2	−0.5	19.5	12th	5.0	+0.7	−0.5	11th	104.8	54.8	very high	191%
Mount Wellington	5.2	+0.9	9.8	30th	−1.1	+0.3	−4.9	1st	225.4	72.0	highest	313%
Tasman Island	12.9		19.3	12th	7.3		3.3	1st	115.4
Tunnack Fire Station	11.8	−0.7	16.0	12th	3.8	+0.6	0.0	2nd	208.2	66.4	very high	314%
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park	16.4	+0.9	21.4	12th			−1.7	11th
Maydena Post Office	14.0	+0.3	19.0	30th	4.0	+0.7	−0.7	11th	155.1	140.1	average	111%
Ouse Fire Station	16.0	+0.2	20.9	12th	3.9	+0.2	−1.7	11th	62.0	73.4	average	84%
Tarraleah Village	11.5	+0.3	16.3	13th	2.7	+0.9	−1.9	11th	136.1	119.7	average	114%
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	10.6	+0.5	15.7	12th	1.8	+0.9	−3.2	11th	186.2	167.8	average	111%
Lake St Clair National Park	10.4	+0.4	16.0	18th	1.6	+0.8	−2.3	29th	241.8	213.4	average	113%
Liawenee	8.5		14.8	18th	−0.1		−5.7	29th	149.8
West Coast (district 97)
Hartz Mountain	8.9	+0.2	14.2	30th	2.0	+0.1	−1.6	1st	135.6	99.1	high	137%
Scotts Peak Dam	12.4	+0.2	17.9	3rd	4.6	+0.3	1.1	1st	227.6	210.3	average	108%
Strahan Aerodrome	14.7	+0.4	18.7	19th	6.8	+0.6	3.3	22nd	176.4	136.7	high	129%
Strathgordon Village	12.5	+1.0	17.4	30th	5.1	+0.7	1.5	11th	265.4	276.8	average	96%
Warra	11.6		18.0	30th	3.6		−1.2	11th	204.8
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	14.9	+0.3	22.2	12th	9.1	+0.9	5.5	2nd	115.2	88.3	high	130%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	16.0	+0.9	24.7	12th	8.5	+1.0	3.7	2nd	107.0	64.1	high	167%
Hogan Island	15.3		24.7	12th	9.7		5.9	27th	96.4
Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300)
Macquarie Island	5.9	+0.5	7.8	28th	2.4	+0.9	−2.1	23rd	69.0	74.1	average	93%

Jump to:  Extremes  Records  Summaries  Notes  the top

---

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

---