Monday, 1 November 2010 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in October 2010: Low level snow mid-month, heavy rain at the end

Low level snow, extremely cold temperatures and statewide rain affected the state in the middle of the month, along with heavy rain in the northwest on the final weekend, but otherwise October's weather was relatively benign. Total rainfall was near normal in most areas, while temperatures were mostly slightly warmer than usual.

• Snow to 200 metres on the 16th
• A chilly -7.4 °C at Liawenee on the 24th
• 84 mm in 24 hours at Erriba on the 31st

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Cold with low level snow around the 16th

Cold air from near Antarctica swept over Tasmania on the 15th and 16th after a cold front crossed the state. The morning of the 15th was relatively mild, but temperatures plummeted from then and snowfalls settled to as low as 200 metres in the south, making it one of the most significant snow events this year. A few snow flakes were even observed in central Hobart on the morning of the 16th. Day time temperatures were well below normal, with most sites struggling to reach 10 °C. Mount Wellington only reached -1.7 °C, the third coldest maximum temperature on record for Tasmania in October. Other sites had their coldest October day in 15 to 20 years, including Cape Bruny (8.0 °C), Low Head (8.3 °C), King Island (10.2 °C) and Strahan (10.3 °C). Dover, with 8.8 °C on the 16th, equalled its coldest October day (lowest maximum temperature) on record.

Heavy rain in the north and west on the 30-31st; near average rainfall overall

It was looking to be a drier than usual month until the final weekend. On the 30th and 31st, a trough and low pressure system brought heavy rain to the north and west with 40 to 80 mm falling in the northwest in 24 hours. Erriba had 84.4 mm in the 24 hours to 9 am on the 31st, and Lorinna, Gowrie Park and Cape Grim had their wettest October day on record. Other wet days included the 6-7th, 12th, 15-16th and 22nd. Several sites in the northeast had over 20 mm on the 6th, with 35 mm falling at Eddystone Point, and most of the state received 15 to 25 mm on the 15-16th. 

These heavy rain events were balanced by periods with little rain, so for the whole month rainfall was near average over much of the state but drier than usual in most of the south. The wettest site was Mount Read, with 293 mm, while the driest was Fingal, with 27 mm.

Several cold days and a few warm ones

Temperatures for October were slightly warmer than usual despite several very cold days. The coldest days occurred on the 15th and 16th, when many sites had their coldest October day in 15 to 20 years. The overnight period from the 15th to 16th was also very cold, with Mount Wellington falling to -6.1 °C. It was even colder inland on the morning of the 24th when Liawenee fell to -7.4 °C, within a degree of Tasmania's coldest October temperature on record. 

In contrast, the morning of the 12th was mild as cloud and wind inhibited cooling overnight. Several sites had minima in the mid-teens, and Grove's temperature didn't fall below 16.1 °C. The morning of the 31st was even warmer for most sites, with Scottsdale (15.4 °C) having its warmest October night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record and several others sites in the north and east having their warmest October night in over 10 years. The temperature at Flinders Island didn't fall below 16.4 °C. Daytime temperatures peaked on the 22nd ahead of an approaching front. The highest temperatures were in the south and west with Scotts Peak Dam and Strahan both reaching 27.2 °C.

October 2010 in Hobart

Hobart had both hot and cold days during October. There were five days when the temperature exceeded 23 °C (usually in October there are only two such days) and the highest temperature was 26.8 °C on the 22nd. There were also two very cold days in the middle of the month, with maximums of just 11.0 °C and 10.9 °C on the 15th and 16th. The last time there were two such cold days in a row in October was in 1984. The coldest night also occurred at this time, with 2.7 °C recorded on the 16th. The morning of the 31st was much warmer, with a minimum of 15.1 °C making it the warmest October night since 2006.

For the whole month, the average minimum temperature of 8.3 °C was half a degree warmer than normal, while the average maximum temperature of 18.5 °C was over a degree above the long-term average. Daytime temperatures for the year to date have been the warmest on record, with an average January-October maximum temperature of 17.9 °C, beating the previous record of 17.7 °C set in 1992.

Hobart was also drier than usual for October, with just 44.4 mm of rain compared to the long-term average of 61.7 mm. This was despite a number of wet days, especially between the 13th and 19th.

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Extremes in October 2010
Hottest day	27.2 °C at Scotts Peak Dam on the 22nd 27.2 °C at Strahan Aerodrome on the 22nd 27.2 °C at Scotts Peak Dam on the 29th
Warmest days on average	18.8 °C at Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)
Coolest days on average	7.8 °C at Mount Read
Coldest day	-1.7 °C at Mount Wellington on the 16th
Coldest night	-7.4 °C at Liawenee on the 24th
Coolest nights on average	0.4 °C at Mount Wellington
Warmest nights on average	10.6 °C at Swan Island
Warmest night	16.4 °C at Flinders Island Airport on the 31st
Warmest on average overall	13.7 °C at Eddystone Point
Coolest on average overall	4.4 °C at Mount Wellington
Wettest overall	292.6 mm at Mount Read
Driest overall	27.2 mm at Fingal (Legge Street)
Wettest day	84.4 mm at Erriba (Jubb Road) on the 31st
Highest wind gust	137 km/h at Cape Grim BAPS on the 31st

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Maps
	Observed	Anomaly	Decile rank
Total rainfall
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

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Record highest October daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall in October 2010 (mm)		Previous wettest for October		Years of record
Lorinna	62.2	on the 31st	50.8	on the 11th in 1958	55
Gowrie Park	68.4	on the 31st	65.0	on the 14th in 1986	35
Cape Grim BAPS	38.2	on the 31st	34.4	on the 14th in 1986	24

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Record lowest October daily maximum temperature
	Lowest daily maximum temperature in October 2010 (°C)		Previous coolest for October		Years of record	Average for October
Dover	8.8	on the 16th	= 8.8	on the 9th in 2003	21	16.1

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Record highest October mean daily maximum temperature
	Mean daily maximum temperature for October 2010 (°C)	Previous warmest for October		Years of record	Average for October
Eddystone Point	18.0	= 18.0	in 2008	52	16.3

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Record highest October daily minimum temperature
	Highest daily minimum temperature in October 2010 (°C)		Previous warmest for October		Years of record	Average for October
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	15.4	on the 31st	14.4	on the 24th in 2005	39	5.8

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for October 2010
	Maximum temperatures for October (°C)				Minimum temperatures for October (°C)				Rainfall for October (millimetres)
	Mean for October 2010	Diff from average	Highest for October 2010		Mean for October 2010	Diff from average	Lowest for October 2010		Total for October 2010	Average for October	Rank of October 2010	Fraction of October average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	16.0	-0.4	20.0	30th	8.8	+0.9	2.0	16th	70.6	60.1	average	117%
Burnie (Round Hill)	16.0	+0.1	20.9	20th	8.6	+0.6	2.3	16th	82.2	85.5	average	96%
Cape Grim BAPS	14.6	+0.4	17.9	22nd	9.0	-0.2	3.7	16th	99.2	61.7	high	161%
Cressy Research Station	17.4	+0.3	22.2	22nd	5.9	+0.9	-1.7	1st	60.8	50.2	average	121%
Devonport Airport	16.1	+0.4	19.6	9th	8.0	+0.7	2.1	16th	73.2	64.7	average	113%
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	18.7	+0.7	23.3	22nd	7.6	+0.7	1.7	1st	51.4	51.4	average	100%
Launceston Airport	17.7		22.6	22nd	5.9		0.4	1st	59.0
Low Head	15.2	-0.1	19.6	30th	10.1	+0.6	6.1	16th	64.0	53.5	average	120%
Luncheon Hill (Forestry)	14.9	+0.3	22.2	22nd	6.0	+0.1	0.3	16th	152.6	132.8	average	115%
Marrawah	14.9	0.0	19.0	22nd	8.1	0.0	3.3	16th	121.6	88.9	high	137%
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	16.2	-0.2	20.3	22nd	6.8	+1.0	0.6	17th	84.2	84.1	average	100%
Sheffield School Farm	15.1	+0.1	19.9	20th	6.2	+0.5	1.1	16th	126.6	81.7	high	155%
Smithton Aerodrome	15.8	-0.4	18.7	29th	6.2	-0.8	0.2	24th	112.4	81.2	high	138%
Wynyard Airport	16.0	0.0	20.5	20th	6.2	+0.1	0.5	2nd	95.4	97.9	average	97%
East Coast (district 92)
Bicheno (Council Depot)	16.4	-1.0	22.2	12th	9.0	+0.6	3.4	16th	42.0	55.8	average	75%
Eddystone Point	18.0	+1.7	21.1	26th	9.4	+0.3	4.0	16th	70.0	69.3	average	101%
Fingal (Legge Street)	17.5	+0.1	24.2	22nd	5.5	+0.6	-1.1	20th	27.2	54.6	low	50%
Friendly Beaches	18.0	+0.1	25.9	22nd	8.7	+0.1	3.3	16th	41.2	60.6	average	68%
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	14.5	+0.8	20.4	22nd	3.6	+0.1	-2.2	1st	53.8	75.4	average	71%
Maria Island (Point Lesueur)	16.4		22.5	22nd	9.2		2.5	16th	36.8
Orford (Aubin Court)	17.3	0.0	25.2	22nd	6.9	-0.3	1.4	17th	50.8	60.0	average	85%
Scamander	17.0	-0.5	24.8	22nd	8.9	+0.8	4.9	2nd	55.8	62.4	average	89%
St Helens Aerodrome	17.4		23.1	22nd	8.5		3.9	1st	58.2	70.1	average	83%
Swan Island	16.3		20.5	6th	10.6		4.2	16th	64.6
Swansea Post Office	17.9	+0.2	26.7	22nd	6.7	-0.5	1.3	1st	32.7	53.1	low	62%
Midlands (district 93)
Ross (The Boulevards)	17.9	+1.0	23.0	22nd	4.9	0.0	-2.1	20th	50.0	42.8	average	117%
Southeast (district 94)
Campania (Kincora)	18.7	+0.9	25.6	22nd	6.4	0.0	0.3	24th	29.6	40.3	low	73%
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	16.2	+1.0	24.7	22nd	7.9	-0.3	2.2	16th	58.6	67.1	average	87%
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	15.4	+1.0	23.5	22nd	8.0	+0.1	1.2	17th	70.2	83.5	average	84%
Dover	16.0	-0.1	25.6	22nd	5.5	-1.0	1.0	24th
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	17.5	+1.2	26.1	22nd	5.8	-0.2	0.2	24th	61.8	91.5	low	68%
Grove (Research Station)	17.6		25.5	22nd	5.2		-1.2	24th	68.2
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	18.5	+1.6	26.8	22nd	8.3	+0.5	2.7	16th	44.4	61.7	average	72%
Hobart Airport	18.4	+1.1	26.4	22nd	7.9	+0.4	2.6	3rd	30.2	46.6	low	65%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	14.0	+0.7	24.6	29th	7.8	+0.4	2.8	16th	71.8	105.9	low	68%
Melton Mowbray (North Stockman)	17.1	+0.6	25.0	22nd	5.7	+0.1	-0.6	24th	38.4	42.4	average	91%
Mount Wellington	8.4	+1.5	16.4	22nd	0.4	+0.4	-6.1	16th	78.6	78.5	average	100%
Tasman Island	13.2		20.5	22nd	7.4		1.5	17th	66.8
Tunnack Fire Station	15.0	+0.7	20.9	22nd	4.4	0.0	-2.8	24th	41.2	54.7	average	75%
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	18.8	+1.1	26.6	22nd	5.1	-0.7	-0.8	24th	40.0	57.3	average	70%
Maydena Post Office	16.2	+0.6	27.0	22nd	4.9	+0.2	-1.2	25th	78.8	120.4	low	65%
Ouse Fire Station	18.3	+0.7	25.7	22nd	4.8	-0.5	-0.1	2nd	33.0	53.1	low	62%
Tarraleah Village	14.1	+0.6	21.5	22nd	2.8	-0.5	-1.5	24th	91.0	110.9	average	82%
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	13.0	+0.5	21.3	22nd	2.1	-0.3	-3.9	24th	125.4	159.4	average	79%
Lake St Clair National Park	13.0	+0.4	22.0	22nd	2.0	0.0	-4.6	24th	132.8	176.2	low	75%
Liawenee	11.7		19.2	21st	1.0		-7.4	24th	82.2	72.9	average	113%
West Coast (district 97)
Hartz Mountain (Keoghs Pimple)	11.4	+0.7	20.1	22nd	2.7	+0.1	-3.2	16th	59.4	90.5	low	66%
Mount Read	7.8	+0.3	17.1	22nd	1.3	0.0	-4.7	16th	292.6	367.0	low	80%
Scotts Peak Dam	16.2	+2.0	27.2	29th	5.2	+0.2	-0.7	16th	156.0	167.5	low	93%
Strahan Aerodrome	16.7	+0.7	27.2	22nd	7.3	0.0	3.1	24th	131.6	104.8	average	126%
Strathgordon Village	14.8	+1.3	24.2	29th	4.9	-0.5	0.7	16th	167.8	249.1	low	67%
Warra	14.2		24.2	22nd	4.2		-1.2	16th	122.6
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	16.2	+0.6	24.8	22nd	7.9	-0.9	2.6	28th	65.0	74.2	average	88%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	17.3	+0.6	24.2	22nd	9.4	+0.9	1.9	2nd	58.0	60.0	average	97%
Hogan Island	15.9		23.4	12th	10.2		6.5	17th	47.6
Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300)
Macquarie Island	6.1	+0.3	7.8	26th	2.4	+0.4	-2.8	18th	108.8	76.0	high	143%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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