Tuesday, 1 March 2011 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in February 2011: Cool temperatures and more rain

A succession of cold fronts and troughs crossed Tasmania during February, bringing rain across the state and keeping temperatures below average. Nearly the whole state was wetter than usual, continuing a pattern of mostly wetter than usual months that began in August last year. There were few hot days, and several cold nights.

• Wettest February since 1999 for much of the north
• 77 mm at Scamander on the 20th
• Mountain snow on the 6th, 20th and 21st  

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Another wet month

February was wetter than usual except for a few sites in the southeast, continuing a pattern of above average rainfall that began in August last year. Since then, October has been the only month not wetter than usual over large parts of the state. Many sites in the north had their wettest February since 1999, and  Deal Island (122 mm) had its wettest February since 1939. Mount Read was the wettest site, with 194 mm, but most of the west as well as a few sites in the north and northeast had over 100 mm. The driest locations were the Midlands and inland parts of the east, but most areas still received over 30 mm. Below Craigbourne Dam (Coal River) had the lowest total rainfall, with 22.4 mm. 

The heaviest rain in February came from a low pressure system that crossed the state on the 19th, bringing statewide rain. Most of the north and parts of the southeast received 40 to 60 mm over 2 days, and Scamander had 77 mm in a day (the highest daily total for this month). There was also moderate to heavy rain in the southeast and central east on the 1st from thunderstorms, in the north on the 10th with a trough, and in the west and south on the 20th with a cold front.

Cool days predominate

Many more cold fronts than usual crossed Tasmania during February, bringing repeated cold changes and preventing the build up of heat that often occurs at this time of the year. There were only a couple of hot days: in the north and east on the 1st, when both Fingal and Flinders Island Airport reached 35.0 °C, and in the west and Derwent Valley between the 14th and 16th. These were the only days when the temperature anywhere in the state climbed over 30 °C, in a month when much of Australia was cooler than usual.

Conversely, there were many days that were much cooler than usual, especially in the west. The coldest days were generally in southwest airflows behind cold fronts and included the 6th to 8th, 12th and 18th to 25th. The 20th and 21st were especially cold, behind a cold front that brought snow to around 900 metres. The temperature at Strahan only managed to reach 15 °C on these days; in all Strahan had 13 days below 18 °C, twice what would occur in a typical February.

For the whole month, average maximum temperature graded from over two degrees below normal in the west to around a degree below normal in the east. Most sites were noticeably cooler in February than they had been in January. Marrawah and Strahan had their coldest February days on record, and Maatsuyker Island had its coldest February since 1949.

Cold nights too

There were a few warm nights during February, including the 1st, 11th and 16-17th, but cool nights were much more common. For the whole month, overnight temperatures were around half to one degree below normal, and Orford and Swansea had their coolest February nights on average since 1987.

A cold front that crossed the state on the 20th was responsible for the coldest mornings on the month on the 21st and 22nd. Many sites had their coldest February morning in over 10 years including Cape Bruny, where the temperature dipped to 4.6 °C, its coldest February morning since 1985. Mount Wellington had the lowest temperature, falling to -2.5 °C on the 21st. Other cold mornings included the 2nd, the 6th to the 9th and the 12th and 13th.

Cooler than usual in Hobart

The average maximum temperature for Hobart in February was 20.7 °C, nearly a degree cooler than usual, over two degrees cooler than last year, and the coolest February since 1996. The highest temperature was just 27.6 °C on the 16th, the coolest "hot day" for a long time. In 1949 the hottest February day was 22.9 °C, but since then every February has had at least one day warmer than this year's 27.6 °C; last year it reached 31.7 °C on the 20th. The last time Hobart didn't have a February day above 30 °C was 1990. 

Nights were a little cooler than usual, with the average overnight temperature of 11.8 °C being 0.2 °C cooler than usual. The coldest night was 6.4 °C on the 21st; not since 2004 has there been a February night this cold in Hobart.

A total of 54.4 mm of rain fell in Hobart during February, 14 mm above average. Most of this fell on 2 days, with 16 mm on the 2nd and 22 mm on the 20th. It was wetter than February 2010 but drier than February 2009.

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Extremes in February 2011
Hottest day	35.0 °C at Fingal (Legge Street) and Flinders Island Airport on the 1st
Warmest days on average	23.4 °C at Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)
Coolest days on average	12.4 °C at Mount Wellington
Coldest day	4.5 °C at Mount Read on the 20th
Coldest night	-2.5 °C at Mount Wellington on the 21st
Coolest nights on average	4.0 °C at Mount Wellington
Warmest nights on average	15.2 °C at Hogan Island
Warmest night	20.3 °C at Flinders Island Airport on the 1st
Warmest on average overall	18.2 °C at Eddystone Point
Coolest on average overall	8.2 °C at Mount Wellington
Wettest overall	193.6 mm at Mount Read
Driest overall	22.4 mm at Below Craigbourne Dam (Coal River)
Wettest day	77.2 mm at Scamander on the 20th
Highest wind gust	131 km/h at Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse on the 20th

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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Highest total February rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for February 2011 (mm)	Most recent February at least this wet		Years since wetter	Average for February
Deal Island	122.0	175.8	in 1939	70	37.3

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Record lowest February mean daily maximum temperature
	Mean daily maximum temperature for February 2011 (°C)	Previous coolest for February		Years of record	Average for February
Marrawah	18.8	18.9	in 1996	39	20.9
Strahan Aerodrome	19.0	19.1	in 1998	20	21.2

Lowest February mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years
	Mean daily maximum temperature for February 2011 (°C)	Most recent February at least this cool		Years since cooler	Average for February
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	15.1	13.1	in 1949	62	17.2

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Lowest February mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years
	Mean daily minimum temperature for February 2011 (°C)	Most recent February at least this cool		Years since cooler	Average for February
Orford (Aubin Court)	11.0	9.9	in 1987	24	12.1
Swansea Post Office	10.5	9.9	in 1987	24	11.8

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Record lowest February mean temperature
	Mean daily temperature for February 2011 (°C)	Previous coolest for February		Years of record	Average for February
Dover	14.0	= 14.0	in 2008	21	15.4
Strahan Aerodrome	14.8	= 14.8	in 2008	20	15.9

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for February 2011
	Maximum temperatures for February (°C)				Minimum temperatures for February (°C)				Rainfall for February (millimetres)
	Mean for February 2011	Diff from average	Highest for February 2011		Mean for February 2011	Diff from average	Lowest for February 2011		Total for February 2011	Average for February	Rank of February 2011	Fraction of February average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	20.4	-1.8	25.2	17th	12.4	-0.8	6.8	22nd	65.2	33.7	high	193%
Burnie (Round Hill)	21.1	-0.1	25.1	27th	12.9	-0.4	7.3	12th	61.0	44.6	high	137%
Cape Grim	17.7		23.6	1st	12.9		8.7	6th	57.2
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	18.2	-1.4	23.5	1st	12.9	-0.9	8.8	6th	58.6	34.6	high	169%
Cressy Research Station	23.0	-2.3	31.5	1st	9.2	-1.2	1.9	22nd	51.6	29.6	high	174%
Devonport Airport	20.7	-0.9	24.2	16th	11.9	-0.7	6.3	22nd	59.8	37.0	high	162%
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	23.4	-1.1	30.2	1st	12.2	+0.1	5.2	22nd	41.2	31.7	average	130%
Launceston Airport	23.1		31.0	1st	10.1		3.6	7th	34.4
Low Head	20.3	-0.8	24.1	1st	14.0	-0.6	8.8	22nd	56.8	26.6	high	214%
Luncheon Hill (Forestry)	18.9	-2.3	24.6	1st	9.8	-1.0	4.4	6th	79.6	56.3	high	141%
Marrawah	18.8	-2.1	25.0	1st	12.0	-0.4	8.0	6th	60.2	44.9	high	134%
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	20.9	-2.2	31.8	1st	11.1	0.0	4.1	7th	80.4	40.5	v high	199%
Sheffield School Farm	20.0	-1.6	27.5	1st	10.0	-0.8	5.6	6th	78.4	41.8	high	188%
Smithton Aerodrome	20.3	-1.6	27.2	1st	10.6	-1.1	3.6	12th	55.0	33.6	high	164%
Wynyard Airport	21.2	-0.4	27.7	1st	10.7	-0.9	5.3	6th	74.0	49.1	high	151%
East Coast (district 92)
Bicheno (Council Depot)	20.7	-0.7	25.9	17th	12.7	-0.3	7.9	22nd	75.4	58.2	high	130%
Eddystone Point	22.4	+1.2	31.9	1st	14.0	-0.2	8.0	22nd	41.0	46.7	average	88%
Fingal (Legge Street)	22.3	-0.5	35.0	1st	9.5	-0.5	2.3	22nd
Friendly Beaches	21.8	-0.8	30.1	1st	12.2	-1.0	6.6	22nd	78.8	59.8	high	132%
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	18.3	-0.6	26.4	1st	7.4	-0.8	1.3	22nd	47.2	46.3	average	102%
Maria Island (Point Lesueur)	19.7		22.7	17th	12.6		7.7	21st	43.4
Orford (Aubin Court)	20.1	-1.8	23.5	15th	11.0	-1.1	6.4	21st	59.0	45.8	average	129%
Scamander	21.0	-0.7	33.7	1st	12.7	-0.2	7.9	22nd	134.3	45.2	v high	297%
St Helens Aerodrome	21.6	-0.1	32.4	1st	12.7	-0.6	6.3	22nd	92.0	64.6	high	142%
Swan Island	20.8		25.8	1st	14.7		9.8	22nd	40.8
Swansea Post Office	21.3	-0.8	26.0	1st	10.5	-1.3	4.9	22nd	56.0	43.1	high	130%
Midlands (district 93)
Ross (The Boulevards)	22.8	-1.3	28.7	1st	9.4	-1.2	2.2	22nd	46.4	40.2	average	115%
Southeast (district 94)
Bull Bay (Lauriston)	19.4	-1.8	24.2	16th	11.2	-1.4	5.8	22nd	64.0	43.2	high	148%
Campania (Kincora)	22.5	-1.4	30.0	15th	10.5	-0.7	4.4	6th	27.4	34.1	low	80%
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	17.7	-2.1	24.7	16th	11.0	-1.4	5.5	21st	84.0	64.1	high	131%
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	17.1	-1.4	24.0	16th	11.3	-0.4	4.6	22nd	98.4	57.1	high	172%
Dover	18.8	-1.8	25.5	16th	9.2	-1.1	2.9	21st	84.6	52.4	high	161%
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	19.7	-2.4	27.7	16th	9.4	-0.4	3.8	2nd	97.2	51.6	v high	188%
Grove (Research Station)	20.7		26.8	15th	8.4		2.6	6th	59.6
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	20.7	-0.9	27.6	16th	11.8	-0.2	6.4	21st	54.4	40.4	high	135%
Hobart Airport	21.1	-1.2	28.6	15th	11.5	-0.5	5.4	21st	33.4	36.6	average	91%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	15.1	-2.1	22.1	16th	10.6	-0.5	6.2	21st	128.6	70.7	v high	182%
Melton Mowbray (North Stockman)	21.8	-1.7	28.4	15th	9.5	-0.7	4.9	9th	25.6	35.2	low	73%
Mount Wellington	12.4	-1.3	18.8	15th	4.0	-1.4	-2.5	21st	102.6	79.9	high	128%
Tasman Island	16.2		19.3	17th	10.6		4.7	21st	75.4	54.2	high	139%
Tunnack Fire Station	19.7	-1.6	25.6	15th	7.9	-1.2	0.7	12th	41.4	48.9	average	85%
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	22.7	-1.2	31.6	15th	10.0	0.0	5.0	2nd	48.4	35.2	high	138%
Maydena Post Office	19.4	-3.0	29.0	15th	8.6	-0.3	3.6	9th	90.2	65.1	high	139%
Ouse Fire Station	23.1	-2.2	31.1	15th	9.4	-0.5	4.5	2nd	51.2	32.8	high	156%
Tarraleah Village	18.7	-1.2	27.1	15th	7.0	-0.1	2.1	21st	94.5	60.6	high	156%
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	17.5	-1.3	26.7	15th	5.9	-0.3	1.5	9th	111.6	82.1	high	136%
Lake St Clair National Park	17.6	-1.7	26.3	15th	5.4	-0.6	0.8	2nd	110.0	83.6	high	132%
Liawenee	17.4	-0.9	23.5	1st	4.8	-0.2	-1.1	6th	58.6	43.3	average	135%
West Coast (district 97)
Hartz Mountain (Keoghs Pimple)	14.7	-2.9	24.0	15th	6.0	-1.3	-0.1	21st	93.6	66.8	average	140%
Mount Read	12.6	-1.7	21.1	14th	5.2	-1.1	-0.2	21st	193.6	175.9	high	110%
Scotts Peak Dam	18.4	-2.7	30.9	15th	8.6	-0.8	3.9	21st	140.6	77.0	high	183%
Strahan Aerodrome	19.0	-2.2	26.8	16th	10.5	-0.2	5.7	2nd	99.2	62.6	high	158%
Strathgordon Village	17.3	-2.4	27.0	16th	9.2	-0.4	4.8	21st	177.6	110.4	high	161%
Warra	16.8		25.5	15th	7.6		2.7	21st	131.6
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	19.4	-1.8	26.6	16th	12.7	-0.3	7.9	2nd	54.8	31.8	high	172%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	21.7	-0.9	35.0	1st	13.7	0.0	5.9	22nd	51.2	38.9	high	132%
Hogan Island	20.5		31.2	1st	15.2		11.7	21st	93.6
Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300)
Macquarie Island	8.9	+0.3	11.0	20th	5.2	-0.1	1.9	25th	123.0	85.6	v high	144%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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