Friday, 1 April 2011 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC27R0

Tasmania in March 2011: Another wet month, and a very cold start

Record heavy rainfalls and record cold temperatures featured in Tasmania during March 2011. The first week was exceptionally cold, giving the state its coldest March day and second coldest March night on record. Then exceptionally heavy rainfall fell in the northeast on the 23rd and 24th, breaking many records and causing major flooding of the South Esk river basin.

• Very cold start to the month
• 327 mm in a day at Gray
• Overall, cool days and near normal overnight temperatures
• Wettest start to a year on record in parts of the north

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall-breaking heavy rain and flooding

Exceptionally heavy rainfall occurred in the northeast on the 23rd and 24th as a complex area of low pressure moved near the state. Gray recorded 327 mm in 24 hours, making it Tasmania’s third-wettest day on record, and many sites had their wettest March day on record. The two-day totals were also extreme, with Gray’s total of 452 mm having only been exceeded on 4-5 April 1929.

The rain caused major flooding in the South Esk river basin, with peak heights in some places comparable to the floods of May 1969 and just slightly lower than those of April 1929. There was also flash flooding and minor to moderate flooding in a number of other rivers in the northeast and central north.

Further details on this event are contained in a Special Climate Statement entitled Heavy rainfall and flooding in northeast Tasmania.

A wet month overall except in the west

As well as the heavy rain on the 23rd and 24th, there were also heavy falls in the northeast early on the 21st and in the northwest around the 22nd associated with the same weather system. In all, much of the state received over 100 mm for the month, including all of the northeast reaching west to Devonport and south to Orford as well as the Tasmania's far northwest corner and King Island. This area had at least twice its usual March rainfall, and many sites had their wettest March on record or for many years. Gray had the most rain, with a total of 492 mm for the month, and Pyengana was not far behind with 432 mm.

Cold fronts in the first and last few days of the month brought reasonable falls to the west, but a lack of westerly weather patterns after this meant that the west was drier than usual overall. A few sites in the Derwent Valley also missed out on much of the rain. Bushy Park, for example, only received 12 mm around the 24th and 19 mm in total, making it the driest site for the month.

Wettest start to a year on record in parts of the north

Heavy rain in the northeast during March added to the exceptional rain in the north during January (see Special Climate Statement 25) and a wetter than usual February to make it the wettest start to a year on record for a number of sites in the northern Tasmania. Several records in the northeast were remarkable, including Scamander's 682 mm that more than doubled the previous record, and Pioneer's 562 mm which is almost 100 mm more than any other January-to-March rainfall since records began over a century ago.

Most of Tasmania has had above average rainfall for the first three months of the year, with only a few sites in the west around Queenstown having near normal rainfall.

An extremely cold start to the month

The start of the month was very cold for the time of the year as a high pressure system over the Bight only slowly moved towards Tasmania. Temperatures were 5 to 10 degrees cooler than usual, meaning that daytime temperatures struggled to reach the high teens and overnight temperatures fell below zero at many locations.

The morning of the 5th was especially cold, with a number of sites having their lowest March temperature on record. Liawenee recorded Tasmania's second coldest March temperature on record, dipping to -5.3 °C in the early hours of the morning. Tasmania's coldest March temperature is -6.9 °C, set at Liawenee on 26 March 2005. 

Mount Wellington also set a new record, with its temperature only reaching -0.5 °C on the 4th. This is the first time a Tasmanian site has recorded a maximum temperature below zero in March. On the 3rd Geeveston had its coldest March day on record, and many other sites had their coldest March day or night in around 15 years at the start of the month.

Cool days overall but near normal nights

The extremely cold temperatures at the start of the month were followed by a week of warmer weather. After that there were both warm and cool nights but daytime temperature were mostly below average. This meant that overall daytime temperatures were around a degree cooler than usual while overnight temperatures were within half a degree of average. Orford and Scottsdale were among the sites to have their lowest March mean daily maximum temperature on record or for many years.

An average month in Hobart

There was cold weather at the start and end of the month and some warm days in the middle, and the results for the whole of March were very close to average in Hobart: the mean daily maximum of 19.9 °C was just 0.2 °C below average, the mean daily minimum of 10.9 °C was right on the long-term average, and the rainfall of 45.4 mm was just 0.3 mm more than usual. The big contrast is with last year: Hobart was more than 2 degrees cooler and 15 mm wetter than March 2010.

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Extremes in March 2011
Hottest day	30.8 °C at Ouse Fire Station on the 12th
Warmest days on average	21.5 °C at Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)
Coolest days on average	10.2 °C at Mount Wellington
Coldest day	-0.5 °C at Mount Wellington on the 4th
Coldest night	-5.3 °C at Liawenee on the 5th
Coolest nights on average	3.2 °C at Liawenee
Warmest nights on average	14.5 °C at Hogan Island
Warmest night	18.8 °C at Hogan Island on the 13th
Warmest on average overall	16.9 °C at Eddystone Point
Coolest on average overall	6.8 °C at Mount Wellington
Wettest overall	491.8 mm at Gray (Dalmayne Rd)
Driest overall	19.0 mm at Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)
Wettest day	327.2 mm at Gray (Dalmayne Rd) on the 24th
Highest wind gust	124 km/h at Mount Wellington on the 2nd

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 March daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall in March 2011 (mm)		Previous wettest for March		Years of record
Avoca (Railway House)	92.4	on the 24th	68.6	on the 3rd in 1981	105
Pioneer (Main Road)	142.4	on the 24th	93.7	on the 31st in 1959	97
Bicheno (Council Depot)	128.0	on the 24th	104.9	on the 26th in 1946	84
Gladstone (Old Post Office)	149.8	on the 24th	90.6	on the 19th in 1974	68
Pyengana (Forest Lodge Road)	200.0	on the 24th	96.0	on the 22nd in 1970	50
Scamander	118.0	on the 24th	77.2	on the 23rd in 1974	29
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	50.4	on the 23rd	34.8	on the 8th in 2010	24

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Record highest total March rainfall
	Total rainfall for March 2011 (mm)	Previous wettest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Gladstone (Old Post Office)	262.4	253.6	in 1931	83	56.8
Orford (Aubin Court)	142.8	123.9	in 1970	58	46.4
Pyengana (Forest Lodge Road)	431.6	269.1	in 1970	50	80.2
Scamander	171.2	156.9	in 1974	29	66.6
Deviot Jetty	112.2	104.0	in 2001	22	39.3

Highest total March rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for March 2011 (mm)	Most recent March at least this wet		Years since wetter	Average for March
Pioneer (Main Road)	257.6	280.7	in 1911	98	59.5
Ringarooma (Charles Street)	182.6	335.4	in 1911	96	65.3
Fingal (Legge Street)	171.8	194.7	in 1970	41	45.0
Lewis Hill (St Pauls River)	166.0	295.0	in 1970	41	49.3
Swansea Post Office	165.2	187.5	in 1970	41	51.1
Avoca (Railway House)	129.8	148.5	in 1970	40	36.9
Victoria Valley (Glenrowan)	107.4	116.0	in 1975	36	56.2
Forthside Research Station	111.2	204.5	in 1977	34	54.2
Bicheno (Council Depot)	164.6	243.1	in 1970	33	57.5
Tooms Lake (Tooms River)	136.2	250.1	in 1970	33	43.5
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	139.4	272.6	in 1979	32	62.5
Lady Barron (Franklin Parade)	128.6	135.6	in 1979	30	55.5
Lorinna	135.7	136.9	in 1947	29	62.7
King Island Airport	83.8	147.6	in 1983	28	50.9
Naracoopa	113.6	147.4	in 1983	28	51.7
Frankford (Rossville)	142.0	152.4	in 1984	27	56.9
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	88.2	95.7	in 1984	27	36.7
Lilydale Post Office	121.8	165.2	in 1984	27	49.5
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	133.2	135.0	in 1984	27	54.3
Memana (Babel Farm)	105.2	190.6	in 1989	22	57.2

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Record lowest March daily maximum temperature
	Lowest daily maximum temperature in March 2011 (°C)		Previous coolest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	11.3	on the 3rd	11.5	on the 30th in 1995	24	20.1

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Record lowest March mean daily maximum temperature
	Mean daily maximum temperature for March 2011 (°C)	Previous coolest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Orford (Aubin Court)	18.8	18.9	in 2005	42	20.6
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	19.2	19.3	in 1975	39	21.3
Scamander	19.7	= 19.7	in 1976	28	20.7
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	15.8	16.0	in 1997	21	17.5

Lowest March mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years
	Mean daily maximum temperature for March 2011 (°C)	Most recent March at least this cool		Years since cooler	Average for March
Marrawah	18.0	17.9	in 1987	24	19.4
Swansea Post Office	19.5	19.4	in 1987	24	21.0

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Record lowest March temperature
	Lowest temperature in March 2011 (°C)		Previous coolest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Marrawah	3.5	on the 5th	5.2	on the 31st in 1995	41	11.6
Butlers Gorge	-4.4	on the 5th	-3.4	on the 12th in 1963	37	5.1
Tarraleah Village	-2.5	on the 5th	= -2.5	on the 26th in 2005	27	5.7
Wynyard Airport	-0.2	on the 5th	0.0	on the 31st in 1995	26	9.5
Dover	1.9	on the 5th	= 1.9	on the 28th in 2006	22	9.0
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	-3.1	on the 5th	= -3.1	on the 28th in 2008	22	6.0
Lake St Clair National Park	-4.1	on the 5th	-3.6	on the 26th in 2005	20	4.2
Strahan Aerodrome	0.8	on the 5th	1.3	on the 7th in 1994	20	9.7

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Record highest total January to March rainfall
	Total rainfall for January to March 2011 (mm)	Previous wettest for January to March		Years of record	Average for January to March
Frankford (Rossville)	407.8	378.8	in 1946	118	157.6
Pioneer (Main Road)	562.3	468.6	in 1907	107	163.3
Mole Creek	451.8	432.8	in 1996	96	172.6
Devonport Airport	263.6	249.5	in 1977	47	126.4
Pyengana (Forest Lodge Road)	775.4	529.0	in 2004	47	234.3
Forthside Research Station	371.2	343.4	in 1996	45	153.1
Barrington Post Office	429.0	372.3	in 1977	44	173.8
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	325.8	300.0	in 1977	40	153.6
Wynyard Airport	328.4	310.4	in 1996	38	138.0
King Island Airport	272.6	193.8	in 1977	37	120.6
Scamander	682.0	309.2	in 2008	28	166.7
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	240.0	212.8	in 1990	24	114.4

Highest total January to March rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for January to March 2011 (mm)	Most recent January to March at least this wet		Years since wetter	Average for January to March
City of Melbourne Bay	251.8	430.3	in 1946	65	143.0
Burnie (Round Hill)	283.9	333.8	in 1946	64	139.2
Naracoopa	303.2	425.5	in 1946	64	135.3
Latrobe (Coal Road)	367.0	391.1	in 1946	63	137.5
Yolla (Sea View)	488.2	497.8	in 1946	62	201.5
Yambacoona	269.8	474.8	in 1946	61	120.3
Ringarooma (Charles Street)	363.0	481.8	in 1946	60	185.6
Ulverstone (Knights Road)	294.6	320.0	in 1956	53	138.3
Swansea Post Office	281.8	295.7	in 1971	40	142.9
Lady Barron (Franklin Parade)	267.6	289.5	in 1970	38	142.5
Marrawah	267.2	273.1	in 1975	36	159.5
Memana (Babel Farm)	279.8	283.6	in 1970	36	152.9
Lewis Hill (St Pauls River)	237.2	252.0	in 1977	34	132.4
Avoca (Railway House)	214.8	235.4	in 1977	33	110.4
Bicheno (Council Depot)	374.6	477.6	in 1970	33	170.3
Eddystone Point	298.2	309.4	in 1977	32	151.1
Gladstone (Old Post Office)	529.0	532.2	in 1977	32	161.3
Tooms Lake (Tooms River)	256.0	363.9	in 1970	31	121.2
Irishtown	244.6	257.4	in 1977	29	164.2
Lorinna	396.1	496.9	in 1946	29	191.2
Flinders Island Airport	216.5	277.6	in 1981	27	136.7

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for March 2011
	Maximum temperatures for March (°C)				Minimum temperatures for March (°C)				Rainfall for March (millimetres)
	Mean for March 2011	Diff from average	Highest for March 2011		Mean for March 2011	Diff from average	Lowest for March 2011		Total for March 2011	Average for March	Rank of March 2011	Fraction of March average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	19.6	-1.4	24.0	13th	11.5	-0.1	4.0	5th	112.0	44.7	v high	251%
Burnie (Round Hill)	19.6	-0.4	23.9	13th	12.0	0.0	5.1	5th	48.6	49.9	average	97%
Cape Grim	17.2		21.0	21st	12.4		3.9	5th	80.2
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	17.4	-1.1	20.8	15th	12.3	-0.6	4.2	5th	83.2	43.1	v high	193%
Cressy Research Station	20.9	-1.9	27.8	13th	8.5	+0.4	-0.5	5th	131.0	43.6	v high	300%
Devonport Airport	19.2	-1.1	24.0	21st	10.8	0.0	3.3	5th	85.4	46.5	high	184%
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	21.5	-1.0	26.4	21st	10.5	+0.4	2.1	31st	88.2	36.7	v high	240%
Launceston Airport	21.1		27.3	13th	9.0		0.2	31st	110.6
Low Head	19.1	-0.8	22.3	10th	13.0	-0.2	7.3	5th	131.6	42.3	v high	311%
Luncheon Hill (Forestry)	17.4	-1.4	23.1	10th	9.1	-0.5	1.7	5th	68.0	82.0	average	83%
Marrawah	18.0	-1.4	22.0	21st	11.2	-0.4	3.5	5th	83.8	65.4	high	128%
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	19.2	-2.1	24.0	13th	9.9	0.0	1.4	5th	133.2	54.3	v high	245%
Sheffield School Farm	18.2	-1.8	23.0	21st	8.9	-0.4	0.9	5th	140.6	55.5	v high	253%
Smithton Aerodrome	19.2	-1.1	23.8	13th	10.0	+0.6	-0.4	5th	49.8	45.3	average	110%
Wynyard Airport	19.4	-0.7	26.0	13th	10.0	+0.5	-0.2	5th	48.8	45.0	average	108%
East Coast (district 92)
Bicheno (Council Depot)	20.0	-0.5	25.7	13th	11.6	-0.4	5.0	2nd	164.6	57.5	v high	286%
Eddystone Point	20.6	+0.2	25.6	9th	13.3	0.0	5.5	31st	133.2	58.1	v high	229%
Fingal (Legge Street)	20.1	-1.5	29.0	13th	8.0	+0.1	-1.4	2nd	171.8	45.0	v high	382%
Friendly Beaches	20.2	-1.3	29.0	13th	11.5	-0.4	5.3	5th	131.6	58.8	v high	224%
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	15.8	-1.7	23.8	13th	6.0	0.0	-3.1	5th	139.4	62.5	v high	223%
Maria Island (Point Lesueur)	18.6		25.2	13th	12.2		6.9	5th	80.8
Orford (Aubin Court)	18.8	-1.8	23.9	7th	10.0	-0.7	4.2	31st	142.8	46.4	highest	308%
Scamander	19.7	-1.0	29.0	13th	11.5	-0.3	4.1	2nd	171.2	66.6	highest	257%
St Helens Aerodrome	19.8	-1.2	27.5	13th	11.4	-0.1	3.5	31st	166.6	62.0	v high	269%
Swan Island	19.2		23.9	13th	14.0		8.4	31st	183.4	61.0	v high	301%
Swansea Post Office	19.5	-1.5	30.5	13th	9.6	-0.8	1.5	5th	165.2	51.1	v high	323%
Midlands (district 93)
Ross (The Boulevards)	20.5	-1.2	28.5	13th	8.4	+0.5	-3.3	5th	70.4	34.3	high	205%
Southeast (district 94)
Bull Bay (Lauriston)	18.7	-1.1	25.0	12th	10.3	-1.1	5.5	2nd	64.4	44.4	high	145%
Campania (Kincora)	21.1	-1.1	29.3	12th	9.4	-0.6	2.2	6th	50.2	36.5	high	138%
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	17.4	-1.1	25.0	8th	10.7	-0.9	5.7	2nd	61.8	55.4	average	112%
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	16.8	-0.8	24.0	8th	11.0	-0.1	5.7	31st	74.4	68.6	average	108%
Dover	18.4	-0.7	25.0	8th	8.4	-0.6	1.9	5th	43.6	64.0	average	68%
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	18.8	-1.3	28.5	12th	8.9	+0.5	1.4	6th	44.0	54.3	average	81%
Grove (Research Station)	19.4		29.1	12th	7.1		-0.3	5th	74.2
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	19.9	-0.2	29.6	12th	10.9	0.0	5.9	5th	45.4	45.1	average	101%
Hobart Airport	20.2	-0.5	28.8	13th	10.6	-0.2	5.2	6th	50.2	36.5	high	138%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	15.1	-1.2	22.6	7th	10.3	-0.3	5.0	4th	60.0	85.1	low	71%
Melton Mowbray (North Stockman)	19.8	-1.1	29.4	12th	8.0	-0.2	-1.8	5th	31.0	33.2	average	93%
Mount Wellington	10.2	-1.2	19.2	12th	3.3	-0.7	-3.3	5th	145.4	76.0	high	191%
Tasman Island	15.4		21.1	8th	10.3		4.4	5th	93.8	70.7	high	133%
Tunnack Fire Station	17.5	-1.6	25.6	13th	7.5	0.0	-3.5	5th	118.6	55.8	high	213%
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	21.1	-0.7	29.3	12th	7.7	-0.7	-0.8	5th	19.0	39.2	low	48%
Maydena Post Office	17.9	-1.6	27.7	12th	7.2	+0.2	-1.5	5th	56.4	69.2	average	82%
Ouse Fire Station	20.9	-1.4	30.8	12th	7.2	-0.6	-2.1	5th	32.4	29.3	average	111%
Tarraleah Village	16.5	-1.0	25.0	12th	5.9	+0.2	-2.5	5th	96.0	70.7	high	136%
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	15.6	-1.0	23.5	12th	4.9	-0.2	-4.4	5th	133.0	100.0	high	133%
Lake St Clair National Park	15.9	-0.7	23.6	12th	4.4	+0.2	-4.1	5th	134.4	107.1	high	125%
Liawenee	14.7	-1.4	21.5	28th	3.2	-0.4	-5.3	5th	92.4	57.6	high	160%
West Coast (district 97)
Hartz Mountain (Keoghs Pimple)	12.8	-1.7	22.8	12th	5.4	-0.7	-0.8	4th	67.2	68.9	average	98%
Mount Read	11.1	-0.7	18.8	12th	4.1	-0.8	-1.8	5th	223.0	263.6	average	85%
Scotts Peak Dam	16.8	-1.6	28.2	12th	7.7	-0.6	1.8	5th	133.6	116.9	average	114%
Strahan Aerodrome	18.9	-0.5	27.8	12th	10.0	+0.3	0.8	5th	75.2	102.5	average	73%
Strathgordon Village	15.8	-1.6	25.8	12th	8.4	-0.1	1.7	5th	145.0	147.3	average	98%
Warra	15.4		25.2	12th	6.8		-1.3	5th	138.0
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	18.8	-1.2	26.3	12th	12.3	+0.4	4.9	5th	83.8	50.9	v high	165%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	20.4	-0.9	28.5	13th	12.9	+0.4	4.2	6th	85.4	50.5	high	169%
Hogan Island	19.2		26.0	13th	14.5		10.8	5th	140.0
Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300)
Macquarie Island	7.7	-0.3	9.9	9th	4.3	-0.4	0.6	19th	104.2	99.5	average	105%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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