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

Tasmania in October 2011: Several cold nights, some warm days

There were relatively few cold fronts crossing Tasmania during October, with the state often finding itself in cool air on the eastern flank of a high south of the Bight. Rain was average or below-average in most areas. Most of the time it was cooler than usual, but there was some warm weather.

• Cool weather more frequent than warm
• Some very cold nights
• A few very warm days
• Average to below-average rainfall

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Plenty of cool days, but a few hot ones

Cool days were common in Tasmania for most of October. There were some particularly chilly days at the start of the month, the 9th to the 11th, the 16th and around the 24th, when temperatures were struggling to get into the low teens. In each case Tasmania found itself in cool air on the eastern flank of a high south of the Bight. In stark contrast the period from the 18th to the 20th was very warm, with a high off the NSW coast and a front approaching from the west bringing northerly winds that pushed temperatures in the southeast into the high 20s; Bushy Park reached 30 °C on the 19th.

Despite the cool days, most areas of the state had a relatively warm month overall, with most sites recording daytime temperatures about half a degree warmer than the long-term average for October. Maximum temperatures were cooler than usual in the east, but only by half a degree or so.

Some very cold nights

There were several very cold nights during October, with Liawenee dropping below -5 °C on the 2nd, 3rd, 10th and 25th. Strahan and Dover had their lowest October temperature on record on the morning of the 2nd, after winds slackened and skies cleared after cool air had been brought across the state late in September. Another shot of cool air late in the month saw several areas dip below zero on the morning of the 25th; relatively late in the year for such a cold morning. There were a few mild nights, notably when several sites stayed in the high teens through to the morning of the 20th.

Taken over the whole month, overnight temperatures were below the October average for most of the state, but above average in the northwest, along the north coast and on the Bass Strait islands.

An average-to-dry month in most of Tasmania

There were fewer than usual rain-bearing systems crossing Tasmania during October. There were wet days, notably around the 11th, the 16th, the 24th and the 29th, but totals for the whole month were average or below in most areas. The main exceptions were on the northwest coast (especially because of heavy showers and thunderstorms on the 24th and the 29th) and the southeast (where southerly winds brought wet weather around the 29th).

Despite a relatively dry month, the western highlands still received over 150 mm. Lake Margaret Power Station's 231 mm was the wettest confirmed overall (the rain gauge on Mount Read registered 279 mm but was affected by snow on some days and the full total there is not known). Fingal, in the northeast, managed only 29 mm for the whole month.

Hobart: some warm days, some cold nights, average rain

Hobart's temperatures were fractionally above the long-term October average overall. Most days and nights were cooler than normal, but there were also 3 consecutive days over 25 °C, peaking at 29.4 °C on the 19th (the warmest day since mid-March). Along with the rest of the state, Hobart woke to a chilly morning on the 25th, with a minimum of just 2.8 °C. 61.2 mm of rain for the month was just half a millimetre less than the long-term average. There were three particularly wet times for Hobart: the evening of the 8th when a thunderstorm delivered 8.4 mm in half an hour; the 15th to the 17th (with cold and showery weather and mountain snow) and the 29th (after a trough passed over the state).

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Extremes in October 2011
Hottest day	30.0 °C at Bushy Park on the 19th
Warmest days on average	18.3 °C at Bushy Park
Coolest days on average	7.7 °C at Mount Wellington
Coldest day	-0.4 °C at Mount Wellington on the 11th
Coldest night	-6.0 °C at Liawenee on the 3rd
Coolest nights on average	0.4 °C at Mount Wellington
Warmest nights on average	10.4 °C at Hogan Island
Warmest night	18.0 °C at Friendly Beaches on the 20th
Warmest on average overall	13.6 °C at Eddystone Point
Coolest on average overall	4.1 °C at Mount Wellington
Wettest overall	231.4 mm at Lake Margaret Power Station
Driest overall	28.8 mm at Fingal (Legge Street)
Wettest day	43.0 mm at Luncheon Hill on the 30th
Highest wind gust	128 km/h at Hogan Island on the 10th 128 km/h at Cape Grim on the 16th

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 lowest October temperature
	Lowest temperature in October 2011 (°C)		Previous coolest for October		Years of record	Average for October
Strahan Aerodrome	-1.1	on the 2nd	-0.1	on the 31st in 1995	23	7.3
Dover	-0.5	on the 2nd	= -0.5	on the 16th in 2006	22	6.4

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for October 2011
	Maximum temperatures for October (°C)				Minimum temperatures for October (°C)				Rainfall for October (millimetres)
	Mean for October 2011	Diff from average	Highest for October 2011		Mean for October 2011	Diff from average	Lowest for October 2011		Total for October 2011	Average for October	Rank of October 2011	Fraction of October average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	16.7	+0.3	22.4	20th	8.2	+0.3	1.5	3rd	66.8	60.5	average	110%
Burnie (Round Hill)	16.3	+0.4	19.8	20th	9.0	+1.0	3.0	10th	100.8	85.7	high	118%
Cape Grim	14.5		20.0	19th	9.1		4.6	2nd	69.8
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	14.9	+0.6	19.7	19th	9.0	-0.2	4.5	2nd	71.0	62.1	average	114%
Cressy Research Station	17.0	-0.1	23.8	20th	4.9	-0.2	-2.1	10th	41.4	49.5	average	84%
Devonport Airport	16.0	+0.2	19.8	20th	7.4	+0.1	1.4	10th	61.0	64.7	average	94%
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	18.2	+0.2	23.6	19th	6.4	-0.5	0.3	10th	38.8	51.0	average	76%
Launceston Airport	17.3		23.5	19th	5.0		-2.2	10th	50.2
Low Head	15.5	+0.2	19.3	20th	8.9	-0.6	4.9	2nd	67.4	54.4	average	124%
Luncheon Hill (Forestry)	16.3	+1.7	23.8	19th	6.2	+0.3	1.0	25th	144.6	133.5	average	108%
Marrawah	15.6	+0.7	22.5	19th	7.9	-0.2	3.9	2nd	93.8	89.0	average	105%
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	16.3	-0.1	22.5	19th	5.6	-0.2	-1.0	10th	57.8	83.4	average	69%
Sheffield School Farm	15.2	+0.2	21.4	20th	5.4	-0.3	-0.3	10th	87.4	82.2	average	106%
Smithton Aerodrome	16.8	+0.6	22.3	20th	6.9	0.0	0.2	10th	92.8	82.0	average	113%
Wynyard Airport	17.1	+1.1	23.1	22nd	6.1	0.0	-0.3	10th	94.6	97.9	average	97%
East Coast (district 92)
Bicheno (Council Depot)	16.9	-0.5	25.4	20th	8.4	-0.1	3.0	10th	44.6	55.7	average	80%
Eddystone Point	18.1	+1.7	27.0	20th	9.1	0.0	2.9	10th	57.8	69.2	average	84%
Fingal (Legge Street)	16.8	-0.6	26.0	19th	4.3	-0.6	-2.2	10th	28.8	54.4	low	53%
Friendly Beaches	17.6	-0.3	28.3	19th	8.3	-0.3	1.4	10th	40.4	59.1	low	68%
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	13.2	-0.5	21.6	20th	2.9	-0.6	-3.7	10th	50.6	75.2	average	67%
Maria Island (Point Lesueur)	15.7		23.9	20th	9.4		4.0	10th	34.0
Orford (Aubin Court)	16.7	-0.6	27.4	20th	7.5	+0.3	1.5	25th	49.6	59.8	average	83%
Scamander	17.0	-0.5	27.1	19th	7.9	-0.2	3.2	17th	65.4	62.8	high	104%
St Helens Aerodrome	17.0	-0.3	25.7	19th	7.6	-0.4	2.4	12th	62.4	69.5	average	90%
Swan Island	16.2	+0.2	23.0	20th	10.0	-0.2	4.5	10th	53.0	49.2	average	108%
Swansea (Francis Street)	16.3		27.3	19th	6.7		-0.1	10th	38.8
Midlands (district 93)
Ross (The Boulevards)	16.8	-0.2	24.6	20th	4.4	-0.5	-3.4	10th	41.4	42.7	average	97%
Southeast (district 94)
Bull Bay (Lauriston)	15.8	-0.8	28.0	19th	7.9	-0.2	3.5	25th	69.8	56.1	high	124%
Campania (Kincora)	17.6	-0.3	29.1	19th	6.1	-0.3	-0.3	2nd	43.0	40.5	average	106%
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	15.4	+0.1	27.4	19th	8.2	0.0	4.1	11th	66.4	67.1	average	99%
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	14.8	+0.4	26.4	19th	8.5	+0.6	3.9	11th	69.6	83.5	average	83%
Dover	15.9	-0.2	28.1	19th	5.8	-0.6	-0.5	2nd	74.4	86.3	average	86%
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	16.5	+0.1	28.3	19th	5.7	-0.3	-0.9	4th	91.0	91.5	average	99%
Grove (Research Station)	17.0		28.9	19th	4.5		-2.3	25th	75.2
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	17.1	+0.2	29.4	19th	8.1	+0.3	2.8	25th	61.2	61.7	average	99%
Hobart Airport	17.0	-0.3	29.4	19th	7.8	+0.3	2.3	25th	40.6	46.5	average	87%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	12.8	-0.5	23.4	19th	8.1	+0.7	5.1	1st	93.2	105.7	average	88%
Melton Mowbray (North Stockman)	16.6	0.0	27.5	19th	4.6	-1.0	-2.2	2nd	42.2	42.4	average	100%
Mount Wellington	7.7	+0.7	20.1	19th	0.4	+0.4	-5.1	25th
Tasman Island	13.1		23.3	19th	7.8		3.3	10th	90.6	62.2	high	146%
Tunnack Fire Station	14.3	-0.1	22.2	20th	4.1	-0.3	-3.5	2nd	53.2	54.6	average	97%
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	18.3	+0.6	30.0	19th	5.3	-0.5	-2.0	2nd	48.4	57.3	average	84%
Maydena Post Office	16.0	+0.4	27.0	19th	4.1	-0.7	-3.0	2nd	107.7	117.9	average	91%
Ouse Fire Station	18.0	+0.4	28.7	19th	4.6	-0.7	-2.2	2nd	59.0	53.5	average	110%
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	13.5	+1.0	23.6	19th	1.8	-0.6	-4.9	2nd	150.6	159.3	average	95%
Lake St Clair National Park	13.6	+1.0	24.0	19th	1.7	-0.3	-4.2	2nd	152.4	175.2	average	87%
Liawenee	11.8	+0.5	20.9	20th	0.7	+0.1	-6.0	3rd	49.8	71.1	average	70%
West Coast (district 97)
Cape Sorell	15.6	+1.3	21.0	19th	8.8	+0.2	4.0	2nd	80.6	108.6	low	74%
Hartz Mountain (Keoghs Pimple)	11.2	+0.5	22.3	19th	2.8	+0.2	-1.7	25th	107.0	91.7	average	117%
Mount Read	9.0	+1.5	19.5	19th	1.7	+0.4	-3.2	25th
Scotts Peak Dam	15.2	+0.9	27.2	19th	5.2	+0.2	-0.2	2nd	152.0	166.3	low	91%
Strahan Aerodrome	16.7	+0.7	28.1	19th	6.4	-0.9	-1.1	2nd	146.8	118.1	average	124%
Warra	13.6		26.3	19th	4.1		-2.7	2nd	175.0
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	16.6	+0.9	27.8	19th	9.2	+0.5	3.3	3rd	67.0	74.2	average	90%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	17.0	+0.3	28.4	20th	8.1	-0.5	2.0	18th	66.6	60.3	average	110%
Hogan Island	15.9		26.8	20th	10.4		7.2	17th	69.4

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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