Thursday, 1 March 2012 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC27R0

Tasmania in February 2012: A record hot weekend

The last weekend of February was exceptionally hot in Tasmania, with maximum and minimum temperatures broken at some sites. Rainfall was below average in the south and northwest, but heavy rain saw above average rainfall in parts of the north.

• Hottest February day on record for some on the 25th
• Record warm night at some sites
• Record 180 mm in 48 hours for Deal Island
• Wettest February on record for Deal and Flinders Islands
• Below average rainfall across the south and northwest
• Warm days and nights overall

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

A record hot weekend

The last weekend of February was very hot. Warm northerly winds and clear skies saw day-time temperatures reach up into the mid to high 30s on both the 25th and 26th, and night-time temperatures staying above 20 at some locations.

The 25th was the warmest day and Hobart Airport the warmest spot reaching 39.4 °C, its warmest February day in 30 years. Geeveston, Dover, Lake St Clair and Maydena all recording their highest February temperature on record that day. Maximum temperatures exceeded 36 °C on both days at several sites in the southeast. While this has happened a few times before, it is not common, and it is very unusual for so late in February.

Minimum temperatures were also very warm over that last weekend of February, with temperatures remaining above 20 °C at several locations. Maatsuyker Island, Orford, Geeveston, Devonport and Cape Grim all recorded their warmest February night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record that weekend, with Maatsuyker Island breaking its previous record by 3.1 °C. Hobart and Orford did not drop below 22 °C for two nights in a row, a first for Tasmania. Tasman Island recorded the highest minimum temperature for the month with 23.6 °C.

Record rain for Deal and Flinders Islands

A trough of low pressure over Bass Strait produced heavy rainfall over the Furneaux and Kent Islands on February 10 and 11. Daily rainfall totals ranged from 20 to 70 mm in the 24 hours to 9am on the 10th, but were heaviest with thunderstorms on the morning of the 11th. Deal Island recorded 114 mm in the 24 hours to 9am on the 11th, with Memana on Flinders Island recording 77 mm. For both locations, this is their highest February daily rainfall on record. The two-day rainfall totals for this period were also record-breaking, with Deal Island's 180 mm its wettest two-day period of any month. The previous wettest two-day period was 28 to 29 August 2001 when 140 mm was recorded.

As a result of the heavy rain on 10 and 11 February, both Deal Island and Memana recorded their highest total February rainfall on record. Deal Island's was also the wettest site in the state, with a total of 236 mm for the month.

Below average rainfall across the south, average in the north

Monthly rainfall totals were below average on King Island and across much of the southern half of Tasmania due to a lack of rain-bearing systems throughout the month. King Island Airport was the driest location, receiving only 8 mm for the month.

In the northern third of the state rainfall was close to average. Most of that rain was delivered during two events: on the 5th, moist northerly winds ahead of a cold front delivered daily falls of around 20 to 50 mm; and on the 17th showers and thunderstorms delivered falls of 20 to 60 mm to the central north. Deviot Jetty recorded 55 mm in 24 hours with this event, which is its wettest February day on record. Deviot Jetty had its wettest February on record as a result. In western and central areas, the wettest period was on the 5th and 6th as the cold front moved through, delivering daily totals of 20 to 70 mm.

Some cool weather, but warm days and nights overall

Overall, day-time temperatures were up to two degrees warmer than average, bolstered by the hot final weekend. There were a few cool days, mostly around the 1st, 6th to 10th and the 17th, when maximum temperatures generally remained below 20 °C. The coldest day was at Mount Wellington with 6.1 °C on the 8th.

There were many warm nights in February, with minimum temperatures averaging up to two degrees warmer than normal overall. There were some cool nights, mostly around the 1st, 7th to 13th and the 24th. The lowest temperature of the month was -0.3 °C at Liawenee on the 24th.

A very hot weekend in Hobart

The last weekend of February was a very hot one in Hobart. On Saturday the 25th the temperature reached 38.8 °C (the warmest February day since 1995) and on Sunday the 26th the temperature peaked at 36.0 °C. Two consecutive days over 36 °C have occurred just twice before in February (the last event was 14 to 15 February 1982), but never this late in the month. Minimum temperatures that weekend were also very warm: 22.2 °C overnight on Saturday and 23.4 °C overnight on Sunday night were the first time the temperature has remained above 22 °C over two consecutive nights. The overnight low of 23.4 °C was also the warmest February night since 4 February 1912 when 24.7 °C was recorded.

Overall, maximum temperatures in Hobart averaged at 22.5 °C and minimum temperatures at 13.3 °C, both close to one degree above average.

February rainfall of 23 mm was just over half the long-term average of 40 mm, which is less than the 54 mm recorded last year, and the lowest February total in Hobart since 2006 when 22 mm was recorded. Only a few cold fronts affected Tasmania in February, and those that did only delivered daily totals of less than 5 mm in Hobart. The wettest day was the 19th, when a cold front delivered 5 mm in 24 hours.

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Extremes in February 2012
Hottest day	39.4 °C at Hobart Airport on the 25th
Warmest days on average	25.4 °C at Ouse Fire Station
Coolest days on average	12.8 °C at Mount Wellington
Coldest day	6.1 °C at Mount Wellington on the 8th
Coldest night	-0.3 °C at Liawenee on the 24th
Coolest nights on average	5.5 °C at Mount Wellington
Warmest nights on average	15.6 °C at Swan Island
Warmest night	23.6 °C at Tasman Island on the 26th
Warmest on average overall	19.3 °C at Eddystone Point
Coolest on average overall	9.2 °C at Mount Wellington
Wettest overall	236.4 mm at Deal Island
Driest overall	7.8 mm at King Island Airport
Wettest day	114.4 mm at Deal Island on the 11th
Highest wind gust	156 km/h at Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison) on the 5th

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 February daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall in February 2012 (mm)		Previous wettest for February		Years of record
Deal Island	114.4	on the 11th	81.3	on the 14th in 1955	116
Memana (Babel Farm)	76.6	on the 11th	54.6	on the 9th in 2008	48
Deviot Jetty	54.6	on the 18th	40.0	on the 9th in 1996	24

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Record highest total February rainfall
	Total rainfall for February 2012 (mm)	Previous wettest for February		Years of record	Average for February
Deal Island	236.4	175.8	in 1939	140	38.7
Memana (Babel Farm)	179.2	112.8	in 1977	49	43.3
Deviot Jetty	95.0	89.2	in 1996	23	39.5

Highest total February rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for February 2012 (mm)	Most recent February at least this wet		Years since wetter	Average for February
Lady Barron (Franklin Parade)	75.0	116.8	in 1978*	33	40.4

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported.

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Record highest February temperature
	Highest temperature in February 2012 (°C)		Previous warmest for February		Years of record	Average for February
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	36.9	on the 25th	36.6	on the 18th in 2007	27	22.0
Dover	37.4	on the 25th	36.8	on the 18th in 2007	23	20.5
Lake St Clair National Park	32.0	on the 25th	31.9	on the 3rd in 2001	22	19.2
Maydena Post Office	35.9	on the 25th	35.8	on the 25th in 1995	20	22.2

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Record highest February daily minimum temperature
	Highest daily minimum temperature in February 2012 (°C)		Previous warmest for February		Years of record	Average for February
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	23.5	on the 26th	20.4	on the 15th in 1994	56	11.1
Orford (Aubin Court)	23.0	on the 27th	22.5	on the 3rd in 2001	44	12.0
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	21.0	on the 27th	18.3	on the 13th in 1999	27	9.8
Devonport Airport	20.0	on the 27th	= 20.0	on the 4th in 2010	21	12.5
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	19.8	on the 26th	= 19.8	on the 18th in 2007	20	13.7

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Record highest February mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature for February 2012 (°C)	Previous warmest for February		Years of record	Average for February
Tarraleah Village	8.9	= 8.9	in 2001	27	7.1

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for February 2012
	Maximum temperatures for February (°C)				Minimum temperatures for February (°C)				Rainfall for February (millimetres)
	Mean for February 2012	Diff from average	Highest for February 2012		Mean for February 2012	Diff from average	Lowest for February 2012		Total for February 2012	Average for February	Rank of February 2012	Fraction of February average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	21.9	-0.2	27.9	25th	13.3	+0.1	10.4	29th
Burnie (Round Hill)	22.7	+1.5	28.0	26th			10.6	7th	42.0	44.6	average	94%
Cape Grim	20.7		26.5	26th	14.2		10.4	1st	17.4
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	20.8	+1.3	27.1	26th	14.2	+0.5	10.3	1st	16.8	33.9	low	50%
Cressy Research Station	25.0	-0.1	34.1	25th	11.4	+1.1	4.2	24th	24.2	29.1	average	83%
Devonport Airport	22.0	+0.5	26.6	26th	13.4	+0.9	9.2	24th	63.0	37.6	high	168%
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	24.9	+0.4	31.4	25th	13.5	+1.4	8.6	1st	47.4	32.2	high	147%
Launceston Airport	24.8		33.0	25th	11.6		6.9	1st	27.2
Low Head	21.6	+0.6	26.0	26th	14.7	+0.2	12.1	9th	36.8	27.2	average	135%
Luncheon Hill (Forestry)	21.7	+0.6	31.1	25th	11.4	+0.7	5.5	8th	55.8	56.2	average	99%
Marrawah	21.8	+1.0	31.0	26th	13.1	+0.7	9.0	1st	41.6	44.9	average	93%
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	22.8	-0.2	31.5	25th	11.9	+0.8	8.4	29th	42.6	40.5	average	105%
Sheffield School Farm	22.2	+0.7	29.0	25th	10.9	+0.2	6.5	8th	92.2	45.0	high	205%
Smithton Aerodrome	22.1	+0.3	28.0	26th	11.5	-0.1	3.8	8th	29.8	33.4	average	89%
Wynyard Airport	22.2	+0.6	28.6	26th	12.3	+0.8	7.0	8th	49.2	49.1	average	100%
East Coast (district 92)
Bicheno (Council Depot)	22.6	+1.2	34.5	25th	14.1	+1.1	10.4	1st	20.8	57.8	low	36%
Eddystone Point	23.1	+1.9	33.0	25th	15.5	+1.3	12.7	7th	42.6	46.6	average	91%
Fingal (Legge Street)	23.6	+0.8	35.9	25th	10.8	+0.8	6.1	1st	11.2	40.6	low	28%
Friendly Beaches	24.1	+1.5	38.6	25th	13.5	+0.3	9.7	1st	22.0	57.2	low	38%
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	18.7	-0.2	30.7	25th	9.0	+0.8	4.6	1st	28.0	46.1	average	61%
Maria Island (Point Lesueur)	21.8		32.6	25th	14.4		10.6	9th	11.2
Orford (Aubin Court)	22.3	+0.4	38.2	25th	13.2	+1.2	8.4	24th	26.0	45.4	average	57%
Scamander	22.7	+1.0	36.0	25th	14.1	+1.2	10.2	1st	26.0	44.5	average	58%
St Helens Aerodrome	22.5	+0.8	34.3	25th	13.7	+0.5	10.8	3rd	60.2	64.5	average	93%
Swan Island	21.5	+0.6	30.2	25th	15.6	+0.4	13.4	1st	34.6	44.0	average	79%
Swansea (Francis Street)	22.8		37.7	25th	12.9		8.1	10th	28.2
Midlands (district 93)
Ross (The Boulevards)	24.4	+0.4	35.0	25th	10.9	+0.3	4.7	24th	20.8	39.2	low	53%
Southeast (district 94)
Bull Bay (Lauriston)	21.9	+0.7	38.0	25th	12.9	+0.3	9.5	1st	25.4	42.6	average	60%
Campania (Kincora)	24.1	+0.3	39.3	25th	11.5	+0.4	6.3	24th	22.0	33.1	low	66%
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	21.2	+1.5	37.3	26th	13.0	+0.7	9.7	8th	24.4	61.5	low	40%
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	20.4	+1.9	36.0	26th	13.2	+1.5	9.6	6th	23.8	56.9	v low	42%
Dover	21.4	+0.9	37.4	25th	10.5	+0.3	3.0	29th	27.2	52.1	low	52%
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	22.5	+0.5	36.9	25th	10.5	+0.7	3.1	29th	21.4	50.8	low	42%
Grove (Research Station)	22.9		37.2	25th	9.5		3.4	24th	32.4
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	22.5	+0.9	38.8	25th	13.3	+1.3	8.6	8th	22.6	40.2	average	56%
Hobart Airport	23.1	+0.9	39.4	25th	12.8	+0.8	8.0	9th	21.0	36.4	average	58%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	19.0	+1.8	30.9	26th	12.8	+1.7	9.1	8th	45.4	70.5	average	64%
Melton Mowbray (North Stockman)	23.2	-0.2	37.6	25th	10.8	+0.7	5.5	11th	8.6	33.6	low	26%
Mount Wellington	12.8	-0.8	28.3	25th	5.5	+0.2	-0.1	1st	97.4	80.4	high	121%
Tasman Island	19.2	+1.9	35.1	25th	12.8	+1.3	8.5	1st	27.6	51.7	v low	53%
Tunnack Fire Station	21.0	-0.2	33.5	25th	8.6	-0.4	2.4	29th	17.0	46.8	low	36%
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	24.8	+0.9	39.1	25th	10.6	+0.6	4.9	8th	8.4	35.0	v low	24%
Maydena Post Office	22.6	+0.4	35.9	25th	9.3	+0.5	2.9	29th	27.9	63.4	v low	44%
Ouse Fire Station	25.4	+0.3	38.4	25th	11.0	+1.2	6.0	24th	8.2	31.1	low	26%
Tarraleah Village	20.6	+0.7	32.7	25th	8.9	+1.8	3.9	8th	21.1	60.0	low	35%
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	19.8	+1.1	31.6	25th	7.6	+1.4	-0.1	8th	45.8	81.5	low	56%
Lake St Clair National Park	19.8	+0.6	32.0	25th	7.5	+1.6	0.2	8th	41.0	81.8	low	50%
Liawenee	17.9	-0.3	28.6	25th	6.4	+1.5	-0.3	24th	50.4	44.0	average	115%
West Coast (district 97)
Cape Sorell	20.7	+2.2	26.9	25th	13.1	+1.0	9.1	8th	32.4	66.7	low	49%
Hartz Mountain (Keoghs Pimple)	17.3	-0.2	32.0	25th	7.7	+0.5	2.7	1st	44.4	65.4	average	68%
Mount Read	14.2	0.0	26.9	25th	6.8	+0.6	1.2	1st	134.0	172.9	low	78%
Scotts Peak Dam	22.5	+1.6	34.1	25th	10.1	+0.7	4.3	8th	67.8	76.2	average	89%
Strahan Aerodrome	22.4	+1.3	34.9	26th	11.1	+0.4	4.4	8th	47.0	64.3	average	73%
Warra	19.4		34.0	25th	8.6		1.4	29th	48.0
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	23.0	+1.9	36.1	25th	13.3	+0.3	8.5	8th	7.8	31.2	v low	25%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	23.5	+0.9	34.7	25th	14.0	+0.3	6.5	1st	50.0	39.2	average	128%
Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300)
Macquarie Island	9.0	+0.4	10.9	6th	5.8	+0.5	2.9	18th	55.2	85.1	v low	65%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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