Monday, 2 July 2012 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in June 2012: a cold and wet end

Tasmania's weather in June 2012 was fairly typical for this time of the year. Overall, daytime temperatures were slightly cooler than usual while nights were slightly cooler than usual in the north and warmer than usual in the south. Rainfall was near average in most areas.

• Coldest June day in many years on the 25th
• Snow to 400 metres on the 25th
• -10.6 °C at Liawenee on the 27th

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Days: cooler than usual after two cold spells 

Averaged over the month daytime temperatures for June were generally cooler than usual, mostly by half to one degree. The coldest period occurred between the 19th and 27th when several cold fronts crossed Tasmania. Temperatures in the south and west struggled to reach 10 °C on the 21st, 22nd and 25th, and in the north and east the highest temperatures were around 11 or 12 °C. Many areas had their coldest June day in several years including Dover (6.4 °C) and Lake St Clair (1.5 °C) on the 25th, where it hadn't been this cold in June since the mid-1990s. Mount Wellington reached only -2.9 °C on the 25th, making it Tasmania's coldest day for the month.

It was also cold from the 2nd to 7th as southerly winds blew across the state. Cressy's temperature didn't rise above 5.3 °C on the 7th. Persistent fog in the Derwent Valley on the 13th and 16th led to locally cold areas, with Bushy Park reaching just 4.9 °C on the 13th.

Though the month was cool overall, daytime temperature were mostly average or above on the 1st, from the 8th to 18th and on the 29th. The warmest days were the 1st, 8th, 13-14th and 29th, with the highest temperature of 17.5 °C recorded at Bushy Park on the 1st and Bicheno on the 8th.

Nights: cold near the end but near average overall

Very cold nights were common from the 20th to 28th. Several sites had their coldest June night for many years on the 20th, 23rd, 27th or 28th when temperatures in some areas fell to almost 10 degrees below average. On the 27th Fingal (-6.7 °C) and Ross (-6.5 °C) had their coldest June night in around 15 years and Liawenee fell to -10.6 °C, Tasmania's lowest June temperature since 1983. Liawenee was also very cold on the 28th, falling to -9.7 °C.

For the rest of the month, overnight temperatures were generally warmer then usual in the south but more varied elsewhere. The warmest nights occurred on the 14th, 15th and 29th in moist north to northeasterly airstreams ahead of cold fronts. Minima above 10 °C were common in the north and east. Burnie had the state's warmest night, not dropping below 12.9 °C on the 14th. The lack of cold nights in the south from the 1st to 19th was unusual. Maastuyker Island, for example, had 12 nights in a row when the temperature didn't drop below 8 °C; this has only occurred 4 times in June since records began in 1957. 

Averaged over the month, overnight temperatures were generally within half a degree of average with slightly cooler than usual conditions in the north and slightly warmer than usual conditions in the south.

Rain: mainly in the second half of the month

There was some rain in Bass Strait and the far northeast on the 3-4th but otherwise most of Tasmania's rain in June came from cold fronts during the second half of the month. Monthly rainfall totals were near average in most areas. Mount Read was the wettest location, with at least 392 mm (it is likely some snow was lost). The driest areas were the Midlands, Derwent Valley and around Richmond where totals were around 30 mm or less. Melton Mowbray was the driest site with 23 mm.

The highest daily rainfall total was 68.6 mm at Gray on the 4th, when a low pressure system and southeasterly airflow brought rain to the northeast and Bass Strait. Other high daily totals included 52.6 mm at Eaglehawk Neck on the 15th and 61.4 mm at Mount Read on the 17th, both from cold fronts.

Strong winds, large swells and snow

Strong and gusty winds affected Tasmania around the 4th and 25th. Overnight on the 4-5th, south to southeast winds gusted to around 80 to 110 km/h in the northeast as a low pressure system moved nearby. Several trees were blown over and carport roofs dislodged. Winds were again strong and gusty overnight on the 24-25th as a low passed near the south of the state, causing gusts to reach 148 km/h at Maatsuyker Island and 146 km/h on Mount Wellington.

Swells were significant in Tasmania's south and east on the 5th, reaching at least 7.5 metres at Maatsuyker Island, 6 metres at Cape Bruny and 3 metres at Scamander. There were no reports of damage, but large swells combined with a high tide to push water amongst the dunes in the Clifton Beach area.

Snow fell in two bursts during the month. Wintery weather across the state from the 18th to 26th brought snowfalls to 700 metres on most days, settling as low as 400 metres in the south on the 25th. There was also snow on the higher peaks earlier in the month between the 2nd and 5th.

Hobart: mild start, cold end, drier than usual

Apart from a few days from the 3rd to 6th, temperatures in Hobart were relatively mild until the 18th. Four days exceeded 15 °C and five nights didn't drop below 8 °C. There was a distinct change on the 19th with several cold fronts crossing the state during the rest of the month. The mornings of the 20th, 22nd, 27th and 28th all dropped below 2 °C bringing plenty of frost and snow persisted on the mountain for much of the time. The coldest day was the 25th, reaching just 8.0 °C.

Overall, the average maximum temperature of 12.5 °C and the average minimum temperature of 5.3 °C were slightly warmer than usual.

Hobart was drier than usual for June with a total of 33 mm, about 60 % of normal. Most of the rain fell overnight on the 23-24th and early on the 25th. This was also the windiest period of the month with gusts reaching 76 km/h in the city and 117 km/h at Droughty Hill on the eastern shore.

The first six months of 2012: wet and warm

For the first six months of 2012, rainfall was above average across Tasmania except for parts of the northeast. Cape Grim has had its wettest January to June on record with a total of 529 mm, about 65 mm higher than the previous record set in 2011.

Average daytime temperatures for January to June were near or slightly above normal in most areas but average overnight temperatures were much warmer than usual, especially around the southeast and Derwent Valley.

* The true total at Mount Read is probably higher, as it is likely some snow was lost.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

* The true total at Mount Read is probably higher, as it is likely some snow was lost.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top