Monday, 3 March 2014 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in February 2014: dry and wet, hot and cold, and one very windy day

February 2014 brought a variety of weather to Tasmania, with some areas very dry but a few places extremely wet, some days very hot but some record cold, along with destructive winds.

• Dry in most areas for most of the month
• Heavy rain and thunderstorms in some areas
• Many days into the mid-30s, with some records
• Record cold day in the west
• Warm overall
• Destructive extreme winds on the 9th

A summary has also been prepared for all of summer 2013–14.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Local heavy showers, but dry for most of the month

There were a few bursts of local heavy showers and thunderstorms during the month. A trough crossing on the afternoon of the 15th brought thunderstorms to many parts of the state: Mount Morriston in the Midlands registered 87.4 mm and several sites in the Derwent Valley and Southern Midlands received over 50 mm. On the 19th a complex area of low pressure over the state brought rain, thunderstorms and some very intense falls (Friendly Beaches registered 23 mm in 10 minutes and 37 mm in 30 minutes that morning). Strong southwest winds that developed as the low moved away to the southeast brought heavy rain to the west on the 20th and 21st, giving Mount Read 162.6 mm in 24 hours (the wettest day in the site's 18-year history).

Apart from these heavy falls, most parts of Tasmania were dry for most of the time. Although total rain for the month was close to average for large parts of the state (and above average in those parts of the Central Plateau and the Midlands that received heavy showers), the northern third was drier than usual. Several sites in the Central North and along the North Coast received less than 10 mm, with Low Head and Devonport Airport setting new low February rainfall records by reporting less than a millimetre for the whole month. Low Head's 0.2 mm was the driest month there (at either the present or previous observing site) in the 132 years of record that start in 1877. Several sites in these areas have had only the lightest of rain since 6 January.

Record hot day, record cold day

The first half of February brought many warm to hot days, with particular peaks around the 1st–2nd and 8th–9th when approaching cold fronts brought hot air from off the mainland across the state. On the 2nd, Butlers Gorge and Lake St Clair set new February high temperature records, then on the 9th many sites reached into the high 30s and Flinders Island Airport reached 39.4 °C, a new February record for the site.

In contrast, the second half of the month saw generally cooler days, especially on the 20th and 21st in the wake of a cold front. Marrawah, Cape Grim and Strahan all had their coldest February day on record on the 20th. The sudden change to cold, wet and windy weather was implicated in the death of a tourist near Cradle Mountain.

Averaged over the month, daytime maximum temperatures were above average across Tasmania, typically by one or two degrees.

Many mild nights

For most of the month, overnight temperatures were above the long-term February average, although there were not many particularly warm nights. Strong pre-frontal winds on the morning of the 3rd kept temperatures above 15 °C in most areas, as did similar conditions on the morning of the 9th when Flinders Island Airport and Burnie stayed above 20 °C and Scottsdale had its warmest February night on record.

Inland areas in particular saw several cold mornings, especially from the 4th to the 6th, the 22nd to the 24th, and in the last few mornings of the month. Some inland sites dropped below zero on the morning of the 23rd, and several more did so on the 28th (such low temperatures have occurred in most Februaries in the past).

Averaged over the month, overnight minimum temperatures were above average at most sites, although generally by less than one degree, and a little below average at some sites.

Destructive winds

A cold front associated with an intense low pressure system near Tasmania crossed the state during the afternoon of the 9th, with damaging winds and extensive thunderstorm activity about much of the state. Hot and windy conditions caused very high to severe fire dangers ahead of the front about the eastern half of the state.

There was widespread damage caused by the winds, especially in the south where fallen trees, power outages, structure damage and blocked roads were common. A man was killed when a falling tree hit a car on the Channel Highway just north of Margate, and several other vehicle crashes also occurred in the wet and windy conditions. Much of the damage was done in less than an hour as the change moved through. At the peak, at least 70 000 premises were without power, and some remained so until the 10th or even the 11th.

The strongest gust reported during the event was 156 km/h at Mount Wellington, with Scotts Peak Dam reaching 154 km/h. Several other sites reported gusts in excess of 100 km/h.

Hobart

Hobart had a dry and warm month, with extreme winds on the 9th.

Hobart's 27.6 mm of rain for the month was below the long-term average of 40 mm. About two-thirds of the total fell on the evening of the 15th as a trough crossed.

Hobart's mean daily maximum temperature of 23.1 °C was 1.4 °C above the long-term average. There were two days over 30 °C (which is usual for February); the warmest was the 9th with 35.4 °C. On the 24th it reached only 16.6 °C. Overnight temperatures were also warmer than usual, with a mean daily minimum of 13.0 °C making it 0.9 °C above the long-term average. The warmest night was the 2nd–3rd, when it stayed above 20 °C (the minimum reported was 18.9 °C, the temperature it had been at 9 am on the 2nd). In contrast, the coldest night saw 8.6 °C on the morning of the 23rd. There were only 4 nights below 10 °C, fewer than the long-term average of about 7 nights and the January count of 8 nights.

The extreme winds of the 9th had marked impacts in and around Hobart. There were power outages, fallen trees and damaged roofs and caravans, and the running of the Hobart Cup was postponed. The peak gust at the Bureau's Ellerslie Road site was 130 km/h, which is now the highest gust recorded in February (the previous record was 120 km/h on “Black Tuesday”, 7 February 1967). It is also the strongest gust recorded using the current instrument (which was installed in 1994), although short of the 150 km/h (recorded using a different instrument) on 28 September 1965.

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Extremes in February 2014
Hottest day	39.4 °C at Flinders Island Airport on the 9th
Warmest days on average	26.2 °C at Launceston Airport
Coolest days on average	15.0 °C at Mount Wellington
Coldest day	5.5 °C at Mount Read on the 21st
Coldest night	-2.8 °C at Liawenee on the 28th
Coolest nights on average	5.4 °C at Liawenee
Warmest nights on average	15.7 °C at Swan Island
Warmest night	21.4 °C at Flinders Island Airport on the 9th
Warmest on average overall	19.3 °C at Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)
Coolest on average overall	10.6 °C at Mount Wellington
Wettest overall	262.0 mm at Mount Read
Driest overall	0.2 mm at Low Head
Wettest day	162.6 mm at Mount Read on the 21st
Highest wind gust	156 km/h at Mount Wellington on the 9th

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 2014 (mm)		Previous wettest for February		Years of record
Colebrook (The Meadows)	76.0	on the 16th	74.2	on the 5th in 1938	98
Tea Tree (The Point)	45.0	on the 16th	41.4	on the 9th in 1996	28
Hermitage (Shannon River)	48.0	on the 16th	37.0	on the 12th in 2010	21
Yarlington (Blacks Pinnacle)	55.6	on the 16th	46.6	on the 24th in 2007	20

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Highest total February rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for February 2014 (mm)	Most recent February at least this wet		Years since wetter	Average for February
Colebrook (The Meadows)	92.4	116.6	in 1969*	40	42.2

* 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 lowest total February rainfall
	Total rainfall for February 2014 (mm)	Previous driest for February		Years of record	Average for February
Low Head *	0.2	0.8	in 1893	132	33.7
Devonport Airport	0.4	1.5	in 1965	51	36.7

* the current site at Low Head has been reporting since 1998. These records are for a combination of this site and the previous one.
Low Head was also a record dry for any month; the previous lowest (at the old site) was 0.8 mm in February 1893 and November 1895.

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Record highest February temperature
	Highest temperature in February 2014 (°C)		Previous warmest for February		Years of record	Average for February
Flinders Island Airport	39.4	on the 9th	38.3	on the 1st in 1983	52	22.6
Butlers Gorge	33.5	on the 2nd	32.5	on the 7th in 1975	40	18.8
Lake St Clair National Park	33.1	on the 2nd	32.0	on the 25th in 2012	24	19.3

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Record lowest February daily maximum temperature
	Lowest daily maximum temperature in February 2014 (°C)		Previous coolest for February		Years of record	Average for February
Marrawah	13.0	on the 20th	= 13.0	on the 1st in 1990	43	20.9
Strahan Aerodrome	13.8	on the 20th	14.3	on the 22nd in 1993	24	21.2
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	14.1	on the 20th	14.4	on the 20th in 2011	22	19.6

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Record highest February daily minimum temperature
	Highest daily minimum temperature in February 2014 (°C)		Previous warmest for February		Years of record	Average for February
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	20.2	on the 9th	19.7	on the 8th in 1997	42	11.2

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for February 2014
	Maximum temperatures for February (°C)				Minimum temperatures for February (°C)				Rainfall for February (millimetres)
	Mean for February 2014	Diff from average	Highest for February 2014		Mean for February 2014	Diff from average	Lowest for February 2014		Total for February 2014	Average for February	Rank of February 2014	Fraction of February average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	22.9	+0.8	27.0	9th	13.4	+0.2	8.0	22nd	16.2	31.7	low	51%
Burnie (Round Hill)	22.4	+1.1	27.3	8th	14.3	+1.0	9.2	27th	12.2	43.7	low	28%
Burnie NTC AWS	20.2		25.0	3rd	14.9		10.7	4th
Cape Grim	19.8		25.7	15th	14.2		10.0	4th	25.4
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	20.0	+0.4	25.5	15th	14.2	+0.4	10.2	28th	20.8	32.8	average	63%
Cressy Research Station	26.0	+0.8	34.3	2nd	10.0	-0.5	2.6	22nd	8.0	27.4	low	29%
Devonport Airport	22.7	+1.1	27.4	9th	12.5	-0.2	6.3	4th	0.4	36.7	lowest	1%
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	26.1	+1.6	32.8	2nd	12.4	+0.2	6.4	22nd	8.6	31.2	v low	28%
Launceston Airport	26.2		34.7	2nd	10.7		4.4	10th	2.8	29.5	v low	9%
Low Head	21.7	+0.6	25.9	2nd	14.9	+0.3	11.1	4th	0.2	24.8	v low	1%
Luncheon Hill (Forestry)	22.3	+1.1	33.2	8th	11.3	+0.5	6.4	23rd
Marrawah	21.2	+0.3	28.0	8th	12.9	+0.4	9.0	23rd	35.6	44.0	average	81%
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	24.7	+1.7	31.8	2nd	11.7	+0.5	5.2	22nd	23.2	39.7	low	58%
Sheffield School Farm	23.3	+1.6	30.3	8th	10.8	0.0	5.3	4th	6.2	43.4	v low	14%
Smithton Aerodrome	22.5	+0.6	28.5	14th	11.5	-0.1	4.6	4th	35.2	32.2	average	109%
Wynyard Airport	22.3	+0.6	28.8	9th	11.4	-0.2	4.9	28th	13.2	47.6	low	28%
East Coast (district 92)
Bicheno (Council Depot)	22.0	+0.6	33.0	9th	13.5	+0.4	9.8	27th	47.3	57.9	average	82%
Fingal (Legge Street)	25.0	+2.2	34.8	9th	9.4	-0.7	2.1	28th	12.6	40.5	low	31%
Friendly Beaches	23.7	+1.0	37.3	9th	13.0	-0.2	8.1	23rd	63.2	59.6	average	106%
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	20.9	+2.0	31.2	9th	8.2	-0.1	1.2	28th	18.4	45.8	low	40%
Larapuna (Eddystone Point)	22.8	+1.5	31.6	9th	15.0	+0.8	10.5	27th	13.6	46.3	low	29%
Maria Island (Point Lesueur)	21.7		32.2	9th	13.8		10.0	5th	22.4	38.4	low	58%
Orford (Aubin Court)	21.7	-0.2	27.9	25th	11.9	-0.2	7.4	23rd	20.0	45.1	low	44%
Spring Bay NTC AWS	21.1		33.3	9th	13.7		8.6	5th
St Helens Aerodrome	23.1	+1.3	35.6	9th	13.3	0.0	9.4	10th	12.2	60.2	v low	20%
Swan Island	22.2	+1.1	29.4	9th	15.7	+0.4	11.5	4th	20.0	39.6	average	51%
Swansea (Francis Street)	23.6		38.6	9th	12.1		6.0	28th	19.2
Midlands (district 93)
Ross (The Boulevards)	25.9	+1.8	35.9	2nd	10.2	-0.4	3.0	23rd	42.8	39.5	average	108%
Southeast (district 94)
Bull Bay (Lauriston)	21.8	+0.6	29.0	9th	12.4	-0.1	8.0	27th	43.0	42.3	average	102%
Campania (Kincora)	24.9	+1.0	35.9	9th	11.2	0.0	4.3	28th	45.2	33.5	high	135%
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	20.0	+0.1	29.1	1st	12.4	0.0	8.5	5th	53.8	60.0	average	90%
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	19.2	+0.7	27.7	1st	12.4	+0.6	8.6	5th	55.6	56.8	average	98%
Dennes Point	21.9		31.4	9th	13.1		8.9	5th	33.6
Dover	20.7	+0.1	27.2	9th	10.5	+0.3	3.6	5th	45.6	51.8	average	88%
Dunalley (Stroud Point)	22.2		37.4	9th	13.7		9.8	5th	34.2
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	22.4	+0.3	31.6	1st	10.5	+0.7	3.3	5th	46.8	50.2	average	93%
Grove (Research Station)	23.2		34.3	9th	9.6		3.3	5th	52.4	55.4	average	95%
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	23.1	+1.4	35.4	9th	13.0	+0.9	8.6	23rd	27.6	40.0	average	69%
Hobart Airport	23.4	+1.1	36.5	9th	12.5	+0.5	7.5	28th	39.4	36.2	average	109%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	17.9	+0.6	27.5	8th	12.2	+1.1	8.0	27th	57.2	70.1	average	82%
Melton Mowbray (North Stockman)	24.8	+1.4	35.1	9th	9.8	-0.4	2.4	28th	51.6	34.3	high	150%
Mount Wellington	15.0	+1.4	25.2	2nd	6.1	+0.8	-0.3	27th	66.6	78.9	average	84%
Tasman Island	18.8	+1.3	30.9	9th	11.8	+0.1	7.5	27th	48.6	50.9	high	95%
Tunnack Fire Station	22.3	+1.0	34.1	2nd	8.7	-0.3	0.0	28th	35.8	46.3	average	77%
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	26.0	+2.1	36.6	2nd	10.5	+0.5	3.2	4th	32.4	34.8	average	93%
Maydena Post Office	23.4	+1.1	35.3	2nd	9.3	+0.4	3.5	4th	48.8	63.0	average	77%
Ouse Fire Station	26.0	+0.8	36.5	2nd	10.3	+0.3	1.7	28th	51.6	31.3	high	165%
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	21.1	+2.3	33.5	2nd	6.8	+0.6	-1.6	28th	94.0	80.9	average	116%
Lake St Clair National Park	20.9	+1.6	33.1	2nd	6.1	+0.1	-1.4	28th	105.2	80.9	high	130%
Liawenee	20.0	+1.7	31.2	2nd	5.4	+0.3	-2.8	28th	11.4	40.5	low	28%
West Coast (district 97)
Cape Sorell	20.1	+1.5	28.2	13th	13.2	+1.0	9.9	28th	42.8	66.1	average	65%
Hartz Mountain (Keoghs Pimple)	18.3	+0.8	30.7	2nd	7.9	+0.6	2.2	27th	42.2	63.1	average	67%
Low Rocky Point	19.4		24.2	2nd	12.0		6.6	5th	82.4	75.7	average	109%
Mount Read	16.0	+1.7	29.5	2nd	7.1	+0.8	1.6	4th	262.0	174.4	high	150%
Scotts Peak Dam	22.3	+1.1	35.4	2nd	10.0	+0.5	5.4	27th	92.0	76.4	high	120%
Strahan Aerodrome	21.6	+0.4	31.9	2nd	10.7	-0.1	5.0	28th	78.8	64.3	high	123%
Strathgordon Village	20.6	+0.9	31.5	2nd	10.4	+0.7	5.8	27th	105.0	108.5	average	97%
Warra	20.0		30.8	2nd	8.4		1.6	5th	83.4	76.5	average	109%
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	21.7	+0.4	27.6	2nd	13.0	-0.1	4.6	28th	7.4	30.5	v low	24%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	24.0	+1.4	39.4	9th	14.1	+0.4	5.2	28th	30.4	38.8	average	78%
Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300)
Macquarie Island	9.2	+0.6	11.2	19th	5.7	+0.4	3.2	22nd	95.0	85.5	average	111%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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