Wednesday, 1 April 2015 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in March 2015: a cool month, wet in the west and north

March was cooler than usual in Tasmania, although it was more a case of fewer warm days rather than many particularly cold ones. Several wet days led to above-average rain in the west and north.

• Temperatures below average overall
• A lack of particularly warm weather
• Several rain events, especially affecting the west and northwest
• Above-average rain in some areas

Both daytime maximum and overnight minimum temperatures were below average across Tasmania in March. This was more related to a lack of warm weather than an abundance of cold. For example, on average Hobart has about 2 days below 15 °C every March, but this month even Hobart's coldest day (the 15th) reached 15.1 °C. Meanwhile there were just 2 days when Hobart got over 25 °C (compared to a long-term average of about 4 such mild days). The State's highest temperature for the month was 27.0 °C at Dunalley on the 18th; this is the first March since 1999 when no site in Tasmania has reported a temperature over 30 °C. The lack of warm days meant the mean daily maximum temperature at several sites (including Launceston) was the lowest on record for March, or the lowest for several decades. Similarly some sites had their lowest March mean daily minimum temperature, and Hobart was among those where the nights were the coolest since 1987.

Rainfall totals in Tasmania for March were above average in the west, along the north coast, and on patches of the east coast. For most of the eastern half of the state, rainfall was close to the long-term March average. There were a number of particularly heavy rainfall events, especially in the western half of the State, bringing some river rises. On the evening of the 26th, slow-moving thunderstorms in and around Hobart brought localised heavy showers, hail and flash flooding. The mostly wet March follows a generally dry February and a generally wet January.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Maps
	Observed	Anomaly	Decile rank
Total rainfall
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

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

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

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

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top