Monday, 1 June 2015 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in May 2015: cool, wet in the west, dry in the east, strong winds

Cool weather was dominant in Tasmania during May, with snow to low levels early in the month and some frosty mornings. Cold fronts brought above-average rain to the west, but it was quite dry on the East Coast.

• Day and night temperatures below average
• A week of cold, windy weather from the 7th to the 14th
• Above-average rain in the west
• Below-average rain on the East Coast

May was a cool month in Tasmania, with the statewide mean maximum temperature 0.49 °C below average. It was particularly cool compared to May last year. Although temperatures were mild at the very start of the month (with several sites topping 20 °C on the 1st), a marked cold change that crossed on the 5th heralded a week of cool to cold days. There were some milder days around the middle of the month, but this was quickly followed with more cold weather from the 20th, and another cold outbreak at the very end of the month. Overnight minimum temperatures were also cool, with the statewide mean minimum temperature 0.32 °C below average. There were several cold mornings from the 12th to the 25th, with frosts in many areas on the 24th.

Westerly winds and cold fronts were a common feature during the month, ensuring rainfall was well above average in the western highlands, and also on Flinders Island. The East Coast, protected from the westerly winds, had a relatively dry month. The West Coast's Mount Read registered 558.4 mm for the month, whilst on the East Coast Bicheno registered only 9.4 mm. The State's total rain was 40% above the long-term average.

Along with the rain and snow, there were strong and damaging winds, especially early in the month. Following a windy day in the northwest on the 5th, that night Mount Wellington had a gust to 159 km/h, Tasmania's strongest May wind gust on record (just pipping the 157 km/h at Maatsuyker Island in 2007). The windy weather continued for almost a week, with Maatsuyker Island gusting to 157 km/h on the 12th. Several other sites also had their strongest-ever May wind gust, and 5 of the top 10 daily peak wind gusts for May occurred this year (although it should be noted that for most places there are less than 20 years of such records).

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.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top