Monday, 2 November 2015 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in October 2015: a very dry, very warm month

Low rainfall and warm temperatures were the defining features of October 2015 in Tasmania. Numerous sites had their driest October on record, resulting in the State-average rain coming in as the driest October on record. Very warm days, especially in the first half of the month, gave many sites their warmest October mean maximum temperature on record.

• Very low rainfall, especially in the north and inland
• Tasmania's driest October on record
• Very warm days, especially in the first half of the month
• Warmest October on record for many sites
• Overnight temperatures also above average

Rainfall was very much below average across Tasmania, with numerous sites having their driest October on record, and large areas of the north and the inland having less than one-tenth of their October average. The State-averaged rainfall was an October record low of 20.6 mm, just one-sixth of the long-term average. Large parts of the State had less than 10 mm of rain for the entire month and several sites around Launceston reported less than 1 mm. While there was some moderate rainfall around the 21st and 26th in the southwest and the southeast, this was not sufficient to raise totals to the October average. The dry October follows below-average rain in September and a winter that was relatively dry in most areas.

The first week of the month brought a string of unseasonably warm days. Friendly Beaches, on the East Coast, reached 33.6 °C on the 6th, the earliest in spring that a Tasmanian site has ever reported such a warm day. The high temperatures were accompanied by strong winds, leading to an early start to the bushfire season. This early-season warmth was followed by another run of warm weather from the 15th to the 20th, with temperatures at some sites again reaching over 30 °C. There were a few cool days, but the mean maximum temperature was at or close to the October record at many sites, including Hobart, Launceston and Burnie. Averaged over the whole State, maximum temperatures were 2.16 °C above normal, the third-highest on record for October. Overnight temperatures were also above average, although typically by less than a degree. Early-season warm to hot weather was experienced across southern Australia, as detailed in a Special Climate Statement.

Hobart reported 4 days of 29 °C (29.1 °C on the 3rd, 29.0 °C on the 5th, 31.7 °C on the 6th and 31.2 °C on the 15th), the most October days so warm since records began in 1882. Despite some cooler weather in the second half of the month, Hobart's mean maximum temperature for October was 19.7 °C, equalling the record set in 1963. This is 2.7 °C above the long-term average. Overnight temperatures were also above average in Hobart, despite a chilly 4 °C on the 13th. Only 14 mm of rain was recorded in the city, well down on the 62 mm average for October.

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 lower value has gone unreported.

* 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 higher value has gone unreported.

* 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