Monday, 3 April 2017 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in March 2017: a very warm month

March in Tasmania brought many warm days, and in stark contrast to the cool February; it was the third-warmest March for the State as a whole. Rainfall was below average for most areas, and well below average in the west.

A very warm month

• Temperatures were persistently warm across Tasmania, leading to statewide mean temperature that was the third-warmest March on record at 1.83 °C above average; a number of sites (including Launceston and Devonport) had their highest March mean temperature on record
• Temperatures reached 30 °C at some sites several times during the month; there was a particularly warm spell in the east from the 14th to the 19th and another day into the high 20s on the 27th
• Daytime temperatures were well above average at all sites, mostly by around two degrees but by over three degrees at some locations
• In most areas March was warmer than February
• Some sites had their highest March mean daily maximum temperature on record, surpassing the values seen in March 2013
• Most nights were warmer than is typical for March; most sites were two to three degrees warmer than average and several had their highest March mean daily minimum temperature on record
• The morning of the 16th was particularly mild with several sites reporting their highest March daily minimum temperature on record

Rain below average in the west, with few westerly winds

• Rainfall totals were well below average in the west of the State, with a few sites having their driest March since 1994
• Totals were close to average in the northern Midlands and on the Bass Strait islands, after a few days with localised moderate falls
• Although slow-moving high pressure systems controlled Tasmania's weather for much of the month, the passage of cold fronts or troughs did bring rain on some days
• Westerly winds were less common than they had been during January or February
• Strong and gusty winds occurred with the passage of cold fronts, with the strongest on the afternoon of the 27th when damaging gusts over 100 km/h were reported in several areas

A warm month for Hobart

• Along with the rest of the State, Hobart had a very warm March; Hobart's mean maximum temperature of 22.4°C was 2.3 °C above the long-term average
• Hobart reached 32.1 °C on the 14th and 31.7 °C on the 15th, the first time the city has had two consecutive March days that warm
• Nights were especially mild in Hobart, with a mean minimum temperature of 12.9 °C that was not only 2.0 °C above average but also 1.1 °C warmer than February
• Hobart registered 37.0 mm of rain in March, a little below the long-term average of 44.7 mm

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

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top