Thursday, 1 February 2018 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in January 2018: mostly very warm and dry

Temperatures were well above normal in Tasmania during January, with several records broken. Rainfall was very much below average across the State until a band of rain and thunderstorms near the end of the month gave above-average totals to the Midlands and parts of the east. A heatwave on the final weekend was followed by a marked cold change.

A mostly dry month

• Rainfall was below average in the western half of the State, but average or above in the Midland and the east
• Most of the rain in the Midlands and the east fell as a cold front crossed on the 29th, bringing moderate to locally heavy falls and some thunderstorms
• York Plains recorded 80 mm in the 24 hours to 9 am on the 30th (its highest January daily rainfall on record), giving it the wettest January since 1996
• There were some other localised moderate falls from thunderstorms earlier in the month (including 20 mm in 15 minutes at St Helens on the afternoon of the 9th), but many days were dry across the State
• The State's total rainfall was 35% below the January average, the driest January since 2010

Warm to hot days

• After a cool first few days there were several spells of warm to locally hot weather, starting on the 6th when temperatures pushed into the low 30s in the south and east
• The 18th was also very warm in the south and east, then the 19th was warm to hot in the north, peaking at 39.7 °C at St Helens and giving a a few sites in the north their highest temperature on record
• After a slight easing on the 20th, temperatures gradually increased again before culminating in a heatwave that saw several central and southern sites reaching into the high 30s on the 28th (including 39.6 °C at Campania)
• A marked cold change following the heatwave brought cool weather for most of the State for the final two days of January, with some sites having their coldest day of the month on the 31st and Marrawah had its coldest January day on record

Record warm nights

• The heatwave that ended on the 29th brought record warm night time minimum temperatures, with many sites having their warmest January minimum temperature on record on either the 28th or 29th ( in some cases exceeding the old record on both mornings)
• Several sites had two consecutive nights where the temperature did not drop below 20 °C: Launceston and Devonport were among those where this has never been recorded before
• The State mean minimum temperature for the 29th was more than ten degrees above average at 19.43 °C, making it the warmest night on record for Tasmania as a whole
• The 2nd and 3rd were cool mornings, as was the period from the 14th to 17th, but warm nights dominated from the 19th to the 30th
• A cold change brought snow to the highlands on the morning of the 31st; kunanyi / Mount Wellington dipped to -1.4 °C, some sites saw their lowest temperature since November and their lowest January minimum temperature for several years

A very warm month overall

• Frequent warm days but only a few cool ones ensured many sites across the State had their highest January mean daily maximum temperature on record or their highest for many years, whilst at several sites (including Hobart, Launceston and Devonport) it was the second-warmest January on record
• Persistent warmth and some very warm mornings meant most of the State had mean minimum temperatures one or two degrees above average; for many sites this was second-warmest behind January 2016 and Cape Bruny had its highest January mean daily minimum temperature on record
• Combining maximum and minimum temperatures show that many sites had their highest January mean temperature on record
• Averaged across Tasmania, the overall State mean temperature was second only to 1961 at 1.84 °C above average, with the mean maximum temperature second-warmest on record at 2.59 °C above average and the State mean minimum temperature ninth-warmest at 1.09 °C above average

A warm month in Hobart

• Hobart's mean temperature for the month equalled the record from 2003 at 19.3 °C, 2.5 °C warmer than the long-term average
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 24.4 °C, which is 2.7 °C above the long-term average, the second-warmest January, and the third-warmest month (behind January 2003 and February 2001, both on 25.0 °C)
• Hobart's warmest day was 36.7 °C on the 28th, the highest temperature since the city reached 38.9 °C on 28 January 2014
• The coolest day was on the 13th when the temperature reached 15.8 °C, one of only four days below 20 °C compared to a long-term January average of about twelve such cool days
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was a 14.3 °C, 2.4 °C above the long-term average and just 0.1 °C cooler than the record from 2016
• The warmest morning was on the 29th when the minimum temperature was a January record of 23.9 °C, which is also equal second-warmest minimum temperature for any time of year
• Hobart's coldest morning came just two days later with 8.4 °C on the 31st; there were only three nights below 10 °C compared to a long-term January average of about seven such cool nights
• Total rainfall for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 22.2 mm, less than half the long-term average of 47.5 mm

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Extremes in January 2018
Hottest day	39.7 °C at St Helens Aerodrome on the 19th
Warmest days on average	27.4 °C at Cressy Research Station
Coolest days on average	15.8 °C at kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle)
Coldest day	4.7 °C at kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle) on the 31st
Coldest night	-1.4 °C at kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle) on the 31st
Coolest nights on average	6.2 °C at kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle) and Liawenee
Warmest nights on average	15.8 °C at Swan Island
Warmest night	23.9 °C at Campania (Kincora), Hobart (Ellerslie Road) and Melton Mowbray (North Stockman) on the 29th
Warmest on average overall	20.0 °C at Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)
Coolest on average overall	11.0 °C at kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle)
Wettest overall	151.2 mm at Mount Read
Driest overall	8.6 mm at King Island Airport
Wettest day	80.0 mm at York Plains (Handroyd) on the 30th
Strongest wind gust	131 km/h at Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse on the 6th

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 January daily rainfall
	New record (mm)		Old record		Years of record
York Plains (Handroyd)	80.0	on the 30th	55.2	on the 25th in 1996	102
Llewellyn (South Esk River)	43.8	on the 30th	41.0	on the 29th in 2004	24

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Highest January total rainfall for at least 20 years
	Observed (mm)	Most recent higher		Average for January
York Plains (Handroyd)	88.6	138.2	in 1996	42.3

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Record lowest January total rainfall
	New record (mm)	Old record		Years of record	Average for January
King Island Airport	8.6	= 8.6	in 2008	44	39.1

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Record highest January temperature
	New record (°C)		Old record		Years of record	Average for January
larapuna (Eddystone Point)	38.2	on the 19th	36.5	on the 4th in 2013	108	20.7
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	32.0	on the 19th	31.5	on the 21st in 1997	24	21.9
Low Head	27.3	on the 15th	27.0	on the 14th in 2015	21	20.4

 

Record highest temperature for any time of year
	New record (°C)		Old record		Years of record	Annual average
larapuna (Eddystone Point)	38.2	on 19 Jan	36.5	on 4 Jan 2013	108	17.0
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	32.0	on 19 Jan	31.7	on 12 Dec 1998	25	17.5

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Record lowest January daily maximum temperature
	New record (°C)		Old record		Years of record	Average for January
Marrawah	13.0	on the 31st	13.4	on the 4th in 2000	47	20.2

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Record highest January mean daily maximum temperature
	New record (°C)	Old record		Years of record	Average for January
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	21.2	20.9	in 1974	95	18.3
Fingal (Legge Street)	26.6	26.4	in 1988	31	23.6
Dover	23.7	22.7	in 2016	28	20.8
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	22.0	21.8	in 2008	28	19.5
Lake St Clair National Park	22.1	= 22.1	in 2001	26	19.4
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	20.7	20.2	in 2001	25	19.0
Ross (The Boulevards)	27.2	26.6	in 2008	24	24.5
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	24.1	23.4	in 2016	23	21.9
King Island Airport	23.2	22.2	in 2014	22	20.9
Smithton Aerodrome	23.7	23.5	in 2016	21	21.6
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	22.0	21.1	in 2016	20	19.8
Friendly Beaches	25.0	24.6	in 2013	20	23.1
Sheffield School Farm	24.3	24.0	in 2016	20	22.1
Tunnack Fire Station	24.0	23.6	in 2003	20	21.7

Highest January mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years
	Observed (°C)	Most recent higher		Average for January
Cape Sorell	21.3	22.2	in 1908*	18.3
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	26.8	27.8	in 1954*	24.0
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	18.7	18.9	in 1981	17.0
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	26.8	26.9	in 1981*	24.4
Marrawah	22.1	22.4	in 1988	20.2

* 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 highest January daily minimum temperature
	New record (°C)		Old record		Years of record	Average for January
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	23.9	on the 29th	23.4	on the 4th in 2013	131	11.9
larapuna (Eddystone Point)	20.7	on the 28th	19.6	on the 31st in 1974	108	13.2
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	19.9	on the 29th	18.7	on the 20th in 1973	62	10.8
Hobart Airport	23.2	on the 29th	21.8	on the 4th in 2013	60	12.1
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	21.9	on the 29th	21.1	on the 17th in 1962	58	10.1
Butlers Gorge	19.4	on the 29th	= 19.4	on the 20th in 1959	56	6.4
Burnie (Round Hill)	22.1	on the 28th	21.3	on the 30th in 1988	53	12.7
Marrawah	21.5	on the 29th	20.8	on the 21st in 1997	47	12.0
Bicheno (Council Depot)	19.5	on the 29th	19.0	on the 24th in 2017	43	13.0
Fingal (Legge Street)	20.9	on the 28th	= 20.9	on the 30th in 2009	32	10.3
Wynyard Airport	21.3	on the 28th	19.9	on the 30th in 2012	31	11.1
Dover	19.8	on the 29th	18.9	on the 14th in 1998	29	10.3
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	18.6	on the 29th	17.8	on the 3rd in 2001	29	8.4
Devonport Airport	22.0	on the 28th	19.9	on the 30th in 2009	27	12.3
Lake St Clair National Park	19.3	on the 29th	18.5	on the 6th in 1997	27	6.3
Maydena Post Office	19.8	on the 29th	17.6	on the 20th in 2001	26	9.0
King Island Airport	20.0	on the 29th	19.8	on the 14th in 1998	23	12.5
Smithton Aerodrome	22.2	on the 29th	20.0	on the 30th in 2012	22	11.1
Low Head	21.4	on the 29th	20.2	on the 30th in 2012	21	14.3
Sheffield School Farm	19.5	on the 29th	19.4	on the 30th in 2009	21	10.6
Ouse Fire Station	21.1	on the 29th	18.9	on the 30th in 2012	20	10.2

 

Record highest daily minimum temperature for any time of year
	New record (°C)		Old record		Years of record	Annual average
larapuna (Eddystone Point)	20.7	on 28 Jan	20.0	on 16 Feb 1982	108	10.1
Butlers Gorge	19.4	on 29 Jan	= 19.4	on 20 Jan 1959	59	3.0
Burnie (Round Hill)	22.1	on 28 Jan	21.3	on 30 Jan 1988	54	9.3
Marrawah	21.5	on 29 Jan	20.8	on 21 Jan 1997	48	9.4
Wynyard Airport	21.3	on 28 Jan	21.0	on 12 Mar 2013	34	7.1
Fingal (Legge Street)	20.9	on 28 Jan	= 20.9	on 30 Jan 2009	33	5.3
Lake St Clair National Park	19.3	on 29 Jan	18.5	on 6 Jan 1997	29	2.8
Devonport Airport	22.0	on 28 Jan	20.0	on 27 Feb 2012	28	8.3
Maydena Post Office	19.8	on 29 Jan	18.9	on 4 Feb 2010	27	5.4
Smithton Aerodrome	22.2	on 29 Jan	20.7	on 12 Mar 2013	23	7.7
Sheffield School Farm	19.5	on 29 Jan	19.4	on 30 Jan 2009	22	6.8
Low Head	21.4	on 29 Jan	20.7	on 4 Feb 2010	21	10.6
Ouse Fire Station	21.1	on 29 Jan	20.0	on 30 Dec 2002	21	5.6

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Record highest January mean daily minimum temperature
	New record (°C)	Old record		Years of record	Average for January
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	13.6	13.5	in 2016	95	11.4
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	14.5	= 14.5	in 2001	25	13.1
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	13.3	= 13.3	in 2016	20	12.2

Highest January mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years
	Observed (°C)	Most recent higher		Average for January
Marrawah	13.7	13.8	in 1974	12.0

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Record highest January mean temperature
	New record (°C)	Old record		Years of record	Average for January
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	19.3	= 19.3	in 2003	135	16.8
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	17.4	16.9	in 2016	95	14.9
Hobart Airport	19.2	19.0	in 2008	59	17.3
kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle)	11.0	10.9	in 2003	37	9.1
Fingal (Legge Street)	19.0	= 19.0	in 1988	31	16.9
Dover	17.4	17.3	in 2016	28	15.5
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	15.8	15.1	in 2016	28	13.9
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	17.6	17.4	in 2001	25	16.0
Ross (The Boulevards)	19.5	19.0	in 2008	24	17.6
King Island Airport	18.2	17.9	in 2001	22	16.7
Melton Mowbray (North Stockman)	18.4	18.3	in 2008	21	17.2
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	17.7	17.2	in 2016	20	16.0
Friendly Beaches	19.6	19.0	in 2016	20	18.2

Highest January mean temperature for at least 20 years
	Observed (°C)	Most recent higher		Average for January
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	15.6	16.5	in 1974	13.9
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	19.0	19.2	in 1981	17.0
Marrawah	17.7	18.0	in 1981	16.1

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for January 2018
	Maximum temperatures (°C)				Minimum temperatures (°C)				Rainfall (millimetres)
	Mean for January 2018	Diff from average	Highest for January 2018		Mean for January 2018	Diff from average	Lowest for January 2018		Total for January 2018	Average for January	Rank of January 2018	Fraction of January average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	24.1	+2.2	32.0	19th	13.6	+0.6	7.5	14th	29.2	54.5	average	54%
Cape Grim	20.5		27.0	28th	14.6		10.6	31st	13.8
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	20.7	+1.7	26.8	27th	14.5	+1.4	10.8	31st	16.0	36.7	low	44%
Cressy Research Station	27.4	+2.2	35.5	19th	11.1	+0.8	4.5	2nd	34.6	38.2	average	91%
Devonport Airport	23.3	+1.9	27.5	28th	13.7	+1.4	5.4	14th	14.0	43.4	low	32%
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	26.8	+2.4	34.2	19th	13.2	+0.9	6.5	14th	20.0	47.0	low	43%
Launceston Airport	27.1	+2.1	36.2	19th	11.1	+0.3	4.7	14th	30.4	34.6	average	88%
Low Head	21.9	+1.5	27.3	15th	15.3	+1.0	10.4	14th	19.4	51.5	low	38%
Luncheon Hill (Forestry)	22.6	+1.3	32.4	28th	11.9	+1.4	6.1	14th	41.4	75.0	low	55%
Marrawah	22.1	+1.9	30.5	28th	13.7	+1.7	9.0	14th	22.6	48.0	low	47%
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	24.4	+1.5	36.5	19th	12.0	+1.2	6.7	31st	56.2	57.3	average	98%
Sheffield School Farm	24.3	+2.2	34.4	19th	11.8	+1.2	5.8	31st	18.6	53.7	low	35%
Smithton Aerodrome	23.7	+2.1	31.1	19th	11.5	+0.4	5.5	8th	20.6	40.3	low	51%
Wynyard Airport	24.1	+2.5	33.8	19th	12.4	+1.3	5.2	3rd	13.4	43.5	v low	31%
East Coast (district 92)
Bicheno (Council Depot)	22.5	+1.1	29.2	6th	14.3	+1.3	9.1	31st	48.7	54.5	average	89%
Fingal (Legge Street)	26.6	+3.0	39.2	19th	11.5	+1.2	4.4	16th	47.6	44.8	average	106%
Friendly Beaches	25.0	+1.9	36.5	19th	14.3	+1.1	8.8	17th	40.2	67.6	average	59%
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	22.0	+2.5	31.6	28th	9.5	+1.1	3.4	14th	45.0	54.5	average	83%
larapuna (Eddystone Point)	24.2	+3.5	38.2	19th	14.8	+1.6	8.8	31st	57.2	45.7	average	125%
Maria Island (Point Lesueur)	22.0	+0.5	28.6	6th	15.0	+1.3	8.6	31st	61.0	49.7	high	123%
Orford (Aubin Court)	23.2	+1.1	30.7	28th	13.7	+1.8	7.8	31st	86.2	52.2	high	165%
St Helens Aerodrome	24.6	+1.8	39.7	19th	14.1	+0.8	8.5	17th	97.4	64.6	high	151%
Swan Island	22.5	+1.6	28.0	28th	15.8	+0.9	10.5	31st	56.0	46.6	average	120%
Swansea (Francis Street)	23.7		36.5	19th	13.3		8.0	17th	36.8
Midlands (district 93)
Ross (The Boulevards)	27.2	+2.7	36.3	19th	11.7	+1.1	2.5	16th	45.6	45.7	average	100%
Southeast (district 94)
Campania (Kincora)	25.7	+1.4	39.6	28th	12.5	+1.0	4.6	16th	21.2	40.2	average	53%
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	22.0	+2.2	32.2	28th	13.3	+1.1	7.5	31st	21.4	43.2	low	50%
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	21.2	+2.9	30.5	28th	13.6	+2.2	8.0	31st	26.0	61.3	low	42%
Dennes Point	22.9		32.3	6th	13.8		8.3	31st	24.6
Dover	23.7	+2.9	36.0	28th	11.1	+0.8	6.2	3rd	27.0	53.4	low	51%
Dunalley (Stroud Point)	23.4		30.8	6th	14.8		6.9	31st	4.6
Grove (Research Station)	24.7	+1.5	38.6	28th	10.2	+0.4	3.5	14th	26.6	45.2	low	59%
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	24.4	+2.7	36.7	28th	14.3	+2.4	8.4	31st	22.2	47.5	low	47%
Hobart Airport	24.7	+2.1	36.5	28th	13.8	+1.7	8.5	31st	25.6	40.5	average	63%
kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle)	15.8	+2.4	28.7	28th	6.2	+1.4	-1.4	31st	37.6	90.6	low	42%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	18.7	+1.7	30.5	28th	12.4	+1.6	6.9	31st	43.2	78.5	low	55%
Melton Mowbray (North Stockman)	25.4	+1.5	37.6	28th	11.4	+1.0	3.1	16th	14.4	32.0	low	45%
Tasman Island	19.4	+1.4	28.0	18th	12.9	+1.5	6.9	31st	47.0	69.0	average	68%
Tunnack Fire Station	24.0	+2.3	32.5	19th	10.1	+1.2	1.3	16th	34.8	44.7	average	78%
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	26.8	+2.8	39.4	28th	11.2	+1.1	3.4	16th	11.8	40.8	v low	29%
Maydena Post Office	24.3	+2.2	36.5	28th	9.7	+0.7	1.6	16th	34.2	60.8	low	56%
Ouse Fire Station	27.1	+1.7	38.7	28th	10.7	+0.5	2.2	16th	9.0	26.3	low	34%
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	21.1	+2.2	32.6	28th	7.1	+0.7	0.6	9th	53.8	95.4	low	56%
Lake St Clair National Park	22.1	+2.7	32.2	28th	7.6	+1.3	2.6	16th	40.4	100.5	low	40%
Liawenee	21.2	+2.4	29.3	19th	6.2	+0.9	0.0	3rd	17.6	51.7	low	34%
West Coast (district 97)
Cape Sorell	21.3	+3.0	32.0	28th	13.7	+1.9	8.4	31st	65.0	68.6	average	95%
Hartz Mountain (Keoghs Pimple)	19.1	+1.5	34.1	28th	8.2	+1.1	0.5	31st	43.8	66.1	average	66%
Low Rocky Point	20.8		30.1	28th	12.7		7.9	31st	60.8	79.2	average	77%
Scotts Peak Dam	22.9	+2.1	37.7	28th	10.4	+1.0	4.0	31st	86.6	102.7	average	84%
Strahan Aerodrome	22.5	+1.7	35.9	28th	11.9	+1.1	5.6	16th	82.0	84.1	average	98%
Warra	21.3	+2.0	35.1	28th	8.6	+0.3	0.5	16th	55.4	104.9	low	53%
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	23.2	+2.3	34.7	28th	13.4	+0.9	7.6	24th	8.6	39.1	lowest	22%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	24.2	+2.0	34.7	29th	15.0	+1.6	6.4	17th	101.6	46.2	v high	220%
Hogan Island	23.2	+1.6	34.3	6th	15.6	+0.8	11.7	14th	52.0	38.2	high	136%
Note: From 2017, information about Macquarie Island can be found in the climate summary for the Remote Islands and Antarctica

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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