Tuesday, 3 April 2018 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in March 2018: a wet, mild month

Several bursts of wet weather ensured rainfall in March was above average for most of Tasmania, and well above average in parts of the north. Mostly warm weather was replaced by cooler conditions with a front on the 18th, but temperatures were a little above average overall. A strong high pressure system brought record high March pressures.

Bursts of wet weather

• Monthly rainfall was above average for much of Tasmania, with areas in the northeast and the northwest very much above average; a few sites in the north had their wettest March since at least 1996
• The total rainfall for the State was about 39% above average
• There were showers in the northeast on the afternoon and evening of the 16th, with a localised heavy fall of 85 mm at Gray
• A cloud band ahead of an approaching front brought more rain to all but the southwest on the 17th and 18th; after the front crossed there was more rain in the south and west together with strong and gusty winds
• A series of troughs and fronts on the 24th and 25th again brought rain statewide, with localised heavy falls in the north and west

A warm month overall

• Warm weather was dominant in the first half of the month, including some temperatures into the 30s on the 10th and 17th
• A week or more of cool weather followed a front that crossed on the 18th; at some sites the maximum temperature on the 18th was more than 10 °C cooler than the 17th
• Tasmania's mean temperature was 0.40 °C above average, much cooler than March last year
• The State's mean maximum temperature for the month was just 0.11 °C above average, and the mean minimum 0.69 °C above average

Record high pressure

• After the cold change on the 18th, a high pressure system intensified and moved from south of the Great Australian Bight to be south of Tasmania by the 21st
• The high was unusually strong for this time of year, with a peak central pressure around 1042 hectopascals
• Ouse Fire Station reported a mean sea level pressure of 1041.0 hPa at 9 am on the 21st, the highest March pressure ever recorded at an Australian site at a standard synoptic hour
• Hobart's pressure at 9 am was 1040.5 hPa, a March record for the site where comparable records go back to May 1893
• All of the reliable observations of pressure over 1040 hPa in Australia in March occurred either on the 21st, or on 12 March 2010
• The highest pressure recorded in Australia was on 7 June 1967, when Launceston Airport reached 1044.3 hPa
• Strong high pressure systems close to Australia are more common in the cooler months rather than autumn
• Slightly higher pressures were registered between 9 am and noon on the 21st, but these cannot be directly compared against records from previous years which are mostly only known at standard synoptic hours (3 am, 6 am, 9 am, and so on)

A warm month for Hobart

• The mean daily maximum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 21.4 °C, which is 1.3 °C above the long-term average
• Hobart's warmest day (and the only day over 30 °C) was 30.1 °C on the 17th, and the coolest day was on the 26th when the temperature reached just 15.9 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 12.4 °C, which is 1.5 °C above the long-term average
• Hobart's coldest morning was 7.1 °C on the 21st, and the warmest morning was on the 11th when the minimum temperature was 18.2 °C
• Total rainfall for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 38.6 mm, which is 87% of the long-term average of 44.6 mm
• Hobart's pressure at 9 am on the 21st was 1040.5 hPa, a March record for the site and clear of the 1040.0 hPa from 12 March 2010

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

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

* 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