Tuesday, 1 May 2018 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in April 2018: a mostly mild month with below average rain

Temperatures were above average across Tasmania for most of April, despite some cool weather around the middle and again near the end of the month. Rainfall was below average for most areas, and especially dry on parts of the East Coast.

Rainfall below average in most areas

• Rainfall was below average for most of Tasmania, and particularly dry in parts of the East Coast
• Rainfall was close to or above average in the southwest and far south
• In many areas, most of the rain that did fall came between the 12th and 16th as a series of low pressure systems and cold fronts moved across the State
• After the 17th, rain was mostly confined to the west until cold fronts brought some showers to most areas as they crossed on the 24th and 26th
• Tasmania's total rainfall for April was about 27% below the long-term average

Mild weather for mid-autumn

• Temperatures were above average across Tasmania for most of April
• There were several days where large parts of the State reached into the mid 20s, notably only the 4th (when Campania reached 26.5 °C) but also on the 24th (when Flinders Island Airport reached 25.1 °C)
• A cold front that crossed on the 14th brought snow to around 600 m in the south, and introduced a period of cool weather
• Liawenee dipped to -5.2 °C on the morning of the 18th, the lowest temperature in Tasmania since September 2017 and the State's lowest April temperature since 2015
• Tasmania avoided the extraordinarily warm weather that affected much of Australia (which was detailed in a Special Climate Statement)
• Taken across the State, the mean maximum temperature was 0.43 °C above average, the mean minimum temperature 0.60 °C above average and the mean temperature 0.52 °C above average

Strong and damaging winds

• Strong and gusty winds were common from the 13th to the 16th as a series of cold fronts crossed the State
• Winds were especially strong on the morning of the 16th, with several reports of downed trees and damaged power lines
• Many sites reported gusts well in excess of 100 km/h, peaking at 163 km/h at Maatsuyker Island

Mild for Hobart, and a dry second half

• Total rainfall for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 30.0 mm, which is 60% of the long-term average of 50.3 mm
• All but 3.8 mm of Hobart's rain fell in the first half of the month
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 18.8 °C, which is 1.5 °C above the long-term average of 17.3 °C. The warmest day was 24.6 °C on the 4th, and the coolest day was on the 16th when the temperature reached 13.5 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 10.0 °C, which is 1.0 °C above the long-term average of 9.0 °C. The coldest morning was 5.1 °C on the 18th, and the warmest morning was on the 3rd when the minimum temperature was 14.1 °C
• A wind gust to 104 km/h was registered at Hobart (Ellerslie Road) on the morning of the 16th, the strongest gust there since October 2016 and the strongest April gust since 2008

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 lower value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top