Friday, 1 June 2018 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in May 2018: a record wet day around Hobart, dry in the north, a warm month overall

Temperatures were above average in Tasmania during May, with days especially warm in the first week. There was record-breaking rain in the southeast overnight from the 10th to 11th, but total rainfall was below average in the north. Strong and damaging winds occurred on several occasions.

Record-breaking rain in the southeast

• A complex low pressure system crossed Tasmania on the 10th, then deepened to the northeast during the 11th bringing strong, gusty and moist southerly flow over the State
• Rain and thunderstorms brought exceptionally high rainfall to the southeast of Tasmania, in particular to Hobart and the nearby Wellington Range where almost all sites reported their highest May daily rainfall on record (and in some cases their wettest day for any time of year) in the 24 hours to 9 am on the 11th
• The daily totals of 236.2 mm at kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle) and 226.4 mm at Leslie Vale are now ranked two and three in the list of highest May daily rainfalls ever recorded in Tasmania
• Much of the rain fell in about 6 hours on the evening of the 10th, leading to flash flooding in many streams in the southeast
• There was extensive damage to bridges, roads, buildings and other infrastructure, with reports of nearly thirty million dollars in insurance claims together with nearly thirty million dollars in damage to municipal infrastructure
• The heavy rain ensured that most of the southeastern third of the State had above average rainfall for the month; for several sites it was their wettest May since 1958 or in some cases their wettest May on record

Rainfall below average in the north

• Rainfall was below average in the north of the State, with Wynyard reporting its lowest total May rainfall on record
• A period of westerly winds in the second half of the month ensured the western highlands had above average rainfall
• Longer-term rainfall deficiencies continue near the east coast, and especially in the north
• Total rainfall for the State was about 5% above average, slightly wetter than May 2017 but about half the total from May 2016

A warm month overall

• There was very warm weather in the first few days of the month, with Campania reaching 25.3 °C on the 1st and a few sites (including Launceston) having their highest May temperature on record on the 1st or the 3rd
• Days were mostly cool from the 10th to the 27th, and again at the very end of the month
• There were several cold mornings in the middle of the month (Liawenee dropped to -4.1 °C on the 14th), but the coldest temperatures were in the final week; Liawenee dipped to -6.1 °C on the 25th
• Despite the cool end to the month temperatures were above average overall, with the State's mean temperature 0.64 °C above average
• Tasmania's mean minimum temperature was 0.76 °C above average, and the mean maximum temperature 0.52 °C above average

Damaging winds

• Cold fronts crossing the State on the 5th and again on the 7th brought strong to locally storm-force winds including several gusts well over 100 km/h, leading to some damage
• Along with the heavy rain on the 10th and 11th, there were strong and gusty southerly winds that caused further damage, including significant power outages
• Another sequence of cold fronts on the 21st and 22nd brought gusts well over 100 km/h to many areas, leading to downed power lines, felled trees and structural damage

Hobart (Ellerslie Road)

• Hobart (Ellerslie Road) had its wettest May day on record with 129.2 mm in the 24 hours to 9 am on the 11th, almost half of which fell in the 3 hours between 9 pm and midnight on the 10th
• This was the wettest day in Hobart since April 1960, and only the fifth time a daily total of more than 100 mm had been registered in 125 years of record
• Total rainfall for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 146.2 mm, the wettest May since 1958 more than three times the long-term average of 46.7 mm
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 15.8 °C, which is 1.3 °C above the long-term average of 14.5 °C. The warmest day was 23.1 °C on the 1st, and the coolest day was on the 27th when it reached just 11.3 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 8.4 °C, which is 1.4 °C above the long-term average of 7.0 °C. The coldest morning was 2.6 °C on the 27th, and the warmest morning was on the 4th when the minimum temperature was 13.3 °C
• Hobart registered wind gusts to 113 km/h late on the 21st and again early on the 22nd, the strongest May gust since 1994; there was also a gust to 109 km/h on the 7th and a southerly gust to 89 km/h on the 10th.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

* note: Some data are missing from Mount Read, and the true rainfall total is higher

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

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top