Friday, 1 November 2019 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in October 2019: warm days, cool nights, rain well below average

Tasmania had many warm days during October, but nights were mostly colder than average for the time of year. There was much less rain than is typical for October.

Little rain for most of the month

• Rainfall was very much below the October average in most parts of Tasmania, with only a patch of the lower East Coast having close to average rain for the month
• Tasmania's total rainfall for the month was less than half the October average, making it the sixth-driest October but not as dry as October last year
• The passage of a complex low brought localised moderate falls to the lower East Coast and southern Midlands on the 15th and 16th
• A few sites in the Huon Valley had their lowest total October rainfall on record
• Rainfall for the year so far has been below average in most of Tasmania and well below average in the east, but close to average in the western highlands

Warm days and cold nights

• Days were warmer than average but nights were mostly cooler than average
• The 3rd, 24th, 29th and 31st were especially warm, with temperatures in some areas pushing into the high 20s or even the low 30s
• Lake St Clair and Scotts Peak Dam had their highest October temperature on record on the 24th, and were followed by record October heat at Butlers Gorge, Ouse and Scotts Peak Dam again on the 31st
• Warm weather, strong winds and ongoing dry weather created dangerous fire weather conditions several times during the month, notably from the 29th onward
• There was a period of generally cooler days from around the 4th to the 19th
• Mean maximum temperatures were well above average for most of Tasmania
• The State's mean maximum temperature was 1.59 °C above average, the sixth-warmest October on record and just a little cooler than October last year
• Cool to cold nights were common right through the month, with only a few mild mornings
• Liawenee's temperature dropped to -7.8 °C on the morning of the 5th, the lowest October temperature reported in Tasmania since 2006 (when Liawenee dipped to -7.9 °C on the 16th)
• Mean minimum temperatures for October were below average for most of Tasmania, especially inland
• A handful of sites had their lowest October mean daily minimum temperature on record
• The State's mean minimum temperature was 0.68 °C below average, the coolest October since 2003
• Tasmania's overall mean temperature was 0.46 °C above average, much cooler than October last year but warmer than October 2016
• Temperatures for the year so far have been above average, with maximum temperatures especially warm and particularly so in the east

A dry month for Hobart with many warm days

• The temperature at Hobart (Ellerslie Road) reached 25 °C on six days during the month, breaking the 2015 record of five such warm days; there is typically one or two days each October that reach 25 °C
• The warmest day was 28.2 °C on the 3rd
• The mean daily maximum temperature was 18.8 °C, which is 1.8 °C above the long-term average
• Hobart's coolest day was on the 15th when the temperature reached 12.4 °C; typically Hobart fails to reach 12 °C once or twice each October
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 7.7 °C, which is 0.1 °C below the long-term average
• The coldest morning was 2.9 °C on the 5th, the first October temperature below 3 °C at Hobart since 2011
• Total rainfall for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 17.6 mm, which is 29% of the long-term average
• Hobart has had its highest mean maximum temperature for the year so far, with the mean minimum temperature also above average and rainfall less than two-thirds of average

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

* Note the true value at Mount Read was probably 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

* 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 lower value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top