Monday, 3 February 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in January 2020: Hot end, warm overall, rainfall close to average

January 2020 ended with some hot weather, and although there were plenty of cool days mean temperatures for the month were above average in most areas. Rain was above average in the northwest, below average near the East Coast and in the far south, and close to average for most other areas of the State.

Rainfall close to average for most of Tasmania

• There was little rain in most areas during the first three weeks of the month, apart from the west where a cold front brought moderate falls around the 11th, and localised moderate falls from thunderstorms on the 15th and 16th
• A series of cold fronts and troughs brought moderate falls to the west and northwest from the 22nd to the 24th, with showers continuing in the west
• Rainfall totals were above average in the far northwest and on King Island, but below average near the East Coast and in the far south
• Tasmania's total rainfall for the month was about 7% below average: much wetter than the very dry January 2019

A hot end, but many cool days

• The final days of the month were very warm, peaking on the 31st when several sites had their highest temperature on record, some sites in the southeast (including Hobart) went over 40 °C, and Hobart Airport's 41.4 °C was the equal-sixth highest temperature ever recorded in Tasmania
• There were several relatively cool days during the month, especially in the west and north
• Mean maximum temperatures were above average over most of the State, especially in the southeast, but close to average in the northwest
• Mean minimum temperatures were very much above average in the eastern third, and above average in almost all areas
• Tasmania's mean temperature was much cooler than the record warm January 2019 but still 0.99 °C above average
• The State's mean maximum temperature was 1.05 °C above average, and the mean minimum temperature was 0.93 °C above average

Hobart (Ellerslie Road)

• Total rainfall for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 33.6 mm, which is 71% of the long-term average of 47 mm
• Almost half of Hobart's rainfall for the month fell in just three hours early on the 23rd
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 24.3 °C, which is 2.6 °C above the long-term average of 21.7 °C
• The hottest day was on the 31st with 40.4 °C, the last of an unusual run of three consecutive days over 29 °C and only the ninth time Hobart has registered a temperature over 40 °C in 134 years of record
• Hobart reached 30 °C or more on six days during the month, compared to a long-term average of about two days that warm
• The coolest day was on the 17th when the temperature reached 15.6 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 13.8 °C, which is 1.8 °C above the long-term average of 12.0 °C
• The coldest morning was 9.0 °C on the 17th; one of only two nights below 10 °C
• The warmest morning was on the 10th when the minimum temperature was 19.8 °C; one of ten nights when the temperature did not drop below 15 °C compared to a long-term average of about four January nights that mild

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

The values for Hobart Airport, Maydena and Hartz Mountain are records for any time of year, whilst kunanyi / Mount Wellington equalled its annual record.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top