Monday, 3 August 2009 - Monthly Climate Summary for Victoria - Product code IDCKGC26R0

Victoria in July 2009:

Warm and dry conditions continue.

Note that Melbourne's rainfall total for the year thus far is 165.4 mm, the lowest January to July total since 1976 (when 159.9 mm fell).

Preliminary data for July 2009 shows that the relatively warm and relatively dry conditions, that have been a feature of the weather over recent times (refer to the Table below for Melbourne average conditions prior to, and since the start of, the current decade), continues.

Both overnight and daytime temperatures during the month averaged between half a degree and one degree above long-term normals throughout the State, whilst rainfall was somewhat below normal in most districts - the exceptions were the southwest and about the ranges.

The reason for the mostly drier conditions (than usual) during the month relates to a high frequency of westerly or northwesterly synoptic types which, for the most part, were relatively benign (in that they were not accompanied with northwest cloud bands, which normally bring Victoria quite a deal of rainfall ahead of cold fronts).

The reason for the mostly warmer conditions (than usual) during the month relates to the almost a complete absence of southwesterly or southerly synoptic types, which usually bring "cold outbreaks" to Victoria, accompanied by snowfalls on the ranges down to low levels, and followed by spells of frosty nights once the weather clears.

Specifically for Melbourne for the month thus far:

- Only 39.6 mm of rain has fallen (compared to the average over all years of record of 46.2 mm; the average for July 1855−1999 of  48.2 mm; and, the average for July since 2000 of 39.8 mm),

- The average minimum temperature has been 8.2°C (compared to the average over all years of record of 5.9°C; the average for July 1855−1999 of 5.9°C; and, the average for July since 2000 of 7.5°C); and,

- The average maximum temperature has been 15.2°C (compared to the average over all years of record of 13.5°C; the average for July 1855−1999 of 13.4°C; and, the average for July since 2000 of 14.6°C).

Further information

Dr Harvey Stern
Climate Meteorologist
Victoria Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 9669 4956
Email climate.vic@bom.gov.au

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Maps

Anomaly in mean maximum temperature

Anomaly in mean minimum temperature

Rainfall deciles

Jump to:  Maps  Summaries  Notes  the top

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Summaries

This table is very wide and may not fit if printed.

Summary statistics for July 2009
	Maximum temperatures for July (°C)				Minimum temperatures for July (°C)				Rainfall for July (millimetres)
	Mean for July 2009	Diff from average	Highest for July 2009		Mean for July 2009	Diff from average	Lowest for July 2009		Total for July 2009	Average for July	Rank of July 2009	Fraction of July average
North Mallee (district 76)
Mildura Airport	16.2	+0.9	24.9	21st	5.2	+0.8	−1.8	24th	12.2	26.1	low	47%
Ouyen	15.6	+0.4	21.2	21st	5.1	+0.8	−0.2	24th	25.4	31.2	average	81%
Walpeup Research	15.1	+0.5	21.2	21st	5.6	+0.9	1.2	23rd	29.6	33.3	average	89%
South Mallee (district 77)
Hopetoun Airport	14.8		20.0	20th	4.1		−2.2	24th	29.6
Swan Hill Aerodrome	14.8	+0.2	19.9	20th	4.3	+0.8	−1.3	24th	26.6	28.9	average	92%
North Wimmera (district 78)
Nhill Aerodrome	14.5		19.4	20th	5.2		0.7	24th	40.0
Warracknabeal Museum	14.4	+0.5	20.0	20th	5.0	+1.3	−0.6	24th	39.2	40.4	average	97%
South Wimmera (district 79)
Edenhope Airport	13.7		17.5	20th	5.4		−0.5	23rd	78.4
Grampians	5.1		11.5	21st	1.2		−1.7	23rd	196.8
Horsham Aerodrome	13.8	+0.1	18.2	20th	4.2	+1.2	−1.0	24th	62.0	39.7	very high	156%
Horsham Polkemmet Rd	13.7	+0.4	18.5	20th	4.8	+1.2	0.0	8th	58.0	46.9	high	124%
Kanagulk	13.1		17.7	20th	4.8		−0.7	24th	63.0
Longerenong	13.6	+0.5	18.4	20th	4.4	+1.1	−0.9	24th	54.8	42.6	high	129%
Pyrenees	7.1		11.8	21st	3.1		0.2	23rd	97.8
Stawell Aerodrome	12.6	+0.1	17.0	20th	5.0	+1.0	0.5	17th	79.6	56.2	average	142%
Lower North (district 80)
Charlton	13.8		18.7	20th	4.7		−1.3	24th	54.0
Echuca Aerodrome	14.1	+0.7	19.0	20th	4.1	+0.2	−1.8	24th	32.0	40.9	average	78%
Kerang	14.8	+0.7	19.5	20th	4.7	+0.7	−1.2	24th	30.5	35.4	average	86%
Kyabram DPI	13.6	+0.6	17.8	20th	3.8	+0.8	−2.5	24th	12.0	43.7	very low	27%
Upper North (district 81)
Bendigo Airport	12.8	+0.3	17.2	20th	2.9	+0.5	−2.6	24th	67.0	51.3	high	131%
Shepparton Airport	13.3	0.0	18.0	20th	3.3	+0.2	−3.2	24th	34.6	41.9	average	83%
Tatura Inst Sustainable Ag	13.4	+0.4	18.2	20th	3.4	+0.4	−3.2	24th	36.6	48.5	average	75%
Yarrawonga	13.4	0.0	18.0	20th	3.8	+0.4	−1.1	24th	33.0	48.0	low	69%
Lower Northeast (district 82)
Benalla Airport	13.2		17.4	20th	3.3		−2.3	24th	47.8
Corryong Airport	11.9		16.0	21st	1.4		−5.1	8th	79.6
Dartmouth Reservoir	11.9	+0.3	15.7	20th	2.3	+0.1	−2.7	8th	92.4	113.0	average	82%
Hunters Hill	7.1	0.0	12.5	21st	2.2	+0.4	−0.2	7th	199.6	152.5	high	131%
Rutherglen Research	12.9	+0.5	17.2	20th	3.6	+1.5	−2.2	8th	36.6	61.9	low	59%
Strathbogie	10.1	0.0	14.0	21st	2.8	+1.2	−4.5	24th	105.8	123.6	average	86%
Wangaratta Aero	13.1	+0.2	17.8	21st	3.0	+0.6	−2.5	7th	53.4	66.9	average	80%
Upper Northeast (district 83)
Dinner Plain	6.2		10.7	21st	−1.5		−6.9	8th	79.2	67.3	high	118%
Edi Upper	12.0	+0.1	16.8	21st	4.2	+0.7	−0.5	7th	111.0	124.5	average	89%
Falls Creek	0.2	−0.8	3.6	21st	−3.2	−0.3	−6.2	7th	99.8	76.7	high	130%
Mount Buller	0.4	−1.1	4.3	21st	−2.6	0.0	−7.1	24th	300.8	163.5	very high	184%
Mount Hotham	−1.1	−1.1	1.9	21st	−4.2	−0.6	−7.2	7th	176.8	128.4	high	138%
Omeo	11.0		15.5	21st	1.0		−5.9	8th	37.8
East Gippsland (district 84)
Combienbar AWS	11.7	+0.7	17.3	21st	5.2	+0.5	2.0	24th	58.2	80.0	average	73%
Gabo Island Lighthouse	15.4	+1.4	20.9	22nd	8.5	+0.3	5.5	18th	30.2	86.6	very low	35%
Gelantipy	10.2	+0.7	15.4	21st	2.9	+0.8	−1.7	24th	34.6	49.4	average	70%
Lakes Entrance	16.0		22.5	21st	6.0		−1.8	9th	38.4
Mallacoota	15.6	+0.8	21.0	22nd	5.5	−0.8	1.5	25th	53.2	81.5	average	65%
Mount Nowa Nowa	13.9	+1.1	19.4	21st	6.5	+0.7	3.0	24th	33.2	61.5	low	54%
Orbost	15.8		22.6	21st	6.0		0.3	8th	36.8
Orbost	16.4	+1.6	23.4	21st	4.7	+0.5	−1.3	8th	39.8	67.4	average	59%
Point Hicks	15.2	+1.0	20.0	12th	8.8	+0.6	5.2	24th	93.1	98.3	average	95%
West Gippsland (district 85)
Bairnsdale Airport	16.0	+1.6	22.4	21st	4.4	+0.5	−3.5	8th	22.4	51.0	low	44%
East Sale Airport	15.0	+1.3	22.0	21st	3.5	+0.3	−3.9	8th	24.6	41.5	average	59%
Morwell	14.4	+0.9	21.8	21st	4.0	+0.3	−2.7	10th	57.6	66.5	average	87%
Mount Baw Baw	1.5	−0.9	7.0	21st	−1.7	−0.2	−5.6	24th	136.2
Mount Moornapa	13.1	+1.2	19.4	21st	5.9	+0.8	2.0	24th	36.6	55.7	average	66%
Noojee	12.9	+0.9	18.0	21st	4.1	+1.2	−1.9	8th	109.0	105.1	average	104%
Pound Creek	14.1		20.1	21st	6.6		−1.9	8th	101.4
Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse	13.0	+0.8	20.1	21st	9.4	+1.1	6.2	2nd	258.0	122.4	very high	211%
Yarram Airport	14.7		21.4	21st	5.3		−2.1	9th	62.8
East Central (district 86)
Bundoora	14.2	+1.0	20.0	21st	6.3	+0.9	−1.0	8th	46.6	49.3	average	95%
Cerberus	14.3	+0.8	18.8	21st	6.8	+0.7	−0.8	8th	89.6	75.5	average	119%
Coldstream	13.8	+0.6	18.9	21st	3.9	+0.3	−3.5	8th	68.6	60.1	average	114%
Cranbourne Botanic Gardens	13.8	+0.6	19.0	21st	6.8	+0.7	2.0	8th	96.1	69.8	high	138%
Essendon Airport	14.3	+1.4	18.5	21st	6.4	+1.2	−0.2	8th	31.0	44.0	low	70%
Ferny Creek	9.4	+0.4	14.3	21st	5.2	+0.3	2.9	23rd	119.0	85.3	average	140%
Frankston AWS	13.4	+0.7	18.9	21st	8.8	+1.0	3.7	8th
Melbourne Airport	13.9	+0.9	18.0	20th	5.8	+0.5	0.9	8th	24.8	36.0	average	69%
Melbourne Regional Office	15.2	+1.7	19.6	21st	8.2	+2.2	3.4	8th	39.6	47.7	average	81%
Moorabbin Airport	14.5	+0.9	19.7	21st	7.0	+1.0	−0.8	8th	66.0	62.7	average	105%
Rhyll	13.8	+0.6	17.1	21st	8.6	+0.6	4.5	8th	80.8	65.8	average	123%
Scoresby Research Institute	14.1	+1.1	18.9	21st	6.5	+0.8	−0.6	8th	74.6	74.4	average	100%
Viewbank	14.4		19.9	21st	6.3		−0.5	8th	50.4	49.1	average	103%
Wallan	9.2	+0.3	13.6	20th	4.0	+0.2	0.9	27th	47.4	58.1	average	82%
Wonthaggi	14.2	+0.7	19.1	21st	6.9	+0.8	2.1	8th	103.7	99.3	average	104%
West Central (district 87)
Avalon Airport	15.1	+1.2	21.4	21st	5.6	+0.7	−1.9	8th	30.8	38.4	average	80%
Grovedale	14.4	+0.6	20.5	21st	6.1	+0.8	−1.4	8th	32.8	50.3	low	65%
Laverton RAAF	15.2	+1.6	19.6	20th	6.0	+1.1	−2.1	8th	29.8	39.3	average	76%
Sheoaks	12.8	+0.7	18.9	21st	5.7	+0.7	−2.0	8th	29.8	40.2	average	74%
North Central (district 88)
Castlemaine Prison	12.0	+0.3	16.2	20th	3.8	+1.1	−1.9	7th	73.4	61.2	average	120%
Eildon Fire Tower	9.0	−0.1	13.8	21st	4.2	+0.3	0.8	24th	61.6	66.1	average	93%
Lake Eildon	12.6	+0.7	18.1	21st	4.1	+0.6	−1.2	7th	85.3	93.8	average	91%
Mangalore Airport	12.8	+0.4	17.2	20th	3.6	+0.5	−2.3	24th	32.6	58.6	low	56%
Maryborough	12.7	+0.4	17.7	20th	3.7	+0.4	−1.3	24th	58.9	53.7	average	110%
Redesdale	12.0	+0.2	16.3	20th	3.0	0.0	−1.5	24th	78.0	65.4	average	119%
Western Plains (district 89)
Ararat Prison	12.2	+0.5	15.7	20th	4.3	+1.0	−1.8	24th	71.6	62.6	average	114%
Ballarat Aerodrome	10.7	+0.7	14.9	20th	3.5	+0.3	−2.3	16th	66.8	66.5	average	100%
Westmere	12.4		15.8	20th	4.5		−1.7	8th	74.8
West Coast (district 90)
Aireys Inlet	13.8	+0.4	17.7	21st	7.6	+0.4	4.4	8th	79.8	65.5	average	122%
Cape Nelson Lighthouse	13.8	+0.1	16.9	25th	8.3	0.0	3.8	17th	156.8	94.2	very high	166%
Cape Otway Lighthouse	13.1	+0.1	15.8	21st	8.3	+0.9	4.1	8th	139.6	105.6	high	132%
Casterton	13.3		15.8	29th	5.3		−0.9	17th	125.2
Casterton Showgrounds	13.9	+0.5	17.0	20th	5.5	+0.6	−1.1	8th	139.4	85.9	very high	162%
Colac	11.7		17.4	21st	5.3		2.6	17th	59.4	55.8	average	106%
Dartmoor	13.7		16.2	19th	5.7		−0.2	23rd	159.2
Hamilton Airport	12.1	0.0	14.6	20th	5.0	+0.7	−0.6	17th	98.8	67.4	high	147%
Mortlake Racecourse	13.1	+0.2	16.6	20th	4.6	+0.1	−1.5	17th	69.6	62.0	average	112%
Port Fairy AWS	14.2	0.0	17.0	20th	7.0	0.0	1.1	8th	151.2	90.5	very high	167%
Portland	13.1	0.0	15.6	19th	6.3	+0.1	−1.5	8th	153.4	107.2	very high	143%
Warrnambool Airport NDB	13.4	−0.1	15.8	20th	5.8	+0.4	0.5	8th	121.0	79.6	high	152%
Weeaproinah	9.2	+0.3	12.1	21st	5.1	+0.5	2.8	24th	279.8	226.4	high	124%

Jump to:  Maps  Summaries  Notes  the top

 

You may wish to refer to the Table below for Melbourne average conditions prior to, and since the start of, the current decade.

The decline in rainfall may be explained in terms of a poleward retreat of rain-bearing mid-latitude depressions.

The rise in temperature is consistent with warming that has been observed in cities in other parts of the world.

The greater warming at night is due to the "heat island effect" (whereby major cities have been observed to have warmed more, especially at night, than their forested and grassed surroundings, on account of the roads, concrete, and buildings).

	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC	YEAR
Melbourne Average MIN (°C) 1855−1999	14.1	14.4	13.1	10.7	8.5	6.8	5.9	6.6	7.8	9.4	11.0	12.8	10.1
Melbourne Average MIN (°C) Since 2000	16.1	16.5	14.7	12.1	9.8	8.3	7.5	7.9	9.6	10.9	13.1	14.4	11.8
Melbourne Average MAX (°C) 1855−1999	25.8	25.7	23.8	20.2	16.6	14.0	13.4	14.9	17.1	19.6	21.8	24.1	19.7
Melbourne Average MAX (°C) Since 2000	27.0	26.8	25.0	21.5	17.8	15.3	14.6	16.0	18.6	20.6	23.2	25.3	21.0
Melbourne Average RAIN (MM) 1855−1999	48.7	47.6	51.2	57.9	57.3	50.1	48.2	50.5	59.0	67.3	59.9	59.6	657.0
Melbourne Average RAIN (MM) Since 2000	30.7	42.7	35.6	49.1	36.6	34.1	39.8	45.4	40.3	47.6	53.4	52.7	519.2

 

Seasonal Climate Outlook

The outlook for August-October rainfall may be found at http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/ahead/rain.seaus.shtml

The outlook for August-October temperatures may be found at http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/ahead/temp.seaus.shtml

Long-Term Climate Averages

Long term climate averages may be found at http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/

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Notes

Further information

Dr Harvey Stern
Climate Meteorologist
Victoria Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 9669 4956
Email climate.vic@bom.gov.au

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