Friday, 1 April 2011 - Monthly Climate Summary for Melbourne Metropolitan Area and Environs - Product code IDCKGC1xx0

Melbourne Metropolitan Area in March 2011: Coldest March days on record

  • Daytime temperatures the coldest on record
  • Rainfall above average in eastern parts
  • Night-time temperatures generally above average

    • Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

    Rainfall

    Rainfall around Melbourne was average to above average. The wettest overall was Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) with 118.2 mm but Viewbank (ARPANSA) was the most unusual receiving 50% more than its normal March total. At the other end of the scale, Laverton RAAF only recorded 19.0 mm, which is only half their usual total for the month. The wettest single day was the 25th when Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) recorded 52.0 mm.

    Maximum temperature

    Several stations around Melbourne recorded their coldest March average maximum temperatures on record, whilst elsewhere, daytime temperatures were below average. As such, all stations reported a negative anomaly, the weakest being Melbourne Regional Office’s -0.4 °C, whilst the strongest was Coldstream’s -2.6 °C. The warmest maximum on average, 23.5 °C was recorded at the Melbourne Regional Office, while the coolest, 18.1 °C, was recorded at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill). The hottest day was the 13th when Essendon Airport recorded 33.4 °C and the coldest was the 4th when Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) recorded 10.7 °C

    Some sites had their lowest March mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years.

    Minimum temperature

    Night-time temperatures around Melbourne were warmer than usual. Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) was the only station to record cooler than normal nights and it was also the coldest overall, with an average minimum temperature of 10.5 °C. Melbourne Regional Office was the warmest with an average minimum temperature of 14.9 °C; it also shared the strongest anomaly, 1.7 °C, with Coldstream. Melbourne Regional Office recorded the warmest night of the month on the 13th with 20.8 °C. The coldest single night was the 5th when Coldstream reported 4.8 °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
    Extremes in March 2011
    Hottest day 33.4 °C at Essendon Airport on the 13th
    Warmest days on average 23.5 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
    Coolest days on average 18.1 °C at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill)
    Coldest day 10.7 °C at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) on the 4th
    Coldest night 4.8 °C at Coldstream on the 5th
    Coolest nights on average 10.5 °C at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill)
    Warmest nights on average 14.9 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
    Warmest night 20.8 °C at Melbourne Regional Office on the 13th
    Warmest on average overall 19.2 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
    Coolest on average overall 14.3 °C at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill)
    Wettest overall 118.2 mm at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill)
    Driest overall 19.0 mm at Laverton RAAF
    Wettest day 52.0 mm at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) on the 25th
    Highest wind gust 80 km/h at Melbourne Airport on the 7th

    Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

    Lowest March mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years
    Mean daily maximum
    temperature
    for March 2011 (°C)     		Most recent March
    at least this cool    		 Years since
    cooler    		 Average for
    March
    Essendon Airport 22.6 22.5 in 1955 26 23.9
    Scoresby Research Institute 22.3 21.9 in 1987 21 24.0


    Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

    Summary statistics for March 2011
    Maximum temperatures
    for March
    (°C)    		 Minimum temperatures
    for March
    (°C)    		 Rainfall
    for March
    (millimetres)
    Mean for
    March
    2011    		 Diff
    from
    average    		 Highest for
    March
    2011    		 Mean for
    March
    2011    		 Diff
    from
    average    		 Lowest for
    March
    2011    		 Total for
    March
    2011    		 Average
    for
    March    		 Rank of
    March
    2011    		 Fraction of
    March
    average
    East Central (district 86)
    Bundoora (Latrobe University) 22.4 -1.8 31.9 13th 13.6 +1.2 8.5 6th 57.1 44.9 high 127%
    Cerberus 21.6 -1.3 30.0 12th 13.2 +0.9 7.4 28th 44.4 45.2 average 98%
    Coldstream 22.5 -2.6 31.7 13th 11.1 +1.7 4.8 5th 62.4 48.9 average 128%
    Cranbourne Botanic Gardens 21.4 -2.0 31.5 13th 12.4 +0.1 8.0 31st 43.8 41.3 average 106%
    Essendon Airport 22.6 -1.3 33.4 13th 13.1 +0.8 7.8 2nd 24.2 39.7 average 61%
    Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) 18.1 -1.9 27.7 13th 10.5 -0.7 6.4 5th 118.2 76.7 high 154%
    Melbourne Airport 22.5 -1.6 32.3 13th 12.8 +0.2 7.3 2nd 26.8 37.0 average 72%
    Melbourne Regional Office 23.5 -0.4 32.5 13th 14.9 +1.7 10.8 5th 30.4 50.3 average 60%
    Moorabbin Airport 22.3 -1.4 32.3 13th 13.4 +0.6 7.8 5th 30.4 44.6 average 68%
    Scoresby Research Institute 22.3 -1.7 31.2 13th 12.6 +0.2 5.3 5th 66.4 54.1 high 123%
    Viewbank (ARPANSA) 22.9 -2.4 32.2 13th 13.1 +0.5 8.2 5th 68.2 43.8 average 156%
    West Central (district 87)
    Avalon Airport 22.3 -1.8 31.5 7th 12.6 +0.3 8.3 6th 20.0 28.4 average 70%
    Laverton RAAF 22.0 -1.6 32.0 13th 13.1 +0.6 7.2 2nd 19.0 35.3 average 54%

    Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

    Notes

    A Monthly Climate Summary is prepared to list the main features of the weather in Melbourne Metropolitan Area and Environs using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. Later information, including data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review, usually published in the fourth week of the month.

    This statement has been prepared based on information available at 12 pm on Friday 1 April 2011. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

    Averages are long-term means based on observations from all available years of record, which vary widely from site to site. They are not shown for sites with less than 10 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
    The median is sometimes more representative than the mean of long-term average rain.

    The Rank indicates how rainfall this time compares with the climate record for the site, based on the decile ranking (very low rainfall is in decile 1, low in decile 2 or 3, average in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9 and very high is in decile 10).
    The Fraction of average shows how much rain has fallen this time as a percentage of the long-term mean.

    Further information

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