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

Melbourne Metropolitan Area in May 2011: Record breaking cold days

  • Coldest average May maximum temperatures for many stations
  • Above normal rainfall at some stations
  • Close to normal average night-time temperatures for most stations.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Rainfall around Melbourne during May ranged from average to above average. In the west, Avalon Airport recorded 12 rain days while in the east, Cranbourne Botanic Gardens recorded 21. The wettest station overall was Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) with 160.2 mm. Avalon Airport was the driest overall with 23.6 mm. The wettest single day was the 14th when Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) recorded 39.4 mm.

Temperature

Maximum temperature

Many stations around Melbourne recorded their lowest May mean daily maximum temperatures. It was only Melbourne Regional Office that recorded an average maximum temperature that was close to normal for May. All other stations recorded average maximum temperatures 1 – 2 °C cooler than usual. The hottest day was the 21st when Avalon Airport recorded 24.3 °C. The warmest days on average were at Melbourne Regional Office with 16.3 °C and the coolest days on average were at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) with 10.5 °C. The coldest day was the 11th when Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) recorded 4.7 °C.

Minimum temperature

Average night-time temperatures around Melbourne were mixed. The majority of stations recorded average minimum temperatures that were close to normal for this time of year. Most stations recorded average night-time temperatures that were within 1 °C of their long-term means. The coldest night was the 10th when Coldstream recorded -1.0 °C, Viewbank recorded their lowest May temperature on record on the same night. Coldstream also recorded the coolest nights on average at 5.5 °C. The warmest nights on average were at Melbourne Regional Office with 9.6 °C. The warmest night was the 22nd when Moorabbin Airport recorded 16.5 °C. .

Further information

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Extremes in May 2011
Hottest day 24.3 °C at Avalon Airport on the 21st
Warmest days on average 16.3 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
Coolest days on average 10.5 °C at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill)
Coldest day 4.7 °C at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) on the 11th
Coldest night -1.0 °C at Coldstream on the 10th
Coolest nights on average 5.5 °C at Coldstream
Warmest nights on average 9.6 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
Warmest night 16.5 °C at Moorabbin Airport on the 22nd
Warmest on average overall 13.0 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
Coolest on average overall 8.4 °C at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill)
Wettest overall 160.2 mm at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill)
Driest overall 23.6 mm at Avalon Airport
Wettest day 39.4 mm at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) on the 14th
Highest wind gust 83 km/h at Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) on the 22nd

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Record lowest May mean daily maximum temperature
Mean daily maximum
temperature
for May 2011 (°C) 		Previous coolest
for May		 Years of
record		 Average for
May
Melbourne Airport 15.2 = 15.2 in 2006 40 16.6
Bundoora (Latrobe University) 15.2 15.4 in 1985 27 16.7
Cranbourne Botanic Gardens 15.0 = 15.0 in 2006 21 16.4
Cerberus 15.1 15.6 in 2006 19 16.6
Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) 10.5 10.9 in 2006 19 12.4
Viewbank (ARPANSA) 15.4 15.7 in 2006 11 17.2

Record lowest May temperature
Lowest temperature
in May 2011 (°C) 		Previous coolest
for May		 Years of
record		 Average for
May
Viewbank (ARPANSA) -0.3 on the 10th 0.1 on the 30th in 2006 12 7.7

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for May 2011
Maximum temperatures
for May
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for May
(°C)		 Rainfall
for May
(millimetres)
Mean for
May
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
May
2011		 Mean for
May
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
May
2011		 Total for
May
2011		 Average
for
May		 Rank of
May
2011		 Fraction of
May
average
East Central (district 86)
Bundoora (Latrobe University) 15.2 -1.5 21.0 21st 7.8 -0.1 0.4 10th 74.8 51.1 high 146%
Cerberus 15.1 -1.5 21.1 21st 8.3 0.0 2.7 30th 93.8 63.9 high 147%
Coldstream 15.1 -1.4 21.2 21st 5.5 +0.1 -1.0 10th 112.8 63.6 high 177%
Cranbourne Botanic Gardens 15.0 -1.4 21.0 21st 8.2 -0.2 3.9 10th 68.6 62.5 average 110%
Essendon Airport 15.2 -1.0 20.0 21st 8.3 +0.6 1.0 10th 46.0 49.1 average 94%
Ferny Creek (Dunns Hill) 10.5 -1.9 17.0 21st 6.4 -1.2 1.6 12th 160.2 89.9 high 178%
Melbourne Airport 15.2 -1.4 20.2 21st 7.7 -0.6 2.3 10th 44.8 40.1 average 112%
Melbourne Regional Office 16.3 -0.4 21.3 21st 9.6 +1.0 3.5 10th 68.4 55.8 high 123%
Moorabbin Airport 15.4 -1.6 21.8 21st 8.7 +0.1 1.8 10th 77.6 70.2 average 111%
Scoresby Research Institute 15.0 -1.3 20.9 21st 7.7 -0.5 0.8 10th 83.8 88.5 average 95%
Viewbank (ARPANSA) 15.4 -1.8 21.4 21st 7.4 -0.3 -0.3 10th 73.0 51.3 high 142%
West Central (district 87)
Avalon Airport 15.7 -1.4 24.3 21st 7.3 -0.2 1.2 31st 23.6 34.7 average 68%
Laverton RAAF 15.5 -1.3 21.4 21st 7.7 -0.1 2.2 10th 49.4 46.6 average 106%

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 3 pm on Wednesday 1 June 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

Media
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Enquiries

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