Thursday, 1 September 2011 - Monthly Climate Summary for Melbourne Metropolitan Area and Environs - Product code IDCKGC2xx0

Melbourne Metropolitan Area in August 2011: Record breaking daytime temperatures

  • Daytime temperatures very much warmer than usual
  • Rainfall the lowest on record at several stations
  • Average minimum temperatures warmer than normal.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Rainfall totals for August 2011 were very much lower than normal. Most stations received less than half their usual August totals. In the north, Melbourne Airport observed 9 rain days for the month whilst in the south-east Cranbourne Botanic Gardens observed twice as many with 18. The wettest station overall was Coldstream with 46.8 mm and the driest was Laverton RAAF with 11.6 mm. Several stations observed their lowest total August rainfall on record. The wettest single day was the 7th when Coldstream recorded 18.8 mm.

Temperature

Maximum temperature

Average maximum temperatures have been very much warmer than usual and a couple of stations observed their highest August mean daily maximum temperature on record. Most stations recorded average maximum temperatures that were 1.5 °C to 2.5 °C warmer than usual. A warm spell at the start of the month was particularly unusual and is described in Special Climate Statement 34: An unseasonable warm spell affecting Victoria in early August 2011. The hottest day was the 3rd when Avalon Airport recorded 23.3 °C but Melbourne Regional Office recorded the warmest days on average with 17.4 °C. The coolest days on average were at Cerberus with 16.0 °C and the coldest day was the 9th when Coldstream recorded 10.9 °C.

Minimum temperature

Average night-time temperatures where warmer than normal around Melbourne in August. Most stations reported average minimum temperatures within 1 °C of normal. The coldest night was the 12th when Avalon Airport recorded -0.1 °C and the coolest nights on average were at Coldstream with 4.8 °C. The warmest nights on average were at Melbourne Regional Office with 9.0 °C and Scoresby Research Institute recorded the warmest daily minimum temperature for the month on the 4th with 15.8 °C. Some stations had their warmest August night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record.

Further information

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Extremes in August 2011
Hottest day 23.3 °C at Avalon Airport on the 3rd
Warmest days on average 17.4 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
Coolest days on average 16.0 °C at Cerberus
Coldest day 10.9 °C at Coldstream on the 9th
Coldest night -0.1 °C at Avalon Airport on the 12th
Coolest nights on average 4.8 °C at Coldstream
Warmest nights on average 9.0 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
Warmest night 15.8 °C at Scoresby Research Institute on the 4th
Warmest on average overall 13.2 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
Coolest on average overall 10.5 °C at Coldstream
Wettest overall 46.8 mm at Coldstream
Driest overall 11.6 mm at Laverton RAAF
Wettest day 18.8 mm at Coldstream on the 7th
Highest wind gust 78 km/h at Melbourne Airport on the 15th

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Record lowest total August rainfall
Total rainfall
for August 2011 (mm) 		Previous driest
for August		 Years of
record		 Average for
August
Essendon Airport 14.8 = 14.8 in 1944 66 48.8
Melbourne Airport 15.6 16.4 in 1987 41 46.1
Cerberus 35.8 38.8 in 2002 20 76.4


Record highest August mean daily maximum temperature
Mean daily maximum
temperature
for August 2011 (°C) 		Previous warmest
for August		 Years of
record		 Average for
August
Essendon Airport 16.4 16.3 in 2007 41 14.3
Cranbourne Botanic Gardens 16.1 = 16.1 in 1993 20 14.5


Record highest August daily minimum temperature
Highest daily minimum
temperature
in August 2011 (°C) 		Previous warmest
for August		 Years of
record		 Average for
August
Laverton RAAF 15.1 on the 4th 14.9 on the 26th in 2004 68 5.5
Essendon Airport 14.7 on the 4th 14.2 on the 31st in 2007 42 5.5

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for August 2011
Maximum temperatures
for August
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for August
(°C)		 Rainfall
for August
(millimetres)
Mean for
August
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
August
2011		 Mean for
August
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
August
2011		 Total for
August
2011		 Average
for
August		 Rank of
August
2011		 Fraction of
August
average
East Central (district 86)
Bundoora (Latrobe University) 16.3 +1.5 22.1 3rd 6.6 +0.5 1.0 30th 25.3 56.6 v low 45%
Cerberus 16.0 +1.4 22.8 3rd 6.6 0.0 0.7 13th 35.8 76.4 lowest 47%
Coldstream 16.2 +1.5 22.3 3rd 4.8 +0.5 0.3 26th 46.8 67.6 low 69%
Cranbourne Botanic Gardens 16.1 +1.6 23.1 3rd 7.1 +0.8 1.6 12th 32.1 79.2 v low 41%
Essendon Airport 16.4 +2.1 22.0 3rd 6.9 +1.4 0.8 13th 14.8 48.8 lowest 30%
Melbourne Airport 16.3 +1.9 21.2 4th 6.6 +0.7 0.7 12th 15.6 46.1 lowest 34%
Melbourne Regional Office 17.4 +2.4 23.2 3rd 9.0 +2.3 3.5 12th 18.0 50.0 v low 36%
Moorabbin Airport 16.3 +1.5 23.2 3rd 7.2 +0.4 1.1 12th 27.8 66.2 v low 42%
Scoresby Research Institute 16.2 +2.0 22.2 3rd 7.1 +0.8 1.1 13th 32.8 80.2 v low 41%
Viewbank (ARPANSA) 16.4 +1.2 22.2 3rd 6.4 +0.2 1.0 13th 28.2 56.9 v low 50%
West Central (district 87)
Avalon Airport 16.7 +1.3 23.3 3rd 4.9 -0.6 -0.1 12th 19.0 44.1 low 43%
Laverton RAAF 16.6 +1.7 22.3 25th 6.3 +0.8 0.0 12th 11.6 44.8 v low 26%

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 Thursday 1 September 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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