Wednesday, 4 January 2012 - Monthly Climate Summary for Melbourne Metropolitan Area and Environs - Product code IDCKGC3xx0

Melbourne Metropolitan Area in December 2011: Warm nights

  • Night-time temperatures warmer than normal
  • Rainfall totals average to above average
  • Daytime temperatures typical for December.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Rainfall totals around Melbourne ranged from average to above average in December. The largest daily totals were recorded in the 24 hours to 9 am on the 11th and the 26th. The daily totals for the 26th were due to the thunderstorms that affected the Melbourne area on Christmas day which delivered large hail causing significant property damage. The wettest station overall was Bundoora (Latrobe University) with 121.8 mm, whilst the driest station overall was Avalon Airport with 28.8 mm (which was still close to Avalon Airport's long-term December average of 29.6 mm). The wettest single day was the 26th when Bundoora (Latrobe University) recorded 71.0 mm.

Maximum temperature

Average maximum temperatures were close to normal for December. Almost all stations recorded an average maximum temperature within 0.5 °C of their long-term means. The hottest day was the 31st when Melbourne Regional Office recorded 35.6 °C, Melbourne Regional Office also recorded the warmest days on average with 25.1 °C. The coolest days on average were recorded at Cerberus with 22.6 °C. The coldest day was the 4th when both Cerberus and Melbourne Airport recorded 15.9 °C. Most other stations reported their coolest maximum temperature for the month on the 4th.

Minimum temperature

Melbourne experienced warmer than usual night-time temperatures during December. Monthly minimum temperatures from individual stations ranged from average to very much above average. Anomalies ranged from -0.3 °C at Cranbourne Botanic Gardens up to +2.1 °C at Melbourne Regional Office. The coldest night was the 5th when Melbourne Airport recorded 3.5 °C. The coolest nights on average were recorded at Coldstream with 10.9 °C, while the warmest nights on average were recorded at Melbourne Regional Office with 15.0 °C. The warmest night was the 18th when Melbourne Regional Office recorded 21.9 °C. Some sites had their lowest December temperature on record.

Wind

The strongest wind gust was at Melbourne Airport with 100 km/h on the 25th.

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Extremes in December 2011
Hottest day 35.6 °C at Melbourne Regional Office on the 31st
Warmest days on average 25.1 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
Coolest days on average 22.6 °C at Cerberus
Coldest day 15.9 °C at Cerberus & Melbourne Airport on the 4th
Coldest night 3.5 °C at Melbourne Airport on the 5th
Coolest nights on average 10.9 °C at Coldstream
Warmest nights on average 15.0 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
Warmest night 21.9 °C at Melbourne Regional Office on the 18th
Warmest on average overall 20.0 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
Coolest on average overall 17.0 °C at Cranbourne Botanic Gardens
Wettest overall 121.8 mm at Bundoora (Latrobe University)
Driest overall 28.8 mm at Avalon Airport
Wettest day 71.0 mm at Bundoora (Latrobe University) on the 26th
Highest wind gust 100 km/h at Melbourne Airport on the 25th

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Record lowest December temperature
Lowest temperature
in December 2011 (°C) 		Previous coolest
for December		 Years of
record		 Average for
December
Melbourne Airport 3.5 on the 5th 4.1 on the 15th in 1986 42 12.0

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for December 2011
Maximum temperatures
for December
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for December
(°C)		 Rainfall
for December
(millimetres)
Mean for
December
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
December
2011		 Mean for
December
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
December
2011		 Total for
December
2011		 Average
for
December		 Rank of
December
2011		 Fraction of
December
average
East Central (district 86)
Bundoora (Latrobe University) 24.4 -0.3 33.3 31st 12.8 +0.5 5.0 5th 121.8 66.0 high 185%
Cerberus 22.6 +0.4 32.5 31st 12.7 +0.9 4.9 5th 44.2 52.7 average 84%
Coldstream 24.8 -0.1 33.3 24th 10.9 +1.4 3.7 5th 98.6 56.1 high 176%
Cranbourne Botanic Gardens 22.9 -0.4 33.2 31st 11.4 -0.3 4.1 5th 66.8 66.3 average 101%
Essendon Airport 24.3 0.0 34.3 31st 12.8 +1.1 4.7 5th 76.6 51.9 high 148%
Melbourne Airport 24.4 0.0 34.2 31st 12.2 +0.2 3.5 5th 60.8 49.5 average 123%
Melbourne Regional Office 25.1 +0.9 35.6 31st 15.0 +2.1 8.6 5th 82.4 59.5 high 138%
Moorabbin Airport 23.8 0.0 34.0 31st 13.0 +0.5 5.6 5th 48.6 59.5 average 82%
Scoresby Research Institute 24.4 +0.5 32.8 31st 11.9 +0.1 4.1 5th 74.6 76.6 average 97%
Viewbank (ARPANSA) 24.9 -0.5 33.6 31st 12.5 +0.1 5.0 5th 108.8 72.2 high 151%
West Central (district 87)
Avalon Airport 23.7 -0.3 35.3 31st 12.5 +0.9 6.9 1st 28.8 29.6 average 97%
Laverton RAAF 23.6 -0.1 34.3 31st 13.1 +1.2 5.8 6th 77.4 46.2 high 168%

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 8 am on Wednesday 4 January 2012. 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
(03) 9669 4057
Enquiries

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