Monday, 3 February 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for Victoria - Product code IDCKGC16R0

Victoria in January 2020: wetter than average; cool start but warm end to the month

Victoria in January was wetter than average, largely due to the record rainfall to 9 am on the 21st and the 23rd. Daytime temperatures were warmer than average.

Wet in the central and southeast Victoria

• Statewide, January rainfall was 19% above the long-term January average of 40.0 mm
• Most of the southeast and central parts of Victoria were wetter than average; it was drier than average only in pockets in the southwest, northwest, and the far east of the State
• Parts of the Victoria's far northwest received less than 10 mm of rainfall during the month, while some areas of central Gippsland and the Central District received more than twice their average rainfall for the month
• Thunderstorms, associated with a slow-moving low-pressure trough, produced locally heavy falls across central parts of Victoria on the 15th
• A deepening low pressure trough brought rainfall to most of Victoria on the 19th and the 20th, while a cold front and the associated trough which brought moisture from the tropics, resulted in more moderate to heavy falls across the State on the 22nd
• The highest daily rainfall in January was 151.6 mm recorded at Stratford, in Central Gippsland, to 9 am on the 21st
• Many sites had their highest January daily rainfall on record on the 21st or the 23rd
• Some sites had their highest total January rainfall on record or their highest total January rainfall since at least 1998
• The wettest place in Victoria in January was Mount Moornapa, in Central Gippsland, with 226.2 mm recorded during the month, nearly four-times its January average

Warmer than average days

• Daily temperatures were warmer than average across most of the State
• Statewide, the mean maximum temperature was 1.16 °C warmer than the long-term January average
• The month started off cool, but the 3rd and 4th were warmer than average due to the northerly airflow preceding the arrival of a cold front
• A cold front that crossed Victoria on the 4th brought cool daytime temperatures and some sites had their coldest January day (lowest maximum temperature) on record on the 5th or 6th
• The final days of the month were very warm, peaking on the 31st, when temperatures across the State soared into the 40s
• Some sites in the State's northeast had their highest January temperature on record on the 4th and the 31st
• Night-time temperatures during the month were generally close to average, but there were some warm nights
• The highest night-time temperature in Victoria during January was 29.9 °C recorded at Mildura Airport on the 31st
• Averaged across the State, the mean minimum temperature was 0.73 °C warmer than average, and the lowest since 2013

Fires, smoke, dust and thunderstorms

• Smoke haze from bushfires extended across most of Victoria, including Melbourne, on the 13th, while in the east there was thick smoke
• The state recorded the worst air quality in the world on the 14th, as smoke from East Gippsland fires spread and authorities alerted vulnerable groups to stay indoors
• A number of flights were cancelled at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport on the 15th, as thick smoke covered the city
• Severe thunderstorms in the afternoon on the 15th brought heavy rainfall, flash flooding and damaging winds to central Victoria and parts of Melbourne
• Severe thunderstorms developed again on the 19th over central and eastern Victoria, bringing heavy rainfall and giant hail (up to 5.5 cm in diameter in Glen Iris, in the southeast of Greater Melbourne)
• Widespread rainfall on the 20th and the 22nd helped reduce the number of uncontained bushfires in the State's east
• Strong northerly winds brought dust from northwest Victoria to the southern parts of the State; it came down with rain, and coated surfaces with a layer of dust, and coloured the Yarra river brown
• High temperatures and humidity fueled thunderstorms that developed on the 31st over southwestern Victoria generating strong winds; the strongest wind gust in the State this January, 146 km/h, was recorded at Fawkner Beacon on the 31st
• Strong winds associated with a thunderstorm which developed near Colac on the 31st afternoon, led to several transmission towers being knocked to the ground
• Bushfires burnt more than 1.5 million hectares across the State during January

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Maps
	Observed	Anomaly	Decile rank
Total rainfall
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top