Monday, 2 March 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for Victoria - Product code IDCKGC16R0

Victoria in February 2020: wetter and cooler than average

February was a wet month when averaged across Victoria as a whole, the wettest February since 2012. Daytime temperatures were cooler than average, while night-time temperatures were warmer than average.

A wet month for Victoria

• Statewide, rainfall was 65% above the long-term February average, the wettest February since 2012
• Most of the western and southern Victoria experienced a wetter than average February
• Large areas in the southeast and west of the State received more than double of their average February rainfall
• Cold fronts that crossed Victoria at the beginning of the month brought widespread rainfall to the State, with daily rainfall totals exceeding 30 mm at many sites
• Thunderstorms associated with low pressure troughs resulted in generally 20 mm to 40 mm daily totals to 9am on the 7th, 15th and 19th, with locally higher falls; the highest daily total of the month was 73.4 mm at Thorpdale Peak (in the Latrobe Valley) on the 15th
• Some sites had their highest total February rainfall since at least 1994
• With 281.0 mm, the wettest place in Victoria during February was Reeves Knob in West Gippsland

Below average daytime temperatures

• In February much of Victoria, except in the north and the far east, had below average daytime temperatures
• Statewide, the mean maximum temperature was 1.15 °C below the February mean, the lowest since 2011
• The coldest day saw a maximum temperature of 3.4 °C at Mount Baw Baw on the 3rd, in the wake of cold fronts that crossed the State at the beginning of the month
• Port Fairy AWS and Avalon Airport had their lowest February mean daily maximum temperature on record, while several west and central coast sites had their lowest February mean daily maximum temperature since 1996
• Night-time temperatures were above average for most of Victoria, with nights much warmer than average in the far east and along the southeastern coast
• Statewide, the mean minimum temperature was 1.27 °C above the long-term mean for February
• Some sites in the State's east had their warmest February night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record on the 1st, in a warm northwest airflow preceding the arrival of a cold front
• The warmest night-time temperature recorded in Victoria in February saw 28.9 °C at Yarrawonga, on the 1st
• Redesdale, in Central Victoria, had its lowest February temperature on record

Smoke, thunderstorms and flash flooding

• Widespread smoke haze has blanketed Melbourne on the 7th, with visibility reduced significantly at Tullamarine Airport
• Powerful storms swept through eastern Melbourne and parts of Gippsland on the 14th and again on the 18th, leading to flash flooding and fallen trees

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