Thursday, 1 April 2021 - Monthly Climate Summary for Victoria - Product code IDCKGC16R0

Victoria in March 2021: cooler than average days

Rainfall in March was above average for Victoria as a whole. Daytime temperatures were below average across Victoria away from the far west. Night-time temperatures were generally close to average across the state.

Wettest March since 2012

• March was wetter than average in Gippsland and in parts of the Northern Country and North-central districts, with scattered areas that were much wetter than average.
• In contrast, parts of the Mallee in Victoria's north-west recorded less than 10 mm for the month.
• State-wide, rainfall was 15% above the long-term March average of 42 mm, the wettest March since 2012.
• There were isolated showers and thunderstorms in the east on the 11th due to a low-pressure trough that extended from New South Wales into eastern Victoria.
• A cold front crossed the state on the 13th, bringing widespread rainfall with daily totals in southern Victoria of generally between 10 and 20 mm, but locally higher.
• The low-pressure system moving eastwards across New South Wales brought falls of more than 100 mm to parts of Gippsland on the 23rd.
• Some sites had their highest March daily rainfall on record to 9am on the 24th and 25th, and minor flood warnings were issued for catchments in eastern Victoria.
• The highest daily rainfall recorded in the state was 170.0 mm at Madalya on the 24th.
• The wettest place in Victoria this March was Balook, with a total of 292.4 mm.
• Tindal River, Mount Baw Baw, Balook and Leigh River (Mount Mercer) had their highest total March rainfall on record, while some sites had their highest total March rainfall for at least two decades.

Cooler than average days

• Daytime temperatures were below average across Victoria away from the far west.
• Averaged across the state, the mean daily temperature was 1.02 °C below the long-term March average, the coolest since 2012.
• Despite mostly cool daytime temperatures, there were several warm days during the month, notably on the 7th, 12th, 13th and 19th, when daytime temperatures above 30 °C were recorded across large parts of the state.
• The coldest day in Victoria during the month saw 4.8 °C at Mount Baw Baw on the 2nd, while the highest temperature was 35.5 °C recorded at Yarrawonga on the 13th.
• Avalon Airport equaled its lowest March mean daily maximum temperature on record, and Port Fairy AWS, Cape Otway Lighthouse and Moorabbn Airport had their lowest March mean daily maximum temperature since at least 1997.
• Nights were cooler than average in parts of the north, and warmer than average along the southern coast; elsewhere night-time temperatures were generally close to average.
• State-wide, the mean minimum temperature was 0.20 °C below the March average.

Strong winds

• Damaging easterly winds developed along the Gippsland coast on the 23rd and the 24th as a low pressure system approached and crossed the southern New South Wales coast; the strongest wind gust of 133km/h was recorded at Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse on the 24th.

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