Thursday, 1 March 2012 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in summer 2011-12: A hot send-off to summer

The last weekend of summer was very hot in Tasmania, with daytime temperatures reaching into the mid to high 30s, and a few sites recording their warmest summer night on record. Summer rainfall was below average for most areas, but above average on Deal and Flinders Islands.

• A hot end to summer
• Record warm summer night at Devonport, Maatsuyker Island and Geeveston
• Warm summer days and nights overall
• Below average rainfall for most areas
• A few heavy rainfall events in the north and southeast

Monthly summaries have also been prepared for December, January and February.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

A hot end to summer

The last weekend of summer was very hot, which is unusual so late in the season. Temperatures at most sites reached into the mid to high 30s on 25 and 26 February and a few sites recorded their hottest February temperatures on record. Maximum temperatures exceeded 36 °C on both days at several sites in the southeast. While similar two-day events have occurred in the summer months before, they are not common and it is exceptional to have one so late in the season.

Other warm periods in summer included the second half of December, the first few days of the New Year, and the second half of January.

Despite all the warmth, there were many cool days in summer. The coolest of these were in the first half of December, and in mid and late January. The 4th of December was the coldest summer day for most areas, with temperatures struggling to reach the mid-teens. Mount Wellington only reached a maximum temperature of 2.5 °C on this day, and Lake Leake had its equal coldest summer day on record, only reaching 8.6 °C.

Overall, summer days were up to two degrees warmer than normal across most areas of Tasmania this summer; this contrasts with last summer when daytime temperatures were mostly below average.

Warm summer nights, with a few records broken

Minimum temperatures were also exceptionally warm over the last weekend of summer, with most sites recording minimum temperatures of 5 to 12 degrees above average. Maatsuyker Island, Geeveston and Devonport not only recorded their warmest summer night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record that weekend, but also their warmest minimum temperature for any time of year. The minimum temperature of 23.5 °C at Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse beat its previous record by 3 degrees.

Nights were also warm at the start and end of January in northerly winds when temperatures did not fall below the high teens and a few sites recorded their warmest January nights on record.

There were only a few cold nights. Most of those occurred in the first week of December as a high to the west directed cold southerly air across Tasmania and minimum temperatures were generally less than 10 degrees, and below zero at a few locations. The coldest was Liawenee on 2 December, when the temperature fell to -3.7 °C, and on the 5th, Cape Grim recorded its lowest summer temperature on record with 6.6 °C.

Overall, minimum temperatures were generally above average by up to one degree.

A mostly dry summer, but with a few heavy falls

Summer rainfall was below average across most areas of Tasmania due to an absence of cold fronts affecting the state. Some sites were notably dry: Lake St Clair National Park had its driest summer on record; and City of Melbourne Bay on King Island had its driest summer in more than 20 years. The driest location was Avoca (Railway House) in the northeast, with only 51 mm for the whole summer.

A few heavy rainfall events helped deliver close to average summer rainfall to parts of the north and southeast. In the north, moist northerly winds delivered daily rainfall totals of up to 50 mm on 18 December and 5 February, with further falls of up to 50 mm with showers and thunderstorms on 17 February. On 10 and 11 February, thunderstorms delivered heavy rain to Deal Island and Memana on Flinders Island. The 114 mm recorded in the 24 hours to 9am on 11 February at Deal Island was its highest summer daily rainfall on record. Deal Island had its wettest summer on record as a result.

In the southeast, daily falls of 20 to 50 mm were recorded with thunderstorms on 19 December, and on 30 January a cold front and low delivered 30 to 80 mm of rain. Judbury on the Huon River recorded 42 mm with this event, which is its wettest summer day on record. Mount Read was the wettest location overall with 501 mm, though this is close to 180 mm below its summer average.

An unusually hot end to summer in Hobart

As with the rest of Tasmania, the last weekend of summer was a hot one in Hobart, with the temperature reaching 38.8 °C on 25 February and 36.0 °C on the 26th. The temperature has exceeded 36 °C on two or more consecutive days just four times previously in Hobart. There were three days over 36 °C in 1897, from 29 to 31 December when the temperature reached 40.0 °C, 40.6 °C and 37.9 °C. The most recent two-day event was 14 and 15 February 1982 with 38.7 °C and 39.2 °C. This year is the first time such a two-day hot event has occurred this late in summer.

Hobart's average summer maximum temperature overall was 22.2 °C, which is 1.3 degrees above average. There were 8 days over 30 °C compared to a summer average of 5 days only 2 days last summer. Five of the hot days were in January, which was a warm month in Hobart (days were 2 °C warmer than average).

Nights were warm too: 23.4 °C on 27 February was the warmest night in 92 years (since 23.9 °C on 24 December 1920), and following the minimum of 22.2 °C the night before, is the first time Hobart has had two consecutive nights above 22.0 °C. The overall minimum temperature average for summer was 12.8 °C which is 1.2 °C warmer than normal. There were some cold nights, with 5.8 °C recorded on 2 and 4 December.

Hobart's rainfall of 131 mm was below the summer average of 145 mm, and just below the 145 mm received last year. December rainfall was close to average and January just above, but in February Hobart only received about half of its monthly average. The wettest summer day was 30 January and into the morning of the 31st, when a cold front delivered 29 mm of rain.

---

Extremes in summer 2011-12
Hottest day	39.4 °C at Hobart Airport on 25 Feb 2012
Warmest days on average	25.2 °C at Ouse Fire Station
Coolest days on average	13.0 °C at Mount Wellington
Coldest day	2.5 °C at Mount Wellington on 4 Dec 2011
Coldest night	-3.7 °C at Liawenee on 2 Dec 2011
Coolest nights on average	5.0 °C at Mount Wellington
Warmest nights on average	15.0 °C at Swan Island
Warmest night	23.6 °C at Tasman Island on 26 Feb 2012
Warmest on average overall	18.7 °C at Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)
Coolest on average overall	9.0 °C at Mount Wellington
Wettest overall	501.2 mm at Mount Read
Driest overall	51.4 mm at Avoca (Railway House)
Wettest day	114.4 mm at Deal Island on 11 Feb 2012
Highest wind gust	156 km/h at Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison) on 5 Feb 2012

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

---

Record highest summer daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall in summer 2011-12 (mm)		Previous wettest for summer		Years of record
Deal Island	114.4	on 11 Feb 2012	105.4	on 3 Jan 1920	118
Judbury (Huon River)	41.6	on 31 Jan 2012	38.4	on 5 Feb 2010	20

---

Record highest total summer rainfall
	Total rainfall for summer 2011-12 (mm)	Previous wettest for summer		Years of record	Average for summer
Deal Island	312.6	303.0	in 1934	138	129.1

---

Record lowest total summer rainfall
	Total rainfall for summer 2011-12 (mm)	Previous driest for summer		Years of record	Average for summer
Lake St Clair National Park	191.8	200.8	in 2002	23	314.3

Lowest total summer rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for summer 2011-12 (mm)	Most recent summer at least this dry		Years since drier	Average for summer
City of Melbourne Bay	85.4	68.5	in 1983	28	147.4

---

Record lowest summer daily maximum temperature
	Lowest daily maximum temperature in summer 2011-12 (°C)		Previous coolest for summer		Years of record	Average for summer
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	8.6	on 4 Dec 2011	= 8.6	on 3 Dec 2001	23	18.6

---

Highest summer mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years
	Mean daily maximum temperature for summer 2011-12 (°C)	Most recent summer at least this warm		Years since warmer	Average for summer
Burnie (Round Hill)	22.0	22.3	in 1980*	30	20.6

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

---

Record highest summer daily minimum temperature
	Highest daily minimum temperature in summer 2011-12 (°C)		Previous warmest for summer		Years of record	Average for summer
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	23.5	on 26 Feb 2012	20.4	on 15 Feb 1994	56	10.5
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	21.0	on 27 Feb 2012	18.5	on 17 Jan 2007	28	9.5
Bull Bay (Lauriston)	21.8	on 27 Feb 2012	21.0	on 12 Jan 2010	21	11.8
Devonport Airport	20.0	on 27 Feb 2012	= 20.0	on 4 Feb 2010	21	11.7

---

Record lowest summer temperature
	Lowest temperature in summer 2011-12 (°C)		Previous coolest for summer		Years of record	Average for summer
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	6.6	on 5 Dec 2011	6.9	on 27 Dec 2010	21	12.9

---

Record highest summer mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature for summer 2011-12 (°C)	Previous warmest for summer		Years of record	Average for summer
Scamander	13.5	= 13.5	in 2006	27	12.3

Highest summer mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years
	Mean daily minimum temperature for summer 2011-12 (°C)	Most recent summer at least this warm		Years since warmer	Average for summer
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	11.7	=11.7	in 1980	31	10.5

---

Highest summer mean temperature for at least 20 years
	Mean daily temperature for summer 2011-12 (°C)	Most recent summer at least this warm		Years since warmer	Average for summer
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	14.6	14.8	in 1988	23	13.6

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

---

Summary statistics for summer 2011-12
	Maximum temperatures for summer (°C)				Minimum temperatures for summer (°C)				Rainfall for summer (millimetres)
	Mean for summer 2011-12	Diff from average	Highest for summer 2011-12		Mean for summer 2011-12	Diff from average	Lowest for summer 2011-12		Total for summer 2011-12	Average for summer	Rank of summer 2011-12	Fraction of summer average
Northern (district 91)
Bridport (Sea View Villas)	21.5	+0.2	27.9	25 Feb 2012	12.9	+0.5	4.0	4 Dec 2011
Burnie (Round Hill)	22.0	+1.4	28.8	26 Jan 2012			6.5	1 Dec 2011	129.7	153.2	average	85%
Cape Grim	19.4		26.5	26 Feb 2012	13.4		6.7	5 Dec 2011	93.2
Cape Grim BAPS (Comparison)	19.6	+1.1	27.1	26 Feb 2012	13.4	+0.5	6.6	5 Dec 2011	90.4	117.1	average	77%
Cressy Research Station	24.8	+0.5	34.1	25 Feb 2012	10.4	+0.8	0.8	5 Dec 2011	63.6	105.3	low	60%
Devonport Airport	21.6	+0.9	28.0	18 Jan 2012	12.5	+0.8	4.9	4 Dec 2011	123.4	133.5	average	92%
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)	24.7	+1.0	31.4	25 Feb 2012	12.7	+1.0	4.8	5 Dec 2011	96.0	124.0	low	77%
Launceston Airport	24.3		33.0	25 Feb 2012	10.7		2.7	1 Dec 2011	74.6
Low Head	20.9	+0.9	26.0	26 Feb 2012	14.2	+0.4	7.2	4 Dec 2011	104.6	119.8	average	87%
Luncheon Hill (Forestry)	21.2	+1.1	31.1	25 Feb 2012	10.6	+0.8	3.8	4 Dec 2011	176.2	223.6	low	79%
Marrawah	20.6	+0.9	31.0	26 Feb 2012	12.4	+0.8	5.5	5 Dec 2011	145.6	158.7	average	92%
Scottsdale (West Minstone Road)	22.5	+0.3	31.5	25 Feb 2012	11.2	+0.8	3.0	4 Dec 2011	134.4	165.4	average	81%
Sheffield School Farm	21.9	+0.9	29.0	25 Feb 2012	10.3	+0.2	2.3	5 Dec 2011	186.2	156.1	average	119%
Smithton Aerodrome	21.4	+0.5	28.0	26 Feb 2012	11.2	+0.4	3.8	8 Feb 2012	110.6	137.7	average	80%
Wynyard Airport	21.6	+0.8	28.6	26 Feb 2012	11.6	+0.9	4.2	4 Dec 2011	140.0	157.0	average	89%
East Coast (district 92)
Eddystone Point			33.0	25 Feb 2012	14.3	+0.9	4.9	4 Dec 2011
Fingal (Legge Street)	23.3	+0.8	35.9	25 Feb 2012	10.5	+0.9	0.6	2 Dec 2011	65.2	132.7	low	49%
Friendly Beaches	23.0	+0.6	38.6	25 Feb 2012	13.0	+0.4	5.2	2 Dec 2011	112.2	164.3	low	68%
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)	18.7	+0.1	30.7	25 Feb 2012	8.4	+0.6	-0.8	2 Dec 2011	112.6	172.4	low	65%
Maria Island (Point Lesueur)	20.7		32.6	25 Feb 2012	13.7		6.2	4 Dec 2011	72.2
Orford (Aubin Court)	21.5	+0.1	38.2	25 Feb 2012	12.0	+0.5	5.4	4 Dec 2011	110.6	158.4	low	70%
Scamander	21.8	+0.5	37.2	3 Jan 2012	13.5	+1.2	6.4	2 Dec 2011	76.9	163.3	v low	47%
St Helens Aerodrome	22.2	+0.6	35.1	3 Jan 2012	13.3	+0.7	5.3	2 Dec 2011	121.6
Swan Island	21.0	+0.7	30.2	25 Feb 2012	15.0	+0.7	6.7	4 Dec 2011	106.4	141.5	average	75%
Swansea (Francis Street)	21.8		37.7	25 Feb 2012	12.2		3.9	2 Dec 2011	105.8
Midlands (district 93)
Ross (The Boulevards)	24.5	+0.9	35.0	25 Feb 2012	10.1	+0.2	-0.6	2 Dec 2011	62.2	124.8	low	50%
Southeast (district 94)
Bull Bay (Lauriston)	20.8	+0.1	38.0	25 Feb 2012	12.0	+0.2	5.0	4 Dec 2011	153.6	154.9	average	99%
Campania (Kincora)	23.9	+0.4	39.3	25 Feb 2012	11.0	+0.3	1.9	2 Dec 2011	135.4	107.4	average	126%
Cape Bruny (Cape Bruny)	20.1	+0.9	37.3	26 Feb 2012	12.1	+0.4	5.8	1 Dec 2011	161.4	168.0	average	96%
Cape Bruny Lighthouse	19.3	+1.4	36.0	26 Feb 2012	12.3	+1.1	5.1	1 Dec 2011	153.6	195.3	low	79%
Dover	20.5	+0.5	37.4	25 Feb 2012	10.1	+0.3	2.8	14 Dec 2011	163.6	175.5	average	93%
Geeveston (Cemetery Road)	21.8	+0.7	36.9	25 Feb 2012	10.2	+0.7	2.5	14 Dec 2011	148.8	178.6	average	83%
Grove (Research Station)	22.5		37.2	25 Feb 2012	9.1		0.9	2 Dec 2011	185.4
Hobart (Ellerslie Road)	22.2	+1.0	38.8	25 Feb 2012	12.8	+1.2	5.8	2 Dec 2011	131.0	144.6	average	91%
Hobart Airport	22.5	+0.7	39.4	25 Feb 2012	12.4	+0.8	4.9	2 Dec 2011	139.6	130.6	average	107%
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse	17.6	+1.0	30.9	26 Feb 2012	11.7	+1.2	5.2	4 Dec 2011	212.8	240.2	average	89%
Melton Mowbray (North Stockman)	23.2	+0.2	37.6	25 Feb 2012	10.4	+0.6	1.0	2 Dec 2011	106.2	103.8	average	102%
Mount Wellington	13.0	+0.3	28.3	25 Feb 2012	5.0	+0.7	-3.0	4 Dec 2011	290.0	255.0	high	114%
Tasman Island	17.9	+0.7	35.1	25 Feb 2012	11.6	+0.6	3.4	4 Dec 2011	162.6	186.3	average	87%
Tunnack Fire Station	20.6	-0.1	33.5	25 Feb 2012	8.6	+0.2	-0.1	2 Dec 2011	123.8	145.9	low	85%
Derwent Valley (district 95)
Bushy Park (Bushy Park Estates)	24.7	+1.5	39.1	25 Feb 2012	10.5	+0.8	2.0	2 Dec 2011	89.8	126.8	low	71%
Maydena Post Office	22.0	+0.7	35.9	25 Feb 2012	8.9	+0.5	1.3	14 Dec 2011	139.0	212.2	low	66%
Ouse Fire Station	25.2	+0.8	38.4	25 Feb 2012	10.6	+1.1	2.3	5 Dec 2011	78.8	95.0	average	83%
Tarraleah Village	20.3	+1.3	32.7	25 Feb 2012			0.4	5 Dec 2011
Central Plateau (district 96)
Butlers Gorge	19.4	+1.4	31.6	25 Feb 2012	6.9	+0.9	-2.2	5 Dec 2011	182.4	303.9	v low	60%
Lake St Clair National Park	19.6	+1.1	32.0	25 Feb 2012	6.6	+0.9	-1.9	5 Dec 2011	191.8	314.3	lowest	61%
Liawenee	18.1	+0.6	28.9	29 Jan 2012	5.2	+0.6	-3.7	2 Dec 2011	99.1	167.6	low	59%
West Coast (district 97)
Cape Sorell	19.9	+2.0	27.6	2 Jan 2012	12.7	+1.1	7.0	5 Dec 2011	145.0	218.6	low	66%
Hartz Mountain (Keoghs Pimple)	17.1	+0.4	32.0	25 Feb 2012	7.0	+0.6	-0.5	4 Dec 2011	194.0	201.4	average	96%
Mount Read	14.2	+0.9	26.9	25 Feb 2012	6.1	+0.9	-1.3	1 Dec 2011	501.2	668.0	v low	75%
Scotts Peak Dam	21.7	+1.8	34.4	29 Jan 2012	9.3	+0.5	2.6	1 Dec 2011	307.4	325.2	average	95%
Strahan Aerodrome	21.6	+1.3	34.9	26 Feb 2012	10.7	+0.4	3.5	5 Dec 2011	196.2	241.5	low	81%
Warra	19.1		34.0	25 Feb 2012	8.1		1.1	14 Dec 2011	267.6
King Island (district 98)
King Island Airport	21.5	+1.4	36.1	25 Feb 2012	12.7	+0.6	6.4	5 Dec 2011	93.0	120.1	low	77%
Flinders Island (district 99)
Flinders Island Airport	22.4	+0.8	34.7	25 Feb 2012	13.1	+0.2	4.3	2 Dec 2011	117.6	143.3	average	82%
Antarctica and Macquarie Island (district 300)
Macquarie Island	8.7	+0.3	12.0	19 Dec 2011	5.1	+0.1	1.5	4 Dec 2011	213.2	247.8	low	86%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

---

---