Monday, 2 September 2019 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC27R0

Tasmania in winter 2019: dry in the east, wet in the west, mild for winter

Westerly winds brought rain to the west of Tasmania, but the east had another relatively dry season. Temperatures were above average overall, despite several periods of cold winter weather.

Rainfall below average in the east but above average in the west

• With westerly winds dominant for much of winter, Tasmania's west received more rainfall than is usual for winter
• Rainfall was below average on the East Coast and along the eastern north coast
• A wet end to June in the northwest, and generally wet August in the southeast, mean total winter rainfall was close to average in those areas
• Cold outbreaks and highland snow occurred several times during July and August
• The pattern of above-average rain in the west and below-average rain in the east is very similar to that seen in winter 2018
• Tasmania's total rainfall for winter was about 13% above average
• So far this year, rainfall has been well below average near the East Coast but above average in the western highlands

Mild days overall, despite cold winter weather

• Temperatures in Tasmania were above average for winter overall, despite several periods of cold winter weather
• There were plenty of cold days, including highland snow, frosty mornings and periods of persistent fog, but these are all typical of winter in Tasmania
• There was several days of mild weather, including some days in the high teens in late June and again in August
• Mean maximum temperatures were well above average near the East Coast, with July especially warm for the time of year
• There were many cold nights during June and August; Launceston had five consecutive nights below -1 °C in June and King Island Airport had its lowest temperature on record
• The mild July ensured mean minimum temperatures were above average for most of the State, apart from the northeast
• Tasmania's mean maximum temperature was 0.36 °C above average, its mean minimum temperature was 0.22 °C above average and the overall mean temperature 0.30 °C above average; similar to winter 2018
• So far this year, temperatures have been above average across Tasmania, with days in the east especially warm

Hobart (Ellerslie Road)

• Hobart had a well below average 19.4 mm of rain in June, a near-average 46.6 mm in July but a wet 98.6 mm in August, giving a winter total just slightly above average at 164.6 mm
• Most days were warmer than average at Hobart (Ellerslie Road), with a winter mean maximum of 13.6 °C which is 1.3 °C above the long-term average
• The coolest day was on 10 August when the temperature reached just 8.8 °C, but just a few days later 18.5 °C on 15 August was the warmest day this winter
• Hobart had 6 days that did not reach 10 °C, well down on the long-term winter average of about 18 such days
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 5.5 °C, which is 0.5 °C above the long-term average
• The coldest morning was -0.2 °C on 25 June, only the third time in the last 20 years that Hobart's temperature has dropped below zero
• The warmest morning was on 29 June when the minimum temperature was 11.1 °C
• Hobart's mean maximum temperature for the first eight months of 2019 is the highest on record, with the meani minimum temperature also well aboave average and rainfall down on average

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