Monday, 2 June 2008 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Victoria - Product code IDCKGC26R0

Victoria in Autumn 2008
Dry Autumn in Victoria, with Warm Days and Cool Nights.

Final Summary

Victoria experienced a dry autumn, with warmer than normal days and cooler than normal nights. There were some notable events, including the exceptional heat wave during the first half of March, sustained gale force winds on 2 April, an exceptional cold outbreak at the end April, resulting in significant snowfalls on the Alps, and a spell of severe frosts late in May.

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Rainfall

The wettest overall was 359.0 mm at Weeaproinah. The driest overall was 25.4 mm at Walpeup Research. The wettest single day 48.2 mm at Edi Upper on 25 Mar. Some sites had their lowest total autumn rainfall on record. Some sites had their lowest total autumn rainfall for at least 20 years.

Melbourne received 131.2 mm of rain, slightly below the long-term average of 162.3 mm.

Temperature

The coldest night was −7.2°C at Dinner Plain (Mount Hotham Airport) on 24 May. The coolest nights on average were 2.8°C at Dinner Plain (Mount Hotham Airport). The warmest nights on average were 13.3°C at Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse. The warmest night was 26.9°C at Melbourne on 18 Mar. Some sites had their lowest autumn temperature on record. Some sites had their warmest autumn night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record. Some sites had their lowest autumn mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years.

Melbourne CBD's average minimum temperature of 11.6°C, was above the long-term average of 11.0°C, but 2.2°C, recorded on 24 May, was the lowest autumn temperature recorded in the CBD since 20 May 1981. Temperatures in the more exposed suburban areas, away from most of the warming impact of the inner-city "heat island", were somewhat lower, Tullamarine having an average minimum temperature of 9.9°C, slightly below the long-term average of 10.3°C. Several suburbs registered their lowest autumn temperature on record (Scoresby with −0.3°C, Essendon with 0.1°C, and Moorabbin with 0.0°C, all on 24 May).

The hottest day was 42.0°C at Avalon Airport on 16 Mar. The warmest days on average were 25.0°C at Mildura Airport. The coolest days on average were 10.1°C at Falls Creek, and also 10.1°C at Mount Buller. The coldest day was −3.2°C at Mount Hotham on 28 Apr. Some sites had their highest autumn temperature on record.

Melbourne CBD's average maximum temperature of 21.8°C, was well above the long-term average of 20.2°C. There were five days with a maximum temperature in excess of 35°C in the CBD. This is the greatest number of autumn days with a maximum temperature in excess of 35°C since the autumn of 1940, when there were eight such days. Temperatures in the more exposed suburban areas, away from most of the warming impact of the inner-city "heat island", were somewhat lower, Tullamarine having an average maximum temperature of 21.3°C, still above the long-term average of 20.3°C.

Wind

The strongest wind gust was 135 km/h at Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse on 3 Apr.

Further information

Dr Harvey Stern
Climate Meteorologist
Victoria Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 9669 4956
Email climate.vic@bom.gov.au

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Extremes

Hottest day Highest temperature	42.0°C at Avalon Airport on 16 Mar
Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature	25.0°C at Mildura Airport
Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature	10.1°C at Falls Creek 10.1°C at Mount Buller
Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature	−3.2°C at Mount Hotham on 28 Apr
Coldest night Lowest temperature	−7.2°C at Dinner Plain (Mount Hotham Airport) on 24 May
Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature	2.8°C at Dinner Plain (Mount Hotham Airport)
Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature	13.3°C at Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse
Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature	26.9°C at Melbourne on 18 Mar
Wettest overall Highest total rainfall	359.0 mm at Weeaproinah
Driest overall Lowest total rainfall	25.4 mm at Walpeup Research
Wettest day Highest daily rainfall	48.2 mm at Edi Upper on 25 Mar
Highest wind gust	135 km/h at Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse on 3 Apr

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Records

Record lowest total autumn rainfall
	Total rainfall for autumn 2008 (mm)	Previous lowest for autumn		Years of record	Normal for autumn
Gabo Island Lighthouse	44.8	59.8	in 1954	113	252.8
Mallacoota	49.2	111.8	in 1986	33	249.6
Bairnsdale Airport	53.2	55.8	in 1998	27	149.6

Lowest total autumn rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for autumn 2008 (mm)	Most recent lower for autumn		Years since lower	Normal for autumn
Orbost (Comparison)	61.6	36.7	in 1923	84	212.0

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Record highest autumn temperature
	Highest temperature in autumn 2008 (°C)		Previous highest for autumn		Years of record	Normal for autumn
Cape Otway Lighthouse	39.7	on 17 Mar	39.0	on 11 Mar 1978	114	17.5
Ouyen (Post Office)	41.5	on 13 Mar	= 41.5	on 12 Mar 1998	52	23.5
Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse	36.9	on 14 Mar	36.8	on 12 Mar 1998	52	17.0
Casterton Showgrounds	40.4	on 17 Mar	40.1	on 7 Mar 1966	47	20.5
Longerenong	40.7	on 16 Mar	40.4	on 7 Mar 1991	44	21.6
Kerang	41.0	on 14 Mar	40.8	on 12 Mar 2006	43	22.8
Heywood Forestry	41.0	on 17 Mar	39.4	on 7 Mar 1966	39	19.9
Lake Eildon	39.1	on 15 Mar	37.8	on 7 Mar 1991	39	20.8
Wonthaggi	39.3	on 16 Mar	38.8	on 12 Mar 1998	39	19.6
Point Hicks (Lighthouse)	37.8	on 16 Mar	37.7	on 21 Mar 1980	38	19.6
Weeaproinah	35.9	on 17 Mar	34.9	on 1 Mar 1989	27	15.1
Portland (Cashmore Airport)	40.5	on 17 Mar	39.4	on 6 Mar 1986	26	18.4
Hamilton Airport	39.6	on 16 Mar	39.4	on 2 Mar 2000	25	19.9
Morwell (Latrobe Valley Airport)	40.4	on 16 Mar	40.1	on 12 Mar 1998	25	20.5
Noojee (Slivar)	37.4	on 16 Mar	= 37.4	on 7 Mar 1991	25	18.9
Mount Buller	25.3	on 15 Mar	24.7	on 8 Mar 1991	24	10.2
Phillip Island Penguin Reserve	37.2	on 17 Mar	35.2	on 2 Mar 2000	23	19.6

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Record highest autumn daily minimum temperature
	Highest daily minimum temperature in autumn 2008 (°C)		Previous highest for autumn		Years of record	Normal for autumn
Laverton RAAF   Melbourne	25.8   26.9	on 18 Mar   on 18 Mar	24.0   26.3	19 Mar 2003   3 Mar 1927	65   153	10.0   11.0
Ballarat Aerodrome	23.2	on 14 Mar	21.6	on 4 Mar 1983	51	7.7
Scoresby Research Institute	25.2	on 18 Mar	23.2	on 2 Mar 1974	42	10.2
Essendon Airport	25.1	on 18 Mar	23.9	on 8 Mar 1966	40	9.9
Wonthaggi	22.0	on 18 Mar	21.5	on 3 Mar 1974	39	10.3
Melbourne Airport	24.3	on 18 Mar	24.0	on 12 Mar 1985	38	10.4
Moorabbin Airport	24.0	on 18 Mar	22.3	on 19 Mar 2003	37	10.6
Bundoora (Latrobe University)	24.7	on 18 Mar	23.4	on 11 Mar 2002	26	10.0
Mount Buller	17.2	on 17 Mar	16.8	on 21 Mar 1986	24	3.8
Phillip Island Penguin Reserve	24.2	on 18 Mar	21.2	on 19 Mar 2003	23	10.8

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Record lowest autumn temperature
	Lowest temperature in autumn 2008 (°C)		Previous lowest for autumn		Years of record	Normal for autumn
Scoresby Research Institute	−0.3	on 24 May	−0.1	on 10 May 1997	42	10.2
Essendon Airport	0.1	on 24 May	0.4	on 24 May 2003	40	9.9
Moorabbin Airport	0.0	on 24 May	0.2	on 19 May 1981	37	10.6
Morwell (Latrobe Valley Airport)	−2.6	on 24 May	−2.2	on 31 May 2003	25	8.8
Willow Grove (Blue Rock Reservoir)	1.5	on 26 May	= 1.5	on 18 Apr 2006	21	9.6

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Lowest autumn mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years
	Mean daily minimum temperature for autumn 2008 (°C)	Most recent lower for autumn		Years since lower	Normal for autumn
Noojee (Slivar)	6.9	5.9	in 1984	21	7.5

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Summaries

This table is very wide and may not fit if printed.

Summary statistics for autumn 2008
	Maximum temperatures for autumn (°C)				Minimum temperatures for autumn (°C)				Rainfall for autumn (millimetres)
	Mean for autumn 2008	Diff from normal	Highest for autumn 2008		Mean for autumn 2008	Diff from normal	Lowest for autumn 2008		Total for autumn 2008	Normal for autumn	Rank of autumn 2008	Fraction of autumn normal
North Mallee (district 76)
Mildura Airport	25.0	+1.3	40.6	13 Mar	10.0	−0.4	−0.4	29 May	30.8	61.6	low	50%
Ouyen	24.8	+1.3	41.5	13 Mar	10.0	+0.2	0.9	29 May	28.9	73.3	low	39%
Walpeup Research	24.6	+1.6	41.1	13 Mar	10.8	+0.5	2.7	29 Apr	25.4	74.7	low	34%
South Mallee (district 77)
Hopetoun Airport	24.5		41.9	16 Mar	7.9		−2.2	29 May	36.2
Swan Hill Aerodrome	24.6	+1.0	40.6	14 Mar	8.9	−0.1	−0.6	29 May	27.8	48.6	low	57%
North Wimmera (district 78)
Nhill	23.3	+1.5	40.4	16 Mar	7.4	−1.0	−0.3	28 May	52.0	87.7	low	59%
Nhill Aerodrome	23.3		40.8	13 Mar	8.7		0.5	28 May	46.8
Warracknabeal Museum	23.5	+1.1	40.6	16 Mar	9.0	−0.1	0.6	29 Apr	67.6	86.6	normal	78%
South Wimmera (district 79)
Edenhope Airport	22.1		40.8	17 Mar	9.0		0.6	28 May	106.8
Grampians	13.5		32.2	16 Mar	6.7		−1.2	28 Apr	178.0
Horsham Aerodrome	23.1	+0.8	41.0	16 Mar	6.9	−0.3	−2.0	29 Apr	54.6	69.8	normal	78%
Horsham Polkemmet Rd	23.2	+1.4	40.4	16 Mar	7.6	−1.0	−0.4	30 May	55.9	98.9	low	57%
Kanagulk	22.0		39.9	16 Mar	8.4		0.1	28 May	71.6
Longerenong	23.1	+1.5	40.7	16 Mar	7.6	−0.7	−2.5	29 Apr	52.2	91.5	low	57%
Pyrenees	16.3		35.6	16 Mar	8.5		0.5	28 Apr	127.0
Stawell Aerodrome	21.6	+0.7	39.1	16 Mar	8.0	−0.3	0.6	29 Apr	120.2	84.6	high	142%
Lower North (district 80)
Charlton	23.2		40.8	16 Mar	8.9		0.9	29 Apr	59.6
Echuca Aerodrome	23.5	+1.2	40.1	14 Mar	8.3	−1.3	0.7	29 Apr	34.0	100.5	very low	34%
Kerang	24.3	+1.4	41.0	14 Mar	9.4	−0.2	1.9	30 May	56.0	85.6	normal	65%
Kyabram DPI	22.6	+0.9	38.5	14 Mar	8.7	−0.3	1.7	29 May	53.8	105.1	low	51%
Upper North (district 81)
Bendigo Airport	22.0	+0.8	38.5	14 Mar	7.9	−0.1	−0.2	29 Apr	56.0	95.8	low	58%
Shepparton Airport	22.6	−0.1	38.6	14 Mar	8.1	−0.4	0.5	24 May	80.6	83.7	normal	96%
Tatura Inst Sustainable Ag	22.2	+0.6	37.8	14 Mar	7.5	−1.1	−0.6	29 Apr	59.8	113.3	low	53%
Yarrawonga	23.3	+0.4	39.3	14 Mar	8.9	−0.1	1.2	31 May	51.6	85.5	low	60%
Lower Northeast (district 82)
Benalla Airport	22.7		38.9	15 Mar	7.4		0.1	29 Apr	93.9
Corryong Airport	21.8		37.0	15 Mar	5.4		−1.0	30 Apr	101.7
Dartmouth Reservoir	20.9	0	35.5	16 Mar	6.6	−0.9	−0.2	30 Apr	122.8	201.2	low	61%
Hunters Hill	16.4	−0.2	31.3	15 Mar	8.5	+0.2	0.1	28 Apr	117.4	212.1	low	55%
Rutherglen Research	22.6	+0.5	38.5	15 Mar	7.0	−0.4	−0.6	29 Apr	71.4	129.8	low	55%
Strathbogie	19.3	+0.2	35.4	15 Mar			−1.6	15 May	104.2	219.9	low	47%
Wangaratta Aero	22.7	+0.1	38.9	14 Mar	6.2	−1.0	−1.0	29 Apr	91.6	136.2	low	67%
Upper Northeast (district 83)
Dinner Plain	15.1		29.8	16 Mar	2.8		−7.2	24 May	86.6
Falls Creek	10.1	+0.1	24.7	15 Mar	3.3	+0.1	−5.1	29 Apr	153.6	243.6	low	63%
Mount Buller	10.1	−0.1	25.3	15 Mar	3.8	0	−4.2	28 Apr	237.2	311.9	low	76%
Omeo	19.1		35.1	15 Mar	4.7		−4.9	24 May	62.0
Omeo Comparison	19.0	+0.6	34.8	16 Mar	4.6	−0.3	−3.9	24 May	81.5	148.8	low	55%
East Gippsland (district 84)
Combienbar AWS	18.7	+1.1	36.1	16 Mar	9.6	0	2.8	22 May	40.6	204.5	very low	20%
Gabo Island Lighthouse	19.2	+0.4	25.2	16 Mar	12.9	−0.5	7.8	23 May	44.8	252.8	lowest	18%
Gelantipy	17.0	+0.6	32.4	16 Mar	7.2	+0.2	−1.2	24 May	66.0	155.9	very low	42%
Lakes Entrance	20.2		39.0	14 Mar	10.3		1.4	25 May	78.4
Mallacoota	20.0	+0.2	33.6	16 Mar	11.2	−0.3	4.3	18 May	49.2	249.6	lowest	20%
Mount Nowa Nowa	19.7	+0.6	38.0	14 Mar	10.7	+0.1	3.8	30 Apr	85.0	182.0	very low	47%
Orbost	21.2		39.0	14 Mar	10.1		2.2	24 May	62.6
Orbost	21.7	+0.9	39.1	14 Mar	9.1	−0.3	0.9	22 May	61.6	212.0	very low	29%
Point Hicks	19.9	+0.3	37.8	16 Mar	12.8	−0.3	6.1	25 May	116.9	245.9	very low	48%
West Gippsland (district 85)
Bairnsdale Airport	21.5	+0.9	38.9	14 Mar	8.3	−0.5	−1.2	24 May	53.2	149.6	lowest	36%
East Sale Airport	21.1	+0.9	39.0	16 Mar	8.1	−0.7	−2.3	24 May	69.2	151.4	low	46%
Morwell	21.7	+1.2	40.4	16 Mar	8.1	−0.7	−2.6	24 May	64.8	154.3	very low	42%
Mount Baw Baw	10.4	0	26.1	17 Mar	4.2	+0.3	−3.3	28 Apr	250.2
Mount Moornapa	18.6	+0.4	36.3	16 Mar	10.1	+0.4	2.7	24 May
Noojee	19.8	+1.0	37.4	16 Mar	6.9	−0.7	−0.6	24 May	129.2	235.4	very low	55%
Pound Creek	20.8		40.0	16 Mar	8.3		−0.8	22 May	156.8
Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse	18.1	+1.1	36.9	14 Mar	13.3	+0.7	7.7	28 Apr	224.8	266.4	normal	84%
Yarram Airport	21.2		40.5	14 Mar	8.0		0.6	25 May	51.8
East Central (district 86)
Bundoora	21.3	+0.9	39.8	16 Mar	9.9	−0.1	−0.5	24 May	109.3	150.6	low	73%
Cerberus	20.4	+0.8	39.7	16 Mar	9.2	−0.9	−0.8	24 May	116.6	171.4	low	68%
Coldstream	21.2	+0.7	39.2	15 Mar	6.7	−0.2	−2.0	24 May	144.8	166.6	low	87%
Cranbourne Botanic Gardens	20.9	+1.2	39.2	16 Mar	9.6	−0.7	0.5	24 May	117.0	173.3	very low	68%
Essendon Airport	21.5	+1.6	39.8	16 Mar	10.1	+0.2	0.1	24 May	67.6	145.3	very low	47%
Ferny Creek	17.0	+1.0	35.7	16 Mar	9.3	0	2.3	18 May	157.6	256.0	very low	62%
Frankston AWS	19.9	+0.8	37.1	13 Mar	12.0	−0.3	3.2	24 May
Melbourne Airport	21.3	+1.0	39.1	16 Mar	9.9	−0.4	2.1	24 May	69.4	121.7	very low	57%
Melbourne Regional Office	21.8	+1.6	39.2	14 Mar	11.6	+0.6	2.2	24 May	131.2	162.3	normal	81%
Moorabbin Airport	21.1	+0.9	39.9	16 Mar	10.1	−0.5	0.0	24 May	95.0	178.2	very low	53%
Rhyll	20.2	+1.0	36.8	16 Mar	12.5	0	6.9	28 Apr	147.4	163.5	normal	90%
Scoresby Research Institute	21.2	+1.2	39.1	16 Mar	9.3	−1.0	−0.3	24 May	136.4	212.9	low	64%
Viewbank	21.6		39.6	16 Mar	9.5		0.4	24 May	128.0
Wallan	17.9	+1.0	35.2	15 Mar	8.8	+0.1	2.2	28 Apr	81.2	157.8	very low	51%
Wonthaggi	20.8	+1.2	39.3	16 Mar	9.8	−0.5	3.0	22 May	193.1	236.5	normal	82%
West Central (district 87)
Avalon Airport	21.6	+1.1	42.0	16 Mar	9.2	−0.6	0.8	24 May	64.2	96.2	low	67%
Geelong Airport	21.2	+1.2	41.5	16 Mar	9.0	−0.7	1.6	24 May	60.2	117.1	very low	51%
Laverton RAAF	21.4	+1.2	40.9	16 Mar	9.6	−0.4	0.6	24 May	83.4	128.7	low	65%
Point Wilson	18.8	0	36.2	17 Mar	11.9	−0.7	6.2	24 May
Sheoaks	20.3	+1.3	39.0	16 Mar	8.6	−0.4	0.2	22 May	66.6	89.7	low	74%
North Central (district 88)
Castlemaine Prison	20.9	+0.8	37.1	16 Mar	7.7	−0.2	−1.2	29 Apr	82.3	132.9	low	62%
Eildon Fire Tower	18.4	0	35.9	15 Mar	9.0	0	2.3	28 Apr	98.4	121.4	low	81%
Lake Eildon	21.5	+0.7	39.1	15 Mar	7.6	−0.5	0.1	24 May	113.2	189.7	low	60%
Mangalore Airport	21.9	+0.5	36.6	13 Mar	8.3	−0.6	0.5	30 Apr	63.8	128.0	low	50%
Maryborough	22.1	+1.4	39.0	14 Mar	8.0	−0.5	0.2	29 Apr	52.0	114.6	low	45%
Redesdale	21.4	+1.0	38.1	14 Mar	7.4	−0.2	−0.2	30 Apr	67.0	128.7	low	52%
Western Plains (district 89)
Ararat Prison	20.8	+1.3	38.4	16 Mar	6.8	−0.5	−0.4	21 Apr	83.2	128.8	low	65%
Ballarat Aerodrome	19.5	+1.7	37.0	14 Mar	7.1	−0.6	−0.8	29 Apr	82.2	160.2	very low	51%
Westmere	21.3		39.9	16 Mar	7.0		−1.0	12 May	61.8
West Coast (district 90)
Aireys Inlet	19.8	+1.0	40.7	17 Mar	11.2	−0.3	5.1	28 Apr	82.6	130.3	low	63%
Cape Nelson Lighthouse	19.2	+1.2	40.6	17 Mar	12.2	−0.1	4.8	28 May	145.8	143.4	normal	102%
Cape Otway Lighthouse	18.4	+0.9	39.7	17 Mar	11.9	+0.2	5.6	27 Apr	224.8	219.7	normal	102%
Casterton	21.7		40.9	17 Mar	8.7		−0.5	28 May	100.4
Casterton Showgrounds	21.9	+1.4	40.4	17 Mar	8.4	−0.5	0.0	28 May	113.8	140.9	normal	81%
Colac	20.1		39.8	17 Mar	9.4		3.1	28 Apr	75.4
Hamilton Airport			39.6	16 Mar	8.0	−0.2	−0.5	28 May	99.0	120.6	normal	82%
Mortlake Racecourse	21.2	+1.4	40.3	17 Mar	7.8	−0.2	−0.3	27 Apr	98.2	118.4	low	83%
Port Fairy AWS	20.3	+1.1	41.3	17 Mar	10.4	−0.5	2.4	27 Apr	147.4	138.3	normal	107%
Portland	19.3	+0.9	40.5	17 Mar	9.6	−0.3	0.4	28 May	164.8	179.3	normal	92%
Warrnambool Airport Ndb	20.6	+0.8	40.7	17 Mar	8.5	−0.3	0.6	21 Apr	137.0
Weeaproinah	16.2	+1.1	35.9	17 Mar	8.8	−0.1	2.1	28 Apr	359.0	462.7	low	78%

Jump to:  Extremes  Records  Summaries  Notes  the top

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Notes

Further information

Dr Harvey Stern
Climate Meteorologist
Victoria Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 9669 4956
Email climate.vic@bom.gov.au

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