Thursday, 1 December 2011 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Melbourne Metropolitan Area and Environs - Product code IDCKGC1xx0

Melbourne Metropolitan Area in spring 2011: warm and wet

  • Rainfall very much above average
  • Average minimum temperatures very much warmer than normal
  • Average maximum temperatures warmer than usual.

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Rainfall

Rainfall totals for spring around Melbourne were very much wetter than normal. Several stations recorded totals around 150% of normal. The wettest station overall was Coldstream with 341.2 mm, which observed its highest total spring rainfall on record. The driest overall was Laverton RAAF with 219.8 mm. The wettest single day was 27 November when Avalon Airport recorded 85.2 mm, its highest spring daily rainfall on record. Melbourne Airport recorded the least number of rain days for the area with 35, whilst Viewbank recorded the most with 51.

Temperature

The average mean temperature (an average of the maximum and minimum temperatures) around Melbourne was very much warmer than normal. Cerberus and Coldstream observed their warmest spring average mean temperatures on record. The warmest station on average was Melbourne Regional Office with 16.7 °C, whilst the coolest on average was Coldstream with 14.5 °C.

Maximum temperature

Average maximum temperatures were warmer than normal for the season. Most stations recorded average maximum temperatures between 1 °C and 2 °C warmer than usual. The hottest day was 18 November when Avalon Airport recorded 36.0 °C. The warmest days on average were recorded at Melbourne Regional Office with 21.6 °C, whilst Cerberus recorded the coolest days on average with 19.6 °C. The coldest day was 1 October when Melbourne Airport recorded 11.8 °C. Cerberus observed their equal highest spring mean daily maximum temperature on record.

Minimum temperature

Average minimum temperatures were very much warmer than normal for the season. Generally, stations recorded average minimum temperatures around 1 °C warmer than usual. The coldest night was 15 September when Coldstream recorded 0.3 °C, Coldstream also recorded the coolest nights on average with 8.4 °C. The warmest nights on average were recorded at Melbourne Regional Office with 11.8 °C. The warmest night was 20 October when Moorabbin Airport recorded 21.0 °C. Moorabbin Airport also recorded their equal highest spring mean daily minimum temperature on record.

Further information

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Extremes in spring 2011
Hottest day 36.0 °C at Avalon Airport on 18 Nov
Warmest days on average 21.6 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
Coolest days on average 19.6 °C at Cerberus
Coldest day 11.8 °C at Melbourne Airport on 1 Oct
Coldest night 0.3 °C at Coldstream on 15 Sep
Coolest nights on average 8.4 °C at Coldstream
Warmest nights on average 11.8 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
Warmest night 21.0 °C at Moorabbin Airport on 20 Oct
Warmest on average overall 16.7 °C at Melbourne Regional Office
Coolest on average overall 14.5 °C at Coldstream
Wettest overall 341.2 mm at Coldstream
Driest overall 219.8 mm at Laverton RAAF
Wettest day 85.2 mm at Avalon Airport on 27 Nov
Highest wind gust 93 km/h at Melbourne Airport on 18 Nov

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Record highest spring daily rainfall
Highest daily rainfall
in spring 2011 (mm) 		Previous wettest
for spring		 Years of
record
Avalon Airport 85.2 on 27 Nov 71.0 on 17 Oct 1983 31


Record highest total spring rainfall
Total rainfall
for spring 2011 (mm) 		Previous wettest
for spring		 Years of
record		 Average for
spring
Coldstream 341.2 330.4 in 2004 17 216.6
Viewbank (ARPANSA) 327.8 311.6 in 2010 11 208.5


Record highest spring mean daily maximum temperature
Mean daily maximum
temperature
for spring 2011 (°C) 		Previous warmest
for spring		 Years of
record		 Average for
spring
Cerberus 19.6 = 19.6 in 2009 19 18.3


Record highest spring mean daily minimum temperature
Mean daily minimum
temperature
for spring 2011 (°C) 		Previous warmest
for spring		 Years of
record		 Average for
spring
Moorabbin Airport 10.6 = 10.6 in 2005 40 9.4

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for spring 2011
Maximum temperatures
for spring
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
for spring
(°C)		 Rainfall
for spring
(millimetres)
Mean for
spring
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
spring
2011		 Mean for
spring
2011		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
spring
2011		 Total for
spring
2011		 Average
for
spring		 Rank of
spring
2011		 Fraction of
spring
average
East Central (district 86)
Bundoora (Latrobe University) 20.7 +1.1 33.2 18 Nov 9.7 +0.9 1.9 8 Sep 292.2 196.5 v high 149%
Cerberus 19.6 +1.3 33.6 29 Nov 9.7 +0.8 0.8 8 Sep 246.0 190.8 high 129%
Coldstream 20.6 +0.9 32.4 18 Nov 8.4 +1.5 0.3 15 Sep 341.2 216.6 highest 158%
Cranbourne Botanic Gardens 20.0 +1.3 32.9 18 Nov 9.7 +0.8 3.3 2 Sep 332.6 245.4 high 136%
Essendon Airport 20.8 +1.7 34.0 18 Nov 9.8 +1.6 1.6 8 Sep 250.0 171.9 high 145%
Melbourne Airport 20.5 +1.3 34.0 18 Nov 9.4 +0.8 2.5 3 Oct 257.8 167.5 v high 154%
Melbourne Regional Office 21.6 +2.0 35.0 18 Nov 11.8 +2.2 5.4 8 Sep 242.4 184.9 high 131%
Moorabbin Airport 20.3 +1.2 33.9 18 Nov 10.6 +1.2 3.5 26 Sep 286.8 200.7 v high 143%
Scoresby Research Institute 20.5 +1.6 33.2 18 Nov 9.6 +0.7 1.5 3 Oct 304.8 252.5 high 121%
Viewbank (ARPANSA) 20.8 +0.4 33.6 18 Nov 9.9 +0.6 1.8 15 Sep 327.8 208.5 highest 157%
West Central (district 87)
Avalon Airport 20.8 +0.9 36.0 18 Nov 9.0 +0.7 0.8 8 Sep 266.4 148.9 v high 179%
Laverton RAAF 20.7 +1.5 35.1 18 Nov 9.4 +1.1 1.5 3 Oct 219.8 160.2 high 137%

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Notes

A Seasonal Climate Summary is prepared to list the main features of the weather in Melbourne Metropolitan Area and Environs using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. Later information, including data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review, usually published in the fourth week of the month.

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 1 pm on Thursday 1 December 2011. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

Averages are long-term means based on observations from all available years of record, which vary widely from site to site. They are not shown for sites with less than 10 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median is sometimes more representative than the mean of long-term average rain.

The Rank indicates how rainfall this time compares with the climate record for the site, based on the decile ranking (very low rainfall is in decile 1, low in decile 2 or 3, average in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9 and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of average shows how much rain has fallen this time as a percentage of the long-term mean.

Further information

Media
(03) 9669 4057
Enquiries

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