Friday, 1 March 2013 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Melbourne Metropolitan Area and Environs - Product code IDCKGC2xx0
Melbourne Metropolitan Area and Environs in summer 2012-13:
Lengthy warm and sunny periods;
Rainfall slightly less than that usually received.
Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top
Melbourne CBD
Located in the Central District at the head of Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne is Victoria's State Capital. Here, overnight minimum temperatures were much warmer than those usually experienced and averaged 16.2°C (departure from normal 2.3°C). That the overnight temperatures in Melbourne are higher than those in most surrounding localities is a consequence of the city being under the influence of the effect of urbanisation (cities are usually warmer than their rural surroundings, especially at night, because of heat stored in bricks and concrete and trapped between close-packed buildings). Daytime maximum temperatures were much warmer than those usually experienced and averaged 27.4°C (departure from normal 2.1°C). Total rainfall for the past summer (Dec 2012 to Feb 2013) was 108 mm, this being slightly less than that usually recorded (normal 154.7 mm, percentage of normal received 70%).
Selected Melbourne suburbs
In the suburb of Essendon, which is located some 15 kilometres to the northwest of the city centre, overnight minimum temperatures were much warmer than those usually experienced and averaged 14.5°C (departure from normal 1.6°C). Daytime maximum temperatures were much warmer than those usually experienced and averaged 27.4°C (departure from normal 2°C). Total rainfall for the past summer (Dec 2012 to Feb 2013) was 85 mm, this being less than that usually recorded (normal 141.7 mm, percentage of normal received 60%).
The suburb of Laverton is located some 30 kilometres to the southwest of the city centre, and is often under the drying influence of the rain shadow from the ranges of western Victoria. Here, overnight minimum temperatures were slightly warmer than those usually experienced and averaged 14.1°C (departure from normal 0.8°C). Daytime maximum temperatures were much warmer than those usually experienced and averaged 26.4°C (departure from normal 1.4°C). Total rainfall for the past summer (Dec 2012 to Feb 2013) was 90 mm, this being slightly less than that usually recorded (normal 132.7 mm, percentage of normal received 68%).
In the suburb of Bundoora, which is located some 20 kilometres to the northeast of the city centre, overnight minimum temperatures were slightly warmer than those usually experienced and averaged 14.2°C (departure from normal 0.7°C). Daytime maximum temperatures were much warmer than those usually experienced and averaged 27.5°C (departure from normal 1.5°C). Total rainfall for the past summer (December 2012 to February 2013) was 110.7 mm, this being slightly less than that usually recorded (normal 156.3 mm, percentage of normal received 71%).
In the suburb of Moorabbin, which is located some 20 kilometres to the southeast of the city centre, overnight minimum temperatures were slightly warmer than those usually experienced and averaged 14.3°C (departure from normal 0.7°C). Daytime maximum temperatures were much warmer than those usually experienced and averaged 26.7°C (departure from normal 1.6°C). Total rainfall for the past summer (Dec 2012 to Feb 2013) was 100.2 mm, this being slightly less than that usually recorded (normal 151.0 mm, percentage of normal received 66%).
Some 20 kilometres northwest of the Melbourne city centre, and located in a somewhat rural setting, at Melbourne Airport, overnight minimum temperatures were slightly warmer than those usually experienced and averaged 13.8°C (departure from normal 0.5°C). Daytime maximum temperatures were much warmer than those usually experienced and averaged 27.7°C (departure from normal 2°C). Total rainfall for the past summer (Dec 2012 to Feb 2013) was 83.2 mm, this being less than that usually recorded (normal 134.3 mm, percentage of normal received 62%).
Records
Some sites had their highest summer mean daily maximum temperature for at least 10 years.
| Extremes in summer 2012-13 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day | 43.0 °C at Avalon Airport on 4 Jan 2013 |
| Warmest days on average |
28.4 °C at Coldstream 28.4 °C at Viewbank |
| Coolest days on average | 24.9 °C at Cerberus |
| Coldest day | 16.0 °C at Cranbourne Botanic Gardens on 4 Dec 2012 |
| Coldest night | 4.5 °C at Coldstream on 30 Dec 2012 |
| Coolest nights on average | 11.2 °C at Coldstream |
| Warmest nights on average | 16.2 °C at Melbourne Regional Office |
| Warmest night | 26.0 °C at Laverton RAAF on 24 Dec 2012 |
| Warmest on average overall | 21.8 °C at Melbourne Regional Office |
| Coolest on average overall | 19.1 °C at Cerberus |
| Wettest overall | 134.2 mm at Scoresby Research Institute |
| Highest wind gust | 93 km/h at Melbourne Airport on 24 Dec 2012 |
Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Highest summer mean daily maximum temperature for at least 10 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily maximum temperature for summer 2012-13 (°C) |
Most recent summer at least this warm |
Years since warmer |
Average for summer |
||
| Coldstream | 28.4 | 28.7 | in 2000 | 12 | 26.7 |
| Scoresby Research Institute | 27.8 | 27.9 | in 2000 | 12 | 25.5 |
| Viewbank | 28.4 | 28.8 | in 2000 | 12 | 26.7 |
Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for summer 2012-13 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures for summer (°C) |
Minimum temperatures for summer (°C) |
Rainfall for summer (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for summer 2012-13 |
Diff from average |
Highest for summer 2012-13 |
Mean for summer 2012-13 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for summer 2012-13 |
Total for summer 2012-13 |
Average for summer |
Rank of summer 2012-13 |
Fraction of summer average |
|||
| Avalon Airport | 26.8 | +1.4 | 43.0 | 4 Jan 2013 | 13.4 | 0.0 | 7.1 | 22 Dec 2012 | 89.8 | 94.8 | average | 95% |
| Bundoora (Latrobe University) | 27.5 | +1.5 | 40.8 | 4 Jan 2013 | 14.2 | +0.7 | 8.2 | 30 Jan 2013 | 110.7 | 156.3 | average | 71% |
| Cerberus | 24.9 | +1.1 | 40.7 | 4 Jan 2013 | 13.3 | 0.0 | 6.1 | 22 Dec 2012 | 106.4 | 131.8 | average | 81% |
| Coldstream | 28.4 | +1.7 | 40.1 | 17 Jan 2013 | 11.2 | +0.1 | 4.5 | 30 Dec 2012 | 107.6 | 156.2 | low | 69% |
| Cranbourne Botanic Gardens | 26.0 | +1.2 | 39.5 | 17 Jan 2013 | 12.8 | -0.3 | 6.8 | 22 Dec 2012 | 120.1 | 166.7 | low | 72% |
| Essendon Airport | 27.4 | +2.0 | 41.7 | 17 Jan 2013 | 14.5 | +1.5 | 8.7 | 17 Dec 2012 | 85.0 | 141.7 | low | 60% |
| Laverton RAAF | 26.4 | +1.4 | 41.7 | 4 Jan 2013 | 14.1 | +0.8 | 7.0 | 17 Dec 2012 | 90.0 | 132.7 | low | 68% |
| Melbourne Airport | 27.7 | +2.0 | 41.5 | 4 Jan 2013 | 13.8 | +0.5 | 7.7 | 17 Dec 2012 | 83.2 | 134.3 | low | 62% |
| Melbourne Regional Office | 27.4 | +2.1 | 41.1 | 4 Jan 2013 | 16.2 | +2.3 | 11.8 | 17 Dec 2012 | 108.0 | 154.7 | average | 70% |
| Moorabbin Airport | 26.7 | +1.6 | 41.5 | 4 Jan 2013 | 14.3 | +0.7 | 8.2 | 10 Dec 2012 | 100.2 | 151.0 | low | 66% |
| Scoresby Research Institute | 27.8 | +2.3 | 40.1 | 17 Jan 2013 | 13.5 | +0.5 | 7.1 | 10 Dec 2012 | 134.2 | 183.8 | low | 73% |
| Viewbank | 28.4 | +1.7 | 41.0 | 17 Jan 2013 | 14.1 | +0.3 | 8.3 | 22 Dec 2012 | 111.8 | 163.3 | low | 68% |
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 3 am on Friday 1 March 2013. 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.
The ACORN-SAT dataset is being used for temperature area averages from December 2012 onwards. The major change from earlier datasets is that the ACORN-SAT dataset commences in 1910, rather than 1950, and hence rankings are calculated using a larger set of years.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
Unless otherwise noted, all maps, graphs and diagrams in this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
