Friday, 1 June 2018 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Victoria - Product code IDCKGC26R0

Victoria in autumn 2018: warm with below average rainfall

Victoria had a very warm autumn, with the State's mean temperature the fourth-warmest on record. Rainfall totals for autumn were below average across most of Victoria, with large areas of very much below average rainfall in the north and east of the State.

Below average rainfall

• Rainfall was below average over most of Victoria during autumn, with well below average rainfall in large areas in the north and east of the State
• Averaged across the State rainfall was 39.2% below the autumn average of 156.8 mm; it was the lowest autumn rainfall since 2008
• This autumn was much drier than autumn 2017
• Falls Creek was the wettest place in Victoria during autumn, recording 364.6 mm
• The highest daily rainfall total, 95.0 mm, was recorded at Cann River (East Gippsland) to 9am on the 12 May, when a complex low pressure system brought widespread rainfall to Victoria

Temperatures well above average

• Victoria's mean temperature for autumn was 1.17 °C above average, the fourth-warmest autumn on record (and warmer than autumn 2017)
• Mean daytime temperatures were well above average across Victoria, with many sites (mostly in the north) having their highest autumn mean daily maximum temperature on record
• The State's mean maximum temperature was 1.74 °C above the long-term average for autumn, the second-warmest on record
• Daytime temperatures in April were the second highest on record (monthly anomaly of 3.45 °C); March and May daytime temperatures were also above average, but less extreme
• The highest autumn daytime temperature in Victoria was 39.3 °C, recorded in Mildura on 10 April and in Hopetoun on 11 April during a prolonged heatwave
• The State mean minimum temperature was 0.58 °C above average, about 0.4 °C cooler than in autumn 2017
• The morning of 18 March was very warm across Victoria, with several sites reporting their warmest autumn night on record
• Despite the generally mild autumn, there were some cold nights and cool days scattered through the season
• A pool of cold air followed the passage of a complex low pressure system and brought a significant drop in temperatures across the State on the 10th and 11th of May
• Victoria's lowest maximum and minimum temperatures for autumn were recorded during this event, with Mount Hotham only reaching −2.6 °C on the 10th, and falling to −6.0 °C on the morning of the 11th

Strong winds, fires and snow

• The strongest winds during autumn, associated with the passage of a complex low pressure system, were recorded on 11 May, with gusts of 143 km/h reported at Mount Hotham
• A number of bushfires devastated parts of southwestern Victoria on the 17th and 18th of March; high temperatures and strong winds ahead of the cold front contributed to severe fire weather conditions
• The outbreak of cold air on 26 of March brought the year's first snowfalls to Victorian Alpine areas
• More snow fell across the Alpine region on the 11th and 12th of May, as Antarctic air swept across Victoria following the passage of a complex low pressure system

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