Monday, 2 March 2020 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Victoria - Product code IDCKGC26R0

Victoria in summer 2019-20: warm days and nights; wet in the southeast

Daytime and night-time temperatures for summer were above average across much of Victoria. Rainfall was below average in parts of the north and the far east, but above average in the southeast of the State.

Wet in the southeast

• Statewide, rainfall was 5 per cent below the long-term mean of 120 mm
• January and February were wetter than average, but December was very dry (the fifth-driest December on record), contributing to drier than average summer for the State
• Rainfall was above average in the southeast of Victoria, while it was below average in several areas in the north and the far east of the State; elsewhere, rainfall was close to average
• Stratford, in central Gippsland, had its highest summer daily rainfall on record on 21 January, doubling its previous record set in 1970
• Stratford and Mount Moornapa had their highest total summer rainfall on record
• The wettest place in Victoria this summer was Mounth Useful, east of Melbourne, recording 472.6 mm; in contrast, Mildura Airport recorded just 16.4 mm

Cool end to the season

• Daytime temperatures were above average across most of Victoria, but closer to average in the southern parts of the State
• The mean maximum temperature for Victoria over summer 2019-2020 was 1.04 °C above average
• Daytime temperatures in December were very much above average for most of Victoria; statewide, it was the second-warmest December on record, 3.13  °C warmer than the long-term average for the month
• Daytime temperatures were also warmer than average in January (monthly anomaly of +1.16 °C); in contrast, in February, historically the warmest month of the year for Victoria, daytime temperatures were cooler than average (an anomaly of −1.15 °C)
• The highest temperature this summer in Victoria was 47.9 °C, recorded at Hopetoun Airport and Horsham Aerodrome on 20 December
• Many sites had their highest summer temperature on record
• Night-time temperatures were above average across most of the State, away from the northwest
• Victorian night-time temperatures during summer were 1.10 °C above average, with all months being warmer than average overall
• Some Victorian stations had their warmest summer night on record on 1 February

Fires, smoke and flash flooding

• Significant new fires commenced in East Gippsland during December
• Widespread areas of smoke from fires burning in southern New South Wales and East Gippsland, extended across eastern and southern Victoria on 23 December and again on 13 January, persisting over several days
• Severe thunderstorms developed in the afternoon on 15 and 19 January, bringing heavy rainfall, flash flooding and damaging winds to central Victoria and parts of Melbourne
• Wide-spread rainfall on 20 and 22 January helped reduce the number of uncontained bushfires in the State's east
• On 23 January, strong northerly winds brought dust from northwest Victoria to the southern parts of the State; it came down with rain, coating surfaces with a layer of dust, and colouring the Yarra River brown
• Powerful storms swept through eastern Melbourne and parts of Gippsland on 14 February and again on 18 February, leading to flash flooding and fallen trees

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

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Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top