Tuesday, 1 September 2020 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Greater Melbourne - Product code IDCKGC26L0

Greater Melbourne in winter 2020: mild days and nights

Winter rainfall was close to average at most sites in Greater Melbourne. Both daytime and night-time temperatures were generally close to average, but there were some cold outbreaks that brought snow to the Dandenong Ranges.

Close to average rainfall

  • Winter rainfall at most reporting sites in Greater Melbourne was generally close to average.
  • Rainfall totals ranged from 82% of average at Cerberus to 115% of average at Coldstream.
  • Cold fronts brought widespread heavy rainfall to Melbourne on several occasions, mostly in June and August.
  • The highest daily rainfall total during winter was 34.6 mm at Montrose (in the east of Greater Melbourne) on 2 June.
  • The wettest location was in Melbourne's south-east, where Monbulk recorded 331.6 mm for the season.

Close to average temperatures

  • Mean winter daytime and night-time temperatures tended to be close to average across most Melbourne suburbs.
  • The warmest daytime temperature during winter in Greater Melbourne, 21.0 °C, was recorded at Laverton RAAF on 27 August, in a warm northerly airflow preceding the approaching cold front, while the coldest daytime temperature of 4.5 °C, was recorded at Ferny Creek on 4 August, in a polar air mass after the front.
  • The coldest nights during winter are generally under high pressure systems with clear skies, light winds and cold, dry air; there were several periods with low night-time temperatures, notably 8-12 June, 28-30 June, 16-18 July, and 20-24 August.
  • The coldest night-time temperature recorded in Greater Melbourne this season was −3.6 °C at Coldstream on 9 June.

Melbourne (Olympic Park)

  • Total rainfall for Melbourne (Olympic Park) was 120.6 mm.
  • The mean daily maximum temperature for Melbourne (Olympic Park) was 14.7 °C.
  • The warmest day was 20.7 °C on 27 August, and the coolest day was on 3 July when the temperature reached 10.3 °C.
  • The mean daily minimum temperature for Melbourne (Olympic Park) was 7.3 °C.
  • The coldest morning was 1.7 °C on 28 June, and the warmest morning was on 16 June when the minimum temperature was 13.0 °C.

Strong winds, snow and frost

  • Widespread areas of frost were observed across Greater Melbourne on 9 June, when night-time temperatures plummeted due to clear skies and light winds under the strong high-pressure system.
  • Thick fog blanketed Melbourne on the mornings of 16 and 17 July, due to the clear skies and light winds under a ridge of high pressure.
  • Snow was recorded on Dandenong Ranges on 4 and 22 August.
  • Melbourne experienced strong winds on 27 August, associated with a passage of a fast-moving cold front; the strongest wind gust recorded in Greater Melbourne was 115 km/h at South Channel Island.

Further information

Media
(03) 9669 4057

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes in winter 2020
Hottest day 21.0 °C at Laverton RAAF on 27 Aug
Warmest days on average 14.7 °C at Melbourne (Olympic Park)
Coolest days on average 10.1 °C at Wallan (Kilmore Gap)
Coldest day 4.5 °C at Ferny Creek on 4 Aug
Coldest night -3.6 °C at Coldstream on 9 Jun
Coolest nights on average 4.2 °C at Coldstream
Warmest nights on average 7.3 °C at Melbourne (Olympic Park)
Warmest night 13.2 °C at Cerberus on 16 Jun
13.2 °C at Cerberus on 30 Aug
Warmest on average overall 11.0 °C at Melbourne (Olympic Park)
Coolest on average overall 7.4 °C at Wallan (Kilmore Gap)
Wettest overall 331.6 mm at Monbulk (Spring Road)
Wettest day 34.6 mm at Montrose on 2 Jun
Strongest wind gust 115 km/h at Fawkner Beacon on 27 Aug

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Summary statistics for winter 2020
Maximum temperatures
(°C)		 Minimum temperatures
(°C)		 Rainfall
(millimetres)
Mean for
winter
2020		 Diff
from
average		 Highest for
winter
2020		 Mean for
winter
2020		 Diff
from
average		 Lowest for
winter
2020		 Total for
winter
2020		 Average
for
winter		 Rank of
winter
2020		 Fraction of
winter
average
Cerberus 14.1 -0.1 19.5 19 Jun 5.8 -0.8 -0.9 29 Jun 179.8 220.3 low 82%
Coldstream 14.2 +0.2 20.8 30 Aug 4.2 +0.1 -3.6 9 Jun 228.8 198.7 high 115%
Essendon Airport 14.2 +0.4 19.8 27 Aug 6.5 +0.8 -0.4 29 Jun 122.6 131.2 average 93%
Ferny Creek 10.4   16.5 30 Aug 5.4   0.1 5 Aug
Laverton RAAF 14.5 +0.2 21.0 27 Aug 5.8 +0.3 -0.5 29 Jun 108.6 121.2 average 90%
Melbourne (Olympic Park) 14.7   20.7 27 Aug 7.3   1.7 28 Jun 120.6
Melbourne Airport 14.0 +0.2 19.8 27 Aug 5.7 -0.2 0.2 29 Jun 118.8 119.8 average 99%
Moorabbin Airport 14.5 +0.2 19.7 30 Aug 6.6 0.0 0.0 29 Jun 158.2 182.4 average 87%
Scoresby Research Institute 14.3 +0.7 20.4 30 Aug 6.0 -0.1 -0.2 28 Jun 183.8 222.5 low 83%
Viewbank 14.4 -0.1 19.8 30 Aug 5.7 -0.5 -0.6 29 Jun 152.6 158.3 average 96%
Wallan (Kilmore Gap) 10.1 +0.2 16.5 30 Aug 4.6 +0.2 -0.1 5 Aug 171.4 190.4 average 90%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Notes

The Seasonal climate summary, generally published on the first working day of each month, lists the main features of the weather in Greater Melbourne using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. More extensive discussion of significant weather events, along with later information and data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review.

This summary includes data from observing sites in or near the Greater Melbourne “Greater Capital City Statistical Area” (GCCSA). The Australian Bureau of Statistics designed the GCCSAs to “include the population within the urban area of the city, as well as people who regularly socialise, shop or work within the city, and live in small towns and rural areas surrounding the city. It is important to note that GCCSAs do not define the built up edge of the city. They provide a stable definition for these cities and are designed for the output of a range of social and economic survey data.”

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 9 am on Tuesday 1 September 2020. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

In some situations, some or all of the rainfall is in the form of hail or snow. In these cases the totals given are for the water equivalent: the depth of liquid water that results from melting any frozen precipitation. There can be significant 'undercatch' of snow in strong winds, meaning the true precipitation can be higher than that reported.

Averages for individual sites 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.

Where temperature area averages are mentioned, they are derived from the ACORN-SAT dataset.

Further information

Media
(03) 9669 4057

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