Monday, 3 June 2019 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Victoria - Product code IDCKGC26R0

Victoria in autumn 2019: warm with below average rainfall

Both mean daytime and overnight temperatures were warmer than usual across most of Victoria during autumn, with mild temperatures lasting well into May. The State's mean temperature was the eight-warmest on record. Rainfall totals for autumn were below average across large parts of Victoria

Below average rainfall

• Parts of the state recorded close to average rainfall for autumn, but most of western Victoria and parts of North Central, Upper North, East Central and West Gippsland had below average rainfall
• Above average autumn rainfall was recorded in parts of the Northeast and Western Plains districts
• Parts of the far northwest Victoria received less than 40% of the mean autumn rainfall
• Averaged across the State, rainfall was 21% below the autumn average of 157 mm, continuing a run of five consecutive seasons of drier than average conditions in Victoria
• The season began with a drier than average March, followed by a much drier than average April; May brought useful rains to large parts of the central and northeast Victoria
• Falls Creek was the wettest place in Victoria during autumn, recording 458 mm
• The highest daily rainfall total, 126 mm, was recorded also at Falls Creek to 9am on 3 May, when a complex low pressure system brought heavy rainfall to Victoria's northeast
• Several sites had either their highest autumn daily rainfall on record or their highest total autumn rainfall since 1995

Above average temperatures

• During this season, daytime temperatures very much above average were recorded in most of Victoria
• The mean daytime temperature for Victoria over autumn was 1.15 °C above average
• Several sites had their highest autumn mean daily maximum temperature on record
• The highest daytime temperature recorded in Victoria this season was 41.5 °C in Hopetoun on 3 March, during a heatwave that started in the last week of February
• Some sites had their highest autumn temperature on record on 1 and 4 March
• Night-time temperatures were also above average across most of Victoria
• The State mean minimum temperature was 0.93 °C above average, about 0.3 °C warmer than in autumn 2018
• Mornings were particularly mild at the beginning of the season, and several sites had their warmest autumn night on record
• The highest night-time temperature in Victoria this autumn was 26.5 °C at Cape Otway Lighthouse on 2 March
• Despite the generally mild autumn, there were some cold nights and cool days scattered through the season
• A series of cold fronts brought a sharp drop in temperatures across the State in the last week of the season
• Falls Creek, Avalon Airport and Cape Nelson Lighthouse had their coldest autumn day on record on 29 May
• Victoria's lowest minimum temperature for autumn of -6.4 °C was recorded at Mount Hotham on 30 May
• The Victorian mean temperature in the first five months of 2019 has been the third-warmest on record

Strong winds flash floods, hail and snow

• The strongest winds during autumn, associated with the passage of a cold front, were recorded on 26 April, with gusts of 144 km/h reported at Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse
• A dust storm moved through Mildura on 7 May, fuelled by strong winds in a gust front with gusts over 80 km/h, reducing visibility to a few hundred meters; this phenomenon is usually seen in summer, however it was very dry start to the year in northwest Victoria
• A cold front and a low pressure system which crossed the State on 9 and 10 May brought heavy rainfall and flash flooding to Ballarat and Geelong, as well as snowfalls in the Victorian Alps; Cape Paterson received showers of hail from a slow-moving thunderstorm cell on 10 May
• More snow covered the Victorian Alps from cold fronts that crossed the State in the last several days of the season

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