Climate of Victoria

The climate of Victoria is characterised by a range of different climate zones, from the hot, dry Mallee region of the northwest to the alpine snowfields in the northeast of Victoria. Median annual rainfall ranges from less than 250 mm in parts of the Mallee to in excess of 1800 mm over some of the mountainous regions.

The mountains of the Great Divide in Victoria attain a maximum height of 1986 metres at Mt Bogong near the town of Mt Beauty. There are several peaks in excess of 1500 metres in the northeast of Victoria. The Great Divide extends westwards almost to the South Australian border, with most peaks below 600 metres except in the mountainous area called the Grampians or Gariwerd, near Stawell, where Mt William's summit is 1167 metres.

To the west and north of the Great Divide the land flattens out to the dry inland plains. It is in the Mallee where the hottest temperatures in the State most commonly occur during summer, and where the annual median rainfall drops below 250 mm.

The coastal strip, south of the ranges, is generally wetter except in the far east where the Strzelecki Ranges shelter the East Gippsland District from the moisture-laden westerly winds. The climate changes across the State are reflected by marked changes in vegetation that ranges from mallee scrub in the northwest, through irrigated plains in the north and the wetter grazing lands of the south to the forested mountainous country of northeastern Victoria