Thursday, 10 January 2019 - Annual Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC57R0

Tasmania in 2018: a warm year

Tasmania had another warm year during 2018, with January bringing some record high temperatures at some sites, and December being the warmest on record for the State as a whole. Rainfall was close to average overall, but there were some very wet months and some very dry ones.

The Australian annual climate statement provides a comprehensive summary of Australia's climate during 2018. Information about changes and long-term trends in Australia's climate can be found in State of the Climate 2018.

A mixed year for rain

• Most areas had close to average rain overall, but totals were below average close to the north and east coasts
• It was a wetter year than 2017 (and much wetter than 2017 in the western highlands), but a much drier year than 2016
• Rainfall varied markedly through the year: for Tasmania as a whole, it was the wettest March since 2001 and the eighth-wettest July, but the third-driest October
• There was also marked variation across the State: January was wet in the northeast but dry in the southwest, whilst both July and August were wet in the west and dry in the east
• Total Tasmanian rainfall for 2018 was less than 1% below average
• There was record-breaking rain in the southeast on 10 and 11 May, leading to flash flooding and considerable damage in and around Hobart
• Thunderstorms in mid-December brought heavy rain, especially to the northeast

Another warm year

• Temperatures were very much above average across Tasmania
• The Tasmanian mean temperature for the year was 0.71 °C above average, making it the fifth-warmest year since comparable records began in 1910
• It was Tasmania's equal third-warmest year for mean minimum temperatures at 0.65 °C above average (well short of the record warm mean minimum from 2016)
• Mean maximum temperatures were 0.77 °C above average, the sixth-warmest year on record, but a little cooler than 2017
• January was especially warm and came near the end of a record warm period over the Tasman Sea (as detailed in the Special Climate Statement Record warmth in the Tasman Sea, New Zealand and Tasmania)
• December was also very warm (the State's warmest mean temperature for December)
• Heatwaves during January gave record-high temperatures to larapuna and Bridport, and record-warm nights to over a dozen sites across the north
• Temperatures were close to or a bit below average during August and September, but were well above average in October
• A cold outbreak late in August brought record low temperatures to a few sites

A very warm year for Hobart, with some heavy rain

• Hobart's mean temperature for the year was 13.9 °C, the second-warmest year on record (just 0.1 °C cooler than 2016) and 1.2 °C warmer than the long-term average
• Hobart's mean daily maximum temperature was 18.2 °C, which is 1.2 °C above the long-term average and the equal third-warmest (behind the record-breaking 2017 and 2014)
• The warmest day was 36.7 °C on 28 January, the highest temperature since the city reached 38.9 °C on 28 January 2014
• Hobart reached only 9.0 °C on 19 August, one of 8 days below 10 °C during 2018 (well below the long-term average of about 21 such cold days each year)
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 9.5 °C, which is 1.1 °C above the long-term average and the second-warmest (behind 2016)
• The coldest morning saw 0.6 °C on 20 August; this was the only night below 1 °C (compared to a long-term average of about 4 nights that cold each year)
• Hobart's warmest morning was on 29 January when the temperature dropped to only 23.9 °C, the equal second-warmest minimum temperature
• Total rainfall for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 585.2 mm, which is 95% of the long-term average
• More than one-fifth of the year's total rainfall came in the 24 hours to 9 am on 11 May, when 129.2 mm was Hobart's highest daily rainfall since April 1960; almost half of that fell in the three hours between 9 pm and midnight on 10 May
• Another storm on 16 December gave Hobart 26.6 mm of rain in less than an hour

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

Monthly maps
	Rainfall rank	Maximum temperature rank	Minimum temperature rank
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top