Monday, 3 September 2018 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in August 2018: wet in the west and windy

Westerly winds dominated Tasmania's weather for much of August, ensuring the western highlands had more rain than usual. Temperatures were mostly above average in the first half of the month but below average in the second half.

Wet in the west, dry in the central north and northeast

• Westerly winds and cold fronts brought rain to much of Tasmania several times during August, with the highest falls in the western highlands
• Total rainfall was above average in the west, but below average in the central north and the northern East Coast
• Tasmania's total rainfall for August was 12.5 % above average
• Rain falling onto very wet soils led to river rises and some minor flooding several times during August

Mild start and cold towards the end

• Minimum temperatures were mostly above average in the first half of the month and below average in the second half
• Most areas had their coldest night of the month (and coldest night of winter) in the last few days of the month
• Some sites, including Smithton, Strahan and King Island had their lowest August temperature on record on the 29th or 30th
• Mount Read's -5.3 °C on the 28th was its lowest temperature on record for any month
• Daytime temperatures were mild around the 10th, 14th and 25th, but colder than average around the 19th and 27th when many sites had their coldest day of winter
• The State's mean minimum temperature was 0.26 °C below average, the mean maximum temperature right on average and the overall mean temperature 0.12 °C below average

Strong winds, high tides and flooding

• Strong and gusty winds associated with cold fronts and low pressure systems caused damage several times during August
• Especially strong and gusty winds were recorded on the 15th: every site (apart from Launceston) registered a gust over 80 km/h and Maatsuyker Island reached 163 km/h
• Low atmospheric pressure and strong onshore winds, coupled with high astronomical tides, caused localised inundation between the 10th and 15th
• Very wet upper soil layers in many areas meant rainfall from cold fronts frequently led to river rises and flooding in several catchments many times during the month

Hobart (Ellerslie Road)

• Total rainfall for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 53.4 mm, which is right on average
• Rain was recorded on 19 days, just above the August average of 15 days
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 13.9 °C, which is 0.8 °C above the long-term average of 13.1 °C. The warmest day was 17.8 °C on the 14th, and the coolest day was on the 19th when the temperature reached 9.0 °C
• The temperature stayed below 10.0 °C on 4 days which is average for August, with all of those days in the last third of the month
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 5.5 °C, which is 0.3 °C above the long-term average of 5.2 °C. The coldest morning was 0.6 °C on the 20th, and the warmest morning was on the 14th when the minimum temperature was 10.2 °C
• The minimum temperature dropped below 2.0 °C on 2 days, just below the August average of 3 days

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