Wednesday, 1 May 2019 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in April 2019: Late-season warm days, cool nights, little rain in the east

Tasmania's temperature was close to average for April, with some warm days unusually late in April balanced by some early cold nights. Cold fronts brought rain and wind to the west, but the north and east coasts had a relatively dry month.

Below average rain near the east and north coasts

• Rainfall was close to average for much of the State, but below average near the east and north coasts and a little above average in the southwest highlands
• Flinders Island was particularly dry, with Memana having its driest April since 1967 with just 17.2 mm for the whole month
• Tasmania's total rainfall was about 14% below average
• A strong high pressure system over the southern Tasman Sea was dominant for much of the month
• Cold fronts were the main source of rain, especially in the west; particularly strong fronts early on the 6th and late on the 17th brought rain to most areas
• Westerly winds in the wake of a cold front that crossed early on the 26th brought moderate to locally heavy falls to the west, along with several days of strong and gusty winds: Maatsuyker Island reported a gust over 130 km/h on each day from the 24th to the 27th
• The first four months of 2019 have been drier than average for most of Tasmania, and especially in the east and north

Late-season warm days, but early cold nights

• There were unusually warm temperatures on the 16th, 17th, 20th and 21st, but the 26th was cold across the State
• With temperatures pushing into the high 20s on the 17th, several sites in the southeast set new records for late-season warmth: for example Hobart Airport had not gone above 29 °C in the second half of April before it reached 29.1 °C on the 17th
• Dover and Cape Bruny had their highest April temperature on record on the 17th
• The 26th was cold across the State with many areas struggling to reach 10 °C and a few sites having their coldest April day on record
• The mix of late-season warmth but several cool days meant Tasmania's overall mean maximum temperature was 0.31 °C above average, with the south particularly warm
• There were several periods of cold nights, starting at the beginning of the month: Liawenee's minimum temperature of -7.3 °C on the 4th was the third-lowest April temperature ever recorded in Tasmania, and the earliest in the season the temperature has dropped so low
• After more cold nights around the 10th, there was a period of mild nights peaking on the 17th: a few sites had their warmest April night on record
• The generally cool nights meant Tasmania's overall mean minimum temperature was 0.40 °C below average, although the northwest was generally warmer than average
• Late warm days, but generally cool nights, gave Tasmania an overall mean temperature just 0.04 °C below average
• Temperatures have been above average over Tasmania for the first four months of 2019, especially in the east of the State

Late warmth, cool nights and reduced rain for Hobart

• Mild days were common at Hobart, with some especially warm weather in the third week; The warmest day was 28.7 °C on the 17th
• There were some cold days, especially later in the month (the coolest day was on the 26th when the temperature reached 12.7 °C)
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 19.6 °C, which is 2.3 °C above the long-term average
• Despite mild nights near the middle of the month (the warmest morning was on the 17th when the minimum temperature was 15.8 °C ), there were plenty of cold nights too (coldest morning was 5.4 °C on the 19th) and the mean daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 9.0 °C, equal to the long-term average.
• Total rainfall for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 32.4 mm, which is about two-thirds of the long-term average
• Most of Hobart's rain fell in three events: early on the 6th, late on the 7th, and early on the 18th
• Hobart had 5 days with a maximum gust over 80 km/h, well above the April average of about 2 such windy days, including every day from the 25th to the 28th and a peak gust of 98 km/h on the morning of the 28th
• Hobart's mean maximum temperature for the first four months of 2019 was record high, with the mean minimum temperature also well above average
• Hobart (Ellerslie Road) has recorded 86.4 mm of rain in the first four months of 2019, about half the long-term average

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 lower value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top