Wednesday, 1 April 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in March 2020: a wet, cool start to autumn

Tasmania had a wet and mostly cool March. Heavy rain was seen in the State's northeast early in the month. It was cooler than average most of the time, but there were bursts of mild weather around the middle of the month and again on the final weekend.

Widespread rain leads to a wet month

• Statewide rain on several days through the month, particularly as a trough extended from the mainland during the 5th bringing some moderate to heavy falls in the north and northeast, ensured almost all areas had above average rainfall for March and parts of the northeast were very much wetter than usual
• Gray, Mount Barrow and Mount Arthur in the northeast highlands all registered more than 200 mm for the month, not far below the highest totals in the usually wet western highlands
• Over much of the rest of the State, there was at least 50 mm of rainfall for the month, with only a few sites in the Upper Derwent Valley having less
• Overall, Tasmania's total rainfall was about 45% above the March average: wetter than March 2019 but not as wet as March 2018
• Daily rainfall records for March were set at some sites in the north with less than 30 years of records, some others had their highest total March rainfall on record and a few others (including Launceston) had their wettest March for several decades
• Below average rain has been common for most months since February 2016 in the east, north and southeast; many sites in the southeast had their wettest month since May 2018 and for some in the Midlands it was the wettest month since September 2016
• Year to date rainfall is about 17% above average for Tasmania as a whole, and especially so in the northeast quarter and the Bass Strait Islands, although it is below average in the southwest
• Extensive above average rain is needed to remove the long-term rainfall deficiencies that affect eastern and northern Tasmania, especially the East Coast

Mostly cool, but some warm days

• Daytime temperatures were below average for most of March, with extended periods of cool weather being a common trait
• Despite the generally cool weather there were few especially cold days, but there were warm days with temperatures into the high 20s around the 12th, 17th and 28th
• For many sites it was the coolest March since 2015 or even 2011, but a handful of sites had their lowest March mean daily maximum temperature on record
• Night-time temperatures were a mixture of mild and cool for much of the month, but there was a period of cold mornings from the 23rd to the 27th
• Overall it was Tasmania's coolest March since 2015, with the mean maximum temperature 1.04 °C below average, the mean minimum temperature 0.63 °C below average and the overall mean temperature 0.83 °C below average
• A very warm January has been followed by a cool February and March, meaning the year so far has been cooler than average overall, and the coolest January to March since 2011

A wet, cool month for Hobart

• Total rainfall for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 72.0 mm, which is 161% of the long-term average, the wettest month since August 2019 and the wettest March since 2003
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 20.0 °C, which is 0.2 °C below the long-term average
• Hobart's temperature reached 25 °C or more on four days during the month, close to the long-term average number of such mild days; the warmest day was 27.3 °C on the 17th
• Despite the mostly cool weather there weren't any especially cold days; the coolest day was on the 8th when the temperature reached 14.1 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 10.9 °C, which is 0.1 °C below the long-term average of 11.0 °C
• The coldest morning was 5.3 °C on the 26th (the coldest for March since 2008, but well above the record low of 1.8 °C
• Hobart's warmest morning was on the 6th, when the minimum temperature was 15.4 °C

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