Monday, 3 June 2019 - Monthly Climate Summary for Victoria - Product code IDCKGC16R0

Victoria in May 2019: a cold end to a mild month

Temperatures in Victoria were above average for most of May. There was some unseasonably warm weather and some cold temperatures at the end of the month. Several days with heavy rain ensured that totals in the large parts of the State were above average

Above average rainfall

• It has been a wet start to May for most of Victoria; rainfall was recorded across much of the State over the first three days, with daily totals exceeding 30 mm at many sites
• A complex low pressure system brought more widespread rainfall on the 10th and 11th, with daily totals generally between 15 and 30 mm
• The end of the month was wet, with a series of cold fronts bringing light to moderate falls to the State
• There were also periods of settled weather dominated by high pressure systems
• Total rainfall for the month was very much above average in parts of Wimmera, West Central, Western Coast and Western Planes districts, with highest on record totals recorded west of Ballarat, and around Geelong
• State-wide, rainfall was 29% above the May average of 65 mm
• The highest daily rainfall for the State, 126 mm, was recorded at Falls Creek on the 3rd; the wettest place during the month was also falls Creek, with 228 mm
• Some sites had their highest May daily rainfall on record
• Many sites had either their highest total May rainfall on record or their highest total May rainfall since at least 1995

A mild month overall

• A month saw a mix of cool and mild weather, with daytime and night-time temperatures above average in large parts of the State
• The Victorian mean maximum and minimum temperatures were 0.63 °C and 0.71 °C above average respectively
• Some sites in eastern Victoria had their highest daily minimum temperature on record on the 2nd, in a northerly airstream preceding the approaching cold front
• A large, slow-moving high-pressure systems dominated the State's weather between 14th and 24th
• Daytime termperatures were unseasonably warm on several days, particularly the 23 and 24th; the highest temperature in Victoria this month was 27.1 °C at Mildura on the 24th
• May finished with cool daytime and night-time temperatures, as a pool of cold air followed the passage of a series of cold fronts
• Victoria's lowest maximum and minimum temperatures for the month were recorded during this event, with Mount Hotham only reaching −3.8 °C on the 29th and falling to −6.4 °C on the morning of the 30th
• Falls Creek, Avalon Airport and Cape Nelson Lighthouse had their coldest May day on record on the 29th

Strong winds, flash flooding, hail and snow

• A dust storm moved through Mildura on 7 May, fuelled by strong winds in a gust front with gusts over 80 km/h, reducing visibility to a few hundred meters; this phenomenon is usually seen in summer, however it was very dry start to the year in northwest Victoria
• A cold front and a low pressure system which crossed the State on 9 and 10 May brought heavy rainfall and flash flooding to Ballarat and Geelong, as well as snowfalls in the Victorian Alps; a slow-moving thunderstorm cell developed over Cape Paterson on 10 May, resulting in large accumulation of small hail in the area
• More snow covered the Victorian Alps from cold fronts that crossed the State in the last several days of the month
• The strongest winds in May, associated with the passage of a cold front, were recorded on the 27th, with gusts of 139 km/h at Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse

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