Friday, 28 December 2001
MEDIA RELEASE - TASMANIAN REGIONAL OFFICE
Weather variety the spice of Tasmanian life in 2001
This year was warmer than normal in most of Tasmania. It was much drier than normal in the
west, and wetter than normal in the south-east, the southern Midlands and on Flinders and
King islands. But looking at the year as a whole obscures the amazing range of weather that
occurred over the past 12 months. Tasmania has experienced searing heat and freezing cold,
flooding rains and destructive winds.
Through the year
After shrugging off a cold and wet end to 2000, Tasmania experienced one of
its warmest and driest January-February periods ever. February, in
particular, had many more hot days than normal. There were many days of
very high fire danger.
The warm conditions continued into autumn, but there was some moderate to heavy
rainfall in March and April that produced some flooding, especially in the north. The western
parts of the State did not receive anything like their normal rainfall in April or May.
Winter seemed to start a little early, with a very cold morning on 23 May bringing
sharp frosts to some areas. Despite this, winter days were mostly warmer than normal, with
some very warm events - by Tasmanian winter standards - recorded in June. A week of cold,
wet and windy weather in the middle of August brought snow to many hills for the first time
in several years.
Spring started with a burst of warm weather, but a number of rainfall events in
October and November yielded one of the wettest and coolest springs that eastern parts of
Tasmania have seen for a long time. They caused flooding in several northern river basins.
There were also a remarkable number of thunderstorms, some of which caused flash
flooding. Only in the west was spring rainfall lower than normal.
Summer got off to a very slow start, with one of the coolest Decembers ever
experienced. Across the State, temperatures struggled to reach the mean December maxima.
Tasmania had fewer days of very high fire danger than expected for December.
Across the State
Maximum (day-time) temperatures averaged over the whole year were
above normal for almost all of Tasmania. Mean minimum (night-time)
temperatures were above normal for the whole State. This year's means were
about half a degree above normal.
Though this does not sound much, it is significant result for the whole year.
Bushy Park (in the Derwent Valley) recorded the State's highest temperature for the
year of 39.2 degrees Celsius on 3 February. The highest daily minimum temperature
(effectively the warmest night) was at Orford on the East Coast, with 22.5 degrees, also on 3
February.
The night of 22-23 May was very cold across Tasmania, and that was when Liawenee (on the
Central Plateau) recorded the State's lowest temperature for the year of minus 9.7
degrees. Liawenee also recorded the lowest mean minimum temperature for the year of 1.5
degrees. Maximum temperatures on the summit of Mount Wellington (just behind Hobart but
1260 metres above sea level) averaged just 8.7 degrees for the year.
Rainfall was well below normal in western parts, and above normal in the
south-east, the southern Midlands and on Flinders and King islands. This result comes from
balancing the generally very wet March, August, October and November, against the very
dry January, February and May.
There were a number of very dry months during the year, but none more so than at
Lackranna on Flinders Island, where no rain at all fell in February.
Mount Read, in the mountains of Tasmania's West Coast, recorded more than 3160
millimetres of rain for the year, easily making it the wettest spot in the State (the
actual rain received was higher, but the recording equipment failed a few times during the
year). Mount Read also had the wettest single month, recording 518mm in June (and
receiving rain every day that month). But the wettest day was in the highlands of the East
Coast, with 151 mm recorded at Gray in the 24 hours to 9am on 24 April.
There were a number of windy days during the year, and even a few tornados
reported or suspected. Maximum wind gusts are not recorded at many locations, but the
highest of those was 172 km/h at Maatsuyker Island off the South Coast on 24 June.
The role of volunteers
During the year the Bureau of Meteorology received and stored several
million observations of various weather elements from sites across
Tasmania. Most of the observations are from automatic weather stations, but
an important set of more than 100,000 daily rainfall observations were
taken by volunteer observers. The Bureau provides training and equipment
for about 350 sites across the State, where every day volunteers take careful measurements of
the rainfall in the previous 24 hours. The observations form a vital part of the campaign to
monitor Australia's climate.
Summary figures for 2001
|
Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (mm) |
| Mean |
Differ-
ence
from
norm |
Highest |
Mean |
Differ-
ence
from
norm |
Lowest |
Total |
Normal total |
| Hobart |
17.3 |
+0.5 |
37.7 |
8 Feb |
9.1 |
+0.9 |
0.0 |
5 Jul |
671 |
619 |
| Launceston |
18.3 |
-0.1 |
31.9 |
20 Feb |
7.5 |
+0.4 |
-2.3 |
23 May |
642 |
679 |
| Burnie |
17.5 |
+0.7 |
30.2 |
4 Feb |
10.3 |
+1.1 |
+2.3 |
23 Aug |
944 |
978 |
| Devonport |
17.1 |
+0.5 |
26.6 |
9 Feb |
8.7 |
+0.8 |
-0.7 |
23 Aug |
844 |
789 |
| Strahan |
16.8 |
+0.4 |
33.5 |
20 Feb |
8.3 |
+0.5 |
-1.2 |
22 May |
1462 |
1488 |
| Swansea |
18.1 |
+0.4 |
37.9 |
8 Feb |
8.7 |
+1.0 |
-0.7 |
23 May |
666 |
598 |
| Liawenee |
11.9 |
-0.2 |
29.2 |
3 Feb |
1.5 |
0.0 |
-9.7 |
23 May |
1072 |
1056 |
| Whitemark |
18.0 |
+0.4 |
35.7 |
8 Feb |
10.0 |
+0.3 |
-1.4 |
23 Aug |
849 |
758 |
| Currie |
16.9 |
+0.3 |
34.2 |
8 Feb |
10.2 |
+0.3 |
+1.2 |
21 Sep |
944 |
869 |
Notes: Mean temperatures and their associated differences from normal include
observations to 9am on Friday 28 December. They do not include the last few days of the
year (as they had not occurred when this summary was prepared). Inclusion of the last few
days is unlikely to have a major impact on the results.
Total rainfall is up to 9am on Friday 28 December. Some centres are likely
to receive rain in the two days that follow.
"Normals" are based on all available record, which vary depending from
site to site. For Liawenee, the normals are taken from the "old" site. Temperature
observations are from the "new" site, which started in January 2001, but rainfall observations
are from a combination of the "old" and "new" sites.
Devonport, Strahan, Whitemark and Currie observations are from their local
airports.
Ends
Further information:
Ian Barnes-Keoghan, Meteorologist, Climate and Consultancy Section, Tasmania and
Antarctica Regional Office, Bureau of Meteorology, tel:(03) 6221 2043, e-mail: mailto:climate.tas@bom.gov.au - climate.tas@bom.gov.au
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