Monthly Weather Review Australia February 2018 The Monthly Weather Review - Australia is produced by the Bureau of Meteorology to provide a concise but informative overview of the temperatures, rainfall and significant weather events in Australia for the month. To keep the Monthly Weather Review as timely as possible, much of the information is based on electronic reports. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of these reports, the results can be considered only preliminary until complete quality control procedures have been carried out. Any major discrepancies will be noted in later issues. We are keen to ensure that the Monthly Weather Review is appropriate to its readers' needs. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact us: Bureau of Meteorology GPO Box 1289 Melbourne VIC 3001 Australia [email protected] www.bom.gov.au Units of measurement Except where noted, temperature is given in degrees Celsius (°C), rainfall in millimetres (mm), and wind speed in kilometres per hour (km/h). Observation times and periods Each station in Australia makes its main observation for the day at 9 am local time. At this time, the precipitation over the past 24 hours is determined, and maximum and minimum thermometers are also read and reset. In this publication, the following conventions are used for assigning dates to the observations made: Maximum temperatures are for the 24 hours from 9 am on the date mentioned. They normally occur in the afternoon of that day. Minimum temperatures are for the 24 hours to 9 am on the date mentioned. They normally occur in the early morning of that day. Mean temperatures are the average of the daily maximum and daily minimum temperatures. Daily rainfall is for the 24 hours to 9 am on the date mentioned. This means a significant fraction of the rain may have occurred on the previous calendar day. Monthly rainfall is for the period from 9 am on the last day of the previous month to 9 am on the last day of this month. Maximum daily wind gusts are in the 24 hours from midnight to midnight. Climatological values The climatological averages shown in the text and tables are generally long-term means based on observations from the years 1961–1990. They are not shown for sites with less than 25 years of record in that time, as they cannot then be calculated reliably. Climatological extremes are generally taken from all available years of record; the number of years can vary markedly from site to site. Records The tables of records are not exhaustive, as they only show sites with at least 30 years of record. This may exclude locations where a new site has been established; this means even some major cities and towns may not be listed. Maps The temperature and rainfall maps are intended to give an overview of the country. There could be discrepancies between the values shown on these maps and those at individual locations, as a result of the way the maps are generated. A wide range of maps of rainfall, temperature and other variables, covering the whole country and smaller regions can be found at www.bom.gov.au/climate/maps. Accessing data Tables of daily values for selected sites are included toward the back of the Monthly Weather Review. Data from many more sites and for other times are available from www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/. Copyright © Commonwealth of Australia 2018 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced without prior written permission from the Bureau of Meteorology. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to: Publishing Unit, Bureau of Meteorology, GPO Box 1289, Melbourne VIC 3001 Product code IDCKGC1AR1. Prepared on 24 May 2018 Cover photograph View over Port Phillip from Elwood (a southern suburb of Melbourne) on the morning of 14 February as a strong cold front approached, bringing damaging winds and gusty showers to much of Victoria and Tasmania. Photograph by Andrew Watkins, 14 February 2018. Used with permission. Overview • A warm month for Australia as a whole • February rainfall below average for the mainland • Mean maximum temperature above average for southeast, western Queensland and north of the most of the eastern half of Australia; cooler than Cape York Peninsula, and most of the Northern average for much of Western Australia Territory • Mean minimum temperature above average for • Rainfall above average for the southeastern quarter much of Australia; generally near average for the of Queensland and much of Western Australia, east coast, and for Western Australia away from particularly in the Kimberley and the southeast due the south coast to tropical cyclone Kelvin. Areal averages in February 2018 Rainfall anomaly Mean maximum Mean minimum Mean temperature temperature anomaly temperature anomaly anomaly Australia −3% +0.66 °C +0.61 °C +0.64 °C Western Australia +48% −1.15 °C −0.19 °C −0.66 °C Northern Territory −36% +1.39 °C +0.99 °C +1.19 °C 6th-highest 10th-highest South Australia −12% +1.48 °C +1.18 °C +1.33 °C Queensland −5% +1.67 °C +1.05 °C +1.36 °C 10th-highest 8th-highest New South Wales −34% +1.79 °C +0.81 °C +1.30 °C Victoria −62% +1.14 °C +0.86 °C +1.00 °C Tasmania +21% −0.08 °C +0.37 °C +0.15 °C Extremes in February 2018 Hottest day Coldest night Wettest day Warmest overall Coolest overall Wettest overall Strongest wind gust Australia 46.5 °C −3.2 °C 378.0 mm 34.3 °C 8.5 °C 958.8 mm 150 km/h at Winton Airport at Perisher Valley at Bellenden Ker at Boulia Airport at kunanyi (Mount at Bellenden Ker at Hogan Island (Qld) on the 14th AWS (NSW) on the Top Stn (Qld) on the (Qld) Wellington Top Stn (Qld) (Tas.) on the 14th 1st 6th Pinnacle) (Tas.) Western 44.2 °C 4.1 °C 376.8 mm 31.5 °C 19.2 °C 716.8 mm 130 km/h Australia at Emu Creek at Jarrahwood on at Broome Airport at Roebourne Aero at Shannon at West Roebuck at Garden Island Station on the 14th the 28th on the 17th HSF on the 25th Northern 45.4 °C 12.9 °C 129.4 mm 33.0 °C 28.1 °C 513.2 mm 78 km/h Territory at Jervois on the at Arltunga on the at Point Fawcett on at Walungurru at Channel Point at Mount Bundey at Bradshaw on 19th 28th the 6th Airport North (Defence) the 13th and Port Keats Airport on the 24th South 45.5 °C 3.5 °C 22.2 mm 31.6 °C 19.6 °C 38.8 mm 115 km/h Australia at Andamooka on at Keith (Munkora) at Vivonne Bay at Moomba Airport at Mount Lofty and at Tarcoola Aero at Tarcoola Aero the 10th and on the 26th (Highgate) on the Parawa (Second on the 22nd Moomba Airport on 21st Valley Forest AWS) the 11th Queensland 46.5 °C 9.1 °C 378.0 mm 34.3 °C 20.7 °C 958.8 mm 119 km/h at Winton Airport at Applethorpe on at Bellenden Ker at Boulia Airport at Applethorpe at Bellenden Ker at Kingaroy on the 14th the 9th Top Stn on the 6th Top Stn Airport on the 14th New South 45.7 °C −3.2 °C 169.0 mm 30.6 °C 11.0 °C 386.6 mm 109 km/h Wales at Wilcannia at Perisher Valley at Chillingham at Tibooburra at Thredbo AWS at Careys Peak at Narrabri Airport Aerodrome AWS on AWS on the 1st (Limpinwood) on the Airport (Barrington Tops) AWS on the 11th the 10th 24th Victoria 43.6 °C −2.5 °C 54.4 mm 26.0 °C 11.4 °C 86.0 mm 133 km/h at Mildura Airport at Mount Hotham at Mitta Mitta on at Mildura Airport at Mount Hotham at Falls Creek at Wilsons on the 8th on the 1st the 25th (Rocky Valley) Promontory Lighthouse on the 14th Tasmania 32.8 °C −1.4 °C 81.0 mm 19.2 °C 8.5 °C 274.2 mm 150 km/h at Ouse Fire Station at Liawenee on the at Jackeys Marsh at Hogan Island at kunanyi (Mount at Mount Read at Hogan Island on on the 7th 1st on the 24th Wellington the 14th Pinnacle) In this table Hottest day is the highest daily maximum temperature, Coldest night is the lowest daily minimum temperature, Wettest day is the highest daily rainfall total, Warmest overall is the highest mean monthly temperature, Coolest overall is the lowest mean monthly temperature and Wettest overall is the highest total monthly precipitation. 1 Monthly Weather Review - Australia - February 2018 Significant weather Severe thunderstorms across eastern recorded in the morning at Ballon (north of Chinchilla) Australia with 46 mm in 15 minutes and Brovinia (southwest of Gayndah) with 81 mm of rainfall in one hour. Thunderstorms developed around Cressy in northern Tasmania on the 5th, with Hummocky Hills reporting Severe thunderstorms in northern Queensland on the 44 mm of rain in 30 minutes. There were reports of evening of the 21st produced a 94 km/h wind gust at flash flooding and hail at Cressy. Lucinda, 66 mm of rain in 30 minutes at Toolakea and 65 mm of rain in 30 minutes at Giru. Thunderstorms crossed southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales on the 11th with hail the Severe thunderstorms in northern and southeast size of tennis balls reported in Boonah area and hail Queensland on the 23rd resulted in heavy rainfall at with a diameter of 2 cm reported at Tabulam.