1384.6 - Statistics - Tasmania, 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 22/04/2004   
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Contents >> Climate >> Climate - overview

Tasmania has a mostly temperate maritime climate. A prevailing westerly airstream leads to a marked variation of cloudiness, rainfall and temperature. Consequently, the West Coast and highlands are generally cool, wet and cloudy, while the East Coast and lowlands are milder, drier and sunnier.

Summers are mild, with any hot periods rarely lasting more than a few days. Rainfall is generally lower (in both amount and frequency) in summer, most notably in the west and north-west. Afternoon sea breezes are common along the coasts.

Winters are not excessively cold, especially compared to places at similar latitudes in the northern hemisphere that do not have the sea’s moderating influence. Westerly winds with embedded cold fronts often cross the state, and these can bring ‘cold outbreaks’ and snow to low levels. Every so often, winds will be light, the skies clear and the mornings cold and frosty.

ANNUAL CLIMATIC AVERAGES, Selected Tasmanian Stations(a)
Mean daily
maximum
air temperature
Mean daily
minimum
air temperature
Mean annual
rainfall
Mean daily
hours bright
sunshine

Station
oC
oC
mm
hours

Bicheno
17.7
9.4
662
6.2
Burnie
17.1
9.6
966
na
Currie Post Office
16.8
10.6
875
na
Devonport East
16.8
8.1
892
na
Flinders Island Airport
17.7
9.8
734
6.4
Forthside Research Station
16.2
7.5
987
6.4
Hobart (Ellerslie Rd)
17.2
8.8
576
6.1
Hobart Airport
17.5
8.2
495
6.3
Lake Leake (Elizabeth River)
13.7
3.9
795
5.8
Launceston (Ti Tree Bend)
18.3
7.1
677
na
Launceston Airport
17.1
6.2
635
6.9
Liawenee
12.2
1.6
1,056
6.6
Scottsdale
17.8
7.3
1,028
6.6
Strathgordon
14.0
6.2
2,492
4.0
Swansea
18.0
7.8
547
6.1

na not available
(a) Averages are based on all available data from the 30-year period spanning 1971-2000.

Source: Bureau of Meteorology, http://www.bom.gov.au



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