Tasmania weather: ‘Abnormally warm’ start to July sees records tumble

If you’ve noticed that your thermals have remained folded away this winter, there’s a reason: Tasmania is going through an unseasonably warm season, with July records broken. Details >

Queensland tourists Rafael and Erlie Santiago at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Hobart. Picture: Linda Higginson

If you have noticed that your thermals have remained folded away in your tallboy this winter, there’s a reason: Tasmania is enduring an unseasonably warm season that has seen several records tumble and above average temperatures settle in across the state.

Last week, on July 12–13, Hobart’s minimum temperature only got as low as 13C, the highest July temperature since record-keeping began, surpassing the previous highest minimum by 0.1C.

Devonport only sunk as low as 12.9C, exceeding the previous record by 0.4C, while Launceston’s minimum temperature of 12.3C was 0.8C warmer than the previous record.

Bushy Park in the Derwent Valley was another to smash the July minimum temperature record, reaching only as low as 11.1C, up 0.5C from previous.

“It’s been abnormally warm for a number of locations across the state, Hobart in particular,” said Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Matthew Thomas.

According to Mr Thomas, for the first fortnight of July, the average maximum temperature in Hobart has been 14.6C – typically the average over this period is 11.8C.

Maximum July temperature records have also been broken. Earlier this month, kunanyi/ Mt Wellington reached 11.4C, up from 9.8C, Liawenee also broke its July record, while Bushy Park equalled its July record of 20C.

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Mr Thomas said that the unseasonable warmth had been puzzling meteorologists, but speculated that it was due in part to the prevailing windy conditions, driven by “vigorous” fronts: “When we see windy, gusty conditions, we tend to find temperatures overnight don’t drop out through radiative cooling”.

“That doesn’t really explain why we’re seeing records in Tasmania but not the rest of southeastern Australia,” he said.

“It’s very hard to put a definite finger on a culprit as to what’s caused this.”

Another suspect is “above average sea surface temperatures,” with Tasmania’s east and west coasts both seeing “anomalies” resulting in temperatures 1–2C warmer than usual.

The bureau expects above average temperatures to prevail until October.

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However, not all are feeling the heat: when Brisbane holiday-makers Rafael and Erlie Santiago were told Tasmania was having one of its warmest winters on record, the pair exclaimed in unison, “Really?”

“It’s really nice here but too cold,” Ms Santiago said.

Mercury gardening columnist Angus Stewart said the unusual weather was causing a “bit of unseasonable flowering, a lot of plants are stirring a bit earlier”.

The lack of prevailing frost could have an impact on some fruit trees this spring.

“Fruit trees need a degree of chilling to flower well. I’m not aware of any issues there this year, but we won’t know until spring when it’s supposed flower.”