Styx

Hobart - Capital city of Tasmania, sealevel, 2 miles from ocean mouth, on an estuary, backed by a 1270m/4200ft mountain range. July - Midwinter Strong high pressure ridging was the feature of the month from beginning to near end, with uncharacteristically dry and settled weather conditions. The stable monotonous pattern ended on the 29th with the passage of a cold front, and the first snows on the mountain for an astonishing 4 weeks. Temperatures were close to the 1981-2010 average, but for the 9th straight month were in positive anomoly territory. Average maximum: 12.9 ( +0.6 ) Average minimum: 4.7 ( -0.2 ) Rainfall: 18mm ( Average 56mm ) Extremes in daily temperature this month Highest maximum: 17.0 ( Record 22.1 in 1901 ) Lowest maximum: 9.1 ( Record 4.7 in 1888 ) Highest minimum: 9.5 ( Record 12.2 in 1985 ) Lowest minimum: 1.1 ( Record -2.8 in 1981 )

It grumbles me when journalists find it difficult to read media releases from the weather bureau or whatever source they choose to use, and go the easy way by writing up their own conclusions from standout phrases. No where near one of the coldest Julys in Perth! Average minimum of 5.3 was the lowest on record ( 1981-10 average 8.1 ) but the average maximum of 19.3 ( 1981-10 average 18.1 ) was amongst one of the highest on record! Mean someway off from being the lowest. Certainly been dry though, in many places across Australia, including Tasmania.

This! Cold. Snow on the mountains. Milky sunshine. Mists and fogs slow to clear. Variety of colour lots of shades and emotion on the canvas

We live in uncertain times where there is no certainty 17.0

The poor state of snow cover at Tasmania's ski fields. Mt Mawson in the south ( 1300m ) and Ben Lomond ( 1600m ) in the north east.

Something more comprehensive

Australia in June was -0.5 degrees cooler than the 1961-90 average. Much of the coolness was down to much colder than average nights in tropical and inland Australia. It was 4% wetter than average, so close to normal. July is following a similar pattern, although it has become milder and drier in the south. High pressure domination. There has been no major cold event originating from the Southern Ocean, with prolonged highand snowfall. The absence of snow in Tasmania this season is noticable. June Temp June Rainfall More here on this very forum! http://forum.netweat...ldwide-weather/ ...and my temperature anomoly list for recent months where I live, below!

Ever heard the squel of an injured hedgehog? One of the loudest high pitch noises I have ever heard from such a small creature.

How many years of records from there?

Incredibly interesting! I would love to see this subject turned into a TV documentary. I could really see it working!

Why are the rocks black?

Story of the Tasmanian winter so far is the lack of snow cover in the highlands. A low level snow event happens every year almost without fail, but it appears this year the wait will be longer. Mt Wellington, Hobart same week last year. The snow remained on the summit for several weeks.

Wetter than average in Australia

Check out this article ( and the picture! ) UFO on the Baltic sea seabed. It's from CNN..so it has a bit of merit http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112641006/ufo-lying-on-the-bottom-of-the-baltic-sea/

Warmest 12 months ever recorded in the US, and that doesn't take into account this record heatwave http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/09/us/extreme-heat/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

What is the July record?

Last 6 months - Temperature Last 6 months - Rainfall Officially cooler and wetter than average overall.

HOBART ( pop 200,000 ) is capital of the Australian island state of Tasmania ( pop 510,000 - almost same size as Scotland ). Hobart is situated on an estuary 2 miles from the ocean and is backed by a 1270m/4200ft mountain range. June - First month of winter The focal point of the month was a prolonged, middle-of-the-road cold change towards the end which brought 9 straight days of below average maxima and minima, occasional showers, the first frosts, and snow at times settling to 500m/1800ft. This followed the first two thirds being mild and settled; and in balance was not enough to pull the average monthly temperature into negative anomoly territory. This being the 8th consecutive month above the 1981-2010 mean, the warmest decades on record in the capital. Average maximum: 12.5 ( +0.1 ) Average minimum: 5.3 ( 0.0 ) Rainfall: 33mm ( Average 54mm ) Extremes in daily temperature Highest maximum: 17.2 ( Record 20.6 in 1907 ) Lowest maximum: 8.0 ( Record 4.3 in 1985 ) Highest minimum: 9.5 ( Record 14.4 in 1957 ) Lowest minimum: 0.9 ( Record -2.8 in 1972 ) For all you snowlovers out there...

Nice question. There are no continuous official records of that, which may be understandable. What constitutes a snowpeak for example, and from what position in town do you take your observation from. Surprisingly though there is no official record kept of snow depth on the summit either ( but that is probably because there was no road to the summit until the early 1930's, and even today the road to the pinnacle is closed for 3 or 4 weeks due to snow and/or ice. The answer to your question though is months and not days. In my own time, 1992 was a standout year ( I kept daily records as a teen ); there was a permanent snow cover from the end of July until the first week of December in that year. In more recent years it has usually been from July thru to the start of October. The last 2 or 3 winters have been terrible, snow then total melt, followed by snow and melt. Too infrequent cold fronts and way too warm, with no ripe condition for accumulation. I have been searching for a webpage link for you. Having problem in locating it right now. It is an article dealing with your very question, and it details the findings of a chap that kept a record of snow cover observations on Mt Wellington in the mid to late 19th century. He recorded most years a continuous cover of 6 months, with one standout year from June thru to January. I have also seen newspaper articles as recently as the 1950s showing people sledging and playing in the snow on Christmas day - not from a fresh snowfall on Christmas eve but from snow that had accumulated since winter and/or spring that still remained at the start of summer. Doesn't happen like that anymore!

16.4 thanks kindly

Snowcap on Hobart's Mt Wellington today. At 12 noon the summit ( 1270m/4200ft ) temperature was -2, and the city was 7 degrees ( 5 below June average ). There have been 7 successive below average temperature days in Hobart during this cold spell, with a minimum of 1.6 ( 4 below ) and a maximum low of 9.5. It does get colder and snowier than this. But this is a nice start!

Macquarie Island is territory of Tasmania ( 800 miles/2000km south ), but 99.9% of the population are penguins. It is interesting you talk about tsunamis - any big quake in that area would put Tasmania's south and east coasts under direct threat.

It would probably sort out traffic gridlock in the south east, a whole new network of highway diversions.

Thanks mate all is well that ends well. Wouldn't care though if the roof came in and I ended up with an "earthquake scar", like getting nipped by a shark and showing off the scar for life ( don't have one of those either ). I like this, this sums it up preety nicely:

Thanks mate, I'm watching Tasmania from afar for a while, I am in earthquake central until the end of next week but I am naturally taking interest in this proper cold snap. Snowline to 400m in Tasmania on Sunday. Unfortuently there doesn't appear to much precipitation in it. But it is the winterist front of the year.. and more importantly the cold weather will be around for a while. Even odds it might even be a colder than average month for Tassie, after 7 warmer than normal months in a row.