The Bureau of Meteorology has released its official record of Australia’s climate and notable weather events for 2022 and shows last year was a warm and wet year for most of Australia.
In Tasmania, annual rainfall for 2022 was much lower than average for the Western District and much higher than average for the East Coast and Midlands districts. Maximum temperatures were very much above average for the western half of Tasmania, and average to above average in the east, minimum temperatures were very much above than average across most of the state.
There was a persistent pattern of above average monthly rainfall in the east and below average rainfall in the west from the beginning of the year until late autumn, and then returning in spring. A small area of the Western District had its lowest annual rainfall on record since 1900 and parts of the East Coast District had their highest annual rainfall on record.
While overall 2022 was much drier than average for western Tasmania, the area had above average rainfall in May, June, August and November.
The highest daily rainfall recorded in Tasmania during 2022 was 291.2 mm at Gray on 7 January, a new January daily rainfall record for the state, when a low pressure trough and cold front brought very heavy rainfall to eastern Tasmania.
Some sites had their highest daily rainfall on record on either 6 May, when thunderstorms with heavy rain, lightning, and strong winds hit southern Tasmania, or 14 October, when a slow-moving rain band brought heavy rainfall across northern Tasmania.
Some sites had their highest total rainfall on record and others their highest total rainfall for at least 20 years.
The maximum temperature for Tasmania as a whole for 2022 was 0.67 °C above the 1961–1990 average, the equal-10th warmest on record since 1910, and the highest since 2018. January, March, April and August all ranked in the top ten warmest maximum temperatures for their respective months.
For Tasmania overall, January 2022’s minimum temperature was the warmest on record for January (since 1910) and April’s mean minimum temperature was equal tenth warmest.
A few sites had their highest daily maximum temperature on record, including Cape Sorell with 80 years of record. Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse, with 85 years of data, and Wynyard Airport had their highest daily minimum temperature on record. A few sites including Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse, had their highest temperature on record.
Total rainfall for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 700.0 mm, which is 114% of the long-term average of 612.8 mm.
The daily maximum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 17.5 °C, which is 0.5 °C above the long-term average of 17.0 °C. The warmest day was 31.5 °C on 27 December, and the coolest day was on 18 July when the temperature reached 7.3 °C. The daily minimum temperature for Hobart (Ellerslie Road) was 9.2 °C, which is 0.8 °C above the long-term average of 8.4 °C. The coldest morning was 0.9 °C on 21 August, and the warmest morning was on 28 January when the minimum temperature was 20.7 °C.
