Climate of Melbourne
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Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria and the second most populous city in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
(most populous in urban area), has a temperate
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
( Köppen climate classification ''Cfb'') and is well known for its changeable weather conditions. This is mainly due to Melbourne's geographical location. This temperature differential is most pronounced in the spring and summer months and can cause strong cold fronts to form. These cold fronts can be responsible for all sorts of severe weather from gales to severe thunderstorms and hail, minor temperature drops, and heavy rain. The city experiences little humidity in summer, except at the end of hot spells following thunderstorms and rain.


Overview

The shallow and enclosed Port Phillip Bay is often warmer than the surrounding landmass and the oceanic waters of the
Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...
, particularly in spring and autumn; this can set up a "bay effect" similar to the lake effect seen in colder regions, where
shower A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor. Most showers have temperature, spray pressure and adjustable showerhead nozzle. The simplest showers have a ...
s are intensified leeward of the bay. Relatively narrow streams of heavy showers can often affect the same places (usually in the southeastern suburbs) for an extended period, while the rest of Melbourne and surrounding suburbs stays dry. Overall, Melbourne is, owing to the
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...
ing by the
Otway Ranges The Great Otway National Park is a national park located in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately southwest of Melbourne, in the Otway Ranges, a low coastal mountain range. It conta ...
, nonetheless drier than average for southern Victoria. Within the city and surrounds, however, rainfall varies widely, from around on the western fringe at Little River to on the eastern fringe at
Gembrook Gembrook is a town in Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Cardinia local government area. Gembrook recorded a population of 2,559 at the 2021 census. Gembrook is a popular ...
. Despite its relative dryness, Melbourne has 139 days of rain per year on the 0.2mm threshold, meaning that its precipitation commonly falls as drizzles or as light showers (which frequently occur in the winter months), rather than heavy downpours (such as those generally experienced in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Brisbane and Perth). The city receives only 48.6 clear days annually, making it the cloudiest capital city in Australia, and it has 180 overcast days annually, with 54 more cloudy days than Queenscliff to the south of the city, and 19 more than
Mount Buller Mount Buller is primarily a resort town on the slopes of Mount Buller in the Shire of Mansfield of the Australian state of Victoria. It is located approximately northeast of Melbourne. It is popular with snowsports enthusiasts in winter due t ...
to the north. In comparison, Brisbane has 42 cloudy days annually, Sydney 134 and
Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
174. According to the Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Terry Ryan, the excess cloud cover is caused by a meteorological phenomenon known as "
anticyclonic An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined as a large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from abov ...
gloom", where high-pressure systems in winter to the city's north and west conjure a layer of warm air at a high altitude, which holds moisture from
Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...
. The cloudiest month in Melbourne is May, with an average of 18 cloudy days, followed by July, June and August, respectively. Melbourne is also prone to isolated convective showers forming when a cold pool crosses the state, especially if there is considerable daytime heating. These showers are often heavy and can contain
hail Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...
s and squalls and significant drops in temperature, but they pass through very quickly at times with a rapid clearing trend to sunny and relatively calm weather and the temperature rising back to what it was before the shower. This often occurs in the space of minutes and can be repeated many times in a day, giving Melbourne a reputation for having "four seasons in one day", a phrase that is part of a local popular culture and familiar to many visitors to the city. Dewpoint temperatures in the summer range from to . Recorded extremes (From Melbourne Regional Office): *Hottest temperature: , 7 February 2009 *Coldest temperature: , 21 July 1869 *Hottest Minimum: , 1 February 1902 *Coldest Maximum: , 4 July 1901 *Wettest month: , February 1972 *Wettest 24 hours: , 3 February 2005


Summer

Melbourne summers are notable for occasional days of extreme heat, which have increased in frequency since 2005. This occurs when the synoptic pattern is conducive to the transportation of very hot air from central Australia over to the south-east corner of the continent. The inland deserts of Australia are amongst the hottest areas on earth, particularly the inland parts of north-west Australia. Every summer, intense heat builds starting in the Pilbara district of Western Australia around October/November and spreading widely over the tropical and subtropical inland parts of the continent by January. In the summer months, the southern part of the continent straddles the westerly wind belt to the south and the subtropical high-pressure ridge to the north. The intense heat buildup occurs where high pressure is highly dominant in the upper levels of the atmosphere over the tropics and subtropics of Australia in summer allowing for a huge area of stable atmospheric conditions to predominate. On occasion, a strong cold front will develop in summer and bring the westerlies further north than their mean summer position. On these occasions, north-west winds will develop ahead of the cold front's passage and sometimes these can be very strong, even gale force. When this occurs the hot air from the inland is dragged right down over south-east Australia, occasionally even as far as southern Tasmania. As this air mass is carried entirely over the continental land mass it remains unmodified, i.e. it does not pick up additional moisture from a body of water and retains most if not all of its heat. On these occasions, the normally temperate parts of southern Victoria, including Melbourne, can experience the full fury of the desert climate albeit only briefly as the cold front responsible usually passes through relatively quickly afterwards allowing cool southerly winds from the southern ocean to replace the hot desert air. The highest temperature recorded in Melbourne city was , on 7 February 2009.


Winter

Winters in Melbourne are cool with moderate rainfall. The lowest temperature on record is , on 21 July 1869. On 25 July 1986, snow fell in the city, which caused air traffic delays of up to four hours.


Climate statistics


See also

* Climate of Australia *
Geography of Melbourne Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, Australia, is situated on the southeastern fringe of the Australian landmass and in the southern central part of the state. Melbourne covers an urbanised area (generally excluding nearby rural areas) of ...
*
Environment of Australia The Australian environment ranges from virtually pristine Antarctic territory and rainforests to degraded industrial areas of major cities. Forty distinct ecoregions have been identified across the Australian mainland and islands. Central Aus ...
* Extreme weather events in Melbourne *
Climate change in Australia Climate change in Australia has been a critical issue since the beginning of the 21st century. Australia is becoming hotter and more prone to extreme heat, bushfires, droughts, floods, and longer fire seasons because of climate change. Since th ...
*
Effects of global warming on Australia Climate change in Australia has been a critical issue since the beginning of the 21st century. Australia is becoming hotter and more prone to extreme heat, bushfires, droughts, floods, and longer fire seasons because of climate change. Since th ...
*
Effects of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation in Australia Effects of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation in Australia is present across most of Australia, particularly the north and the east, and is one of the main climate drivers of the country. Associated with seasonal abnormality in many areas in th ...


References


External links


VIC and Melbourne monthly climate summary archive

VIC and Melbourne seasonal climate summary archive

VIC & Melbourne annual climate summary archive

Special Climate Statements
{{Australian climate Melbourne Melbourne