Australia's Coolest State (Tasmania) Hits 105.4F In Hobart; Hottest December Day On Record

[hatrack]

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Temperatures soared on Monday in Australia’s normally icy cool state of Tasmania, the country’s closest point to the South Pole, reaching more than double the summer average with hot air blowing in from a scorching mainland. The mercury in the state’s capital Hobart hit 40.8 degrees Celsius (105.4 Fahrenheit), which would make it the city’s hottest December day on record, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The unusual summer temperatures, even in the country’s coldest places, stem from the extreme conditions that have stoked one of Australia’s worst bush fire seasons. “The reason it’s getting this hot in Tasmania is we’ve got quite strong northerly winds bringing that hot air down from the mainland,” said meteorologist Luke Johnston.

The temperature on Monday was double the average summer level of 20 degrees for Hobart and even topped temperatures in the country’s tropical north.

At midday, a sharp wind change drove Hobart’s temperature up by 8 degrees within just 10 minutes, with the threat of lightning prompting fire danger alerts from the state’s fire service.

EDIT

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-heatwave-tasmania/australias-antarctic-gateway-tasmania-gets-hotter-than-tropical-north-idUSKBN1YY07W

[roamer65]

1. As Australia goes, so will go the Northern Hemisphere.

Last edited Mon Dec 30, 2019, 10:04 PM - Edit history (1)

We are about a week away from our closest yearly approach to the Sun. This news reaffirms Australia is about 10 years ahead of us up north.

[Mickju]

2. That is absolutely unbelievable for Hobart!

We are fucked.

[progree]

3. Hobart is 42.9 degrees south latitude, same as Milwaukee and the northern border of Nebraska

ditto Syracuse and Rochester, NY (except those are all 43 degrees North of course). Hobart is closer to the equator than the South Pole. So anyway, it's not like the Antarctica Peninsula bats it every time the globe spins. (I kind of thought it might be close to Antarctica before I looked into it).

No doubt the vast ocean around it on 3 sides keeps temperatures moderated compared to middle-of-big-land-mass at equivalent latitudes elsewhere, and so that's why 40.8 degrees Celsius (105.4 Fahrenheit) is such an unusually high temperature for them in December (their solar equivalent of the N. Hemisphere's June ... just watching and waiting for their next two months which is their solar equivalent to N. Hemisphere's July and August)