Climate of Tasmania
The highest recorded maximum temperature in Tasmania is 42.2 °C (108.0 °F) at Scamander on 30 January 2009, during the 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave.
[5] It is worth noting that the eastern portion features relatively drier weather than on the west side because of the föhn wind effect created by the Central Highlands in the Great Dividing Range, thereby elevating fire danger in the region.
[6] The wettest part of the State is the west coast, where there is a strong winter maximum in rainfall: January and February typically averages only one-third the rainfall of July and August, though even in the driest months rain usually falls on every second day and the number of rainy days per year is much greater than on any part of the Australian mainland.
The eastern part of Tasmania has rainfall more evenly distributed throughout the year than in the west, and most months receive very similar averages.
The Tasmanian highlands are much cooler, with Liawenee, located on the Central Plateau, one of the coldest places in Australia with temperatures in February ranging between 4 °C (39 °F) to 17 °C (63 °F).
Winter maximums range from 12 °C (54 °F) along the coast, to 3 °C (37 °F) on the Central Plateau, thanks to frequent cold fronts from the Southern Ocean.
Elevated, inland areas can however drop below −10 °C (14 °F) during clear nights between fronts, while during snowy weather the maximum temperature may not rise above 0 °C (32 °F).
Spring is the windiest time of the year with afternoon sea breezes starting to take effect on the coast.
[21] Due to its inland location, Ouse has relatively warm summers and cool winters with a high diurnal range and low precipitation throughout the months.
Queenstown has a very wet climate, and is one of the wettest locations in Tasmania with an annual average rainfall of 2408.2 mm (94.8 in), spread throughout the year.
Owing to its high altitude location on the Central Plateau of Tasmania, Liawenee is one of the few places in Australia with a subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen Cfc, bordering on very rare cold-summer mediterranean Csc).
