Tasmania, as a relatively small island, is said to enjoy a
maritime climate. By that is meant a climate that doesn’t manifest extremes of
heat or cold. However, though there are four seasons here, wintery conditions
have occurred in every month of the year. If you want to walk the Overland Track
you’re advised to pack for all possible weathers, regardless of the time of
year.
The truth is the weather here is wildly changeable and may
shift several times within a day. We wake, say, to cloud, the Derwent silver,
but within an hour the sun has broken through and the river shines blue. A
little later rain and cloud sweep back in, then blow past, leaving a rainbow to
mark their visit as the sun comes out. Clouds turn up again, their shadows
patching Mount Nelson, but a few rays of late sunlight poke through and, like
spotlights, illuminate a length of street or flare from windows in two or three
houses.
Here are some images to suggest the range of weathers I’ve
watched.
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| A view of downtown Hobart and the Derwent from Knocklofty |
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| Late sunlight on yachts at Sandy Bay |
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| Fog bank rolling along Mount Nelson and over the Derwent |
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| An afternoon storm blowing in |
I understand this changeableness is largely a result of the
‘Roaring Forties’, a system of westerly winds that blow between the southern
latitudes of 40 and 50 degrees. Take a look at a map and you’ll see there’s
little land in that area of the globe, nothing to slow the winds as they gust
along and bang into Tasmania. In researching them I’ve learned a fact that
makes my head spin: the surface of the Earth (also spinning, but on its axis)
travels at different speeds depending on the latitude. I find this hard to
think about, but an excellent description of the winds and this particular
truth can be found at
http://www.abc.net/science/articles/2007/09/20/2038604.htm
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| Mackerel sky at evening |
Climate and weather make news these days. Sunday
evening SBS (Special Broadcasting Services) reported as news a series of stories about weather and weather disasters—floods in
Eucador and Bolivia, storms that have washed away rail lines along the coast of
Cornwall, high winds in Victoria (the Australian state) sweeping bushfires into
some Melbourne suburbs, yet more snow and blizzard conditions predicted for
Washington DC and Toronto.
We in Hobart were primed for thinking about weather’s power. We’d watched a brilliantly bright and hot day (34 degrees at midday) at
2:30 turn swiftly dull, deliver a scattering of raindrops followed by terrific winds
blowing great veils of rain along the hillsides. The storm lasted only 45
minutes, but was so fierce it caused the cancellation of the Hobart Cup horse race
for the first time in its history, as well as some events in the Royal Hobart
Regatta. Hydro poles blew over and falling trees took out power lines,
leaving about 60,000 properties powerless. A few caravans (trailers) were
sent flying but the worst disaster was a tree that fell onto a truck and killed
its driver.
The winds in Hobart, gusting at 130km/h, were the most
powerful ever recorded in the city. At the top of Mt. Wellington winds were clocked at 156km/h—the most powerful in the state.
For those of you in the northern hemisphere, envious
(especially this winter in Toronto) of the climate and weather I’m enjoying
here, I’ll complicate the picture by noting that, with summer heat and high
winds, even Tasmania is subject to fire. Though this state is not as dry as much
of the mainland, Hobart is the second driest capital city in the country. So
far this year I think we’ve had four days of a complete fire ban in this part
of the state, three bushfires that have been pretty quickly contained, and two
days when we could either see or smell the smoke.
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| Smoke over Hobart |
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