ONE YEAR ON ... Floods give way to record dry

WHAT a difference a year can make. The Bureau of Meteorology says Hobart has just broken the record for the driest start to winter in more than 120 years.

The record is in stark contrast to last June, when devastating floods ripped through parts of the state and Hobart had 115.4mm of rain during the month — almost 88mm of which fell in the first half of the month.

A 17-day dry streak was broken when rain hit the ground early Sunday morning in Hobart.

“For June that was a record — 17 days without measured rain in Hobart and that’s right back to the start of records which began in 1893,” Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Glen Perrin said.

“We’re expecting a small amount of rain on Tuesday, with an evening cold front coming through and another on Friday.

“With that cold front coming through, we’re going to see temperatures drop a little for Tuesday into Wednesday and Friday into Saturday, but otherwise for the surrounding days, the temperatures are still going to be a few degrees above average.”

Tourist Aurora Arlington-Hogwood is visiting Hobart from Sydney with friend Kelli Horne during the university semester break and said she was surprised by the mild conditions.

“When I’ve been down here in winter in the past I’ve been freezing so I was all rugged up and when I got off the plane it was the same as it was in Sydney, so I had to take off my jacket and scarf,” she said.