This report describes the typical weather at the Melbourne Airport (Melbourne, Australia) weather station over the course of an average April. It is based on the historical records from 1986 to 2012. Earlier records are either unavailable or unreliable.
Melbourne has a mild humid temperate climate with warm summers and no dry season. The area within 25 mi of this station is covered by croplands (50%), built-up areas (18%), forests (17%), grasslands (8%), and oceans and seas (8%).
The month of April is characterized by falling daily high temperatures, with daily highs decreasing from 71°F to 65°F over the course of the month, exceeding 81°F or dropping below 58°F only one day in ten.
Over the course of April, the length of the day is decreasing. From the start to the end of the month, the length of the day decreases by 1:05 hours, implying an average day-over-day decrease of 2.2 minutes.
The shortest day of the month is April 30 with 10:35 hours of daylight; the longest day is April 1 with 11:39 hours of daylight.
The earliest sunrise is at 6:34am on April 1; the latest sunset is at 6:14pm on April 1; the latest sunrise is at 7:00am on April 30; the earliest sunset is at 5:35pm on April 30.
Daylight savings time (DST) ends at 2:00am on April 1, 2012, shifting sunrise and sunset to an hour earlier.
The median cloud cover ranges from 72% (partly cloudy) to 77% (partly cloudy). The trend is for the sky to be becoming cloudier with the median cloud cover increasing by 5% from the start to the end of the month.
On April 15, a representative day, the sky is clear or mostly clear 23% of the time, partly cloudy 20% of the time, and mostly cloudy or overcast 40% of the time.
The average probability that some form of precipitation will be observed in a given day is 47%, with little variation over the course of the month.
Throughout April, the most common forms of precipitation are moderate rain, light rain, and drizzle.
Moderate rain is the most severe precipitation observed during 43% of those days with precipitation. It is most likely around April 28, when it is observed during 22% of all days.
Light rain is the most severe precipitation observed during 32% of those days with precipitation. It is most likely around April 30, when it is observed during 17% of all days.
Drizzle is the most severe precipitation observed during 17% of those days with precipitation. It is most likely around April 13, when it is observed during 9% of all days.
Either snow is exceptionally unlikely to fall at this location in April or this station does not reliably report precipitation types.
The relative humidity typically ranges from 42% (comfortable) to 92% (very humid) over the course of a typical April, rarely dropping below 25% (dry) and reaching as high as 100% (very humid).
The air is driest around April 1, at which time the relative humidity drops below 51% (mildly humid) three days out of four; it is most humid around April 25, rising above 88% (very humid) three days out of four.
Dew point is often a better measure of how comfortable a person will find the weather than relative humidity because it more directly relates to whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid.
Over the course of a typical April, the dew point typically varies from 42°F (dry) to 54°F (very comfortable) and is rarely below 35°F (dry) or above 59°F (comfortable).
The time of the month between April 1 and April 30 is the most comfortable, with dew points that are neither too dry nor too muggy.
Over the course of April typical wind speeds vary from 2 mph to 17 mph (light air to moderate breeze), rarely exceeding 27 mph (strong breeze).
The highest average wind speed of 10 mph (gentle breeze) occurs around April 16, at which time the average daily maximum wind speed is 17 mph (moderate breeze).
The lowest average wind speed of 10 mph (gentle breeze) occurs around April 26, at which time the average daily maximum wind speed is 16 mph (moderate breeze).