Cairns weather: Far Northerners to enjoy a near perfect weekend
A perfect weekend is upon the Far North after a week long cold spell as residents are encouraged to get out there and enjoy the beautiful weather (while it lasts).
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UPDATE JULY 8: A NEAR perfect weekend is upon the Far North as residents are encouraged to get out there and enjoy the beautiful weather.
Harry Clark, senior meteorologist of the Bureau of Meteorology, said the weekend will follow in Friday’s path with warm temperatures and no rainfall.
The weekend will have partly cloudy weather which is not to take away from the near perfect temperatures. Saturday will have a minimum temperature of 17 and a maximum 26 while Sunday’s minimum is 18 with a maximum of 25 degrees.
“It’s certainly a return to normal,” Mr Clark said.
“It’s virtually bang on the July average for the weekend.”
With essentially no rainfall across the Far North with the exception of Torres Strait which will have a few showers, Mr Clark said “a fairly big high (of temperatures) is sitting over the country.”
“It’s pretty perfect weather for Cairns,” he said.
“It’s time to get out there and enjoy the weather.”
UPDATE JULY 7: TEMPERATURES return to averages in the Far North as residents can head back into the outdoors after an unseasonable cold and wet spell.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Steven Hadley said the Far North has finally shook off the last of the cold weather on Wednesday.
BOM’s forecast for Thursday revealed Cairns will have a maximum of 25 degrees and a minimum of 16 degrees which is just off the July averages of 17 and 26 degrees.
“Cairns and FNQ is all set for a lovely seven days from Thursday right through until middle of next week,” Mr Hadley said.
While the sun is shining on Cairns and FNQ on Thursday, Mr Hadley said the weather set to increase with every day.
“There’s no sign of cold weather returning.”
The Far North cozied up during one of the coldest days in decades with July 5 bringing the coldest minimum temperature of 15 degrees and decades long records broken in Mareeba of 18.1 degrees, South Johnstone of 16.2 degrees and Cardwell 16 degrees.
Cairns broke its rainfall average for July of 31mm by almost twice the amount with 75mm on July 5.
Despite temperatures returning to a dry season normal, Mr Hadley warned of the showers we experienced.
“The wetter weather was in line with what we can be seeing throughout the rest of the season,” he said.
UPDATE JULY 6: FAR Northerners can again reach for their bikinis and boardshorts with the paradisiacal conditions synonymous with the tropical north set to return in the coming days.
Cairns has shivered through one of its coldest stretches in two decades this week, with lows averaging around 17C since Sunday, akin to freezing temperatures against the usually balmy climate the city enjoys.
Bureau of Meteorology duty meteorologist Helen Reid said blue skies and sunshine was forecast from today onwards despite another chilly morning on Wednesday.
“We had some chilly temperatures (overnight and this morning) at around 15C, but already today we have managed to eclipse that,” she said.
“We are getting up to 22C at the moment and are looking at getting up to 25C today.
“Now that we have got the sunshine returning, we are expecting those numbers to be back in the mid 20s for the next few days.”
Unseasonal rain – with Cairns getting 94mm overnight on Monday – combined with a low cloud band contributed to the cooler conditions.
There is virtually no rain predicted until at least Saturday with a near perfect day expected on Thursday with a top of 25C.
“The sun won’t just poke its head out, I think we will be seeing pretty close to clear blue skies tomorrow,” Ms Reid said.
“It is going to be a nice few days to recover from the shock of actually having some rain in the winter.
“The rain process also added to the chilly factor. It was certainly unusual.”
Meanwhile Mareeba and South Johnstone both broke previous annual records dating back to 2014 and 1968 and Low Isles, off Port Douglas, broke its record for coldest July day this week.
Far North temperature records broken on July 5
Mareeba 18.1C / 18.4C on June 15, 2014
July temperature records
Low Isles lighthouse 20.5C / 21.1C on July 24, 1968
EARLIER: The rare cold snap being experienced by Cairns and much of the Far North is expected to lift on Wednesday when the cloud cover begins to disappear. The city shivered through another rare chill on Tuesday with the mercury dropping to 17C, however forecasters believe the worst of the strange weather is behind the region.
Much of the Far North was between three and four degrees below the average on Tuesday caused by a cloud band running down the east coast that is “exacerbating the effect of the cold air,” according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Port Douglas also dropped to as low as 18C.
Cairns is expecting a top of 25C on Wednesday.
“It was significantly colder and you are still looking at it being very chilly,” said BOM forecaster Helen Reid.
“As we head into tomorrow (Wednesday) it should be the last of the real chilly days, and you should start to get back to more normal cooler temperatures.”
Heavy rainfall was recorded near Cairns overnight on Tuesday with a total of 94mm falling.
Wharf One Cafe staffer Olivia Sullivan said she was looking forward to a rise in temperatures.
“Most of our staff right were actually wearing jumpers,” she said on Tuesday.
There is only a five per cent chance of rain in Cairns on Wednesday.
A northwest cloud band is extending from the Far North into NSW, bringing widespread rain and unseasonly cold condition across much of the state.
The weather system, which is linked to the Indian Ocean, is “unusual” according to the Bureau of Meteorology as they do not normally extend as far north as Cairns and Cooktown.
“At the moment there is a double whammy of the cold air and the cloud cover,” Ms Reid said.
“Tomorrow that cloud cover will migrate a little further afield.”
Senior meteorologist Harry Clark said, “Monday was probably the worst” of the cold snap.
“Tuesday will be another cold day; it’s not going to get worse but it’s probably not going to get much better till Wednesday.”
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