North Queensland winter forecast: Largely dry and warmer
North Queenslanders can bank on largely dry and warmer temperatures over the peak winter tourism season but are in for a shock this weekend.
Townsville
Don't miss out on the headlines from Townsville. Followed categories will be added to My News.
North Queenslanders and visitors to the stunning region can bank on largely dry and warmer temperatures over the peak winter tourism season but are in for a shock this weekend.
“There’s no strong indication towards a wetter or dryer winter for much of southern, western and eastern Queensland,” the Bureau of Meteorology says.
“Some areas of the state may have above average rainfall, including the north tropical coast and parts of the … south-west.”
A BOM spokesman said above-average rainfall was expected for North Queensland.
“However, it’s the dry season for this region, so this area typically has very low rainfall in winter.”
He said most of eastern Queensland typically received 50mm to 200mm of rain, decreasing to less than 10mm in the north-west of the state.
“Queensland is very likely to have higher than normal temperatures for this time of year.”
Despite the sunny outlook, overnight temperatures in Townsville are set to plummet to an overnight low of 13 degrees on Friday and just 12 degrees on both Saturday and Sunday.
In Ingham, nightly temperatures are set to drop to just 10 degrees over the weekend, with Ayr hitting overnight lows of 9 degrees.
Charters Towers will also record lows in the single digits, dropping to just 6 degrees overnight Saturday and Sunday.
BOM said autumn had been warmer than usual for much of Australia, with the mean temperature around 0.5 °C above the 1961–1990 average.
“Each state and territory recorded above average mean temperatures, besides the Northern Territory which was around 0.4 °C cooler than usual,” it says.
“Winter days and nights are very likely to be warmer than average across Australia, with a high chance of both days and nights being in the highest 20 per cent of historical temperatures.”
BOM notes that its long-range forecasts are not set in stone and carry “a degree of uncertainty”. “They are updated regularly to reflect the latest forecast.”
More Coverage
Originally published as North Queensland winter forecast: Largely dry and warmer
Airline ‘abandons’ injured 8yo at outback airport
An injured child needing surgery in Townsville was left “abandoned” at a regional hospital after the Qantas flight departed 20 minutes early, his father alleges.
‘I have a knife’: Murder accused returns to trial
A woman accused of killing her friend after finding out she had been messaging her boyfriend has pleaded not guilty in court alongside the man alleged to have helped try and cover it up.