Frost, potential showers as school holidays kick off with mild weather

Temperatures have plunged across southern Queensland for the first day of the school holidays, with an apparent temperature of -1.7C recorded on the Granite Belt.

Temperatures have dropped into single digits across Queensland.

Southern Queensland has had a taste of winter this morning, with widespread frost and temperatures plunging with one centre recording an apparent temperature of -1.7C.

Figures from the Bureau of Meteorology show temperatures dropping into single figures across southern parts of the state, including Applethorpe which was 1.1C just after 6am, but felt like -1.7C. At the same time it was 2C in Roma, but felt like -1C.

In the southeast, the temperature dropped to 6.7C at Gatton, 9.5C at Beerburrum in the Sunshine Coast hinterland and 7.6C at Canungra.

In Brisbane, the temperature dropped to 12.9C but was colder at Brisbane airport.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Shane Kennedy said temperatures in southwest Queensland were as cold as those experienced in mid-August.

“It has been unusually cool this morning, certainly cold enough to see some frost,” he said.

“It is also quite likely we will see frost over the next couple of mornings across the Granite Belt and across the Darling Downs region.

“It wasn’t as cold closer to the city but places like Redcliffe and Brisbane Airport saw their coldest morning in four or five weeks.”

He said a high-pressure system from the south was responsible for the chillier temperatures this morning.

“That is going to push cold air from the southern nation up across Southeast Australia into southern Queensland,” Mr Kennedy said.

“The strength and size of that high-pressure system and have been in the right place to push that cold air.

“So it can be a bit of a variable month overall because even though it’s starting to heat up over northern Australia, it’s still quite cool in the southern nation.”

But those cooler temperatures won’t stay for long with Mr Kennedy stating the state is set to warm up towards the tail-end of the week.

“On Thursday, as that wind swings around more to the North, it will start to bring in some hotter air from Central Queensland, taking it up to the 30-degree mark,” he said.

Boaties will be better waiting until the weekend to head out on the water, with a south easterly wind surge to make it’s way up the coast by midweek.

Strong winds and warm temperatures are behind a high fire danger for the southwest of the state around Birdsville and the Channel Country over the next couple of days.

The second week of the school holidays is expected to be more of the same mild weather, however a trough pushing through in the back half of the week may see an increase in showers.

“The trough doesn’t look like it’ll bring any significant weather, but we’re still a bit far away to tell,” Mr Kennedy said.

“At a minimum there will likely be more clouds, and whether it’ll bring any significant rainfall, it’s too early to say.

Strong wind warnings were in place for Sunday for the Peninsula Coast, Cooktown Coast, K’gari Coast, Sunshine Coast Waters, Moreton Bay and Gold Coast Waters.

On Monday there is a strong wind warning for the Torres Strait, Peninsula Coast, Cooktown Coast, Cairns Coast, Townsville Coast, Mackay Coast, Capricornia Coast, Hervey Bay, K’gari Coast, Sunshine Coast Waters, Moreton Bay and Gold Coast Waters.

It comes as wild winds lash NSW, with one woman killed on Sunday after a tree branch fell on her in Sydney’s southwest.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a damaging wind warning for swathes of coastal NSW, from Narooma on the south coast to as far north as Foster.

A marine wind warnings was also on place for the East Gippsland coast in Victoria, with gale force winds being forecast.

Strong winds were also expected along the central coast, with the far west and upper west coasts of South Australia were also impacted.

Gale force winds were being forecast for much of Tasmania’s coastline.