Qld weather: Cold snap continues with apparent temperature falling to -5.6C in Applethorpe

Queensland continues to shiver through the latest brutal cold spell sweeping the state, with locals in one town waking to temperatures that feel like -5.6C, while new long-term predictions show the rest of winter will continue to be cold.

Queensland continues to shiver through the latest brutal cold spell sweeping the state, with locals in Applethorpe in the Granite Belt waking to temperatures that feel like -5.6C as the mercury plunges below zero in multiple regions.

it comes as new long-term forecasts show the southeast is expected to endure a cold remainder of winter, too.

Most of the coldest temperatures were once again to the west of Brisbane, with Wellcamp, Warwick and Oakey all below freezing.

It’s been another frosty morning for large parts of Queensland, as the high-pressure system carrying dry and chilly winds continues to travel across the state.

Darling Downs and the Granite Belt are seeing the coolest temperatures, with Applethorpe as low as -3.2C, where wind and moisture in the air mean the apparent, or “feels like” temperature is a chilly -5.6. In Oakey, the mercury dropped to -2.1C with an apparent temperature is actually more like -5.6C. While in Warwick, -2.2C feels more like -5.2C.

Further West, Roma dropped to -0.8C, with a “feels like” temperature of -3.9C.

Urandangi and Clermont just escaped negatives on the mercury, but the apparent temperature of those areas fell to -0.9C and -0.4 respectively.

Closer to the coast, it was significantly warmer, however, with Brisbane making it down to 8.2C, while Coolangatta on the Gold Coast was 9.1C and Nambour on the Sunshine Coast hit 7.9C.

The cooler temperatures are expected to stick around until Sunday. But the low-pressure system bringing warmer mornings will likely mean some rain, so prepare for some wet weather.

The cold snap is expected to end by Sunday, as the high pressure system moves offshore, but new longer-term predictions by the Bureau of Meteorology show the rest of winter will likely be a cold one in the Southeast.

Predictions show southern parts of the state are expecting a cooler than average August. In contrast, northern Queensland will likely see a warmer end to the season than usual.

More wet weather is also on the cards. The Bureau says the continued El Nino effect is expected to bring above average rainfall across the entire state – and most of Australia – between August and October.