Temperatures drop to record lows this week as icy cold front blasts Australia
If you thought it was cold this morning, then prepare for worse to come with one Aussie capital to drop to minus 4C.
Environment
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Yes, the air definitely did feel colder than usual this morning.
An icy blast has sent temperatures plummeting across Australia’s southern regions, with experts warning residents to dig up their winter woollies as cold temperatures settle in this week.
Temperatures dropped at the weekend, with the eastern interior and southwest parts of the country particularly chilly thanks to light winds and clear skies.
The cold conditions brought welcome snow to alpine areas, and meant regions across Western Australia, Queensland, NSW and even the ever-toasty Northern Territory recorded its lowest minimum temperatures for June in years.
And meteorologists say Australians can expect to see more of the icy conditions in the week ahead – with Canberra forecast to reach as low as -4 degrees Celsius by midweek.
“This is driven by the cold front down the southeast,” Sky News Australia meteorologist Bradlyn Oakes said.
She said it was a chilly morning for a “large portion of the country, really stretching from west to east”, which is expected to repeat – and intensify – as the week goes on.
“More and more cold does build in as more high pressure builds behind that cold front through the coming days,” Ms Oakes said.
“Tuesday and Wednesday morning in particular looking very, very chilly out there. And it was already a chilly morning this morning, with areas of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania all dropping below freezing.”
The coldest place to wake up in Australia on Monday morning was Richmond, an hour northwest of Sydney, where temperatures fell to -6.4ºC, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
More than 30 weather stations across NSW recorded temperatures below freezing on Monday morning – many of them throughout the Central Tablelands.
In Victoria, temperatures at Falls Creek dropped as low as -3.1ºC on Monday morning, and the nearby Mount Buller ski resort dropped to -2.6ºC. Tasmania’s Mount Wellington shivered through a -3.8ºC start to the week.
The weather station at Oakey, 28km northwest of Toowomba in Queensland, recorded the lowest temperature in the state on Monday morning, dropping to -2.1ºC degrees. Oakey was also the coldest place to be on Friday morning, with the temperature reaching -4.0ºC, Queensland’s lowest June temperature since 2019.
And looking ahead, Ms Oakes warns, southeast Australia looks set to record even more of its coldest mornings of the year as the cold front pushes through, bringing showers and gusty conditions with it.
“So cold temperatures as we head through the next couple of days,” she said. “Showery conditions already out there, but as this cold front does pushes through its going to bring more and more wet weather as well as cold temperatures.”
And Canberra is set to bear the brunt of it, looking mostly cloudy and with temperatures hovering barely over 10ºC for most of the week. The forecast minimums, though are to be freezing – the nation’s capital set to hit -3ºC on Tuesday, -4ºC on Wednesday -1 on Thursday, and 0ºC for the weekend.
Sydney will see a cold week, with temperatures hovering between 16ºC and 18ºC for the duration, and a chance of rain on Thursday and Friday. The western suburbs are set for similar daily highs, but colder nights – dropping as low as 1ºC in Penrith on Wednesday.
Melbourne is colder, with rain expected for most of the week, and temperatures at 12ºC for most of the week – a high of 15ºC on Sunday.
Hobart will be overcast with possible showers, with temperatures fluctuating a few degrees above 12ºC throughout the week.
Adelaide will be mild throughout the week – between 14ºC and 16ºC – with a chance of showers.
Perth is also expected to see showers for most, if not all, of the week, with temperatures in the mid-to-high teens – 17ºC for most of the week.
The showers look like they will miss Brisbane, which is set for sunny skies throughout the week, with temperatures sitting in the low to mid-20s; getting as high as 24ºC on Friday.
And Darwin’s dry season is well and truly in full swing, with temperatures in the low-30s and cloudy conditions for most of the week.
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