Townsville to shiver as cold mass of air moves, says Meteorologist Livio Regano

Meteorologist Livio Regano says it’s time to pull out the trackie dacks and jumpers as a cold mass of air pushes into the North. FULL FORECAST.

North Queenslanders are set to freeze their tropical toes off this week as a cold mass of air pushes into the region.

Residents woke up to start their working week on Monday to a cool change, with the mercury hitting 18.7 degrees.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the week is set to get even colder with predicted temperatures to get drop as the week goes on.

“We’ve got a colder air mass pushing north pretty quickly now, so over the next few mornings, I think we will be dropping down to at least 15,” said meteorologist Livio Regano.

“And probably 13 by the end of the week.”

According to BOM statistics, July is the coldest month in Townsville, with a mean maximum temperature of 25.2, and a mean minimum temperature of 13.8.

Though it is not unusual for the temperature to get into single digits in the city during winter, with the lowest temperature recorded in 2024 being 6.8 degrees on July 20.

“It is not unusual at all,” said Mr Regano.

“It’s not unusual for inland areas to get frost sometimes, even going all the way up to the Goldfields.”

To get cooler weather in tropical North Queensland, it all comes down to wind direction.

Mr Regano said to get cold in the tropics, the air needs to come from down south, and needs to get here as quickly as possible before it gets the chance to warm up in the sun.

“That’s essentially what’s happened now, we’ve got a strong wind from the south, it’s a wind that comes from a cold latitude, even though it’s not that strong by the time it gets up here,” he said.

“When we have those southerly outbreaks like we’ve got now, like we will be getting over the next few days, that’s when we get temperatures at least at night that are quite similar to what they can be across the border in New South Wales.”

With the temperature dropping as winter goes on, no doubt people would be reaching for jumpers to keep warm.

“They’re (jumpers) probably dusty and full of mouth holes,” Mr Regano said.

“When I lived up there, very often in my night shifts I’d take an extra pair of trackie dacks just because I knew that by the time I left it was going to be too cold to walk around in shorts.”

Originally published as Townsville to shiver as cold mass of air moves, says Meteorologist Livio Regano