Record cold snap for Sydney as freezing nights hang around over the weekend

Sydney has shivered through a record-breaking cold snap, and the frosty mornings look set to continue across eastern Australia.

A record-breaking cold snap sweeping across eastern Australia looks set to hang around over the weekend.

Sydney has recorded its coldest run of May nights in 54 years after the minimum temperature again dipped to below 9C on Thursday morning to a chilly 8.6C.

Not since 1967 has Sydney experienced a colder streak in May when the temperature fell below 9C for six nights in a row.

The temperature in eastern Australia will drop again on Friday morning, but Sydneysiders will get a reprieve from the frosty mornings with some cloud cover set to keep the minimum forecast in double digits.

Melbourne won’t be quite so lucky with the temperature set to fall to 7C on both Friday and Saturday, while Canberra will shiver through 0-2C until Sunday.

Sydney has shivered through five straight mornings at or below 9C. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Hobart will drop to 7C on Friday morning and 6C on Saturday as the temperatures plummet below freezing across parts of the NSW ranges.

Frosts will occur across parts of the Southern Downs in Queensland, through the northern ranges of NSW, the ACT, northern Victoria and Tasmania.

Sky News Weather chief meteorologist Tom Saunders said the “unusual run” of cold nights was the result of clear skies and light winds.

“Sydney has shivered through five consecutive nights at or below 9C for the first time in 54 years,” he said.

“The still, cloudless nights are the optimal conditions for surface heat to efficiently radiate away into space at night.”

Darwin and the Top End on the other hand have been experiencing humid nights and sticky mornings, with the temperature only falling to 23C from a maximum of 33C on Friday.

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