Christmas Day weather in Melbourne is expected to be close to perfect, with sunny skies predicted across the state.
The Bureau of Meteorology released its December 25 forecast on Wednesday afternoon, predicting a mostly sunny day with a maximum of 28 degrees in the city. There is just a 10 per cent chance of rain.
Warm weather is predicted on Christmas Day, likely making a trip to the beach a popular excursion for many Victorians.Credit: Chris Hopkins
“It looks like it’s going to be a pearler in Melbourne,” said bureau meteorologist Sarah Scully.
But she cautioned that the broader Victorian forecast remained slightly uncertain. A high-pressure system moving across south-eastern Australia was expected to bring “really settled and generally dry weather”.
“If the high moves out into the Tasman [Sea] a little bit faster, a little bit earlier than expected, then the winds will be more northerly, and the temperatures will be warmer than indicated at the moment,” Scully said.
In Victoria’s far north, hotter conditions are expected on Christmas Day. Both Mildura and Swan Hill are expected to reach 36 degrees.
Elsewhere in Victoria, Bendigo is expected to get to 33 degrees. In Ballarat, 32 degrees is predicted, while Wangaratta in the north-east should reach 34 degrees. Clear sunny skies are predicted in all three regional centres.
In the Latrobe Valley, the top is expected to be 29 degrees with slightly more clouds around. On the south-west coast at Warrnambool, the maximum forecast is 27 degrees.
It will be slightly cooler in the far east: Lakes Entrance is expected to reach just 23 degrees.
Similar conditions to Melbourne are expected in Geelong and on the Mornington Peninsula: partly cloudy skies, light wind, and maximums in the high 20s.
Friends Aoife Greenwood, Isla Barlow and Opal Tieu jump off the pier at Port Melbourne in November.Credit: Penny Stephens
“It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful Christmas Day,” Scully said.
She said Christmas Eve was expected to be a mild and dry, but would be cooler by the time Carols by Candlelight finished at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
“But the temperatures during the evening will drop to the mid-teens by the conclusion of Carols,” she said. “So people may need jackets or whatnot for that.”
Credit: Matt Golding
Cricket fans will have to wait until Thursday to get the weather bureau’s official forecast for Boxing Day, but Scully indicated there would likely be more play at the MCG than the rain-affected Brisbane Test.
“It looks like that high will then move out into the Tasman Sea, with the winds turning northerly, and it will be warmer than what it is on Christmas Day,” she said.
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correction
An earlier version of this story misnamed the weather bureau’s meteorologist. Her name is Sarah Scully, not Sarah Hunter.