Winter starts after Victoria’s coldest May for five years

VICTORIA has shivered through a chilly autumn, with the coldest May in the past five years recorded.

Weather

VICTORIA has shivered through a chilly autumn, with the coldest May in the past five years recorded by the weather bureau.

Omeo, in Gippsland, recorded the coldest temperature on May 24 at an icy -6.5 C.

Bureau of Metereology forecaster Scott Williams said autumn temperatures this year were colder than average.

“It’s rare to have temperatures as low as -6 even in the alpine regions; you don’t often get that until right in the middle of winter in those areas,” Mr Williams said.

“Summer really fizzled out early on this year.”

The last hot day was March 19, which hit a top of 33.4 C.

Rainfall in autumn was also below average with gauges showing the city getting a third less rain than last year.

Snow fell earlier than expected in the alpine regions, with flurries recorded across the Dandenongs and Macedon Ranges in the second week of May.

The cold snap was caused by a south-westerly wind, and temperatures in Melbourne plummeted with a chilly top of 12.8C recorded on May 13.

The first day of winter is due to bring snow across the alpine regions, with 10-15cm predicted to fall.

This weather bureau forecasters said it was “more common” to see snow in mid-June but the early falls would help the winter ski season.

“It’s unusual to get that amount of snow so early on in the season but it will be significant enough to help the ski season get started,” Mr Williams said.

Mr Williams said the El Niño weather pattern could affect the amount of snow later in winter.

“There is some prospect that rainfall, and therefore snowfall, will be below average and the winter season could end up shorter after an early start,” he said.