Winter is here and, in many parts of the country, it’s arrived with a seriously chilly bang.
The southern states have been shivering through plunging temperatures, and south-east Queensland has also woken to its coldest day of the year.
While those grey nomads already basking in the tropical sunshine might have a wry smile at the weather map, those still planning to head north might now be considering fast forwarding their schedule.
However, despite the early ominous signs, meteorologists are predicting that the country as a whole will enjoy a warmer winter than normal. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says drying systems on both sides of the continent will keep temperatures up and rain at bay.
BOM forecaster Andrew Watkins told the Australian newspaper that a warm patch over the eastern Pacific Ocean was keeping moisture away from Australia, although its drying influence would be softened by higher than normal temperatures over the Coral Sea. The conditions were mirrored over the Indian Ocean, where a hot spot far to the west was drawing rain towards drought-ravaged Africa.
For southern Victoria, Tasmania, coastal New South Wales and south-western Western Australia, the odds of unseasonal warmth are rated at 80%. Melbourne can expect temperatures up to 3C above the average maximum of 15C. Sydney can look forward to a maximum temperature range of 18C-21C, Perth slightly higher at 19C-22C, and Brisbane 22C-25C.
Dr Watkins told the Australian that agricultural regions in southern Australia, with the possible exception of eastern Tasmania, could expect less winter rain than usual. While winter could be slightly wetter than average in the tropics, it would still be dry.
He said there was a 50% chance of El Nino conditions developing later in the year, making things even warmer and dryer. This was twice the usual risk, he said.
Forecast was for 14c as a low in Townsville for the 1/6 but it was 19c at 8.00am and didn’t get below 18c over night. Rain also forecast but map shows nothing close at this stage.
So cold in Canberra, when we tried to hitch up we found our trailer mate jack was frozen!! love
Hi Julia. I live in Cooma and about to hitch up. Made the mistake of turning on the water tap couple of mornings ago to fill tanks in caravan – water in hose was frozen. Had to wait 3 hours to thaw out. Should have fiiled in the evening before.