Australia’s cold change is only getting frostier, with millions set to shiver through the coldest June morning in five years as one capital city plummets to -5 degrees.
Sky news meteorologist Alison Osborne warned on Monday Aussies were in for “another dramatic week of June weather” with “extreme cold” forecast for most of the country.
Eastern Australia will face its second cold front in two days on Tuesday as a rain system settles over the Pacific Ocean, leaving a biting cold air mass in its wake.
It “brings another burst of cold, wet and windy weather and heralds a significant cold outbreak for many,” Ms Osborne said.
“The temperatures, goodness me, they are looking cold even for this time of year … It will be a hard middle of the week to get out of bed,” she added.
Temperatures will drop well below freezing in parts of Tasmania, Victoria, the ACT and NSW, reaching record-breaking lows early on Wednesday.
“It is going to be very cold but also very clear. This means widespread frost and some areas of icy, freezing fog,” Ms Osborne explained.
Sydney and its surrounds are forecast to see their coldest June day in about five years, with minimum temperatures dropping to a frosty 5 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. Residents won’t have much chance to warm up before the weekend, with minimum temperatures of 7 and 8 degrees Celsius on Saturday and Sunday, respectively and single-digit lows right into next week.
In Melbourne, too, it will be frosty with a low of just 4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. Showers are expected in the city on Thursday and Friday, while minimum temperatures aren’t forecast to break 10 degrees until at least the beginning of next week.
Hobart will be even colder, with temperatures dropping to just 2 degrees Celsius on Wednesday morning. Showers are forecast in Tasmania from Thursday and will last right through the weekend.
Canberra, however, will be the capital worst hit by the cold change, with temperatures expected to plummet well below freezing. Residents can expect morning frost on Tuesday courtesy of a minimum temperature of just -4 degrees Celsius, warming up to a still-frosty 10 degrees. The nation’s capital will still get colder on Wednesday with a low of -5 degrees Celsius, before warming to -1 degrees on Thursday.
The cold burst will bring much-needed snowfall to Australia’s ski resorts in what has been a slow start to the winter holiday season.
“(In) the Australian Alps and even the Grampians, there’s a risk of snow falling to elevations of between 900 and 1000m metres, so I would definitely call that low-level snow,” Ms Osborne said.
“It’s well below resort level and does mean a few of those Snowy Mountains towns at that elevation will see some flakes, as will the Brindabella (Ranges) in the ACT and also pockets of the Grampians in Victoria. Make no mistake, it is going to be very cold, however the snow is very welcome and much needed.”
Across the country in WA, a rain band has formed and will sweep eastwards, bringing rain to almost all of Australia.
“Where the outback meets the coast in Port Hedland in Western Australia, the skies have been darkening considerably this weekend. This is due to moisture-laden air feeding in from the northwest tropics,” Ms Osborne said.
“A low-pressure trough sitting in the Indian Ocean is feeding this band of cloud and widespread patchy rain across outback WA. This is likely on Tuesday and Wednesday, to be followed up by some heavier rain and thunderstorms rolling between Karratha Port Hedland and Broome.
“While this isn’t completely unheard of, it is the first time in quite a few weeks that we have seen a Northwest cloud bend over Western Australia, and we could see some of the heaviest rain around the Exmouth Gulf Coast in a few years as well — between 40 and 50 millimetres.”
Perth will shoulder the brunt of the WA rain band right into next week, with more than an 80 per cent chance of showers forecast every day until Sunday. Minimum temperatures are expected to hover between 6 and 10 degrees Celsius, and maximum temperatures between 15 and 17 degrees Celsius.
The rain will move into SA from Wednesday, with showers forecast in Adelaide right into the weekend. Thursday will be icy, with a low of 9 degrees Celsius and a high of 14.
Brisbane will start the week cold and clear, with skies and minimum temperatures of between 8 and 9 degrees Celsius from Tuesday to Thursday. Though it’s expected to stay sunny, cold air will keep minimum temperatures below 13 degrees all week long.
Darwin will stay warm and dry, with maximum temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius all week and minimums in the 20s. Residents can expect cloudy conditions throughout the week, clearing up into a sunny weekend.