Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
ABC News
ABC News
National

Cold weather continues in south-east, while Top End swelters

About a metre of snow has fallen around Mount Hotham over the past week. (Supplied: Chris Hocking, Hotham Alpine Resort)

It is a big week of contrasting weather around Australia, with showers in the west, cold weather in the south-east, and steamy conditions in the north.

The south-east may be freezing as a high in the Great Australian Bight continues to funnel icy southern air up onto the continent.

But up in the tropics, Bradshaw in the Northern Territory reached 37.8 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

That's just 0.1C off the national June record, recorded at the same station back on June 7, 2016. 

It is supposed to be the relatively cool "dry season" in the tropics but this particularly steamy start to winter comes after more than a month of lingering stickiness.

Senior Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jonathan How said much of the north was 2  to 3 degrees above average for May.

The south may have been feeling the chill but temperatures have been well above average in the north. (Supplied: Bureau of Meteorology)

The prolonged hot and humid conditions are the result of the warm La Niña oceans helping to keep things warm and a lack of high-pressure systems to flush things out this season, according to Mr How. 

"But the good news is that there is relief in sight for people right across the north as we start to see some cold air push up from the south," he said. 

The cooler change is expected to start moving up from Wednesday and to make it to Darwin on Thursday. 

Yet more freezing weather in the south-east

Chilly conditions in the south-east are not going away any time soon. 

That same high, which is eventually expected to bring relief up north, is directing particularly southern air up onto the south-east of the country.

"Because this high-pressure system is being squeezed so much it's becoming quite elongated north to south," Mr How said. 

"That basically means direct southerly winds from the Southern Ocean across the south-east." 

A high in the Bight will continue to funnel cold air up into the east of Australia for much of this week as a low approaches the west coast. (Supplied: Bureau of Meteorology)

But not only is the air going to be cold, it is expected to keep bringing chilly temperatures all week as the high stubbornly sits in the Bight.  

"It's not really going to get a move on until Thursday, Friday and even then it's still going to be quite slow moving," Mr How said.

"So we are looking at these below-average temperatures right up until the weekend and beyond." 

Melbourne's coldest day is expected to be today, reaching just 11C. 

Canberra is only expected to get up to 8 today and Hobart 9C. 

Sydney's coldest day is forecast for Wednesday at 15C and Brisbane is only expected to get up to 17C … yes, that is cold for Queensland. 

On Wednesday and Thursday, maximum temperatures are expected to be up to 10 degrees below average for inland parts of southern Queensland. 

Snow, snow, snow

According to Mr How, these temperatures are not particularly "record-breaking" but it is the long duration of this cold snap that is impressive.

"For example, Canberra last week recorded three days in a row below 10 degrees, which hasn't happened since 2009," he said. 

It's great news for the ski fields after good dumps of snow over the weekend with more forecast. 

Flurries are expected across Victoria today, with the Grampians, Mount Macedon, and the hills around Ballarat all a chance.

From tonight that cold air is expected to push up into northern New South Wales, making flurries in Guyra and up on the hills around Glen Innes and Armidale possible.

"The snow level does rise again from midweek but still remains 1,200 to 1,300 metres, which does mean more flurries for the ski resorts and good news for people keen to head up to the snow," Mr How said.

Queensland's keen snow watchers will be disappointed to hear that, even though it will be cold enough, it doesn't look like there will be enough moisture around to bring snow to the Sunshine State this time around. 

But the clear skies and high winds will mean that there is plenty of frost and bighting wind chill to contend with. 

Looking further ahead, there is excitement around possible sea-level snow in Tasmania over the weekend. 

Could we see a repeat of Tassie's 2015 snow on the beach this weekend? (Supplied: Pat Fasnacht‎)

"At this stage, some of the computable guidance is suggesting we could get snow down to zero to 100 metres for parts of southern Tasmania," Mr How said.

Five days out it is too early to be sure, but it is certainly something to keep an eye on. 

Wet in the west 

As if that high has not been influencing the country enough this week, it is also set to help drag out wet and stormy conditions in the west. 

A trough linking up to tropical moisture is set to get stuck on Western Australia's coast as the high prevents it from moving west. 

"Because this high-pressure system in the Bight is stubborn and just not getting a move on, it does mean that the west coast of WA is going to see three to four days of these quite unsettled conditions," Mr How said. 

Showers and storms are expected to develop across the far north-west of WA from Wednesday and to push down the coast to Perth by Thursday. 

"In terms of rainfall, it's going to be more storms than rain. Mostly going to be hit-and-miss totals. We could see some isolated heavy falls, more likely about the north-west," Mr How said. 

There is certainly plenty of weather to keep an eye on this week. 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.