After enjoying a heatwave for much of last month, Melbourne has experienced its coldest night since last spring, with temperatures down to between 3 and 5 degrees on Wednesday night across a large part of inland Victoria.
In the Melbourne CBD temperatures dropped to 8.3 degrees overnight, the lowest since 3 November. And on Wednesday some parts of the state experienced their wettest day of the year, with 25 to 30mm of rainfall in areas of eastern Melbourne.
“We had a strong front go through late on Tuesday through to early Wednesday, so we had 29 degrees on the Tuesday followed by a 15.6 degree maximum in Melbourne on Wednesday,” a senior forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology in Victoria, Rod Dickson, said.
“So it was quite an abrupt change that people would have experienced. It won’t be as cold overnight or over the next couple of nights as we saw this morning, though it will still be chilly.”
Coldest #Victoria morning since last year- less than 5 degrees out west. Latest obs here: https://t.co/ea3T4FJl7d pic.twitter.com/I5qaPe9aPw
— BOM Victoria (@BOM_Vic) April 6, 2016
Melbourne enjoyed an extended and hot summer, which it seems has come to a sudden end after the warmer temperatures on Tuesday.
The bureau is forecasting minimums of 6 or 7 degrees inland and 10 to 11 degrees on the coast over the weekend.
The temperature could reach 21 degrees on Saturday, but that will be about as good as it gets for a little while. Another cold front will hit on Monday, with more showers expected next week, sending temperatures below 20 degrees.
“But it is getting towards the middle of autumn now so you’ve got to expect this,” Dickson said, adding it was unlikely Melbourne would see temperatures in the high 20s again until next summer.
