Winter chill on way
SUMMERY conditions will come to a halt this weekend as a cool snap hits Townsville.
In the early hours of Sunday morning the mercury will plummet to 15C, bringing an end to the warmer- than- average temperatures the city has been experiencing so far this autumn. Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Harry Clark said following a lowpressure system off New South Wales, dry air would push up into Queensland from southern parts of Australia, bringing the cooler weather.
“For the next five days, nothing’s really changing. There will be temperatures between 20C and 30C each day,” he said.
“Once we get towards Sat- urday and Sunday, we’ll start getting some drier air pushing up and bringing the cooler temperatures.”
Mr Clark said areas that were more inland would also experience a sudden drop in temperature, with even lower minimums predicted.
“Charters Towers for example is having minimums of 17C, 19C, 18C and then it drops to 11C on Saturday and 8C on Sunday,” he said.
“Temperatures have been a little bit above average, particularly in April.
“The average maximum in Townsville in May is 28C and the average minimum is around 18C so it has been warmer than normal.”
Mr Clark said residents would find the change in temperature noticeable.
“It always comes as a bit of a shock that first cool spell after it’s been warm for so long,” he said.
“The May to July period does have better chances of cooler- than- average nights.”
Mr Clark said the cool temperatures would mean there would be much less chance of rain over the weekend.
He said at the moment the May to July period was showing no signs of being either wetter or drier than average.
“It’s looking pretty neutral,” he said
“That said, it is the dry season.”