Coldest day for July on record
The big freeze hits, but unusual weather will pass soon
IT WILL START TO CLEAR WEDNESDAY, EVEN SOME SUNSHINE AND BACK TO REGULAR TEMPERATURES
TOWNSVILLE has shivered through its coldest July day ever recorded, but the “unusual” weather won’t last much longer.
On Monday, temperatures at Townsville Airport didn’t get higher than 15.1 degrees throughout the day, making it the lowest maximum temperature ever recorded in the region in July.
But Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Helen Reid said the strange weather wasn’t expected to last much longer.
“It will start to clear Wednesday, even some sunshine and back to regular temperatures,” Ms Reid said.
The unseasonal cold weather is the result of a number of factors, including a cloud band blocking the sun, a cold southerly air mass and some rainfall.
“It is unusual to get rain at this time of year, but the cloud mass is following the shape of the east coast at the moment and has been a bit stagnant in its movements,” Ms Reid said.
On Monday, Townsville dropped to a low of 12.9 degrees and peaked at a maximum temperature of just 15.1 degrees, breaking a 43-year record. According to the Bureau
HELEN REID
of Meteorology, the previous lowest maximum temperature in Townsville for July was 16.4 degrees in 1979.
Ingham and Ayr also recorded record-breaking low maximum temperatures, hitting just 16 degrees and 13.9 degrees respectively. The previous records were 18 degrees and 15.6 degrees in 2016.
The cloud mass has also brought a drenching of rain, with Nelly Bay copping the most rain since 9am on Monday, recording 54mm.
Townsville Airport recorded 45mm, Pallarenda recorded 48mm, Mysterton recorded 43mm and Vincent recorded 43mm in the same time frame.
The warmer and sunny weather will be back from Wednesday, just in time for the Townsville NTI 500 Supercars which kicks off on Friday.
Temperatures are expected to peak around 24 degrees for the rest of the week and drop to 11 degrees in the mornings.